Pure Grace: A Review (Part 7)

As with his preceding chapters, Clark Whitten's 8th one, dealing with the Law, wreaks of misinformation such as misapplying "all things are lawful" to mean we should accept any practice (1 Cor. 10:23) (116). Instead of making a Biblical argument, he tosses about terms such as legalistic, rock-throwing legalists, and mean-spirited Pharisees (120-21). He praises Jesus for the way He confronted sin (rather than the way legalists do); then he talks about how Mary was "immortalized in Scripture when she poured out the costly perfume and anointed Jesus' feet…" (121).

Yes, but what do the two statements have to do with each other? Is he implying that Mary (the sister of Lazarus) was once a great sinner (John 12:1-3)? If so, where is the proof of it? Jesus approached people honestly. He excoriated the scribes and Pharisees because they had acted as a brood of vipers (Matt. 23), thus immortalizing them in a negative light. Peter immortalized Ananias and Sapphira for their lying to God (Acts 5:1-11). These events do not support the author's theory of Jesus and the apostles always speaking a kind word; He and they condemned sin as sin.

But in chapter nine Whitten claims that legalism leaves people living in uncertainty. He complains that some teach that they might lose salvation "if they fail to 'endure to the end'" (126). He protests:

Others believe and teach that someone can lose his or her salvation by rejecting Christ or by committing some heinous sin such as suicide or murder (126).

Our first response might be, "You mean that someone might teach, as Paul did, when he wrote: "But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified" (1 Cor. 9:27)? According to Strong, the word translated "disqualified" comes from the Greek word, adokimos [96], meaning "not standing the test; not approved." It is "properly used of metals and coins."

The word is used 8 times in the KJV New Testament. Six of those times it is translated "reprobate" and once "rejected." In 1 Corinthians 9:27, it appears as "castaway." It is the opposite of the word, dokimos, which appears seven times in the New Testament. It means "approved" six of those times. Paul therefore disciplined himself so that he would be approved unto God. To not be approved is to be rejected, disqualified. Paul believed he could be lost—if he was not careful. Was Paul a legalist full of uncertainty? No. But he knew the importance of being cautious about his salvation. The fact is that salvation can be lost.

But wait a minute. Read Whitten's quote above once more. Is he saying that one can commit murder (without repenting of it) and still be saved? Can a once-faithful Christian reject Christ and not lose his salvation. What kind of logic is this? Christians in the first century could have denied Christ and saved their physical lives if that was so—and still been saved spiritually. Who can believe this doctrine? Furthermore, Whitten implies that anyone who thinks he can lose his salvation "has a very low view of the divine nature" (126).

Don't Doubt It—or What?

"If the devil couldn't keep you from being saved," the author asserts, "his fall-back strategy is to keep you in doubt that you are saved" (127). If this statement is true, and a person has doubts about his salvation, so what? He can't lose it anyway. What's the penalty for doubt? Whitten can't have one. If no one can lose his salvation, then doubting cannot jeopardize anyone.

John is confident concerning the salvation of Christians—if they walk in the light (1 John 1:7-9). In fact, the apostle writes that we can know that we know God—if we keep His commandments (1 John 2:3). How is that for confidence? Yet John writes that he who hates his brother "is in darkness and abides in darkness" (1 John 2:9, 11). Does Whitten want to affirm that someone walking in darkness is still saved? If he is tempted to do so, he should beware of 1 John 1:5-6:

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

What do we learn from 1 John 1:5-6 and 1 John 2:9, 11? First, a Christian who hates his brother walks in darkness. Second, there is no darkness in God. Third, God cannot fellowship those who walk in darkness. Fourth, if God cannot fellowship the one in darkness now, then He cannot fellowship him in eternity, either. The conclusion is that a Christian who abides in and walks in darkness has no fellowship with God now or in eternity, which means that this particular Christian is lost. Whitten's position that one walking in darkness (impenitent) will be saved, nevertheless, is false.

The Old Dodge

Has Whitten invented some new theology to bolster his position? No. He uses the same old dodge that Baptists have used for years: "The reason that some walk away from Christ is not because they lost what he secured for them, it is because they never knew him" (128). In other words, "If he lost it, he never had it." This makes no sense. How can anyone lose something that was never in his possession?

Whitten tries to support this view (128) by quoting 1 John 2:19:

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us: but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

Who are the they under discussion? They refers to the many antichrists who had infiltrated the church (1 John 2:18). It helps to read these verses in their context. These were not actual brethren. John does not refer to them as "brethren." They were false teachers, denying the Deity of Christ, who were trying to lead Christians astray. When they did not succeed, they left. John provides no evidence for his readers to think that these false teachers were ever in the light. They were among Christians for only one purpose—to convert them to their error. They were never sincere, genuine Christians; they just posed as such. In any event, John is not discussing Christians who have fallen back into darkness; these men never left it.

"You Can't Lose It"

The author cites Romans 8:38-39 to prove that nothing can separate us from the love of God (129), which is true. God's love stands extended to us always. But we can turn from that love, reject that love, walk away from that love—and be lost! God did not withdraw it from us; we withdrew from Him. No external force made Him forsake us, but we can choose not to abide in Him. Another passage Whitten uses as a defense of his position is John 10:27-30. Again, no external force can remove us from God's grasp. But we have the power and the free will to walk away from Him, as Hebrews 6:1-6 demonstrates. That passage deals with the saved who became lost.

But John 10:27 also includes a condition that must be met—"they follow Me." It is true that, so long as "they follow Me," they are saved—just as John writes in 1 John 1:7-9. But what happens if they cease following Him? How can the promise still hold true? Again, if they choose darkness, they no longer have fellowship with God. But consider all the passages that Whitten ignores on this topic. The author of Hebrews warns that we be careful, lest we "drift away" (2:1). He points out that transgressions have always been punished and wonders "how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation…" (2:2-3).

Christians who forsake the assembly have "trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing and insulted the Spirit of grace" (Heb. 10:29). In case Whitten says, "Okay, but they are still saved because nothing can separate them from the love of God and the eternal life they already possess," the author of Hebrews adds a word about vengeance and affirms, "The Lord will judge His people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (10:30-31). Does that sound like salvation to anyone?

Can a Christian choose to no longer follow Christ? Despite the fact that Judas did and apparently Demas as well (2 Tim. 4:10), Whitten answers, "No." He thinks it is impossible for a true Christian to ever fall away. Therefore, he repeats that if one falls away, he simply was never "born again" (130). But this principle defies the entire Book of Galatians. Paul writes to Christians in this area of the world, marveling that they had turned "away so soon from Him who called" them "in the grace of Christ to a different gospel" (Gal. 1:6). In other words, they had been converted by the truth, but they were turning away from it to a false gospel.

The Galatians had "begun in the Spirit," but now were trying to be perfected in the flesh (Gal. 3:3). Notice that Paul does not say they were never converted in the first place. They had been! Later, Paul tells them that if they now try to be justified by law, they have "fallen from grace" (Gal. 5:4). Has anyone tried to fall from a ladder unless he was first upon one? Or from a roof? They had embraced the true gospel which called them into the grace of God, but now, in trying to return to where they were, they were falling from that grace. The New Testament teaches no other doctrine so thoroughly as the fact that a Christian can fall from grace, yet Whitten ignores all of those passages.

Does Jesus Need to Die Again?

One of the most absurd things Whitten postulates is to say that if a person can lose his salvation, then Jesus would have to die a second time to save him (131). Jesus did not need to die for Simon the Sorcerer when he flagrantly sinned; repentance was sufficient (Acts 8:18-24). Confessing one's sins to God is sufficient (1 John 1:9). People often want to know if they should be baptized again when they commit sin. No. Baptism puts people in contact with the blood of Christ, which continues to cleanse them when they repent and confess.

James 5:19-20 causes Whitten's case to totally collapse. Consider what he says and does not say.

Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

First, a Christian can wander from the truth (either doctrinally or morally), and he can be brought back. James does not conclude he never was a Christian. The one who brings him back saves a soul from death. He was spiritually alive, but he became spiritually dead; in fact, he is called a sinner. He can, however, be made alive again and be saved from death.

Nothing is said about Jesus having to die a second time to bring him back. Nor is it suggested he be baptized again to have his sins removed. The fact is that Whitten is in error on just about every major precept he sets forth in his book. Once baptized (born again), an erring child of God needs to repent and confess to God.