I’ve reviewed some specific sections and issues from Andrew Farley’s The Naked Gospel. He wrote the book in order to relieve people from the bondage of legalism which can come from misunderstanding the gospel. That is a great thing. But Farley seems to misunderstand the gospel in a different way.
He begins the book by inviting theological discussion. Theological disputation is an important thing, but it must be done properly. Where Farley, and his book, ultimately fails is how he pursues theological disputation.
His book is filled with exegetical and hermeneutical errors. Texts are often taken out of context. His method of interpretation is profoundly flawed. He ignores texts that may have something to say about his points. When talking about how we won’t stand before God at the Great White Throne, he tosses out Matthew 25 due the fact that it took place before the Cross. Nor does he refer to Romans 14:9-12.
9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written: ”‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’” 12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
He fails to make theological distinctions which are of great importance. As a result of this, he has a one-size fits all approach. For him, all roads lead to justification. One of my professors, Richard Pratt, often told us that you have to use the right medicine from the medicine cabinet. We are to rightly diagnose the problem, and then give them the proper practical theology to address that problem. If you have heart problems, taking medication for erectile dysfunction can be deadly. There is no one medicine for all problems. The gospel has many elements to it (regeneration, justification, adoption, sanctification, glorification etc.), and we must give them the proper one. To offer the medication of justification when they have a sanctification problem is part of what keeps Christians in immaturity.
Another problem that disturbed me was the consistent use of the straw man argument. Farley consistently portrays those with whom he disagrees in the worst possible light. For example, he hones in on those who think we must confess our sins (post-conversion) and that the Spirit convicts us.
Convict means “to find guilty.” Within a judicial system, conviction is followed by sentencing and then punishment. Inside the word conviction is the term we usually reserve for a person who is incarcerated- a convict. So should the verb convict be used to describe interaction between the Holy Spirit and children of God? Probably not.
He’s right, IF that is the only meaning and intended use of the word. As a professor of applied linguistics, you would think he would know this and explain this. But he stacks the deck so his view sounds reasonable and the other view does not.
One definition of convict is to make aware of one’s sinfulness and guilt. As a Christian, I remain sinful (Farley would disagree) and do wrong things (he’d agree). The Spirit convicts me, in part, but making me aware of my wrong-doing in specific areas. He is not condemning me, but humbling me and leading me to repentance (most of the churches are told to repent in Revelation 2-3). Moreover, conviction can refer to a firm or fixed belief. The Spirit convicts us in that sense too. He established firm and fixed belief in us about what the Bible teaches and how we are to apply it. These are the ways in which most Christians use these words- not in the way Farley claims.
As a result, this book- while well-intentioned- can do much harm to those lacking a sufficient biblical theological background to make the distinctions that Pastor Farley fails to make. I hate sounding like a nit-picky, fault-finding guy. But this book presents too many problems on too many fronts.
I’ve noted other books that may be of good use in understanding regeneration and justification. A book that may be of good use in understanding sanctification is Walter Marshall’s The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification. It is built on the reality of our union with Christ. So, in some ways it is what Farley tries to do without the many theological errors that Farley embraces. We do live out our new identity in Christ, being assured of His love for us due to the substitutionary death of Christ. This would be a more fruitful use of one’s time and money.
[…] The Naked Gospel which I had read and reviewed earlier this year ( Part 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 with increasing frustration). He has what I consider to be extreme views based on a […]
Sounds like the American version of Joseph Princes’ doctrine of grace, which has taken Christianity by a storm, and I believe, has led many into gross deception. There’s something slippery and slimy in there. Reader, beware. It sound so good and reasonable, but the parts that are in error, are the ones that will captivate (and eventually, you will be captive to) you, and lead you to spiritual blindness. I believe this “new” doctrine of grace, is a false and counterfeit doctrine which appeals to the lust of the flesh, and is one that Jesus says will be prevalent in the last days. Oh, brother. Oh, sister. Please ask your Lord what spirit this is from, and He will be sure to open your eyes so you can see.
Read and listened to Andrew Farley entire works now delving into Arthur Bury’s works http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Bury,_Arthur_(DNB00). I pray that you allow the light of Jesus to open your heart, listen to our new song Go Jesus Love For All http://gojesuslove.com/music. More importantly I think you need to address your comments to the Andrew Farley, I know for a fact he responds to his emails. Go Jesus Love learning to love and walk like Jesus did. In Him for All Armando Barreiro Jr.
His Grace is Sufficient
His Grace is Sufficient because he gave his life for you, so he could live in you and so he could live through you. My world was shaken when I herd about this New Covenant. Understanding that a new covenant meant that the old covenant of agreement had been fulfilled. I had seen and visited many churches with New Covenant in their name never hearing the still small voice inside of me teaching me about his Grace being Sufficient. While exhaustively playing the role of trying to be a good Christian for 31 years based on the Mosaic Laws, which constantly led me to failure and sin equaling death over and over again. I was to busy being a good Christian doing, doing and doing Christians things based on the Ten Commandments and the other 603 Mosaic laws I had to keep in order to earn my salvation. Trying to keep 613 Mosaic Laws but knowing that failing just one would earn me all the rights to the wages of sin, equaling death. So many times finding using myself exhausted by my own minds conniving to be the best possible Christian since I new for a fact I was the best possible sinner. Always finding myself at the feet of Jesus begging for his mercy and forgiveness. I placed shackles upon shackles on myself because of my futile attempt to tenacity or ego to earn a place in God Jesus’s heart. All I wanted was to be able to love and walk like Jesus did. I heard Dr. Andrew Farley’s simple message as I devoured all his sermons and books revealing the words, “living on this side of the cross in Jesus plus nothing”, changed my world. As the words His Grace is Sufficient became about 3 things easy to understand truths after Calvary, 1. He gave his life for me. 2. So he could be in me. 3. So he could live though me. For the first time I was able to read God Jesus’s word with a light shining from Jesus in me that made me to see and understand His Grace is Sufficient. He concord death thus concurring sin along with fulfilling the 613 Mosaic Laws when he uttered “It is Finished” and then went and sat on the right hand of God on his throne.
God fulfilled the promise he made to himself in the life of Jesus through us. He remembers our sins no more. God made all things in 6 days and on the 7th day he said it is good and he rested just like Jesus did when He humbled the rich man and condemned the Pharisees by their works. Then willingly bore the sins of all humans from the beginning to the end of time, pointing out their failure to keep the perfect law that is in the Bible, in that this was not good. In a moment Jesus reset history when on the cross he spoke the words “It Is Finished”. As God rested on the seventh day He then went and rested, by sitting at the right hand of God. The grace of God Jesus is Sufficient so Go Jesus Love by loving and walking like Jesus did.
More scriptures to confirm the above in the following books of the Bible:
Ephesians 5:18-21, Acts 6:1-4, Ephesians 3:14-19, 2 Corinthians 5:13-15, Romans 5:8-10, 1 John 4:17-19
Hebrews 8:8-12
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
8 For finding fault with them, He says,
“Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, [a]When I will effect a new covenant With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
9
Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers On the day when I took them by the hand To lead them out of the land of Egypt; For they did not continue in My covenant, And I did not care for them, says the Lord.
10
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those days, says the Lord: [b]I will put My laws into their minds, And I will write them on their hearts. And I will be their God, And they shall be My people.
11
“And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, And everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ For all will know Me, From [c]the least to the greatest of them.
12
“For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And I will remember their sins no more.”
I have dialoged with Andrew on these issues. You can see our public interaction as we discussed some key texts. The first comment is a link to that debate.
Justification is not the totality of our salvation. The issue under discussion is sanctification. There are distinctions that ought to be made that neither you nor Mr. Farley make which leads to a practical antinomianism.
One “mystical antinomian” named John Crowder writes “God didn’t save you so you could do good. God saved you so you could be dead and then God could work through you. God does not want to you try to work. God is only pleased with what Christ does, God does not help you. God does things for you”. (Mystical Union, Sons of Thunder Publishing, 2010)
if soundbites like that make you think the grace of God is being exalted, then you need to begin to ask some more questions. It is not some present work which is our Propitiation, and there is no need to confuse our present working with God’s present working.
J I Packer warns us : “With regard to sanctification, there have been mystical antinomians who have affirmed that the indwelling Christ is the personal subject who obeys the law in our identity once we invoke his help in obedience situations, and there have been pneumatic antinomians who have affirmed that the Holy Spirit within us directly prompts us to discern and do the will of God, without our needing to look to the law to either prescribe or monitor our performance.”
Packer: “The common ground is that those who live in Christ are wholly separated from every aspect of the pedagogy of the law. The freedom with which Christ has set us free, and the entire source of our ongoing peace and assurance, are based upon our knowledge that what Christ, as we say, enables us to do he actually does in us for himself. So now we live, not by being forgiven our constant shortcomings, but by being out of the law’s bailiwick altogether; not by imitating Christ, the archetypal practitioner of holy obedience to God’s law, but by … our knowledge that Christ himself actually does in us all that his and our Father wants us to do.”