How Can We Address the Objection That Free Grace is Easy Believism?

How Can We Address the Objection That Free Grace is Easy Believism?

Welcome to the Grace in Focus radio / podcast. Today, Bob Wilkin and Mike Lii are answering a question about easy believism. One of the objections to free grace theology is that it leads to non-genuine faith because this faith is too easy. What is the motivation to live for Christ? Should it be fear of losing salvation? Please listen to this and every episode of the Grace in Focus podcast!
Free Grace, Easy Believism, Assurance, 1 John 4:19, John 3:16

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[cavalier]

When I accepted that God doesn’t expect me, in my present mortal state, to be sinless, I found myself sinning less.

[GeraldKirk-wd]

Faith alone is more difficult to accept than faith plus works. Self always gets in the way. We are to walk by faith and not by sight.

[joshmeyers]

Conditional security really did paralyze me. I was terrified, paralyzed, drained, etc. It did not motivate me or keep me on the “straight and narrow” it was debilitating.

But now I’m resting in the Lord, knowing that He keeps me in His hand and that once someone has eternal life, it’s exactly that, eternal and it starts when we believe.

[GIG]

Wow, great job brothers! thank you and God bless.

[russelllivingston]

Add the list of scriptures suggested for the Bible study to the notes below the grace n focus radio cast. This will help greg immensely with preparing.
Great topic great answer.

[Liminalplace]

Just a correction on Arminians.. they don't believe God loves you and then loves you not. They believe God's loves all sinners unconditionally. They just think of acceptance by God as conditional.

I agree with you on security mostly because of Romans 6:5, 8 the resurrection is certain to all those baptized (implicit believers). It actually uses the word "certain". Dr.John Barclay in his recent book "Paul and the Power of Grace" explains Paul's view of Grace as "Unconditioned"
That is unconditioned, not the popular "unconditional" phrase.

[markhaney]

I like to say, well we both could be wrong but we can't both be right. So the litmus test is, whose theology gives Jesus ALL the credit???? Grace wins every time.

[markhaney]

Funny, those who say the message of free grace is easy believism, yet they don't believe

[soljos]

There is no Exegetical objection that rises to the level of the Objectively verifiable.

Every such Objection Tops Out at purely Subjective - thus Unknowable - criteria .

The sure recipe for Doubt : the Antithesis of faith in Him for His doubtless Guarantee of Endless Everlasting Life (John 3:16 & Ephesians 2:8-9) .

[Chronicles_]

IF John's gospel was written for unbelievers and salvation couldn't be forfeited then why would Jesus say this ?

John 16:1
All this I have told you so that you will not fall away

He's clearly speaking to already repented true believers about the possibility of falling away.

[easttexan]

I don't know anyone who believes if they mess up they are going to lose their salvation. Occasional screw ups doesn't cause the loss of salvation. It is the continual committing of sin that leads to a hardening of the heart because of the deceitfulness of sin which leads to abandoning the confidence and the rejoicing of hope firm unto the end (Heb 3:6-13) (Col 1:23) (Rom 11:22). There has to be a difference between believing and believing with the heart to the saving of the soul. Can you tell me any reason all these warning texts are in the bible if they have no bearing on how we are to live our lives?

[DannyLoyd]

So, tell us how long must we believe? in order to be saved? In Heb 3:12 it says, " Take care, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God", so if I believe for three seconds and then have an evil unbelieving heart, will I still be saved? How about one day? week?
1 Timothy 4:1 " Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the heed to doctrine of demons", so how long must I believe before I can DEPART FROM THE FAITH AND GIVE HEED TO DOCTRINE OF DEMONS, and still be saved? Three seconds? one day?
And now tell us, what must we do in the entire bible, besides John 3:16, to be saved?
So, GES believes you can have an evil, unbelieving heart and still be saved. And they believe you can depart from the faith and give heed to doctrine of demons, and still be saved. So, I have believed for over three seconds, now I can do what I want!!!!

[chrissherri]

It is not correct to say that all Arininians believe you can lose it. There are different camps of views in that theological outlook. Some believe OSAS.

[Chronicles_]

Easy believism (free grace movement) is the belief that there are no moral laws God expects Christians to obey. Easy believism takes a biblical teaching to an unbiblical conclusion. The biblical teaching is that Christians are not required to observe the Old Testament Law as a means of salvation. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, He fulfilled the Old Testament Law (Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:23-25; Ephesians 2:15).

The unbiblical conclusion is that there is no moral law God expects Christians to obey.

The apostle Paul dealt with the issue of easy believism in
Romans 6:1-2,
“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”

The most frequent attack on the doctrine of salvation by grace alone is that it encourages sin. People may wonder, “If I am saved by grace and all my sins are forgiven, why not sin all I want?” That thinking is not the result of true conversion because true conversion yields a greater desire to obey, not a lesser one.

Free grace teachers do not teach the absolute necessity of conversion.

God’s desire—and our desire when we are regenerated by His Spirit—is that we strive not to sin.

Out of gratitude for His grace and forgiveness, we want to please Him. God has given us His infinitely gracious gift in salvation through Jesus (John 3:16; Romans 5:8).

Our response is to consecrate our lives to Him out of love, worship, and gratitude for what He has done for us Romans
12:1-2
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Easy believism is unbiblical in that it misapplies the meaning of God’s gracious favor.

A second reason that easy believism is unbiblical is that there is a moral law God expects us to obey.
1 John 5:3 tells us, “This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome.”

What is this law God expects us to obey? It is the law of Christ – “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).

No, we are not under the Old Testament Law. Yes, we are under the law of Christ. The law of Christ is not an extensive list of legal codes. It is a law of love. IF we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, we strive to do nothing to displease Him. IF we love our neighbors as ourselves, we will do nothing to harm them.

Obeying the law of Christ is not a requirement to earn or maintain salvation. The law of Christ is what God expects of a Christian.

In summary easy believism is contrary to everything the Bible teaches. God expects us to live a life of morality, integrity, and love.

Galatians 5:24
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Jesus Christ freed us from the burdensome commands of the Old Testament Law, but that is not a license to sin. Rather, it is a covenant of grace. We are to strive to overcome sin and cultivate righteousness, depending on the Holy Spirit to help us.

[vicglazewski]

These people who accuse us of easy believesism are ignorant of Bible doctrine. They are ignorant of Pauls teachings, they are ignorant of GRACE.They are ignorant as to Jesus Christs work on the CROSS.. They are just plain ignorant of the Bible. . They IMHO are religious non believing people damned to hell through their works..