Saturday, July 24, 2010

Intro/My Theological Journey

My name is Ken White. I am 39 years old and live in Bakersfield, California. For the past 13 years, my family and I have been missionaries in Papua New Guinea, where I did Bible translation and church-planting. We currently are back in the United States and are trying to begin a Free Grace church, or rather a multiplying, Free Grace church-planting movement, by starting Bible studies in our home. We hope to start the first one this Sunday.

I have held a Free Grace view of the gospel for many years. When I was in high school, our youth pastor got me well-grounded in a Lordship Salvation view of the gospel and of saving faith. At that point it never made me doubt my own salvation, but it did make me doubt the salvation of many around me, who didn’t seem to have much of a commitment to following Jesus.

With my Lordship Salvation perspective, I set off to Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, where I intended to train to be a missionary. Some of my professors there espoused Lordship Salvation and some did not, but one of those who did not changed my life by assigning us to read Balancing the Christian Life by Charles Ryrie. In that book was one chapter about whether Jesus must be Lord of one’s life in order to be one’s Savior, and it really rocked my thinking and made me realize that maybe I was wrong in my views. Through that book and subsequent study of the Bible, I came to be convinced that salvation was truly a free gift, received simply by faith in Christ, and that faith really means believing, and nothing more complex than that.

After one year at Moody, my wife and I were married back in California and lived there for a year. After that, we went into missionary training with the organization with which we were to work. During the time of our missionary training, another major milestone in my theological journey came about when I discovered that there were biblically sound ways to interpret scripture that were neither Calvinist (not even 4 or 3 point Calvinist), nor Arminian. I remain a committed “non-Calvinist” to this day, which may or may not enter into future blog entries.

The final two issues (at least to this point) which have really defined my perspective on soteriology have been the discussions about the content of saving faith and about repentance . As far as the content of saving faith, through the years and throughout my ministry in PNG, I always communicated to people the idea that “if you believe that Jesus died for your sins on the cross and rose again, you will be saved.” Over time, though, I began to have doubts about saying things that way. For one thing, I always realized that I didn’t really mean exactly that. I knew that a person could believe that Jesus paid for all his sins on the cross and rose again, and yet think he had to do good works in order to get to heaven. So I knew there was a missing element in the way I was presenting things. The other thing that bothered me about the way I expressed things was that it didn’t seem to be well-supported scripturally. In my view, faith in what Jesus did on the cross was the core element in saving faith, and yet I knew that the many references to believing in Jesus in the book of John, which occurred before His death, couldn’t mean that. Also, in the couple of recorded evangelistic sermons in the book of Acts, the element of believing “that Jesus died for your sins” seemed to be missing. So I wondered why God hadn’t made things more clear.

Then on my last home assignment, or “furlough,” from the mission field, I attended a conference put on by the Grace Evangelical Society and heard Zane Hodges speak. In the question and answer time which followed his session, he expressed the idea that the content of saving faith has not changed between the time when Jesus offered living water to the Samaritan woman at the well and now. He expressed the idea that a person receives eternal life when he believes in Jesus for it. I had actually read such things before, but had never processed it until then. I realized that Zane’s view made sense with the biblical data. It wasn’t until later, though, that I realized there was a lot of controversy about this view.

Because of the controversy surrounding the view that saving faith could be as simple as believing in Jesus for eternal life, I spent a long time wrestling with the issue, studying it out, and reading everything I could find by those opposed to the view. I realized that if I became firmly settled on a “promise only” view of the gospel, I might not be able to continue to work with the organization with which I was working. The end result of all that wrestling, praying and studying was that I became firmly convinced that Jesus offers eternal life to all who believe in Him for it. In order to get to that point, I had to question many of the underlying positions, for example: Was the gospel of John the sole book of the New Testament written with the purpose of evangelism? Is the gospel of John adequate for evangelism? Does the word “gospel” refer to a certain set of propositions which must be believed about Jesus, or to a broader good news? If there are certain minimums a person must believe to be saved, where are they listed? I will talk about things I discovered in these areas in later posts.

Finally, I rethought my position on repentance. I had long believed that repent meant only “change your mind,” that it was a requirement for eternal life, and that the context determined what a person must change his mind about. Because this post has already gotten far to long, I will not right now go into the inconsistencies which I found in this view, but will simply say that a careful study of every occurrence of the words “repent” and “repentance” led me to the view, also espoused by Zane Hodges, that repentance refers to a decision to turn from sin, but that it is a separate issue from the reception of eternal life. Repentance turns aside God’s temporal punishment and should prepare an unsaved person to believe in Jesus, but it is not the same as faith nor a prerequisite to faith.

Because of these changes in my views, I did have to quit working with the mission organization I was working with, and that is why my family and I have returned to the U.S. It has been hard to leave the life and the ministry we have known, but I cannot be sorry, because the things I have learned have made the Bible make so much more sense to me, and I believe they will make it easier for me to share the truth with others also.

I’m sorry this post has gotten so outrageously long, but I thought it would be good to give a little background before I started making other posts. I don’t know how many people will actually read this blog, but hopefully down the road, God will bring people along who will be benefited by what I have to share and by the discussion which (I hope) will follow.

16 comments:

  1. Hi Ken,

    Your testimony has truly blessed my heart as I read it because I saw that you were seeking truth from one place... God's Word. The Bible calls that being a Berean (Acts 17:11). I love the way you are open to allowing God to teach you from one place..... His Word. God says that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6). I like the way that you read the works of men, but check it all out in the Word to see if all the pieces fit scripturally.

    I'm looking forward to reading all of your posts, and will probably be commenting from time to time. Also, I'm praying that God will use you to bring glory to His Name.

    All because of His wonderful grace,
    Diane
    :-)

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  2. Thanks Diane, now we'll see if anyone else actually reads this blog and makes comments. I hope for some good discussion, but we'll see what happens.

    Ken

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  3. Great post Ken. I'll look forward to reading more!

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  4. Hi Ken,

    I agree with all that Diane has said. And am also encouraged by your journey to the truth.

    I believe the only way the cross is believed biblicaly is when one sees Jesus as the Christ.
    When that happens the one is born of God (1 John 5:1).
    Also concerning repentance what convinced me that it wasn't a condition for the gift of eternal life was the fact that it is not mentioned once in the only book in the Bible written to the unbeliever that he might have life, the Gospel of John. I believe the content of the living water has not changed, but the one who is convinced that Jesus has given them eternal life will never thirst. What better way to persuade them then by the eighth sign, the cross.
    Ken, I've no theological training. Having ministered in a care center to the dying, felt the urgency to be clear on the saving message. My journey brought me to Zane Hodges, and after searching the Scriptures to see if what he was teaching was true I became convinced, and was amazed at the freeness of the gift of eternal life to the one who simply believes Jesus promise:)


    alvin

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  5. Hi Ken,

    Your article is a real encouragement to me. I can relate to the journey you've had in coming to understand the truth about the gospel. My experience has been very similar to yours. I hope you will keep writing. This article has really blessed me and I'm looking forward to you sharing more in the future.

    Gary

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  6. Wow, there's actually some people reading this and making comments. I guess I can thank Diane for letting friends know about it. Thanks Diane and thanks everyone for your comments. I'm looking forward to getting into some dicussions in the future.

    Alvin, I didn't say much about my change of mind regarding repentance in this post because it was getting so long, but the fact that repentance isn't mentioned in the book of John was very significant to me too. Just as significant was the fact that the apostle Paul didn't mention it in Ephesians, Galatians, or any place where he was talking about justification. Also I realized that my view of repentance was similar to peoples' lists they make of things a person must believe before his faith in Christ can be valid. What I mean is, if a person must change his mind before he can receive eternal life, which things does he have to change his mind about, and how much, and where are they listed? So, I tell people I believe it is psychologically true that people must change their thinking in order to go from not believing in Jesus to believing in Him, but that's not what the word repent means. Anyway, more on that later.

    I have a whole stack of ideas of things to write about and some things already written. I just wanted to test the waters first and see if there would be any interest. Since there is some, I may go ahead and post the first thing a little sooner and see what discussion follows, but I'll still wait a few more days.

    Ken

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  7. Hi Ken, I believe were on the same page, and am looking forward to what you have to say.
    Below is something the two beans of Bad and Ugly came up with. That would be Gary and myself . . .Ha!Ha!

    "Promse Only"

    Eternal life had to come by promise: Gal 3:21-22.

    God had promised eternal life before time began: Titus 1:2.

    The promise of life is in Christ Jesus: John 1:4; 2 Timothy 1:1.

    Paul said he was the pattern for all those who are going to believe in Jesus for everlasting life: 1 Timothy 1:16.

    The promise of eternal life is in Jesus name: John 1:12-13.

    The one believing in Jesus as the Christ has life in His name: John 20:31; 1 John 5:1.

    The gift of God that was offered to the woman at the well was the promise of eternal life: John 4:10,13-14,25-26.

    The promise is offered again in Revlation 22:17 to anyone who desires to take of the water of life freely.

    The content of the promise of eternal life is found in the living water, and has not changed (Jesus-eternal life-drink).

    To drink is simply to believe Jesus promise of eternal life and you will never thirst (John 3:16,36; 4:13,14; 5:24; 6:35,47; 11:25-26; 20:31).

    To add any other requirement is to put poison in the pot.

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  9. If we combine what Paul says in 1 Tim 1:1 and 2 Tim 1:16 we see that Paul's understanding of what it means to believe that Jesus is the Christ is the same as the meaning we find in John's Gospel.

    To believe that Jesus is the Christ = believe in Jesus for everlasting life according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus to everyone who believes. (Jn 3:16; 4:10; 5:24; 6:47; 11:25-27; 20:31)

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  10. The promise of life which is IN Christ Jesus begins to shine even in the prologue to John's Gospel.

    "IN Him was LIFE, and the LIFE was the LIGHT of men.  5 And the LIGHT SHINES in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might BELIEVE. (Jn 1:4-7)

    By the time John reaches his purpose statement in 20:31, he wants that light to be shining as bright as the sun for the reader so that he might believe the light of the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus.

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  11. Amen Brudder Bad . . . . i see the light . . .i see the light . . .no more darkness no more night . . . .now im so happy . . . .Praise the Lord i see the Light . . . .yah dat get yah singin . . . .:)

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  12. Yaaaah...dat tune make sum purdy sangin...it be purdier dan da howlin of a coon dog in da moon lite to da ear of Bad...:)

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  13. Ken,I am another friend that Diane told about your blog and I was greatly blessed to hear about your journey of faith. I have a similar story. I was very troubled to read that you had to leave your mission organization because of your faithfulness to the truth of Scripture. Our son works with a Bible translation organization; I certainly hope it is not the same one. I look forward very much to your future posts.

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  14. Ken,
    God bless you and your journey. May He lead you!
    I was very interested in your comment about your missionary strategy ("We currently are back in the United States and are trying to begin a Free Grace church, or rather a multiplying, Free Grace church-planting movement, by starting Bible studies in our home. We hope to start the first one this Sunday.") I'm interested in this approach myself. I'd sure like to hear how it's going (maybe in further posts, or by direct email?)
    Lon Gregg
    Spiritual Director
    Denver Rescue Mission

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  15. In the recent Newsletter of Grace in Focus you have written a "missionary journey" on Repentance. In there at the bottom of the article you have compared your thinking with Zane Hodges' thinking on what repentance is...I have always been taught that it was "a change of mind"/"a change of direction"...one of the same....I have been part & believe with the Grace Movement...I have known Bob Wilkin & other doctrinal pastors for many years...in fact we have had some pastor conferences right here in Omaha. But I would like you to clarify what you mean by "change your mind"...that is where the concerns lie. Even after we become a born again Christian by exercizing Acts 16:31...we sin...nothing really changes as far as that goes. But maybe you will clarify those points for me....thanks so much...I will give you my e- mail address right here in the blog...I did not find on the "blog" where you could be contacted...sorry.....

    Steve Leeder
    thinkbema@hotmail.com
    19usa47@gmail.com

    P.S. I am not sure what the "comment as" means what it requires...so please forgive me if I answered with something I should of not added.

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  16. Hello Ken WHITE,
    i have been interested by your article.I would like to speak with you about important issues.
    My e-mail is erwanlebihan@yahoo.fr

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