The Free Grace Alliance

  Dr. Roger Fankhauser Burleson Bible Church   We often hear in free grace circles that “salvation is free, but discipleship is costly.” I agree wholeheartedly. Following Jesus means making decisions that could cost me something – even if the cost is as small as choosing to use my time to pursue kingdom purposes rather than personal interests. It could cost minor persecution, severe persecution, or maybe even death. It could cost money and other possessions. It could cost loss of relationships with friends or family. The cost is indeed high, and we do need to count the cost (Luke 14:25-33).   Discipleship is costly, but I believe in the bigger picture it costs less to follow Jesus than to not follow Him. Here’s why. Discipleship is costly in the absolute sense only if we look at the costs in this life. In this life, the costs are, in fact, high. Sometimes very high. But when I look at the whole story, the benefits of following Jesus far outweighs the cost. No matter how h...

  Dear FGA Members and Friends, In just a few days the FGA national conference will convene in Irving, Texas. I must tell you that this year I believe we have an excellent field of speakers and workshop leaders.   The theme is “Discipleship in the Gospel of Luke”. This is such an important topic for us in the Free Grace Movement because our theology clearly emphasizes the distinction between what is necessary to gain the free gift of eternal life and the requirements to live a life of discipleship.   The gift is free, but discipleship is costly. There has been so much confusion as theologians and pastors seek to blend the two conditions together with the result that the freeness of the gospel is clouded and confused. This confusion leads to a charge of “easy believeism” or “cheap grace”- a charge and a caricature that we strongly reject. At the conference we will hear from Dr. Dave Anderson, President of Grace School of Theology, Dr. Charlie Bing, Dr. Jody Di...

Have you ever wondered how God can be in control of everything and still allow people to have free will? I think that for many Christians, this is a real conundrum. Sure, there have been “fights” between Calvinists and Arminians over this issue for 500 years; Calvinists argue that God is great and in control, and Arminians counter that God is good and offers salvation to all.   For many Christians, though, neither answer is sufficient because God says both in His Word. But how can both be true?  Well, this week John Correia, an FGA executive Council member, published a new book titled Refreshing Grace . This book takes a new approach to this often emotionally charged issue and explains the issue, and a fresh biblical solution to it, in an understandable way.   If you’re interested in the issue of God’s sovereign control and our free will in salvation, our prayer is that Refreshing Grace will help you understand the issue with more clarity and passionately pursue Chr...

Dear FGA Members and Friends, The fall season brings with it a long awaited cooling off for those of us who live in Phoenix. After many months of hovering between 100-115 degrees, we are ready for a change. The fall also means that we are near to the FGA National Conference, which will be held in Irving, Texas October 8-10. We are looking forward to a wonderful line-up of speakers including, our banquet speaker, Mark Bailey, President of Dallas Seminary. We will also hear from Dave Anderson, Jody Dillow, Charlie Bing, Tom Constable, Bob Teebow, and many more. For those of you who live locally and cannot attend the entire conference, you can register to attend for one day. We hope to see many of you in just a few short weeks. One of the most exciting developments in the FGA is the list of new resources. There is always a danger of listing some resources, because there is the chance that you will leave someone off the list. Forgive me in advance if my list is incomplete. But there a...

Dear FGA Members and Friends, It is interesting and important to note that the first and most important issue the early church faced had to do with the clarity of the Gospel. The book of Acts is rightly called the “Hinge of History” for it functions as a hinge and forms a transition between Jew and gentile, between law and grace, and between Jerusalem and the utter most parts of the world. As with many transitions it is often not always smoothly or seamlessly expressed. Such was the case in the early church. Many of the battles the Apostle Paul faced revolved around the formation of the doctrine of justification by faith alone and the function of sanctification by faithfulness in the lives of believers. This is seen to be the case in the Jerusalem Council and other events recorded by Luke in the Book of Acts. The Apostolic Fathers who should have known better comingled justification with sanctification and so confused the clarity of the gospel. Salvation seemed to be tied to bap...

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Justification is a central topic to Free Grace theology, and as such when a book is written in scholarly circles to discuss justification it is worth considering!    Beilby, James K., and Eddy, Paul Rhodes, eds., Justification: Five Views. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press Academic, 2011. 308 pp. $15.38.   Multi-view books rise and fall on the quality of their representatives, and Justification: Five Views stands with an impressive list of contributors. James Beilby and Paul Eddy, both professors at Bethel University, have edited several books for the IVP Spectrum series of multiview books and are therefore quite well qualified to edit this volume as well. The flow of the book shows their prowess. This is the fourth multiview book that they have co-edited for IVP, and their experience shows through in the book’s layout from Reformed to Catholic.   In addition to this, the book brings together an impressive list of contributors to their viewpoints, drawing some ...