Grace Evangelical Society

P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202
  • About
    • Home
    • Beliefs
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Resources
    • Grace in Focus Blog
    • Grace in Focus International Blogs
    • Grace in Focus Radio
    • Grace in Focus Magazine
    • Free eBooks
    • Journal of the GES
    • Book Reviews
    • Partners in Grace Newsletter
    • Audio Messages
    • Videos
    • Email Subscription
    • Bookstore
    • Online Tracts
  • Store
    • Main Page
    • On Sale
    • Return Policy
    • Your Cart
    • Your Account
  • Events
  • Seminary
    • Seminary Info
    • Fall 2023 Classes
    • GES Seminary Curriculum
    • GES Seminary Faculty
  • Connect
    • Contact Us
    • Free Grace Church and Bible Study Tracker
    • Free Grace Jobs
    • Ministry Links
  • Donate
    • One Time Donation
    • Monthly Donation
    • Your Account
  • Search
Home
→
Blog
→
Is It Likely That a Born-Again Person Would Rape, Pillage, and Murder?

Is It Likely That a Born-Again Person Would Rape, Pillage, and Murder?

September 14, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - discipline, divine discipline, Sin Unto Death

“What if?” questions are handy for testing the consistency of a plan or theory.

Philosophers love hypothetical scenarios. For example, the trolley problem helps test the consistency of your moral intuitions (see here). And the brain-in-a-vat problem tests theories about what you can and cannot know (see here). If a hypothetical reveals a self-contradiction within a system, that is proof the system is false and needs to be corrected.

Hypotheticals help test theological theories, too. Listeners to our podcast send in hypothetical situations all the time. They hear us say that salvation really is by faith apart from works, and the life Jesus gives really is everlasting, and they want to test the consistency of that claim. “What about this…?”

However, as philosopher Mike Huemer explains, there is a simple logical mistake you can make when it comes to hypotheticals, i.e., you can forget what the word “if” means:

The proposition, “If A then B” does not assert A. To say, “If you lose your mittens, you will get no pie,” is not to assert that you will lose your mittens. Likewise, to assert, “If I were a brain in a vat, I would have no knowledge of the external world,” is not to assert that I am a brain in a vat; it is not even to suggest that I might be. This is obvious to anyone who understands the English word “if” (see here).

Sadly, in my discussions over the content of saving faith, many people seem to forget the meaning of the word “if.” They think that saying what is hypothetically true is the same as saying that is what actually happens. That is a mistake:

In general, to say, “If A were true, then . . .” does not imply that A is true, it does not imply that A is likely to be true, and it does not even imply that A might be true (if anything, with the use of the subjunctive mood, it implies that A is false).

I was reminded of that point by a recent discussion about Free Grace theology, where someone wrote this challenge:

The problem with the extreme Free Grace position is that they believe you can trust/believe/have faith for 1 second and then are eternally saved. This means that a person could then go on and rape, pillage, and murder children for 50 years, die in unbelief and still go to Heaven.…

This statement is really a hypothetical question, i.e., “Would someone still be saved if he believed in Jesus for eternal life, and then went on to rape, pillage, and murder for the next 50 years?” And the answer to that hypothetical is that, “Yes.” Once saved, always saved holds true no matter what horrible things you do after you believe.

However, saying what is hypothetically possible is not the same as saying what is likely to be true.

So let me ask a different question: “According to Free Grace Theology, is it likely that God would allow a born-again person to rape, pillage, and murder for the next fifty years?”

The answer I would give to that question is “No.” There are strong Biblical reasons to think that God would never allow that to happen.

Why do I say that?

In Free Grace thought, we believe in divine discipline and temporal judgment. For example, Romans speaks about God’s present wrath upon sin (Rom 1:18). Hebrews reminds us that God disciplines those He loves (Heb 12:6). And we know that discipline can range from verbal warnings to the final stage of committing the “sin unto death” (1 John 5:16). The “dying stage” of discipline is demonstrated by what happened to Ananias and Sapphira after they lied about their giving (Acts 5:1-11) and to the Corinthians when they abused the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:29-31). In sum, if you persist in rebellion against God, He can take your life.

Now, re-consider that hypothetical about the man who believed and spent the next 50 years in criminal rebellion. In Free Grace thought, is that likely to ever happen? Not at all. On the contrary, Free Grace would expect God to discipline that man to death before he could do that much harm.

Subscribe by Email

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
Shawn_L

by Shawn Lazar

Shawn Lazar (BTh, McGill; MA, VU Amsterdam) was the Editor of Grace in Focus magazine and Director of Publications for Grace Evangelical Society from May 2012 through June 2022. He and his wife Abby have three children. He has written several books including: Beyond Doubt: How to Be Sure of Your Salvation and Chosen to Serve: Why Divine Election Is to Service, Not to Eternal Life.

If you wish to ask a question about a given blog, email us your question at ges@faithalone.org.

Cart

Recently Added

October 4, 2023

Why Did Jesus Talk About Mustard?

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Bob Wilkin and Steve Elkins are continuing a short series about kingdom parables. What is the mustard seed...
October 4, 2023

How About Attending a Conference Near You? 

Over the next nine months, GES plans to conduct several regional conferences. If the Lord allows, these will provide an opportunity for many of you...
October 3, 2023

Are You Wheat or Tares?

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Bob Wilkin and Steve Elkins are continuing the current series about kingdom parables. What meaning was Jesus wanting...

Grace in Focus Radio

All Episodes

Listen on Google Podcasts

Listen on Spotify

Grace In Focus Magazine

Grace In Focus is sent to subscribers in the United States free of charge.

Subscribe for Free

The primary source of Grace Evangelical Society's funding is through charitable contributions. GES uses all contributions and proceeds from the sales of our resources to further the gospel of grace in the United States and abroad.

Donate

Bookstore Specials

  • Elisabeth: Christ's Medal of Honor Recipient $11.95 $10.00
  • Tough Texts: Did Jesus Teach Salvation by Works? $15.00 $10.00
  • The Gospel Under Siege: Faith and Works in Tension $15.00 $10.00
  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Paperback) $6.95 $3.00
  • Faith Alone in One Hundred Verses $15.00 $10.00
Grace Evangelical Society

(940) 270-8827 / ges@faithalone.org

4851 S I-35E Suite 203, Corinth, TX 76210
P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube