By Ken Yates

All of us have a worldview. Many factors contribute to how we see the world. These factors usually include our parents, education, employment, and people with whom we spend most of our time. Our worldview causes us to interpret things the way we do. Two people can hear the exact same words and interpret those words to mean completely different things.

When this happens, at least one of the people involved has misinterpreted what was said. A humorous example of this happened recently.

The Original Meaning of the Words

Ronald Reagan was president of the United States from 1981–1989. He was known as the Great Communicator, owing, in part, to his having been an actor before he entered politics. He was a staunch conservative. As such, he loathed the growth of government. He thought that the stronger a central government became, the less free the citizens would be. He became a hero of those who want a small federal government.

In 1986, he was speaking to people in a farming community and told them that many of their problems were the result of governmental interference. This clearly reflected his political views. I’m old enough to remember that on this occasion he delivered one of his most memorable quotes. He said:

I think you all know that I’ve always felt the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.

This is a funny line. Almost forty years later, people who argue for limited government can quote those nine words. They understand that Reagan was speaking sarcastically. The original audience laughed at those words. They knew that Reagan’s worldview was that no governmental official ever did anything to help. If such an official ever said that to you, the only appropriate course of action was to run in terror!

That Is Not What I Hear

What would a person with a completely different worldview think about those nine words? Suppose somebody grew up believing that a big central government was a good thing, and that the bigger government was, the better off the people were. How would he interpret the words: “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”?

Recently, we found out. The Education Secretary of the United States, Miguel Cardona, was speaking at the Western Governors’ Association about what the federal government was going to do to help with education in their states. He quoted Ronald Reagan and said that the former president said, “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” Cardona didn’t understand that Reagan meant that those words were terrifying! Cardona thought Reagan was saying that government was the source of good for the people.

In other words, Cardona interpreted Reagan’s words to mean the exact opposite of what Reagan intended. Cardona thought that quoting Reagan’s words would be a source of comfort to the people in the audience. But Reagan had actually meant that those words would produce nightmares!

A conservative would hear Reagan’s words and laugh. Cardona heard those words and saw them as a serious call to grow the power of government. No doubt, Cardona had a different worldview from Reagan’s. His parents, friends, education, employment, and background taught him that government was the solution, not the problem. Reagan would have told the governors to allow the local school systems and parents to address the problems they faced. Cardona believed Washington, DC and his department would do a better job.

The same principle applies to how we interpret the words of the Bible. Two people can read the exact same words and come to completely opposite interpretations. A person’s background will determine his interpretation. However, just as in the case of Reagan and Cardona, there is only one correct way to understand those words.

Two Different Theologians

A Free Grace believer will look at the New Testament and realize that eternal life is received by faith alone. Works play no part whatsoever in the gift. You cannot lose eternal life because of a lack of good works. Nor does the presence of good works prove that one has eternal life. We have assurance of eternal life because of the promise of Christ, not because of doing good works. Good works affect Christian growth and rewards. Some Christians experience great spiritual growth, while other believers fail miserably.

A Lordship Salvation proponent sees things in a completely different way. Good works are necessary in order to prove that one is saved. We cannot have assurance of eternal life; instead, we must constantly evaluate ourselves to see how we are doing. All true believers grow spiritually by doing good works. There are no believers who fail miserably.

These two ways of seeing the Scriptures are, of course, polar opposites. Each springs from the person’s Biblical worldview—the result of what they have been taught, what church or churches they have attended, and other background factors.

As in the case of Reagan and Cardona, theologians will hear certain words and come to radically different interpretations. The question is: Which Biblical worldview will lead to understanding those words correctly?

Luke 18:22, and 1 John 5:13 are a couple of passages we can use as test cases.

You Lack One Thing

In Luke 18:18-23, the Lord has an encounter with a rich young man. The man wants to know what good work he must do to make it into the kingdom of God. He claims that he has kept all the commandments, including loving his neighbor as much as he loves himself. This young man just wants to know if there is something he has left out. He is very proud of his religious accomplishments. If he were to give himself a report card on how many good works he has done, he would give himself an A. He just wants to make sure he will get an A-plus.

The Lord tells him that he lacks one thing (v 22). He needs to sell all that he has and give the proceeds to the poor. The young man becomes sorrowful, obviously unwilling to follow Jesus’ instructions.

How does a Lordship Salvation proponent interpret this account? He would say that this man was almost good enough. If this rich young guy wanted to believe, he had to do one more good work. But he was not willing. Since he wouldn’t sell all and give to the poor, he was not at the point where he could believe. He loved his riches too much. The one thing he lacked was that he was not ready to forsake all to make it into heaven. This guy was a good man. He kept all the commandments but one. It is a tragedy that he needed to do only one more thing but fell short of his goal by inches.

The Free Grace believer interprets the account very differently. Immediately before meeting this man, Jesus says that the only way to make it into the kingdom of God is to receive it as a gift (v 17). The rich young man was, in fact, not good. He did not keep any of the commandments and was lying when he said he did. He could not “do” any good work to earn eternal life. The one thing he lacked was faith in Christ for eternal life (John 3:16).

When Jesus told him to sell everything he had and give the proceeds to the poor, He was not telling him that if he did one more good work, he would be good enough to enter the kingdom. The Lord was showing him that he did not keep the commandment of loving his neighbor as much as he loved himself. In truth, he didn’t keep any of the commandments.

The NT teaches that we are saved from the lake of fire by grace through faith, and that works add nothing to that salvation (Eph 2:8-9). The way many Lordship Salvation people treat what the Lord says in this account is both comical and sad. The Lord is telling the man that he is not good, and that he will never be good enough. But Lordship Salvation teachers take these words and understand the Lord to be saying: “You are good, but if you want to be good enough, do one more thing. You can do it!”

Miguel Cardona would be proud of these theologians for taking Christ’s words and making them say the exact opposite of what was intended!

Assurance of Eternal Salvation

In 1 John 5:13, John says that he writes to his readers so that they might know that they have eternal life. Lordship Salvation folks, however, say we cannot know whether we have eternal life. We must constantly look at our works for some measure of assurance. Since we don’t know whether we will always keep doing good works, we cannot have assurance that we will be in the kingdom.

How do they hear these words of John? Well, they look at the whole book of 1 John. John talks about doing good works, such as confessing your sins, loving your fellow believers, loving God, not doing what Satan wants you to do, and being grounded in good doctrine. Lordship Salvation folks believe John is saying that if those reading his letter will do all these good works, they can know, in a relative sense, that they have a good chance to make it into the kingdom. But they must keep doing the good works.

The Free Grace guy hears these words in a different way. In the verses immediately before verse 13, John says that God has given eternal life to all who have His Son Jesus Christ (vv 11-12). We have His Son when we believe in Him (v 13). The believer has assurance that he will be in the kingdom because God has promised that he already has eternal life. Works do not determine our assurance. The grace and promise of the Lord do.

If John could hear what many do with his words in 1 John 5:13, he would be amazed. Like conservatives who heard Miguel Cardona’s gaffe, he would wonder how they could have twisted his words like that. These teachers make John say the polar opposite of what he intended. John wanted his readers to have assurance of their eternal salvation because that assurance is not based on our good works. The believer in Christ knows he will be in the kingdom. But Lordship Salvation teachers say that John is telling us we must look at our good works. We can’t have assurance, but there will be some days when we’ll feel pretty good about ourselves if we keep doing good things.

Conclusion

Every one of us is influenced by our background. Our backgrounds determine how we interpret what we see and hear. We need to be aware of these factors. They can cause us to misinterpret what we read.

Cardona had been taught that the government is the answer to all our problems. When he read Reagan’s words, “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help,” Cardona gave a hearty “Amen!” and boldly quoted these words of the Great Communicator. He thought he had an ally in Reagan. Students of Reagan only shook their heads and laughed.

The same thing happens when people come to the words of Scripture and deny the grace that the Scriptures teach. They have been taught that works are necessary to make it into the kingdom and that faith in the promise of Christ is not enough.

We might hear such wrong understandings, shake our heads, and laugh. But such misinterpretations twist the Word of God. We may wonder how people can get it so wrong, but it is no laughing matter.

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Ken Yates is a retired Army chaplain (Lt. Col). He has many theological degrees, including a Ph.D. from D.T.S. in New Testament. He leads the GES international ministry, cohosts the daily podcast, and assists Bob in all aspects of the GES ministry. His new book, Elisabeth, is a powerful testimony to the power of God manifested in a Christ-centered family. He and his wife, Pam, live in Columbia, SC.