From Plain Sense Ministries:
In his book, Surprised by Grace, Tullian Tchividjian writes:
“A friend once told me that all our problems in life stem from our failure to apply the gospel. This means we can’t really move forward unless we learn more thoroughly the gospel’s content and how to apply it to all of life. Real change does not and cannot come independently of the gospel, which is the good news that even though we’re more defective and lost than we ever dared hope, because Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose again for sinners like you and me. God intends this reality to mold and shape us at every point and in every way. it should define the way we think, feel, and live.”
My goodness. A plethora of dangers in one paragraph. The Apostle Paul would no doubt take issue, to say the least, with such thinking. Paul refers to the gospel as a foundation and encourages believers everywhere to go on to maturity (Hebrews 6:1).
Tchividjian, however, seems to desire that all believers ignore the imperatives of Scripture and camp on the gospel alone. What of instruction in sound doctrine (Titus 1:9)?
Tullian declares we, that is, Christians, are “as defective and lost than we ever dared imagined.” Are Christians dead in their sins, sir? What of the new birth, Tullian? Were we not once lost but now we are found? Does the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit accomplish nothing? Does change not come from the renewing of the mind according to Scripture? Is this a denial of the new birth in favor of ‘the gospel outside of us’?
New Calvinism, indeed. Antinomianism, is more like it.
Related articles
- Tchividjian’s Error
- Young, Restless & Deformed
- The Truth About New Calvinism – Its History, Doctrine & Character (Vol. 1)
- 95 Theses Against New Calvinism
For starters , the language is a bit strange , why would anyone ” hope” to be more defective amd lost.? From my own experience I think that the the crux of the issue is that we are declared to be righteous, but the reality is that this is where the Spirit and flesh converge in an unfriendly manner, for while the Spirit reminds us that there no accusation of sin against us , the flesh reminds us that we are still sinners.Still , the vital issue here is that our sin has been dealt with , and it is through this that we are able to have the Spirit effectively sanctify us.
The only puzzle for me is why anyone is surprised by Tullian and more.