Product Description

In Absolutely Free! Zane Hodges deals with a question that strikes at the heart of the Christian faith, "What must I do to be saved?" By examining various Bible passages Zane Hodges demonstrates the answer today is still "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved." This answer is set in contrast against modern "lordship salvation" teaching which answers "Surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved." or "Repent to the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved."

While looking at what the Bible teaches about eternal salvation, he answers other key questions about the Christian life from the Bible such as, "What does it mean to believe in Jesus Christ?", "How do I know I am really a Christian?", "Can I fail in my Christian walk?", "What is the biblical meaning of repentance and how does it relate to salvation?" and "If I am saved, why should I serve God?" The end result of this book motivates individuals to simply believe in Jesus Christ for the absolutely free gift of eternal life and to serve Jesus out of gratitude for that free gift. This book is a great guide on how to build one's life on a firm foundation.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #309507 in Books
• Published on: 1989-10-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 238 pages

Review
In defense of the purity of the gospel of grace, Zane Hodges has combined his years of careful biblical exposition with seasoned humility and simplicity to recapture a portrait of God's unconditional love. He does not engage in empty rhetoric nor biting polemic. There is no attack on individuals. Rather, he depends on the Spirit of God to use the repeated exposure of the words of God's revelation to bring understanding, edification, thanksgiving, and worship.

When you have finished Absolutely Free!, I trust that you will be able to join me in saying, "Thank you, Lord Jesus."

-Earl D. Radmacher President Emeritus, Western Conservative Baptist Seminary Portland, Oregon

This book leads me to look back to the time when I came to trust the Lord Jesus Christ. It happened in an old building with a woodburning stove and handmade benches. But the true gospel was preached there every Sunday and every Friday night.

How easy it was for a boy of nine to understand the freeness of the gospel that was taught there. The gift of eternal life was received just by asking for it! But how soon we forget how we came to trust the Lord. We begin to put things into the gospel, things like "lordship," repentance, surrender, even baptism.

Absolutely Free! will challenge every Christian to look at what he or she is teaching today concerning the true gospel. In a time when all kinds of things are being taught, evangelical Christians must decide whether salvation is a free gift or not.

Zane Hodges has helped us in his other books. But this may be his best book yet. There are many important insights into how the truth of God works in us, both in salvation and in the Christian life. Some of these insights are found in the twelfth chapter on repentance.

Absolutely Free! is like a breath of fresh air. The truth it presents has always been here in the church, but just covered over. This book brushes away that cover and now we see God's truth once again.

-Luis C. Rodriguez Co-Pastor, Victor Street Bible Chapel Dallas, Texas -- Earl D. Radmacher, President Emeritus, Western Conservative Baptist Seminary Portland, Oregon

From the Inside Flap
In Absolutely Free! Zane Hodges issues a vigorous call to the evangelical church to return to the biblical and Reformational truth of sola fide -- faith alone. The author expounds the New Testament doctrine of salvation as the simple giving and receiving of a free gift of everlasting life. He contrasts this with modern "lordship salvation" teaching in which repentance and surrender to God are made conditions for salvation.

Hodges rejects the "lordship" view of saving faith as both unbiblical and a clear departure from the view of faith held by John Calvin and Martin Luther. He stresses that the Christian life is a process of growth and spiritual education in which believers learn to develop the rich potentials of eternal life. Christian living is also presented as a spiritual warfare. Although, salvation cannot be lost, says Hodges, defeat in the spiritual conflict must be taken seriously, and the believer must learn to rely on God's power in order to live victoriously.

About the Author
Zane Hodges has sought to live a life consistent with the marvelous and undeserved grace that his loving heavenly Father showed Zane, when He gave Zane the absolutely free gift of eternal life through faith alone in Jesus Christ. Currently, Zane is engaged in pastoral ministry at Victor Street Bible Chapel in Dallas, where he has ministered for over 40 years. Zane received his BA degree from Wheaton College and his ThM degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. He taught New Testament Greek and exegesis at Dallas Theological Seminary for 27 years until 1987. Zane also served as the Chairman of the New Testament Department.

Customer Reviews

Hodges lets his yes be yes and his no be no
Hodges argues very clearly and simply the case for the absolute freeness of the gift of salvation. He argues for a simple faith that needs no qualifiers, no contingencies, no long drawn out explanations of what faith is, what precedes it, what follows it, or what accompanies it. In short, he argues for a true faith alone. Though well argued, many others just cannot say "faith alone" and leave it at that - they must qualify it somehow. He argues that "free" means just that - free. He argues that a "gift" is just that - a gift, not something that we have a coupon book for that we must keep on making payments for the rest of our lives. This is one author who has let his yes be yes and his no be no, and for his integrity of conviction has suffered being called "Raca" by many professing believers.

There are no offers of salvation in the Bible that took 200 pages of text to deliver and understand before they could be received. Nor do any of the offers require the recipient of the offer to have thorough knowledge of a complicated theology that had not been invented yet. They didn't even have to read a copy of John or Romans (if they existed yet). They were asked to believe, and in that split second they either believed or they didn't. Hodges argues for a faith that is just that - faith (no qualifiers).

The teaching is rather simple as he leaves the more technical debate for the endnotes. This allows the reader to simply grasp the ideas while at the same time knowing that they can be backed up with solid exegesis.

"Absolutely Free," along with "The Gospel Under Siege" and "Grace in Eclipse" by the same author form a sort of mini commentary filled with verse by verse interpretation. Numerous difficult passages in the New Testament are expounded and the student will grow greatly in his knowledge by reading them. However you must read all three of them to get the full picture of Hodges' theology as each book is focused on a particular topic. After reading all three you will notice that the same themes repeat themselves throughout his writing.

If the concept of "faith alone" is true and correct, then Hodges' theology comes very close to defining it without changing its basic meaning. If we do not agree with Hodges, then perhaps "faith alone" is not the correct term for what we truly believe. We should not deceive ourselves. There are many books out there that do spend 200 pages of text trying to explain why "faith alone" really means faith plus something else. Hodges book just doesn't do that, so should we fault him for that? The book is both easy to read and to understand. In fact, it was an absolute joy to read.

A breath of fresh air!
I love this book. As someone who once promoted lordship salvation, this book is especially comforting. I had absolutely no assurance of my salvation back when I held the view of lordship advocates, and since realizing that salvation is really by faith alone, I no longer doubt my salvation. I glanced at the introduction to MacArthur's book "Saved Without A Doubt", and it is understandable to me why some in his congregation who are pretty solid Christians would doubt their salvation. I feel for the man who wrote the letter to MacArthur that was quoted at the beginning of his book; I know what he is going through. Anyone who holds to lordship salvation and thinks they can have assurance of their own salvation is kidding theirself...or either they do not understand how utterly wicked their own sins are in God's eyes. This book was very comforting to me, and in addition to helping me have assurance of my own salvation, it has encouraged me to be more of a soul winner, since the gospel is even simpler than I had imagined. Hodges' arguments are very scriptural and his exegesis is superb. I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

A Much Needed Reply, Yet Be Careful Outside of Its Context
I am extremely thankful for Hodges' book which finds itself within the quagmire and confusion of the message of the 'gospel' today. I will not waste space after many good and fairly-argued reviews have already been written. What is important though, and needed for better focus, is to comment on how clearly these negative reviews show the weakness of the FG view on integrating justification and sanctification as a whole, though many have (and continually) misrepresent the FG view altogether.

MacArthur essentially asks the questions, 'How are we to deal with the sin issue?' He essentially answers it as a Puritan would have, 'Great remorse, with confession, with mortification, with a turning from sin, a change of lifestyle, and a direct resolve to make Jesus Lord in every facet of life.' I think its fair to say here that MacArthur has progressively fallen in line with Puritan views on this question as time has passed. It seems the publishing of his book, 'The Gospel According to Jesus' was, in essence, a turning point in how he saw 'the gospel', at least in print. Other books he had written before this book were not as consistent and clear, but his views since then have remained the same (as shown in his 'Faith Works', 'Hard to Believe', etc.). Hodges and Ryrie wrote to respond to MacArthur, though each in a slightly different manner. I feel both responses are needed and fairly accurate.

Overall, Hodges does proceed in the completely opposite direction, and yes, this might be (at times) expressively too far. Yet, the book's purpose and context must always be kept in mind. Its a reply to MacArthur's book and it's position on the question 'How are we to deal with the sin issue?' If the context is consistently kept in view I believe the value of the work is clear. However, the problem of the FG view, in my opinion, is that it never has moved past this context (a reply Lordship Salvation) allowing it's response to this view become essentially it's response to every issue, becoming an almost polarized view not only from MacArthur, but to essentially everything else.

The problem lies not in Hodges' explanation of eternal life, faith as the only condition, etc., but in his explanation of how justification/sanctification interrelate. I think his theology on sanctification, though he's certainly not barren on the issue (see his 'Six Secrets of the Christian Life'), must certainly be more emphasized for an evenness to appear with his understanding of justification/eternal life (Rom. 5:18). There is a reworking which needs to take place in the manner of expression and coherance.

Overall, the book is an excellent response to LS. However, I still have some problems agreeing with his views on the 'Great Banquet table', the 'Outer Darkness', etc. I think his views here are not convincing, and they could be developments coming from his already formulated notions on the relation of faith and works. I feel there's too much discontinuity here at times outside the context of this reply. That's where I would caution the reader. Yet overall, this book is an important contribution to the clarity of the gospel and what its means for both the assurance of the believer, grace as the motivation of the Christian's life, and the clarity of the gospel in evangelism.