Zane C. Hodges
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Zane Clark Hodges (June 15, 1932 – November 23, 2008) was an American pastor, seminary professor, and Bible scholar. Some of the views he is known for are these: *" Free grace theology," a view that holds that eternal life is received as a free gift only through belief in Jesus Christ for eternal life and it need not necessarily result in repentance or good works. Therefore, one need not preach repentance when preaching the message of salvation. *"Eternal rewards," a view that various passages in the New Testament are not dealing with eternal salvation but addressing Christians and the opportunity to earn eternal rewards or to caution against their loss. *His position in support of the
Majority Text In the textual criticism of the New Testament, the Byzantine text-type (also called Traditional Text, Ecclesiastical Text, Constantinopolitan Text, Antiocheian Text, or Syrian Text) is one of the main text types. The New Testament text of the Eas ...
( Byzantine priority).


Life

Hodges was reared in
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania Chambersburg is a borough in and the county seat of Franklin County, Pennsylvania, Franklin County, in the South Central Pennsylvania, South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Gre ...
, and came to
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
in the fall of 1954 after receiving a bachelor's degree from Wheaton College. He received a master of theology degree from
Dallas Theological Seminary Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) is an evangelical theological seminary in Dallas, Texas. It is known for popularizing the theological system of dispensationalism. DTS has campuses in Dallas, Houston, and Washington, D.C., as well as extension ...
in 1958. He then taught New Testament Greek and Exegesis (1959–1986) at Dallas Seminary and was chairman of the New Testament Department for some time. Hodges also served as pastor at Victor Street Bible Chapel, formerly The Old Mission in Dallas, for almost 50 years. Recently he was active in the Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship and the
Grace Evangelical Society Grace Evangelical Society (GES) is an evangelical Christian advocacy organization based in Denton, Texas, whose purpose is to promote Free Grace Theology. Founded in 1986, GES is a non-profit, evangelical publisher specializing in books that de ...
. He was the founder and president of Kerugma Ministries.


Theology


Free grace

In the late 1980s, Hodges and
John F. MacArthur John Fullerton MacArthur Jr. (born June 19, 1939) is an American pastor and author who hosts the national Christian radio and television program ''Grace to You''. He has been the pastor of Grace Community Church, a non-denominational church in ...
presented differing views over the gospel through various books, generally known as the "
Lordship salvation controversy The lordship salvation controversy (also called lordship controversy) is a theological dispute regarding a soteriological question within Christianity on the relationship between faith and works. This debate has been notably present among some no ...
". Hodges propagated the free grace position, which teaches that the free gift of eternal life is without cost to the believer, that it comes through simply believing in Jesus Christ and there is no need of any repentance or obedience to be followed. A distinction is recognized between believing (which results in receiving eternal life) and submission to the Lordship of Christ (which is part of the sanctification process). Free grace Theology also teaches that once a person believes in Jesus Christ, he cannot lose his salvation. MacArthur argued instead for ''Lordship Salvation'', claiming that salvation is by faith alone, and it would lead to repentance and results in good works, and that a true Christian would not continue sinning without remorse but would instead obey God's commands to do good works. MacArthur viewed biblical faith as always leading to surrender and obedience, while Hodges taught that biblical faith was the conviction that something is true.


Repentance

Hodges rejected the view of
repentance Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past or present wrongdoings, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better. In modern times, it is generally seen ...
as a "change of mind", holding instead the view that it is a God-fearing decision to turn from sin: "Repentance is the decision to turn from sin to avoid, or bring to an end, God's temporal judgment" (''Harmony with God'', p. 57). Hodges stresses that repentance facilitates faith in Christ, but is not a condition for eternal salvation, nor is it part of faith itself. "It is one thing to say that repentance ''facilitates'' faith in Christ—the Bible teaches that. It is quite another thing to say that repentance is a ''requirement'' for eternal life. That the Bible does ''not'' teach" (''Harmony with God'', p. 93). Initially in his book ''Absolutely Free!'' and later in more detail in his book ''Harmony with God'' Hodges took the position that the process of repentance may be a preparatory step in coming to salvation and should be evident in the life of a believer, but eternal life is received by believing in Jesus, not by turning from sin. Hodges points out that the gospel of John, which he claims is the only book of the Bible written to lead the unsaved to Christ, never uses the term "repentance." In ''Harmony with God'' Hodges says there is only one answer to the question, "What must I do to be saved?" Hodges emphatically states, " aul's and Silas'sanswer said absolutely nothing about repentance. Instead they gave the famous and simple reply 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved' (Acts 16:31)."


Majority Text

In 1982, Hodges published with Arthur L. Farstad an edition of ''The Greek New Testament According to the Majority Text with Apparatus.'' The
Byzantine text-type In the textual criticism of the New Testament, the Byzantine text-type (also called Traditional Text, Ecclesiastical Text, Constantinopolitan Text, Antiocheian Text, or Syrian Text) is one of the main Textual criticism#New Testament, text types. ...
, or ''Majority Text'', is considered by its advocates to be a more accurate rendering of the Greek
New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
, in contrast with the
Alexandrian text-type In textual criticism of the New Testament, the Alexandrian text-type is one of the main text types. It is the text type favored by the majority of modern textual critics and it is the basis for most modern (after 1900) Bible translations. Over 5,8 ...
, which is used in the
Nestle-Aland (''The New Testament in Greek'') is a critical edition of the New Testament in its original Koine Greek published by ''Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft'' (German Bible Society), forming the basis of most modern Bible translations and biblical crit ...
(N/A) text and the United Bible Societies Greek Testament (UBS). Hodges argues:


Works


Thesis

*


Books

* * * * * * * * - 2nd edition of the 1981 title. * * * * * * *


Posthumous Books

* * * * * * * * * * * *


Chapters

* * *


Journal articles

* * * * * *
''"Post-Evangelicalism Confronts the Postmodern Age"''
(1996, Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society)
''"Legalism: The Real Thing"''
(1996, Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society)

(1997, Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society)

(1998, Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society)
''"1 Thessalonians 5:1–11 and the Rapture"''
(2000, Chafer Theological Seminary Journal)
''"How to Lead People to Christ, Part 1"''
(2000, Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society)
''"How to Lead People to Christ, Part 2"''
(2001, Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society)
''"Harmony with God, Part 1"''
(2002, Chafer Theological Seminary Journal)
''"Harmony with God, Part 2"''
(2002, Chafer Theological Seminary Journal)
''"Harmony with God, Part 3"''
(2003, Chafer Theological Seminary Journal)
''"Regeneration: A New Covenant Blessing"''
(2005, Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society)
''"Justification: A New Covenant Blessing"''
(2006, Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society)


References


External links

* James A. Borland
"Memorials"
''Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society'' 52 (2009), pp. 213f. * Eunaka Kirby

''The Dallas Morning News'', November 29, 2008.
"Zane Hodges"
''Wheaton History A to Z'', Alumni.
Audio messages by Zane Hodges, site 1Audio messages by Zane Hodges, site 2 (More complete)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodges, Zane C. American biblical scholars Dallas Theological Seminary alumni Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni Dallas Theological Seminary faculty New Testament scholars People from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania 1932 births 2008 deaths