Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 30:4 (Dec 1987)
Article: A Critique Of Zane Hodges’ "The Gospel Under Siege:" A Review Article
Author: William G. Bjork

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JETS 30:4 (December 1987) p. 457

A Critique Of Zane Hodges’ The Gospel Under Siege:
A Review Article

William G. Bjork*

Zane Hodges, a man with a mission, seeks to rescue the gospel of grace from the ominous shadow of works-righteousness that he sees hovering above it. To this end he has written three books that underscore the absolute, unconditional “freeness” of divine salvation: The Hungry Inherit (1972), The Gospel Under Siege (1981), and Grace in Eclipse (1985). The subtitle of the first volume sums up what Hodges seeks to offer: “Refreshing Insights on Salvation, Discipleship, and Rewards.”

The central thrust of Hodges’ position is that a person can be saved—and really know it—and yet not manifest any fruit or good works in his life as a result. He argues that

the New Testament Gospel offers the assurance of eternal life to all who will accept that life by faith in Christ. The assurance of the believer rests squarely on the direct promises in which this offer in made, and on nothing else. It follows from this that the assertion that a believer must find his assurance in his works, is a grave and fundamental theological error.1

My purpose in this article is to demonstrate my disagreement with that contention. Limited space prevents a thorough examination of Hodges’ trilogy, so I will concentrate on the important second volume, The Gospel Under Siege. This critique is designed to evaluate its Biblical foundations and thereby the underpinnings of Hodges’ soteriological system. The procedure will be to quote various statements he makes in several key chapters and then to assess their validity hermeneutically and theologically.

I. Chap. 3: “What Is Dead Faith?”

(1) According to Hodges, the phrase “save your souls” in Jas 1:21 is pivotal to an interpretation of 2:14–26. The phrase does not mean “to be delivered from hell” but “to save the life” physically (pp. 23-24). “The issue that concerns James is an issue of life or death. (He is not discussing salvation from hell!)” (p. 27). Thus for Christians to have dead or dying faith—the focus of 2:14–26—”can end our physical lives” (p. 33). Such is the warning James is issuing here.

But it is highly doubtful that James intended “save your souls” in 1:21 to designate physical rather than spiritual deliverance, for the following reasons: In v 18 the apostle sees the “word of truth” as God’s in...

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