Grace Boy

Keith Howard — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:01:32 +0000

Recently, I read an article by a pastor claiming that the message of the Gospel was being “truncated” by “justification only” preaching that ignores “the conditional clauses which prove, in due time, true conversion.”
He called those of us who preach justification by faith alone “Grace Boys” (a phrase he footnotes as borrowed from a colleague). Grace Boys, it seems, do not preach the “full-orbed gospel” that includes sanctification (the observation of God’s commands). While he is absolutely correct that sanctification follows justification over an extended period of time, indeed growing to maturity in Christ is the very object of our salvation, to conflate the effect of the Gospel message with the message of the Gospel was the error of some of the early church fathers that become a doctrine of Roman Catholicism. He describes himself and his fellow “full-orbed gospel” proponents as “those of us with a more historic and Reformed view of sanctification.”
His tradition is indeed “historic”; it is the history of Romish theology passed off as “Reformed” by far too many.
I am proud to be a Grace Boy because I want absolutely nothing to do with a hopeless gospel that assures me I might be saved if I do enough good works and keep enough Law; enough for whom? I presume the “full-orbed gospel” answer would be enough ordinance-keeping for God at my final judgment or final justification as some like to call it. If I don’t have enough good works, do I go to “full-orbed purgatory” or straight to hell?
Nope. Call me a Grace Boy. My hope is in Christ’s righteous life deposited into my account and in his sacrificial death. That is life-changing, Grace-Boy, Biblical truth. And guess what? It’s even historic Reformed teaching to boot.

Our new blog.

admin — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 23:33:58 +0000

Welcome to the new blog of Faith PCA. More to come soon!