Zane C. Hodges

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Zane Clark Hodges (born June 15, 1932 in Washington, DC , † November 23, 2008 in Mesquite (Dallas County, Texas) ) was an American evangelical theologian .

Life

Hodges grew up in Chambersburg (Pennsylvania) , where his father Zebulon C. Hodges (1906-1993) worked in an ammunition depot for the US Army . Zebulon and his wife Virginia Ellen b. Henderson (1905–1994) were initially Baptists but joined the Brethren movement during Zane's childhood . Her second son David Marion Hodges (1934–1979) became a statistician .

Hodges received a bachelor's degree in Greek from Wheaton College in 1954 and then studied theology at Dallas Theological Seminary . His master's thesis , submitted in 1958, dealt with the basic Greek text of Revelation . After completing his studies, he worked in the library of the seminary for a year before he was appointed Assistant Professor in 1959, and then Professor of New Testament Literature and Exegesis in the mid-1970s . In 1986 he resigned from the professorship and founded the Christian organization Kerugma Inc. (later Kerugma Ministries ).

For about 50 years, Hodges was a member of the Victor Street Bible Chapel , a Hispanic fraternity in Dallas . He had already founded a youth group here during his student days, and later became involved in teaching and preaching . In the last three years of his life he attended the Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas.

Hodges remained unmarried throughout his life.

theology

Hodges' main areas of work were soteriology and New Testament textual criticism .

Soteriology

Hodges was one of the leaders of the Free Grace Theology , a classic dispensationalism rooted, especially in dealing with the Calvinism developed concept of soteriology, posing as consistent implementation of the Reformation recognition of the " justification understands by faith alone" and the following Basic assumptions:

  1. The eternal life is for a gift Jesus Christ through his atoning death on the cross has been paid in full and that alone through faith received at him, apart from works of any kind of faith is understood as agreeing to the facts of salvation. Avoidance of sin , surrender of life to Christ and obedience to biblical commandments are not part of saving faith, but belong to the realm of discipleship and the Christian way of life . Believers can permanently relapse into sin and even give up the faith entirely .
  2. Salvation , once received, is certain and cannot be lost; this certainty is based on Jesus' promise, not on one's own works or feelings. Free Grace Theology thus turns against Arminianism , according to which permanent sin or apostasy results in the loss of salvation, and against Calvinism , according to which all true believers hold fast to the faith until the end (point 5 of the doctrinal rules from Dordrecht ).
  3. All people must be accountable for their actions. The judgment of God will take place in two separate sessions for believers and unbelievers and will no longer decide on heaven and hell , but only on the amount of the reward or punishment. The reward includes a. participation in the government of the millennial kingdom . In this respect, the believer's way of life is not relevant to salvation, but it is highly significant ( Free Grace Theology also uses this argument to counter the accusation of antinomialism ).

Within the Free Grace movement, Hodges represented a position that was considered to be particularly radical, which opponents such as John F. MacArthur called a Radical No-Lordship . While the Free Grace theologian Charles C. Ryrie still assumes that the authenticity of faith can be confirmed or proven by "certain changes" in life, Hodges fundamentally denied such a connection between faith and works. From 1999 he taught that the core content of the gospel consisted only of Jesus' promise of eternal life and that salvation could in principle also be achieved without knowledge of the cross and resurrection of Jesus (even if it was based on it). This view, called "Crossless Gospel" or "Promise-Only Gospel" by opponents inside and outside of the Free Grace movement, met with broad approval in the Grace Evangelical Society , which was founded in 1986 and is strongly influenced by Hodges, and is still used by represent her.

New Testament textual criticism

Contrary to the prevailing opinion of the New Testament textual criticism , Hodges regarded the majority text as the original form of the New Testament and in 1982 published the first modern edition of this text with his colleague Arthur L. Farstad.

Fonts

  • The Text of Aleph in the Apocalypse. Th.M. Thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary 1958.
  • The Hungry Inherit. Refreshing Insights on Salvation, Discipleship, and Rewards. Moody Press, Chicago 1972. - 2nd edition: The Hungry Inherit. Whetting your appetite for God. Multnomah Press, Portland 1980. - 3rd ed .: The Hungry Inherit. Winning the wealth of the world to come. Redención Viva, Dallas 1997; New edition Grace Evangelical Society, Denton 2016.
  • The Gospel under Siege. A Study on Faith and Works. Redención Viva, Dallas 1981. - 2nd edition: The Gospel under Siege. Faith and Works in Tension. Ibid. 1992; New edition Grace Evangelical Society, Denton 2017.
  • Here Walks My Enemy. The story of Luis. Redención Viva, Dallas 1982.
  • (Ed. With Arthur L. Farstad :) The Greek New Testament According to the Majority Text. Thomas Nelson, Nashville 1982, 2nd edition 1985.
  • Grace in Eclipse. A Study on Eternal Rewards. Redención Viva, Dallas 1985, 2nd ed. 1987; 3rd ed. Grace Evangelical Society, Irving 2007; New edition Grace Evangelical Society, Corinth / Denton 2016.
  • Dead Faith: What Is It? A Study on James 2: 14-26. Redención Viva, Dallas 1987.
  • Absolutely Free! A Biblical Reply to Lordship Salvation. Redención Viva, Dallas / Academie Books, Grand Rapids 1989; 2nd ed. Grace Evangelical Society, Corinth 2014.
  • (with Earl D. Radmacher :) The NIV Reconsidered. A Fresh Look at a Popular Translation. Redención Viva, Dallas 1990.
  • The Epistle of James. Proven Character through Testing. A Verse by Verse Commentary. Edited by Arthur L. Farstad and Robert N. Wilkin. Grace Evangelical Society, Irving 1994.
  • (with Arthur L. Farstad, C. Michael Moss, Robert E. Picirilli, and Wilbur N. Pickering :) The NKJV Greek-English Interlinear New Testament. Thomas Nelson, Nashville 1994.
  • Power to Make War. The Career of the Assyrian Who Will Rule the World. Redención Viva, Dallas 1995.
  • The Epistles of John. Walking in the Light of God's Love. A Verse by Verse Commentary. Grace Evangelical Society, Irving 1999.
  • Harmony with God. A fresh look at repentance. Redención Viva, Dallas 2001.
  • Six Secrets of the Christian Life. The Miracle of Walking with God. Redención Viva, Dallas 2004; New edition Grace Evangelical Society, Denton 2016.
  • Hebrews. The Journey of Faith. Victor Street Bible Chapel, Dallas 2010. - New edition: The Journey of Faith. Sermons on Hebrews. Ibid. 2017.
  • Hatch. The Life of Imitating Jesus. 2 vols. Victor Street Bible Chapel, Dallas 2011.
  • A Free Grace Primer: The Hungry Inherit, The Gospel under Siege, Grace in Eclipse. Edited by Robert N. Wilkin. Grace Evangelical Society, Denton 2011; New edition ibid. 2018.
  • Romans. Deliverance from Wrath. Edited by Robert N. Wilkin. Grace Evangelical Society, Corinth 2013.
  • The Atonement and Other Writings. Edited by Shawn C. Lazar. Grace Evangelical Society, Corinth 2014.
  • Second Peter. Shunning Error in Light of the Savior's Return. Edited by Shawn C. Lazar. Grace Evangelical Society, Corinth / Denton 2015.
  • Faith in His Name. Listening to the Gospel of John. Edited by Robert N. Wilkin and Shawn C. Lazar. Grace Evangelical Society, Corinth / Denton 2015.
  • (with Robert N. Wilkin :) What Is the Outer Darkness? Grace Evangelical Society, Denton 2016.
  • Power to Stand. An Exposition of Jude. Grace Evangelical Society, Denton 2016.
  • (with Robert N. Wilkin :) Tough Texts. Did Jesus Teach Salvation by Works? Grace Evangelical Society, Denton 2017.
  • Spiritual Lessons from the Life of David. Grace Evangelical Society, Denton 2017.
  • First Peter. The Salvation of the Soul. Foreword by Shawn Lazar. Grace Evangelical Society, Denton 2017.
  • Jesus, God's prophet. Grace Evangelical Society, Denton 2018.

Hodges also wrote the commentaries on the Epistle to the Hebrews and on the three Epistles of John in the Bible Knowledge Commentary (edited by John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton 1983; German The New Testament explained and interpreted , Hänssler , Neuhausen-Stuttgart 1992), as well as about 50 articles for the theological journals Bibliotheca Sacra , Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society , Chafer Theological Seminary Journal and Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society .

Web links

To person

Publications

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ On the place of birth cf. the entry in the United States Census of 1940 , the genealogical research by Hiram J. Hodges and the obituary in the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 52 (2009), p. 213. The Wheaton College graduate register deviates from Ardmore (Oklahoma) as the place of birth, but it could be mistaken for the mother, who, according to the United States Census , was born in Oklahoma.
  2. ↑ See Bob Wilkin: What is Free Grace Theology? , Grace in Focus , September / October 2014.
  3. ↑ See John MacArthur: The Gospel According to the Apostles. The Role of Works in the Life of Faith , Thomas Nelson, Nashville 2000, pp. 12f., 194-201. The word lordship alludes to the teaching of Lordship Salvation , advocated by MacArthur and others , according to which faith always includes submission to Christ's rule.
  4. ↑ "With salvation there are certain changes, and when I see some of those changes, I can be sure that I have received the new life." Charles C. Ryrie: Mostly saved? What Salvation Means , Christliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Dillenburg 1998, p. 150.
  5. ↑ “We prove our justification through personal purity. [...] Fruitless faith is not real faith; therefore it will be shown before men what we are in Christ. ”Charles C. Ryrie: Understanding the Bible. The manual of systematic theology for everyone , Christliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Dillenburg 1996, p. 339.
  6. ^ "Since assurance is of the essence of saving faith, such confidence in God's Word is self-authenticating and does not need further confirmation by works. Whether works are present or absent is irrelevant. Faith in Christ saves and the believer has assurance at the moment of faith. " Zane C. Hodges: “Calvinism Ex Cathedra” , Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society 4.2 (1991), pp. 68f.
  7. ↑ “We said earlier that we believe that all born-again Christians will do good works. We believe it, however, because it appears to be the only rational inference from the scriptural data. But, let it also be said clearly, it is an inference. No text of Scripture (certainly not Jas 2: 14-26!) Declares that all believers will perform good works, much less that they cannot be sure of heaven unless they do. No text says that! "Zane C. Hodges: " We Believe in: Assurance of Salvation " , the Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society 3.2 (1990), p. 7
  8. ↑ Cf. Ken Neff: What Is the Free-Grace Gospel? , Grace in Focus , March / April 2009.
personal data
SURNAME Hodges, Zane C.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hodges, Zane Clark
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American evangelical theologian
DATE OF BIRTH June 15, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH Washington, DC
DATE OF DEATH November 23, 2008
Place of death Mesquite, TX