Excessive Enthusiasm - It's good to have enthusiasm or great joy over being saved from spending an eternity in Hell. Right? Not for everyone. Since no one can be certain or fully assured of their salvation no one should get too excited. New professing believers who demonstrate excessive joy over their new found faith, are actually frowned upon by most. Here is the reason why,

     Many sinners who come to Christ by faith alone and immediately express enthusiastic joy of their salvation without the knowledge that it is not a faith that is alone (faith also accompanied by repentance, commitment and total surrender to Christ in obedience, etc.), simply do not understand the complicated conversion process.

     The Puritans developed a conversion process by which the elect were brought from spiritual death to spiritual life. The conversion experience is described to occur in several phases, beginning with a preparatory phase in which sorrow for sin was sought, followed by the humiliation phase where a sinner was to discover his helplessness to save himself. This brought him or her to the initial justification phase where he would then call on the mercy and grace of God to save him from his helpless state, this was their dramatic experience of being born again.

     Some enthusiasm at this phase was acceptable and even expected. However, only a certain level of enthusiasm would be tolerated, for this reason: this phase had to be followed by the confirming phase to determine whether conversion actually happened through a prolonged and continual introspection. Sanctification, the process of growth and holy living, must necessarily and inevitably follow justification. Personal religious experience and self-examination was used by the Puritans and is used by their contemporary counterparts Neopuritan to assess their spiritual condition, to see if they are possibly saved. It's only in the afterlife, at the final Justification phase that one becomes fully assured and can be truly enthusiastic of one's eternal salvation.

     In reality it's impossible for anyone to be even the slightest bit enthusiastic, in this life, by this process of conversion. More likely doubt, despair, and dropout will be the result. And it's understandable why they think that a sinner who responds to the FGG with full assurance and great enthusiasm seems excessive to them.

                Crossless Gospel - Some have charged,
                   specifically that GES (Grace Evangelical Society),
                   teaches  that  a  hell-bound  sinner  can  be
                   eternally  saved  without   believing  in  the
                   death and resurrection of  Jesus Christ, thus
                   teach  a   crossless  and   resurrectionless
                   Gospel.  The  Cross  Gospel position teaches
                   that in order to be born again a person must believe in "the Lord's deity, humanity, substitutionary death, and bodily resurrection, i.e., [in] His person, work, and provision" (Thomas L. Stegall, The Gospel of the Christ: A Biblical Response to the Crossless Gospel Regarding the Contents of Saving Faith, Milwaukee, WI: Grace Gospel Press, 2009. p 29)

     Neo-puritans teach that genuine assurance comes from seeing, (not believing) the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in one's life. Visible evidence of God's work in a life is the necessary proof of salvation. Candidates for salvation are told to, "Examine themselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves..." (2 Cor. 13:5). Professing Christians who utterly lack any fruit of righteousness, the inevitable fruit of transforming behavior, have no biblical basis of assurance of salvation. A professing believer is to look to
themselves, to their performance to
validate their salvation. Free Grace
Teachers who instruct otherwise are
leading people down the broad easy
road that leads to destruction.

     Rob Zen illustrates, "If someone accepts Christ, that is believes in Him by faith alone, even shows initial fruit, but falls away, and never shows any further interest in the things of God, never shows the fruit of the Spirit, and never desires to fellowship with God's people, he is still considered to be saved by Free Grace teachers and can maintain a full assurance of salvation. Now, that's a dangerous teaching that will damn many to hell. (Rob Zen, not exactly word for word, but expresses his sentiments).

Mere Intellectual Assent - is a faith that merely
believes some basic facts about Christ (God exists, Jesus died and rose again), without coming into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as a living divine person. The Free Grace Gospel reduces the Gospel to mere facts... verbal assent (John MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus, p. ). The Free Grace Gospel is overly simplified. The absolute simplicity of the offer of eternal life is apparently too simple to believe.

Simply "being convinced or persuaded... of the truth of something" in the mind is not enough, it must also include "the heart", which implies feeling, and "an act of the will", that includes some kind of commitment to obedience.

     This is a misleading charge. There
is an important distinction between the
gospel--"the good news concerning Jesus Christ", and the popular usage of the word "Gospel" meaning what a person must believe in order to be born again, called the "saving message". The saving message is found in "the gospel concerning Jesus Christ". Believing in the Gospel leads one to the saving message. Believing in the "Gospel" by itself does not result in the sinner receiving everlasting life. Jesus says, and this according to the Gospel, whoever believes "in Me" has everlasting life (Jn. 6:47). Jesus, the Savior, is the precise object of saving faith, not the Gospel.

     Anyone who is born again is someone who has come to believe in Jesus for everlasting life. The Gospel tells us who Jesus is and what He has accomplished for us on our behalf. His person and His provision is the basis of salvation upon which the forgiveness of sins and the offer of eternal life are made possible. His person and provision make His promise possible.

     Bob Wilkin, president of GES states, "The gospel should lead people to faith in Christ. But believing the gospel is not the same as believing in Jesus Christ. Most in Christianity believe the gospel and yet they are lost since they do not believe in Jesus for the life He promises" (Grace in Focus, "Five Current Confusions Concerning the Gospel").

     Many believe in the death and resurrection of Christ, and many other facts in the Gospel accounts without believing in Jesus for everlasting life. The facts of Jesus life and sacrifice are crucially important. However, "no matter how many facts about Jesus' life and mission one may believe, none are salvific in themselves. One must believe Jesus' promise in order to be saved". (A Critique of the Crossless Gospel, by Shawn Lazar)

     Another non-crossless gospel advocate claims, the "major problem with the gospel according to GES" is that "in its final analysis, it is faith in faith." That is to say, for Wilkin, the object of saving faith is not Christ or His promise of eternal life, but "faith in an act of saving faith" (A Critique of the Crossless Gospel. By Daniel J. Lash Rome City, IN: Weston Street Bible Church, 2011, p. 4)

                                    In response, Wilkin wrote, "there
                                 is only one condition  for  receiving
                                eternal  life,  and  it  is  not faith in
                                faith: 'The only condition of eternal
                                life  is  faith  in  Christ'  (Confident in
                                     Christ, p. 5).   We   "utterly  rejecting the idea that there are degrees or qualities within one's faith. "You can't choose to believe. When the evidence that something is true persuades people, they believe it. When the evidence is insufficient, people don't believe it" (Ten Most Misunderstood Words, p. 20). You either believe something is true, or you do not. The "quality" of one's faith is not an issue..."

     "It is possible to believe in Christ as our suffering substitute and be saved... but it must also include belief in the promise itself." (A Critique of the Crossless Gospel)

                          Faith and repentance  must be heartfelt,
                          an   emotional   element,   a  sense  of
                          regret,  anguish  or  sorrow  for having
                          sinned against God.  But regular sorrow
                          is not enough. It must  be accompanied
                          by  an  overwhelming  sense of sorrow,
                          an entire mental attitude. (John MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus, p. 169).

     In "A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God" (1737) Jonathan Edwards describes his congregates' vivid experiences with their new found grace as causing a "new light" in their understanding of the forgiveness of sin and of the atonement. He described those who experienced "converting grace" as an "awakening" to see that forgiveness of sins was available to all who have faith in Jesus sacrifice for all sins, and that salvation was impossible by works, the evidence of faith, only possible through Christ's sacrifice.

     This revelation of grace was followed by a sense of joy or an internal "new light" from the H.S. and a desire to spread the gospel and leave sin behind. These "new lights" also experienced a greater sensitivity to the sin in their lives, such as pride and judging others. Whereas before they were primarily concerned with legalism or their own saving works.

     The one thing a person cannot do is believe in something he does not know about. No one believes in Jesus for everlasting life apart from knowing certain facts about Him. Those facts about Christ, found in the Gospel of Christ, are not mere facts; "they are the basis and the evidence upon which one grounds his faith. Facts clarify Who the Object of faith is." (Badger. p. 149) So, faith in Christ comes from hearing and understanding in one's mind "the saving message" found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And the place where this belief occurs is in the mind, the intellectual center.

     Zane Hodges considers the term "intellectual assent" the most misleading of all lordship code-words. The phrase implies a type of belief that is emotionally and volitionally remote... suggests detachment and personal disinterest. The expression is meant to convey a negative connotation and sounds
as if it is in some way  undesirable.  "To
describe faith that way is to demean it as a
trivial, academic exercise, when in fact it
is no such thing" (Absolutely Free. p. 30-31).
As if faith is only a mechanical exercise.

     The Bible knows nothing about a mere intellectual faith as over against some other kind of faith that has emotional and volitional elements--"heartfelt faith" and faith that is an action of the will. The Word only recognizes the distinction between belief and unbelief. There is no such thing as "believing and really believing."

     Not a single Free Grace advocate defines faith as "mere intellectual assent". Nor do we say that one is saved by merely believing in the existence of God. Of course, the Devil believes in the existence of God. Duh! So do all the demons. They have all seen God and were with Him since the beginning. No one, including demons, are saved by merely believing in God's existence.

     Salvation comes by believing in a person, God's Son. So, believing "in Christ" is a personal matter, a personal encounter with the living Christ. All Free Grace advocates stress "faith alone in the person of Jesus Christ", plus not one thing.

     A  true  conversion  includes  a
volitional  element -- a change of
direction,   a   transformation,
willingness,  determination,  or
surrender with inevitable results
of a change of behavior. There must be an observer-able difference, otherwise no one can have any confidence or assurance of salvation.

     Full 100% assurance of salvation is possible for those who look to Christ alone by faith alone. Assurance and security is realized in the same way that salvation is received. Assurance is simple like salvation.

     It is true, Neo-puritans are 100% certain that all that God has elected to salvation will persevere to the end and will be saved. (How do they know that? The Word says so. Hmmm?). But no one can be certain they themselves are elect and will persevere to the end. The best that Neo-puritans have to offer is a relative assurance based on one's relative performance. No one can be absolutely sure of their salvation until death, even the purist among us, only that a person may be relatively sure of it, depending on the relative quality and quantity of one's good works. On this basis, no one can even be sure that they are loved by God. Now, that is a recipe for failure!

     Looking to oneself or ones works, acts of repentance or obedience only leads to doubt, despair, and dropout. Lordship Salvation is a morale killer. It ends up only manipulating Christians into proper behavior for a time, until doubt sets in the mind. It creates a boasting pride in one's accomplishments, and a legalist outlook.

     Complete 100% assurance, on the other hand, is not only the basis of certainty, confidence, and calmness, it is also the basis of an effective motivation tool in exhorting believers to spiritual success. Looking to the person of Christ, His provision, and to his promise of everlasting life creates in people an immense gratitude for the extremely valuable gift freely give to all who simply accept it. This is precisely the kind of action most likely to motivate believers to repentance and good works. A person who knows for sure he is a child of God and anticipates the approval of the Savior (whom he will stand before as Judge to determine his rewards for service) will more likely live a consistent spirit-filled and joyful Christian life.

                     False Assurance - The  FGG  gives
                        the unsaved a false hope of salvation, a
                        false  sense  of  security.   A  full  and
                        complete  100% assurance of  salvation
                        based purely on God's Word is the most
                        dangerous  and  deceptive aspect of the
                        free grace  message.  It  has  convinced many unsaved to think they are saved, but are not. It has deceived millions into professing a false, soul-destroying assurance.

     This may be the most serious error of Neo-puritan doctrine, a complete redefinition of saving faith, by adding subjective elements of emotion--"heartfelt" and volition--an act of the will, a commitment to obedience or a promise to live for Christ. As a result, saving faith becomes complicated and clouded.

     The church has always feared that preaching a "faith alone" message will lead to lawlessness and sin. To prevent this outcome insistence on obedience to law keeping of some kind is a moral necessity. They believe that a fear of judgement motivates more effectively than grace. "Free Grace", however, is the basis and the great motivator of righteous living. "I do because I know", instead of, "I know because I do"

     In Scripture, faith is simple and uncomplicated issue. (Hodges, p. 60) There is no emotional or volitional component. No commitment is necessary or a promise to obey, just being persuaded, convinced, an acceptance of a propositional truth, i.e.: Jesus died for my sins. There may be an emotional response to this truth, but there is no emotional component inherent in this fact.

     On the contrary,  the FGG gives
the   saved   a  true   and   certain
objective  sense  of  the  hope  of
salvation,  without  regard  to  one's
erratic performance, or any  need to
show evidence  in his pattern  of life
to validate one's salvation. A full and
complete   100%   of  assurance   of
salvation based soley on the promise of God's Word is the essence of saving grace and peace of mind.

Unbelievers can go to Heaven - the Free Grace Gospel is so easy that a sinner who says he believes in Christ for salvation, who has walked the isle, said the sinner's prayer, but latter becomes a complete unbeliever can still go to heaven.

     Really? First of all, no one, not even a single Free Grace teacher ever said, that anyone is saved by simply saying (externally) they believe in Christ. Everyone is saved personally (internally) by believing, that is, being persuade that Jesus is the Christ, the guarantor of everlasting life.

    Secondly, as the saying goes, "Once saved, always saved" so is, "Once a believer, always a believer", regardless of whether someone says so or not. There are, "unfaithful believers", "forgetful believers", "disobedient children of God", "carnal Christians", those who walk after the flesh, and not by the Spirit. But there is no such thing as a believer, becoming an unbeliever.

     One act of faith, one look at the Savior, one drink of the Living Water, one bite of the Bread of Life, one pass through the Door, a sinner becomes a child of God forever. Nothing can ever change that fact. Absolutely nothing "shall be able to separate us from the love of God" (Rom. 8:39), even if a believer becomes faithless, "If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself" (2 Tim. 2:13).

     A Familiar Story - A sinner believes by faith alone in Christ alone, and receives the gift of eternal life with great enthusiasm. But sometime later he is encouraged to take the Reformed fruit (works) test and fails. This once joyful believer now begins to doubt whether he had ever truly believed in the first place. He attempts to add commitment, obedience, repentance, good works, etc. to his faith, but time and time again, he fails the fruit test repeatedly. He falls into despair and realizes he can never be sure of his salvation. He drifts away and after a while simply drops out altogether, even denies he was ever saved in the first place. So, is he now an unbeliever still heading to heaven, to be with the Lord? No! He is still a believer heading to heaven, though one who fell into the fruit trap and never learned to walk/live by faith.

     At Yale and Harvard, the opponents of Whitefield and other itinerant preachers issued stern warnings to students about the dangers of "enthusiasm". Even some of the Awakening's defenders were having second thoughts about some of its manifestations. (Eerdman's Handbook to Christianity in America, p. 101-117).

     In the 1730's and 40's great revivals spread throughout the American colonies and in Britain most notably at the preaching of George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards,  this became  known as the
first Great Awakening.

     It began when Jonathan Edwards concerned
with  the  spread  of  spiritual  self-reliance  a
series  of  sermons  in 1734 on justification by
faith alone.

     In the fall of 1740 George Whitefield preached to  large outdoor crowds of common folk numbering in the thousands, to the tens of thousands who heard a simple, but dramatic message of spiritual rebirth and justification by faith alone. Many came enthusiastically to faith in Christ with emotional outbursts to the displeasure of the Old Lights.

     Don't let the Old Lights or the New dim your enthusiastic joy of your salvation. "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice" (Phil. 4:4).

                        Only occasionally does the NT refer
                     to  believing  in  the  heart  (Luke 8:12;
                        24:25; ROM 10:9-10).  The heart  is  the
                     spiritual  center,  a  metaphor  for  the
                    internal  or  immaterial part of a person.
                  The heart is the inner self, where thoughts and beliefs originate and feelings and emotions are created. So, believing with the heart simply means it's internal, apart from external action.