Review
In defense of the purity of the gospel of grace, Zane Hodges has combined his years of careful biblical exposition with seasoned humility and simplicity to recapture a portrait of God's unconditional love. He does not engage in empty rhetoric nor biting polemic. There is no attack on individuals. Rather, he depends on the Spirit of God to use the repeated exposure of the words of God's revelation to bring understanding, edification, thanksgiving, and worship.
When you have finished Absolutely Free!, I trust that you will be able to join me in saying, "Thank you, Lord Jesus."
-Earl D. Radmacher President Emeritus, Western Conservative Baptist Seminary Portland, Oregon
This book leads me to look back to the time when I came to trust the Lord Jesus Christ. It happened in an old building with a woodburning stove and handmade benches. But the true gospel was preached there every Sunday and every Friday night.
How easy it was for a boy of nine to understand the freeness of the gospel that was taught there. The gift of eternal life was received just by asking for it! But how soon we forget how we came to trust the Lord. We begin to put things into the gospel, things like "lordship," repentance, surrender, even baptism.
Absolutely Free! will challenge every Christian to look at what he or she is teaching today concerning the true gospel. In a time when all kinds of things are being taught, evangelical Christians must decide whether salvation is a free gift or not.
Zane Hodges has helped us in his other books. But this may be his best book yet. There are many important insights into how the truth of God works in us, both in salvation and in the Christian life. Some of these insights are found in the twelfth chapter on repentance.
Absolutely Free! is like a breath of fresh air. The truth it presents has always been here in the church, but just covered over. This book brushes away that cover and now we see God's truth once again.
-Luis C. Rodriguez Co-Pastor, Victor Street Bible Chapel Dallas, Texas -- Earl D. Radmacher, President Emeritus, Western Conservative Baptist Seminary Portland, Oregon
From the Inside Flap
In Absolutely Free! Zane Hodges issues a vigorous call to the evangelical church to return to the biblical and Reformational truth of sola fide -- faith alone. The author expounds the New Testament doctrine of salvation as the simple giving and receiving of a free gift of everlasting life. He contrasts this with modern "lordship salvation" teaching in which repentance and surrender to God are made conditions for salvation.
Hodges rejects the "lordship" view of saving faith as both unbiblical and a clear departure from the view of faith held by John Calvin and Martin Luther. He stresses that the Christian life is a process of growth and spiritual education in which believers learn to develop the rich potentials of eternal life. Christian living is also presented as a spiritual warfare. Although, salvation cannot be lost, says Hodges, defeat in the spiritual conflict must be taken seriously, and the believer must learn to rely on God's power in order to live victoriously.
