Page 280 - Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible Christianity. Based on the King James Bible

GRACIOUS - GRAF-WELLHOUSEN

faith alone without works. Paul defined the gospel in 1 4:16), grace to serve God acceptably (He. 12:28). This
Corinthians 15:1-4 as salvation through faith in the does not mean that the Christian is to be passive and
death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is wait for God to pick him up and do something through
salvation by Christ alone, grace alone, faith alone, him. The Christian must exercise the grace that God
without works or sacraments. When the Philippian jailer gives (1 Co. 15:10). Serving grace comes through the
asked Paul and Barnabas, “Sirs, what must I do to be power of the indwelling Holy Spirit and is received by
saved?” they replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, prayer and by walking in obedience to the Holy Spirit
and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Ac. 16:30 ,31). (Ep. 3:7; Ga. 5:16; He. 4:16). [See Adoption, Eternal
There is nothing here about works or sacraments or Security, Forgive, Freely, Gospel, Hope, Jesus Christ,
priests. The Lord Jesus Christ taught the same thing. Justification, Love, Mercy, Propitiation, Purge,
When the crowd asked Him, “What shall we do, that we Redemption, Repentance, Salvation.]
might work the works of God?” He replied, “This is the GRACIOUS. Kindness; to act with grace; favorable;
work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath friendly; benevolent; merciful (Pr. 11:16). Graciousness
sent” (Jn. 6:28-29). Again, there is nothing about works is particularly an attribute of God (Ge. 33:5, 11; Ex.
or sacraments. John 3:16 says “whosoever believeth on 22:27; 34:6; 2 Ch. 30:9; Ne. 9:17, 31; Ps. 86:15; 103:8;
him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” Salvation 111:4; 112:4; 116:5; 145:8; Is. 30:19; Joel 2:13; Am.
is through Christ alone by grace alone via faith alone, 5:15; Jon. 4:2; 1 Pe. 2:3). [See Gentle, Kind, Humility,
plus nothing and minus nothing. Love, Mercy, Patience.]
The common error made by those who preach a false GRAFF. To graft in (Ro. 11:17-24).
gospel is to mix grace and law, faith and works. They GRAF-WELLHAUSEN. A modernistic theory about
typically do this by redefining grace. Many who profess to the history of the Bible. Named for Julius Wellhausen
believe in salvation by grace actually teach that (1844-1918) and another theologian named D. Karl
salvation is by a mixture of grace and works. This was Heinrich Graf (1815-1869), this theory proposed that
the error of the false teachers in Galatia (Ga. 1-5). In the Bible is a process of religious evolution rather than a
rebuking their error, the apostle said that by mixing direct revelation of God. “While a student sitting in the
faith and works, law and grace, these teachers had classroom under E.G.E. Reuss, Graf accepted his
placed themselves under a divine curse (Ga. 1:6-9). This teacher’s theory of post-exilic origin of the Pentateuch.
was also the error of the Jewish legalizers whose This view was then passed on by Graf to Wellhausen, all
teachings the apostles condemned in Acts 15. These of whom became proponents of this critical, historical
false teachers admitted that God’s grace was necessary view of the Pentateuch” (Wycliffe Biographical Dictionary
for salvation, but they went beyond this by teaching that of the Church).
grace is to be mixed with obedience to the law. A great
number of false teachers today promote the same “Wellhausen held that Hebrew religion had undergone
a development from the primitive stories of nomadic
heresy. The apostle Paul vehemently fought against this times to the elaborate, institutionalized ritualism of the
error. He emphasized repeatedly that salvation is by period of the centuries before the birth of Jesus. He
grace ALONE through faith ALONE (Ro. 3:21-28; claimed to find various sources behind the Old
4:4-6;11:6; Ac. 15:7-11; Ga. 2:15 - 3:29; Tit. 3:3-7). He Testament law, which he dated to different stages of
also taught that true faith produces good works, but the history of Israel” (Lion’s History of Christianity).
works are the fruit of salvation and should never to be Wellhausen denied the historicity of Abraham, Noah,
confused with the root of salvation, which is grace (Ep. and other Bible characters. “Before his death,
2:8-10; Tit. 3:3-8). Wellhausen conceded that the rationalism which he had
SERVING GRACE is the ability that God gives to embraced so avidly in earlier years had made havoc of
believers for His service (Ro. 1:5; 12:3, 6; 15:15; 1 Co. his own faith in the authority and authenticity of the
3:10; 2 Co. 1:12; 8:1-2; 9:8; 12:9; Ga. 2:9; Ep. 3:7-8; Old Testament (R.K. Harrison, Introduction to the Old
4:7; He. 12:28). God gives the believer everything he Testament, pp. 21, 26).
needs to live a good Christian life and to do God’s will. “One of the major ‘props’ upon which liberal theology
A person cannot have serving grace until he receives rests is the Graf-Wellhausen historical-critical method
saving grace. There is grace for exercising spiritual gifts of interpretation. Is the Bible the inspired Word of God,
(Ro. 12:6), grace for establishing churches (1 Co. 3:10), without any mixture of error? Did Moses write the
grace to live a holy life in this wicked world (2 Co. Pentateuch as the Bible claims, or are this and other
1:12), grace to give to meet the needs of God’s people large sections of Scripture simply a patchwork of
and God’s work (2 Co. 8:1-2), grace to endure trials and exaggerated oral tradition handed down by bigoted
Jewish nationalists? If the Bible is unreliable in these
difficulties (2 Co. 12:9), grace to minister the Word of areas, then how can we depend upon it in other areas,
God (Ep. 3:7-8), grace to help in time of need (He. such as the person of Christ and the New Birth?

280 Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible & Christianity