Zane C Hodges

Life

Hodges was reared in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and came to Dallas, Texas in 1954 after receiving a bachelor's degree from Wheaton College. He received a master of theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1958. He then taught New Testament Greek and Exegesis (1959–1986) at Dallas Seminary and was chairman of the New Testament Department for some time.

Hodges also served as pastor at Victor Street Bible Chapel, formerly The Old Mission in Dallas, for almost 50 years. He was the founder and president of Kerugma Ministries.

Free Grace and the Lordship Salvation Controversy

In the late 1980s, Hodges and John F. MacArthur presented differing views over the gospel through various books, generally known as the "Lordship salvation controversy". Hodges defended the Free Grace position, which teaches that the free gift of eternal life is without cost to the believer, that it comes through simply believing in Jesus Christ. A distinction is recognized between believing (which results in receiving eternal life) and submission to the Lordship of Christ (which is part of the sanctification process). Free Grace Theology also teaches that once a person believes in Jesus Christ, they cannot lose their salvation. MacArthur argued instead for Lordship Salvation, claiming that the faith that saves invariably results in works, and that a true Christian would not continue sinning without remorse but would instead obey God's commands to do good works. MacArthur viewed biblical faith as always including the notion of surrender and obedience, while Hodges taught that biblical faith was the conviction that something is true.

Repentance

Hodges rejected the view of repentance as a "change of mind", holding instead the view that it is a God-fearing decision to turn from sin: "Repentance is the decision to turn from sin to avoid, or bring to an end, God's temporal judgment" (Harmony with God, p. 57). Hodges stresses that repentance facilitates faith in Christ, but is not a condition for eternal salvation, nor is it part of faith itself. "It is one thing to say that repentance facilitates faith in Christ—the Bible teaches that. It is quite another thing to say that repentance is a requirement for eternal life. That the Bible does not teach" (Harmony with God, p. 93).

Initially in his book Absolutely Free! and later in more detail in his book Harmony with God Hodges took the position that the process of repentance may be a preparatory step in coming to salvation and should be evident in the life of a believer, but eternal life is received by believing in Jesus, not by turning from sin. Hodges points out that the gospel of John, which he claims is the only book of the Bible written to lead the unsaved to Christ, never uses the term "repentance." In Harmony with God Hodges says there is only one answer to the question, "What must I do to be saved?" Hodges emphatically states, "[Pauls and Silas'] answer said absolutely nothing about repentance. Instead they gave the famous and simple reply 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved' (Acts 16:31)."

Majority Text

In 1982, Hodges published with Arthur L. Farstad an edition of The Greek New Testament According to the Majority Text with Apparatus. The Byzantine text-type, or Majority Text, is considered by its advocates to be a more accurate rendering of the Greek New Testament, though the more commonly accepted New Testament text, called the Alexandrian text-type, which is used in the Nestle-Aland (N/A) text and the United Bible Societies Greek Testament (UBS), is based on more ancient New Testament fragments. Hodges argues:

"The amount of variation between the manuscripts containing the Majority Text appears to be significantly less than the variations found in the papyrus texts of Egypt. This is to say that any two manuscripts containing the Majority Text are likely to differ with each other less than any two papyri might differ from one another. … [A]dditionally, many of the uncial (capital letter) manuscripts contain a predominantly Majority form of text. The Majority form, however, is much less well represented in the Egyptian papyri … Is it possible that the N/A and UBS editions of the New Testament represent only an approximation to an early form of text that once circulated in Egypt? Where is the evidence that this kind of text really existed elsewhere in the ancient world? …Perhaps the great numerical superiority of the Majority Text (80% in the minuscule manuscripts) is its own argument for the high antiquity of that text. All other explanations of its majority status lack real plausibility. Indeed, the predominance of this majority can actually be understood as the expected outcome of a normal and natural transmission of the New Testament manuscripts." (Zane Hodges & Earl Radmacher, The NIV Reconsidered: A Fresh Look at a Popular Translation, 1990, pp. 136, 137, 143, 144)

Books

Posthumous Books

Key articles