Gideon Lee

Introduction

This is a study of the understanding of the gospel message and view of conversion of Francis A. Schaeffer (1912-1984).  The bulk of this study summarizes the key ideas presented in three earlier works of Schaeffer.  Basic Bible Studies is a systematic exposition of the biblical texts related to key Christian doctrines.[1]  Organized in four parts reminiscent of John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, Schaeffer gives two lessons each to the first part (on the revelations of God) and the last part (on things of the future) but devotes nine lessons to the second part (on the historical redemptive work of Christ) and twelve lessons to the third part (on the personal experience of salvation).  We will explore his view on salvation further through The Finished Work of Christ, a verse-by-verse study of Romans 1 to 8 prepared originally for a weekly university bible study group in Switzerland.[2]  The Romans study is organized in three parts: justification (1:18-4:25), sanctification (5:1-8:17), and glorification (8:18-39).  Schaeffer explains the three as the past, present, and future of the personal experience of salvation.  We will explore his view on sanctification further through True Spirituality, which Schaeffer refers often as the theological foundation of the L’Abri ministry.[3]  Schaeffer discusses in True Spirituality the valuable insights he gained during his own crisis of faith in the early 1950s.  Presented in this order, we could picture this survey as zooming in from a panoramic Christ-centered worldview to a close-up shot examining a believer’s new life in Christ.

Permeating throughout the works of Schaeffer are several foundational concepts bearing significant implications for the gospel: evil, reason, freedom, and trials.  Schaeffer claims without hesitation that Christians come to faith rationally and freely.  Some take issue with that claim as it seems rationalistic.  Others doubt that Schaeffer’s Reformed theology is logically compatible with that claim.  I submit that the Christian rationalism embraced by Schaeffer is logically coherent and consistent with his theological confessions.  A key unifying theme in Schaeffer’s thoughts is the trials of Christian life.  Sanctification is realized through trials.  Justification is the first trial of many in a sanctifying life, which cannot begin before a person recognizes that one is standing trial before the Holy God.  Schaeffer applies the concept of trial to pre-evangelistic apologetics: the worldview of the non-Christians should be put on trial.  As John the Baptist must come before Jesus, the mind of reason and the heart of contrition must be prepared before the good news of salvation could be intelligibly received.

A note on style: the ideas found in the main text of the following three précis sections are paraphrases of Schaeffer’s ideas, while the observations made in the footnotes and the main text in the last section are mine.  Schaeffer’s works are replete with memorable colloquia; they are preserved in quotes where appropriate.  I believe this presentation style will reduce the amount of tiresome indirect speech and impress on the reader the engaging conversational style found in Schaeffer’s writings.

A Précis of Basic Bible Studies

God

God speaks through the Bible.[4]  “The God of the Bible is personal.”  He thinks (Eph. 1:4), acts (Gen. 1:1), loves (John 3:16), and comforts (John 16:7-14).  The Holy Spirit speaks as a person (Acts 8:29).  The three persons in Trinity are in communication (John 17:24).

God created the universe.[5]  God sovereignly created all things (Rev. 4:11) out of nothing (Psa. 33:9) and pronounced them to be good (Gen. 1:31). 

God’s Dealings with Man

Man was made in the image of God.[6]  Man was created to be moral and rational like God and has a “truly free choice” to obey (Gen. 2:16-17).  Man was given a test.  Man’s failure led to spiritual, physical, and eternal death (John 3:18, 36; Rom. 5:12, 17).

Grace is received through faith.[7]  The gospel is an open invitation to whosoever may come in faith.  “Faith is the empty hand which accepts the gift” (John 3:15-16).  Salvation is a gift, paid for by the substitutionary atonement of Christ (Rom. 3:24-26; Phil. 2:7-8). 

Grace is not based on any of our works, but is based solely on the works of Christ.[8]  By their own works, Adam and Eve failed to cover their nakedness (Gen. 3:15, 21) and Cain failed to make an acceptable sacrifice (Gen. 4:3-5).  Salvation is by faith alone (Heb. 11).

Old Testament prophets foretold many signs of the coming Messiah and those signs are all fulfilled by Jesus.[9]  The fulfillment is “impossible as a matter of coincidence.”  On the road to Emmaus, Jesus explained them all to his disciples (Luke 24:27).

Christ is a person.[10]  “He has always been with God.  Ever since He was born to Mary in the virgin birth, the incarnation, He has been one person with two natures.  He is truly God and truly man forever.”  He became human to be our mediator (Heb. 2:14, 18, 4:16).

Christ is our mediator as a prophet.[11]  Mankind needs true propositional knowledge. A prophet reveals the things of God to men.  Messiah was said to be a prophet (Deut. 18:15, 18).

Christ is our mediator as a priest.[12]  Mankind needs holiness and righteousness.  Messiah was said to be a priest, whose duty is the removal of the guilt of sin (Psa. 110:4).  Christ’s priestly work differs in that He is perfect, His sacrifice is Himself, and His sacrifice is once and for all.  Christ continues to intercede for the believers now in Heaven (John 17:20).

Christ is our mediator as a king.[13]  Messiah was said to come from the kingly line of David (2 Sam. 7:16; Psa. 2:6; Matt. 1:1, 24:42).  His kingship implies that He is head over all things now (Matt. 28:18; Eph. 1:20-22), He will come a second time (Acts 1:6-7; 1 Tim. 6:14-15), and He is the king of our lives (Col. 1:13; Eph. 5:23-24; Luke 19:11-27).

Christ set a model for all Christians in humiliation and exaltation.[14]  Christ became flesh (John 1:14), slave (Phil. 2:6-7), and subject of the Law (Gal. 4:4).  He was tempted (Matt. 4:1-11, Heb. 4:15), rejected (John 1:11), and put to death with body and spirit torn apart (1 Pet. 3:18-19).  Then He was resurrected (John 20:25-28) and taken up to Heaven (Acts 1:9-11).

Salvation

Salvation begins with an invitation.[15]  Whoever comes to Christ, He will never drive away (John 6:37).  Faith in Christ is the only way of salvation (John 8:24, 14:16; Acts 4:12).  “Faith has a double significance: it is believing God’s promises, and it is the empty hand which accepts the gift without trying to add humanistic religious or moral good works to it.” 

Accepting the invitation leads to justification.[16]  Justification is the declaration on God’s part that we are just in His sight because He has imputed to us the righteousness of Christ.  It is like saying to a prisoner, “you are free!” rather than “be good!”  It is by faith alone (Rom. 3:28).  “Faith in Christ is resting totally on Him and His finished work.”

As a person is justified, the person also enters into several new relationships. The new relationships include being adopted as a son of God. [17]  As we are justified, we are immediately adopted as the sons of God (Rom. 8:15-17).

The new relationships include being identified and united with the Son.[18]  We enter a mystical union with Christ.  Christ is the Bridegroom; we are the bride (Rom. 7:4). Christ is the vine; we are the branches (John 15:1-5).  Christ is the head; we are the body (1 Cor. 11:27). Christ is the foundation; we are the house (1 Pet. 2:2-6).

The new relationships include being indwelled by the Holy Spirit.[19]  The body of the believer is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19).  The Holy Spirit counsels, teaches, empowers, and freely endows the believers with many gifts.

The new relationships include being part of the brotherhood of believers.[20]  Biblically, only believers are called “brothers” (Acts 21:17).  Believers provide each other with spiritual help (Eph. 4:15-16; 5:21-6:9), material help (Acts 5:4), and fellowship (Acts 2:42-46).

Once justified and entered into the new relationships, a person will never be lost.[21]  “Whoever puts his faith in the Son has eternal life” (John 3:36).

Sanctification is the reality Christians are presently experiencing as justification was the reality they experienced in the past.[22]  Good works express the gratitude for salvation.  They are motivated by the love of God rather than the fear of falling short.

Sanctification is continuing what justification has started.[23]  Sanctification requires throwing oneself moment by moment to Christ until one dies.  “Justification is an act. . . . Sanctification is a process.”  Both are the grace of God and “not burdensome” (John 5:3-5).

Sanctification requires spiritual disciplines.[24]  Four basic disciplines are bible study, prayer, witnessing the gospel, and regular attendance at a Bible-believing church.

Christians will receive glorification at death.[25]  Physical death separates the soul and body (Eccl. 12:7).  When Christians die, their soul is immediately with Christ (Luke 23:39-43; Acts 7:54-59).  The person is recognizable by the soul (Luke 9:28-36).

Christians will receive glorification at the resurrection.[26] The spiritual and eternal deaths are dealt with when we accepted Christ, but the physical death is not.  Christians receive the “first fruits of the Spirit” now, but must wait for the “redemption of our bodies” (Rom. 8:23).

Things of the Future

The Bible describes a future that awaits the world and the people of God.[27]  The world is not getting better but will approach a period of great apostasy.  When Christ returns, the believers will be resurrected first and meet Christ in the air, but others will not be part of it yet.  Christ will overthrow the Antichrist who rules the world.  For a millennium, Christians will rule with Christ in their resurrected and glorified bodies.  Jews will recognize Jesus as Messiah.  But Satan will be released at the end of the millennium and stage a final revolt.  The final judgment will then take place.  The New Heavens and the New Earth will be there forever.

The Bible describes a future that awaits the lost.[28]  The lost will not be resurrected before the millennium but will be raised to face the final judgment.  Therefore, non-Christians should accept the invitation of God now.  Those who hesitate should know that the judgment of God is upon them (John 3:36).  Christians should commit their lives to serving God. 

A Précis of the Finished Work of Christ

The Just Shall Live by Faith

Rom. 1:16-17 contains the thesis statement of salvation: “the just shall live by faith.”  Most Jews in the first century thought that salvation belongs to them because they have the Law.  Likewise, some Christians today might think that their eternal salvation is secured because they have the Bible.  However, as Paul made clear, nobody except Jesus can be justified by the Law as nobody besides Jesus abides perfectly by the Law.  People are certainly not saved just by having a Bible at home.  For both the Jews and Christians, salvation is by faith.         

Justification (1:18-4:25)

The person without the Bible is guilty.[29]  Even though most people who ever lived have never read the Bible, God is justified in condemning them (1:32) because the knowledge of God is universally made known (1:20).  Human beings are created as rational moral beings and have the capacity to abide by God’s requirements engraved in their conscience.  All have chosen to rebel against God instead (1:25).  Thus, nobody can escape God’s judgment (2:3).

The person with the Bible is guilty too.[30]  People who have the Bible today are comparable to the Jews in Paul’s days.  The Jews knew God’s requirements but in reality, their moral conducts were actually often worse than others because they observed the Law only as external rites and not in their hearts.  They knew God but they refused to listen to the Old Testament prophets (3:2).  The morality of many living in “Christian countries” today is often no better than those living in atheistic communist countries (3:9).    

The whole world is guilty.[31]  Contrary to existentialism which says man is a “zero” and “hopelessly damned,” Christianity insists that man is not damned for who he is but for what he chooses (3:19-20).  “Man is not pathetic, man is a rebel.”  People must accept the guilt for their rebellion.  Since God is infinitely holy, an offense committed against God has an infinite consequence.  Even though people live only a finite period of time, the justice of God requires an eternal condemnation for the sinners (3:21).

Justification takes place after the Cross.[32]  The word “declares” in 3:22 is of utmost importance.  Justification is not an “infused” righteousness pumped into Christians to make them better, or to reach a certain passing grade.  Justification is a legal declaration.  The legal justice is based on God’s grace alone in the work of the Cross and comes to Christians through faith alone.  Faith in itself has no salvific value apart from God’s grace.  And no one can afford to pay for one’s own sin (3:24).  But as God’s justice requires Him to judge people individually, God also justifies people individually according to their personal faith (3:26). 

Justification took place before the Cross.[33]  Salvation by grace had been the purpose of the Law.  Some Reformed theologians are not entirely correct to speak of the Old Testament as the covenant of works and the New Testament as the covenant of grace.  Just as the works of Christ provided the basis for the New Testament, faith was the instrument to receive grace in the Old Testament.  Before and after the Cross, God’s people are justified not because they believe in “some vague things” but in specific promises.  For example, as Abraham believed that God would give him a son, Christians believe in their bodily resurrection.  Faith is not an emotion or a blind leap.  Faith is making a rational choice to believe in very specific promises.

Sanctification (5:1-8:17)

The result of justification is peace with God.[34]  Our peace with God gives us not only hope in the future, but also access to a new life (5:1-2).  Just as faith is the instrument of justification, faith is also the instrument of sanctification.  Christians must continuously acknowledge that we are sinners and lay hold of the forgiveness of Christ in fulfilling the Law.  If Christ asks His disciples to forgive each other seventy-seven times (Matt. 18:22), wouldn’t Christ do it Himself?  The Bible does not teach what some Christians call the “second blessing” but teaches a continuous sanctification process.[35]  Faith is not just “a theoretical thing” but is lived out amid temptations and tribulations in the rough-and-tumble of life (5:3).  But if Christ died for us while we were enemies, how much more will He do for us now (5:10)? 

Christians are dead in Adam but alive in Christ.[36]  In the Old Testament, a “kinsman redeemer” is a brother who raises a child to the name of his brother who died childless.  Christ is the true kinsman redeemer.  Contrary to the modern notion of the unity of the human race, the Bible sees that there are two human races, one condemned under Adam and another redeemed by the blood of Christ.  5:18 is interpreted by some to imply universal salvation, but that cannot be reconciled with Paul’s emphasis on the personal response of faith.    

Christians struggle against sin by throwing their old lives away every day.[37]  If we are true disciples, we will deny ourselves (6:1-2).  Evangelical Christians insufficiently emphasize joining Christ in death every day.  But we could be like Christ in glorification only if we are united with Him in the likeness of His death (6:5).  There is a real price to pay in the present.  We must die daily to selfishness, self-centeredness, and self-sufficiency (6:10).  There is nevertheless real reward that can be enjoyed now, namely, we can be “creature glorified” (6:18).  This glory does not mean living as actively as possible or using our greatest natural talent to serve God.  It is rather to see ourselves dead in all things good and bad alike, in order to be quiet before God.  We should be consciously yielding ourselves to the Holy Spirit (6:18-19).  This yielding is a command, a privilege, a duty, and a joy.

Christians struggle against sin by throwing themselves to Christ every day.[38]  There has been quite a debate over the subject of Romans chapter 7.  Is Paul depicting the unbelievers or the believers?   Given the context, it seems best to see chapter 7 as including both the unbelievers and the believers.  Paul deals with similar ideas in Galatians, which clearly aims at the believers.  Paul expects the believers to be continuously fruitful, much like a bride who says yes to her bridegroom not only on their day on marriage, but throughout their married life.  Out of that comes continual fruitfulness (7:4-5).  Conversely, when Christians become complacent toward sin, forgetting the sinfulness of sin and placing too much emphasis on the “once-and-for-all-ness” of salvation, the stream of ongoing sanctification will stop (7:13).  The Christian struggle against sin is an ongoing battle because even though our legal problem of guilt is resolved, we are factually still waiting for the redemption of our bodies (7:22-23).

Christians can live a life in the Spirit.[39]  It is why God saved us: that we may walk in the newness of life (8:3; 6:4) and that God’s righteous demands might be fulfilled in us (8:4).  We can have three assurances that we are truly God’s children.  The first is the written promise, e.g. John 3:16.  The second is the fruit that we see in our lives.  The third is the inner witness of the Holy Spirit, which allows us to call God “Abba” or “Daddy” (8:15-16).  Nevertheless, the external reality is often like a stormy sea (8:17-18).  In evangelism, we must inform people of both the good news and the sufferings they will face.

Glorification (8:18-39)

The believers will be resurrected and creation will be restored.[40]  In this present life where troubles, sorrows, and persecution are everywhere, ultimate hope is found in the future redemption of our body and the subsequent restoration of all creation (8:23).  Therefore, the believers look forward earnestly and constantly to the future glory (8:19).  Indeed, the whole creation groans in travails in pain waiting for that day (8:21). 

Eternal life is forever.[41]  “Believers should not go to bed every night worrying if we are saved.”   In our weakness, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us (8:26-27).  The Holy Spirit would have to fail for us to be lost.  “Too often God’s choosing is presented in such a cold theological fashion.  It is treated as though it were merely a process of selection and elimination.”  But if the teaching of predestination causes us to have less assurance of our salvation, it is simply not presented the way the Bible presents it.  We are “more than conquerors” not on our own strength, but “through him that loved us” (8:37). “Nothing can separate us from the love of God” (8:39).

A Précis of True Spirituality

Freedom Now from the Bonds of Sin

Christian freedom is not only from the Law, but in the Law of Love.[42]  True freedom is not getting rid of taboos so that one can live a loose and easy life.  True Christian life is more than being born again and waiting to go to Heaven.  True salvation is more than justification in the past and glorification in the future.  True love is living the Ten Commandments, not to covet against God and men, but rather “to love God enough to be contended,” “to love men enough not to envy.”  True spirituality is a positive inward reality manifested through positive outward results.

Negatively, true spirituality includes joining Christ in death.[43]  Without denying the absolute uniqueness of Christ’s death because of its substitutionary function, Christians must put “things and self” to death themselves.  “There could be no next step in the order of Christ’s redemption until the step of death was taken,” (Rom. 6:4-6, Gal. 2:20, 6:14).  “This rejection is not a once-for-all thing.  Christ called his followers to take up the cross daily” (Luke 14:27-30).

Christians have passed through death to resurrection.[44]  Christians live “as though we had already died, been to Heaven and come back again as risen”:

When? Right now! This is the basic consideration of the Christian life.  First, Christ died in history.  Second, Christ rose in history.  Third, we died with Christ in history, when we accepted Him as our Savior.  Fourth, we will be raised in history, when He comes again.  Fifth, we are to live by faith now as though we were now dead, as though we have already died.  And sixth, we are to live now by faith as though we have now already been raised from the dead.[45]

Putting all things to death is not a sheer passivity but an active passivity.

Christians live in the Spirit’s power.[46]  Mary’s response to the angel (Luke 1:38) illustrates this active passivity.  Mary did not run away, did not try to achieve it on her own, but said, “Behold, the bondmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”  Active passivity sees ourselves to be dead, but alive unto God through Christ (Rom. 6:11).  “Consciously the power must not be of myself.  It is the power of the crucified, risen, and glorified Christ, through the agency of the Holy Spirit, by faith.”

Christians live not only in the natural universe, but also the supernatural universe.[47]  To see the world purely in naturalistic terms as a Christian is to sit in the chair of unfaith.  It is fighting a spiritual battle in the flesh, playing it rather than really being in it.  “The Lord will not honor our weapons” that way.  Christians must realize that “our part is not unimportant” because “we are made a spectacle unto the world, and too angels, and to men” (1 Cor. 4:9).  “We are under observation.” 

Salvation is personally experienced in the past, present, and future.[48]  Christians experienced justification in the past and look forward to glorification in the future.  But salvation also includes sanctification in the present, which includes new relationships: adoption as a son of the Father, union with the Son, indwelling by the Holy Spirit.  “Salvation is all in one piece.  All salvation – past, present, and future – has one base.”  The basis is the finished work of Christ.

Christians should strive to be a fruitful bride.[49]  Justification removes our guilt.  It is once and for all.  Sanctification deals with the problem of the power of sin in our lives.  It bears fruit moment by moment in life.  There are two main reasons for a fruitless life.  We might be ignorant or we might know the doctrine without making it our own. 

Freedom Now from the Results of the Bonds of Sin

Christians can experience freedom from self-judgment.[50]  The Reformed tradition has laid insufficient stress on the conscious side of the Christian life.  But continuous assurance of salvation is possible through seeking forgiveness daily in specific sins.  This is not the same as the mistaken notion of second blessing.  It is a continuous response to the consciousness of sins by faith in the finished work of Christ.  

Christians can experience freedom in the thought life.[51]  The inner thought life is the cause of the external reality.  The reality of communication with God takes place in the inward self.  The battle for souls also occurs largely in the world of ideas.  The response to the gospel is a matter of rational choice between believing in God and calling God a liar.  Salvation is experienced when Christians freely choose the only rational option, the one of believing God.  Conversely, salvation is not real or at least not consciously experienced when a person is compelled to confess faith in God as a leap of faith without reason.

Christians can experience substantial healing of psychological problems.[52]  The original fall leads to separation between God and people, between people, and even between a person’s rational and emotional self.  Non-Christian psychology tries to bring integration in the mental “upper story,” but by itself it will fail because there is no “lower story” reality.  Changing how one sees the world is delusional unless that new worldview corresponds really to how the world is.  Psychological guilt can be actual and cruel.  But only moral guilt before God is real.

Christians can experience substantial healing of the total person.[53]  The rebellious person is in three types of fear: the fear of impersonal, the fear of non-being, and the fear of death.  These fears will not subside without the belief in the relationship with a personal God because without that, the world has no ultimate meanings.  Carl Jung tells the patient to act as if “God” were there.  Victor Frankl thinks meanings could be found amidst evil as a matter of will.  But knowingly fooling oneself is at best an analgesic.  Faith in God alone brings total healing.  

Christians can experience substantial healing in personal relationship.[54]  Humanists tend to love humanity as a whole because “Man” as a faceless idea is easier to love.  They even question if personality is real.  But God loves people as individual persons, capable of communicating meanings.  Relationships can be healed only based on such view of persons.

Christians can experience substantial healing in the church.[55]  “Can faith be taught? Yes.  Faith can be taught, but only by exhibition.  You cannot teach faith only as an abstraction.”  The Church exists to exhibit faith concretely.  “Church in Greek (ecclesia) means ‘that which is called out,’ called out of a lost humanity.”  It “deals consciously with the reality of the supernatural.”  The Church receives power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8), bears fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-25), and is together with Christ through the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-18). 

Schaeffer on Evil, Reason, Freedom, and Trials

In this section, I will identify several foundational notions in the thoughts of Schaeffer.

Evil

The problem of evil received heightened attention after the two world wars and the Holocaust.  When J. L. Mackie famously claimed in the 1950s that the belief in the omnipotent and merciful God is logically incoherent because of the existence of evil, a fair part of Europe was still literally in ruins.[56]  To appreciate the focus of the gospel presentation of Schaeffer, it is helpful to begin with the problem of evil.

In Evil and the Cross, Henri Blocher groups the Christian approaches to the problem of evil into three main types: the optimistic, the dualistic, and the pessimistic responses.[57]  The optimistic response aims to dissolve the problem of evil by emphasizing the transcendent wisdom of God.  There is good purpose behind everything that seems evil today.  In contrast, the dualistic response accepts the reality of both good and evil.  While insisting that God does not sin, dualists argue that God has given people the freedom to choose between good and evil.  Blocher places Francis Schaeffer alongside C. S. Lewis as apologists who have used some forms of free will defense against the problem of evil.[58]  The pessimistic response sees the reality of void, emptiness, and darkness as the givens of the world since its creation.  The human nature is corrupted; the human will is in bondage; and the world is seriously broken.  However, the pessimists are not necessarily hopeless.  They take evil as something meant to be dealt with, not just reason away.  The ultimate solution to evil is found in the Cross.

Blocher is justified to group Schaeffer and Lewis together.  Both men speak strongly against treating the human person as deterministic machine and both emphasize the dignity of the human person for its capacity to reason and freely choose.[59]  However, reflecting his Reformed persuasion, Schaeffer is unambiguously pessimistic for the fate of the unredeemed.[60]  At the same time, Schaeffer sees himself as more hopeful for the reality of sanctification than some others in the Reformed tradition.  Schaeffer sees Rom. 8:28 as the cornerstone of the Christian worldview: ultimately, everything is meant for the good of those who love God.[61]  That goodness must be demonstrated in the here and now.

Moreover, Schaeffer is less interested in theodicy than defending human dignity.[62]  The problem of evil is not only a paradox for the Christian worldview; it also presents a moral and epistemological dilemma for humanistic worldviews.  If there were no gods and man-made evils are everywhere in the world, how could we not live in fear?  It does not take much to slide from “I think, therefore I can only know I am” to “I lie, therefore I don’t trust anyone.”  Instead of avoiding the problem of evil, Schaeffer throws it back to the atheists: human dignity is a make-believe social construct without God choosing humanity as His most beloved!

Reason

Some have charged that Schaeffer is too optimistic towards human reason.  Most of his critics along this line are pessimists according to Blocher’s categorization.  They include some in his evangelical Reformed tradition as well as others leaning Neo-orthodox theologically.  Cornelius Van Til and some of his followers criticize the apologetics of Schaeffer, charging that Schaeffer gives natural human reason too much credit.[63]  Others outside his evangelical tradition dismiss the idea of biblical inerrancy as a modern notion that reduces the transcendence of God into the box of finite human conceptions.  For them, the evangelicals are as much “the Apostles of Reasons,” the heirs to the Enlightenment, as the modern liberals.[64] 

Schaeffer insists that his view on the sanctifying human nature is consistent with the Reformed tradition.  His optimism is not with the unredeemed person; he is simply unashamedly hopeful for the born-again Christians since they are empowered by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.[65]  He contends that many Reformed thinkers have emphasized justification and glorification while neglected sanctification, resulting in a view of salvation with a past and a future but without a present demonstration.  When he speaks of returning to freedom and dignity, he is describing a possibility primarily for the believers (even though it is also a possibility for the unbelievers if they become believers.)  He believes that biblical Christianity has always affirmed the existence of two humanities, one eternally condemned and another chosen for eternal life.[66]  What Schaeffer would hasten to add is that the new humanity is already a reality in the present space and time.  Christians should live as if they are glorified creatures, already dead, buried, and come back alive.[67]  They must lay hold of their redeemed reason and freedom.  From Schaeffer’s view, the root problem of modern theologians is their unjustified skepticism of this new sanctified reality.  As a practical result, modern theologians lump the unbelievers and the believers into the same old humanity.  Schaeffer insists that more can be expected from the born-again believers.

While Schaeffer refuses to be pigeon-holed into a particular apologetic school, he said much about apologetic methods.[68]  He knows that most unbelievers cannot be argued into believing.  However, Schaeffer observes the unbelievers can appreciate the rationality of the basic Christian worldview prior to hearing about the gospel.  He emphasizes that the unbelievers must be cornered into making a decision between living under the inconsistency of their non-Christian worldviews and living under the rationality of the Christian worldview.  The gospel is intelligible only when the unbelievers receive the gospel message from within the rational framework of the Christian worldview.[69]  If the unbeliever chooses Christianity after an intelligible presentation of the gospel, the acceptance is the first fruit of freedom produced from a redeemed reason.  If the unbeliever chooses to reject instead, the rejection is an expression of deliberate rebellion.

A number of questions and objections were raised against Schaeffer from different quarters on this point of rational response to the gospel.  First, as Jerram Barrs has reported, some complained that Schaeffer seems too rationalistic in his approach to evangelism.  It may seem to undervalue the spiritual and emotional dimensions many experienced in their conversion.[70]  Second, Thomas V. Morris asks if it is generally necessary for the unbelievers to realize that their previously held worldview is irrational before they come to the Christian faith.  When people recognize the Christian truth to be more probable and practical, isn’t that rational enough to choose Christianity?[71]  Third, John Frame wonders if the crisis of worldview is biblically described as common to the conversion experience of all believers.   Frame accepts the pre-evangelistic tactic of pushing some atheists to that point, but he insists that evangelism can be carried out without necessarily making everyone go through a crisis.  Frame insists that the grace of God alone is necessary and sufficient.[72]  Fourth, from the perspective of some other Calvinists, Schaeffer’s claim of non-deterministic human choice sounds almost like Arminianism.  R. K. McGregor Wright suggests that Schaeffer is simply unwilling to speak out against libertarian free will, even though Schaeffer actually does not view freedom that way.[73]  Fifth, from the perspective of some Arminians, Schaeffer in fact holds a libertarian view of free will.  Scott Burson and Jerry Walls fault Schaeffer for not recognizing that his view of libertarian free will is logically incompatible with his Reformed belief in divine sovereignty.[74]

Some basic responses could be made to the above objections.  First, the distinction between emotion and reason is a false dichotomy.  Schaeffer uses the word “reason” non-technically to refer to common sense, such as accepting that a statement cannot be true and false at the same time.  For Schaeffer, reason involves the whole inner thought process.  What may be sub-divided into emotions, attitudes, belief networks, logics, memory, etc. are all part of reason.  Second, while I agree with Morris that people would more likely accept the Christian worldview when it is demonstrated to be more probable, I fail to see how that demonstration can be practically done without arguing against the coherence and livability of the alternative worldviews, especially if people have an in-depth understanding and a prior commitment to another worldview but know little about the Christian worldview.  Worldview is like politics: negative ad is used because it works.  Third, Frame is correct that not every believer goes through a certain crisis of worldview before conversion.  Many people grow up in a Christian home with a Christian worldview.  For example, Edith Schaeffer said she could not recall a point where she was not a believer.  Because of that, Francis Schaeffer could not possibly have meant that everyone will go through a crisis of worldview before they are born again.  Schaeffer should be taken as meaning that some crises of faith are expected in the Christian life for everyone.  People brought up in a secular environment will more likely experience that crisis of worldview for the first time when they are converted.  However, even after one becomes a Christian, crises of worldview will keep coming because nobody holds a perfectly biblical worldview to begin with.  Fourth, it is a stretch for Burson and Walls to suggest that Schaeffer subscribes to libertarian free will.  As Douglas Groothuis points out in a review of their work, Schaeffer never said he does.  What Schaeffer has consistently said is that human free agency is part of the image of God.  People are autonomous with respect to the things in the external world existing in space and time.  However, Schaeffer never said that the human beings can be autonomous from God.[75]

Freedom

Schaeffer sees true freedom as an expression of the spirit.  Schaeffer sees physical death as the separation of the body and the soul.  For Schaeffer, human agency as a whole is non-deterministic in the sense that things in the physical external world influence but do not deterministically dictate the thoughts in the inner world of the soul.  Over and again, he insists that there is a real thought battle going on in the inner world of the soul.  What may be called human free choice is the non-deterministic outcome of this thought battle.  Schaffer disagrees with the modern humanists who reduce all people in the world into a single humanity and reduce the freedom of a person into a mysterious entity called free will.  Instead of postulating a Homunculus-like entity of free will choosing between good and evil, Schaeffer sees two active entities, the spirit and the flesh, battling it out in the soul.  Schaeffer pictures himself fighting sometimes with his big-dog like conscience.[76]  The spirit manifests the finished work of Christ through faith; it leads to contentment and love.  The flesh produces sins and deaths by its works; it covets what God and others have.[77]   

When the spirit defeats the flesh, it is experienced as true freedom.  When the flesh defeats the spirit, it is really a rebellion.  One expresses reason.  The other is treason.  While the outcome of the fight at any moment is uncertain from the human perspective, the moral verdict is certain.  The flesh is held morally responsible for all the rebellions.  Therefore, it is morally right to crucify one’s flesh together with Christ on the cross.  In contrast, one’s spirit is freely compatible with God’s perceptive will.  It is morally right for one’s spirit to live forever with Christ.  The actual outcome of each fight between the two sides is in the firm grasp of the sovereign hand of God, in accordance to God’s decretive will.  Therefore, even when one’s spirit might not win every fight, it could still be “fighting the good fight” every time.  For Schaeffer, the experience of true freedom is just another expression for the victory of one’s spirit.  As an active participating entity in this battle, the Holy Spirit could enable a Christian to have that triumphant experience.  But God could also withhold such victory as He sees fit.  The outcome is non-deterministic because it transcends the mechanism of the natural realm.  It is fought in the battle theatre inside the soul.  However, it still follows God’s sovereign plan.  The free choice includes the active participation of one’s spirit, one’s flesh, and God’s sovereign hand.

Schaeffer’s picture of the inner struggle of the soul is different from the libertarian picture originated from Augustine, who sees a Homunculus-like free will operating at the edge of reason, choosing between the rational good and the irrational evil.  Augustine postulates that the human mind is rational and argues therefore that the mind can never understand why one’s free will chooses irrational evil, although it often does.  From Augustine’s view, it is explicable when free will chooses what is good but it is inexplicable when free will chooses what is evil.[78]

Schaeffer is not alone in depicting the inner world of the soul as a battle theatre.  Gabriel Marcel and other Christian existentialists see human decisions as the struggles between the “authentic” and the “inauthentic” selves, and see the Apostle Paul as painting this picture in Romans.[79]  Schaeffer differs from the Christian existentialists in one important respect.  While the Christian existentialists tend to credit the authentic self for being making “decisions of fidelity,” Schaeffer credits all works done by one’s spirit as manifestations of works done by the living Christ.  The works done by one’s flesh are always negative works according to Schaeffer. They actually cause damages and that is what Christ died on the cross to pay for.  One may view Schaeffer as trying to strike a three-way balance, insisting with the Reformers that all glory be given to God while appreciating the emphasis of intellectual dignity among Roman Catholics as well as the pietistic aspirations held dear by some non-Reformed Protestants.

Trials

Schaeffer sees Rom. 8:28 as the key to all Christian life.  “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”  The context indicates that “all things” include sufferings, anxiety, frustration, slavery, corruption, groaning, pain, tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, and being put to death all day (8:18-36).  Yet, “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (8:37, ESV).  Nothing can separate Christians from “the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (8:39).  The trials in life are not good things by themselves, but they are meant to benefit those God has chosen, so that they might be assured of the great love God has for them.  Material abundance is not necessarily a blessing because it could lead to covetousness.  “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God” (Matt. 19:24).  Tribulation often has the opposite effect of causing people to learn to be more dependent on God.  But the purpose of the trials goes beyond spiritual growth for the saved.  It is meant to demonstrate to all creation that God’s chosen ones are “more than conquerors.”  Schaeffer highlights Paul’s idea that the earthly battle theatre demonstrates to those watching in the spiritual realm that the chosen ones have a dignity above and beyond the enemies who minister the trials.  The New Humanity is the most beloved creature of God.

If trials are meaningful for the Christians, shouldn’t they also be helpful for the unbelievers?  If sanctification is a series of trials, shouldn’t justification be a trial?  That is basically the logic behind Schaeffer’s pre-evangelistic approach.  Schaeffer insists on putting the unbelievers on trial.  This was a turn-the-tables move at a time when it was fashionable to put God on trial.  The effectiveness of any given apologetic method is difficult to gauge.  But one can agree theologically with Schaeffer that whether it is through teaching the biblical commandments or convicting someone with the natural law in their own cultural conscience, the confrontation can be a vital step in preparing the mind of reason and the heart of contrition, without which the good news of Jesus Christ might make little rational sense.  There is a biblical parallel to Schaeffer’s pre-evangelistic method in the ministry of John the Baptist.

While Schaeffer is quiet on the chronological priority of regeneration, repentance, and conversion, he stresses that justification takes place at the moment a person rationally and consciously accepts the gospel.  Even though a person is elected in eternity, there is still a foreordained time that justification actually takes place.  It is theological significant to Schaeffer that the moment of justification be seen as a trial.  The practical implication is that evangelists can help by making overt invitations.  The unbelievers may need a jolt to become aware of the war which the Holy Spirit has already begun to rage within their souls.

Conclusion

In this essay, we examine the understanding of gospel message and the view of conversion of Schaeffer from four perspectives: (1) systematic doctrines (Basic Bible Studies), (2) salvation (The Finished Work of Christ: Romans 1-8), (3) sanctification (True Spirituality), and (4) foundational notions (evil, reason, freedom, and trials).  Schaeffer stands on a staunchly Reformed theological foundation.  He insists that Christians can add no works to the finished works of Christ.  At the same time, he also appreciates and picks up emphases from other theological traditions.  He insists that faith is a rational choice.  Rather than succumbing to secular rationalistic humanism or avoiding them like taboos, Schaeffer seeks to restore “reason” and “freedom” to their rightful biblical places.  He is a realist.  He does not deny the reality of evils or reason them away.  He is unwavering in shining a bright light on the evil consequences of sin.  Nevertheless, he also recognizes that God can turn evils into positive use through subjecting Christians to trials, for their own spiritual benefits and for demonstrating their dignity.

Schaeffer was a perceptive thinker even though he painted his ideas in broad brush.  It is not that he could not be more precise, but he was sensitive to the popular audience he was addressing.  Taken as a whole, Schaeffer’s thoughts on the gospel and the conversion process are clear and cogent.  There is much that Christians can learn from his ideas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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