I know, Dr. Couch, that you were a friend of S. Lewis Johnson. I am
hearing that he may have held to Lordship Salvation. What do you say?
ANSWER: Dr. Johnson was a friend but I also sat under him in graduate school for
Greek courses on almost the entire New Testament. Later I was
instrumental in having him teach five graduate Greek courses in a
seminary setting. I had many conversations with him, and I know that he
turned to accept the five points of Calvinism. (In reality only four are
defensible from the standpoint of context and the Greek text.)
Dr. Johnson was a gracious and godly teacher of
God’s Word but he became enamored with a “system” rather than the
detailed truths that come off of the pages of Scripture. He knew that I
knew my theology pretty well and he did not want to debate over some of
these issues.
To your question: I never heard anything in his
teachings, while in graduate school or in any other setting, which would
make one think he held to Lordship. Lordship is an aberrant view that
just popped up in the last ten years or so. It cannot be sustained by
scriptural proof! Don’t worry about it—it is disappearing!
Thanks for asking,
Dr. Mal Couch
