I've been struggling to evaluate the teachings of Torben Søndergaard of The Last Reformation (TLR). He seems to be preaching a Holiness Doctrine. I'm still figuring out whether he is teaching freedom from habitual sin or freedom from all sin (the latter being obviously problematic). Here is a 15-minute video summarising his understanding of freedom from sin. The TLR Pioneer School Lesson 7 explains Søndergaard's understanding in more detail (the main teaching starts at 14:45). I listened again to Mike Winger's sermons on Romans 6 and 7 [Ro 6, Ro 7:1-13, Ro 7:13-25] and found his explanation of the seemingly contradictory ideas of “dead to sin” and “what a wretched man I am” to be helpful.
TLR teaches that baptism by water is essential for salvation. The Pioneer School Lesson 7, from 47:19 to 1:27:59, and all of Lesson 10 discusses the importance of baptism as it pertains to both salvation and sanctification (which, in my understanding of Søndergaard's teaching, are two sides of the same coin). Søndergaard teaches that being born of water and spirit refers to baptism by water and by the Holy Spirit and dismisses the idea that being born of water refers to our natural, physical birth. I lean towards a third interpretation: that being “born of water and spirit” refers to two aspects of the same event, as discussed by the GotQuestions.org article on John 3:5.
TLR also has a strong emphasis on obedience. Obviously, obedience is essential, but I can see that some people might not like the idea of losing (or never obtaining) salvation due to a lack of obedience (I see a lack of obedience as a symptom, not a cause, of an “unsaved” life).
The GotQuestions.org article on The Last Reformation is very critical, but I am not sure if they represent all of TLR's positions accurately.
My current position on Torben Søndergaard is that he is doing a generally good work, but may be a little off, theologically, on a few issues. I am attracted to the ideas of TLR, but I'm cautious.
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