Bob Wilkin – Page 223 – Grace Evangelical Society

The Moment at Which Jesus’ Disciples First Believed in Him (John 2:11)

July 18, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - harmonization, His disciples believed in Him, John 2:11

I received this question in a recent email from a reader: In the first chapter of John’s Gospel, Jesus meets Andrew, et al, and they all believe Him to be Messiah. Why are we told in John 2:11 that they believed in Him after His first miracle? The questioner essentially sees an apparent contradiction between

Assurance Is the Essence of Saving Faith

July 16, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Assurance, Assurance of the essence of saving faith, Berkhof’s view of saving faith, Eternal Security

We’ve written on this before. See here for a 1997 article by Zane Hodges. And here is a 2017 article by Shawn Lazar. Here is a 2008 article by me. Here is my recent review of a booklet which argues that assurance is of the essence. So why look at this issue again? Today I

Leading Evangelical Craig Keener Says Arminians and Calvinists Question Once-Saved-Always-Saved As It Is Commonly Taught

July 10, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Craig Keener, Eternal Security, Once saved always saved, provisional salvation

Dr. Craig Keener is a leading New Testament Evangelical scholar. He has published commentaries on Matthew, John, Acts, Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, and Revelation. He is a Professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is an Evangelical Arminian. A friend recently sent me a link (see here) to his April 28, 2015, article

The Meaning of All in the New Testament

July 4, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Hermeneutics, Matthew 2:3, Meaning of all in the New Testament, Romans 3:23

A friend asked this insightful question: You mentioned recently on a podcast that the word all does not always mean all in the New Testament. That seems to fit your texts ok, but does that not dilute the value of some of the assurance statements where it says He forgives “all sin,” etc.? How would

He Breathed on Them and Said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22)

July 1, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Acts 2:1-21, baptism of the Holy Spirit, John 20:22, permanent indwelling

A friend just sent in this super question: I just finished listening to your podcast about repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins and had a question about when the disciples received the Holy Spirit. I always thought the Holy Spirit was given to the disciples in John 20 when Jesus breathed on them in

Labor for the Food Which Endures (John 6:27-29)

July 1, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Grace in Focus Articles

By Bob Wilkin “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

I’m Amazed at Modern Evangelical Terminology

July 1, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Grace in Focus Articles

By Bob Wilkin I read a few articles in the July-September 2018 issue of Bibliotheca Sacra, the journal of Dallas Theological Seminary. It is celebrating its 175th anniversary (since DTS took over an already existing journal). Bibliotheca Sacra is one of the leading theological journals today. And it has been for a very long time.

An Evangelical Postmodern Understanding of the Bible

June 25, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Bibliology, Brian Zahnd, Christology, Hermeneutics, Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God

A friend asked me what I thought about pastor Brian Zahnd and his book Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God. I had not heard of him or the book. So I got the book and I was disturbed by what I read. Zahnd thinks that the Bible is filled with contradictions and pagan

The Husband-Wife Relationship

June 19, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Ephesians 5:21-33, Mutual submission, Submission, Wives submitting to husbands

A friend, who is a Free Grace pastor and Bible scholar, sent me an interesting note about a blog I wrote on Eph 6:1-4. Here is a portion of his note: Too many weddings have the preacher preaching on the “Wives submit to your husbands” theme. Based upon Eph 5:21, “submit to one another in

Believing Strong Deception and Taking Pleasure in Unrighteousness (2 Thessalonians 2:12)

June 17, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - 2 Thessalonians 2:12, Taking pleasure in unrighteousness, The strong delusion

Some questions are harder than others: I’m struggling to reconcile the free grace position with 2 Thess 2:12. Would you please help me understand what Paul is saying? The verse reads: “that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” It seems to me that according to