Shawn Lazar | Grace Evangelical Society

Supporting Ministries Is Rewardable (2 John 8-11)

April 18, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - giving, rewards

Be careful what ministries you support. I am sure you know the Bible teaches God will reward you based on the works you’ve done: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad (2

Grace vs Permissiveness

April 16, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Grace, Sanctification

I was recently chatting with an Episcopal priest about grace. He was very nice, and it was a pleasure talking to him. I asked how the message of grace was received in the Episcopal church. He suggested that while the Episcopal church is not very theological—in that people are not talking about and debating theology—he thought

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The Grandeur of Salvation

April 12, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - believer’s systematic theology, Soteriology

Have you ever visited the Grand Canyon? Weren’t you in awe of it? John Wesley Powell said, “The wonders of the Grand Canyon cannot be adequately represented in symbols of speech, nor by speech itself. The resources of the graphic art are taxed beyond their powers in attempting to portray its features. Language and illustration

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God Exists (Believer’s Systematic Theology)

April 10, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - apologetics, existence of God, systematic theology

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). In the beginning—before the beginning of you, me, or anything else—God existed. But where? And how? And what does it mean for God to exist? Is God just another thing in the universe? Some people think so. In 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the

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The Divisions of Systematic Theology

April 4, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - divisions, systematic theology

When we voted on a theme for the last national conference, the choices came down to “Ephesians: Verse-by-Verse” and “Systematic Theology.” Ephesians won by a nose. I’ve always been a systematic theology guy. I have well over fifty such theologies in my office and more at home. I like thinking about the big picture and trying to understand how it all fits together. I believe coherence is

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Is Anyone Unreachable?

April 3, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Grace, ministry, vocation

We all have a ministry from God. In fact, you’re in full-time ministry right now. So…how are you doing? What are you doing? Who are you reaching? One of the things I try to emphasize at church is that everyone should be self-consciously serving God in their lives. Not everyone has a visible ministry on Sunday mornings.

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Four Alternative Models for Starting a Free Grace Church

April 1, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Church, church planting

Everyone recognizes the need for more Free Grace churches. But how do you start them? It’s something I’ve been wrestling with. Here are four church models: House Church: This would be the most familiar way to start a church from scratch. You start with a Bible study in a home and grow from there. Maybe you never

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The Ability to Believe

March 29, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Faith, Total depravity, total inability

Question Shawn, in recently countering Calvinism, you mentioned man has the “ability to believe or not believe”.  I agree with this, however it conflicts with GES’ normal position that “believing is passive”.  Bob often says “one either believes or he does not” and this not by decision of his will.  If man does not “decide to believe”, then how does one get

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Talk Faith (Deuteronomy 11:18-19)

March 28, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - evangelism, Faith, kids, parenting

My daughter Daphne will be starting 1st grade in the Fall. We’ve been homeschooling her for Kindergarten and sending her twice a week to a co-op for classes with other homeschoolers. I knew she was making good progress in math. She’s learning to draw well. And she’s supposed to be learning Spanish at the co-op (but I see little evidence of it!).

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Eight Benefits of the Resurrection

March 25, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog

The resurrection is evidence that Christianity is true: “And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” (1 Cor 15:17). The resurrection proves the believer will overcome death: “So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that

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