Shawn Lazar – Page 89 – Grace Evangelical Society

John Wesley on Different Types of Salvation by Works

May 17, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Aldersgate, Assurance, John Wesley, legalism, works salvation

I’ve been reading through John Wesley’s journals and diaries for the years 1735-1738. They are fascinating. It’s interesting to read about his travels to America during this time; his impressions of Georgia, colony life, and the weather. I cringed a little to read his descriptions of the Native American tribes he hoped to witness

The Good and the Evil

May 15, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Believe, Daniel, Good, Resurrection

Q. Doesn’t John 5:28-29 show that doing good works is a condition of salvation? How do you understand it? A. Good question. Taken on its own, that can be a puzzling passage. You would think “the good” refers to good deeds, and “the evil” refers to sins. But is that right? There’s a theme

He Who Lives — John 11:25-26

May 11, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Post-mortem Salvation, universalism

Do unbelievers get a second chance to believe in Jesus after they die? According to universalists they do. They say that someone who dies in unbelief today may still have a chance to believe in Jesus for eternal life in the underworld tomorrow. On that theory, when an unebeliever wake up in Hades, they

Can Spirits Think?

May 9, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - annihilationism, conciousness, Hades, Spirits, universalism

I have dialogued with several people who deny there can be conscious experiences without a physical body. I have heard this objection from both annihilationists and universalists. I don’t know if that is a majority position in either camp, but it has come up enough that I should address it. They claim that once

The Sin Process — James 1:14-15

May 8, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Free-will, James, Sin, temptation

Why do you sin? What is the process that leads you down that path? No one causes you to sin. Not Satan. Not demons. Not God. It all comes down to your free choice. You choose to sin. But how? How does it happen? James explains it in this passage: But each one is

John Wesley’s Early Evangelism

May 3, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - almost Christian, Anglican, Church of England, methodism, Methodist, Wesley, Wesleyan

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was an ordained Anglican priest. He considered Methodism to be a renewal movement within the Church of England and resisted attempts to make it a denomination in itself. It is interesting to see how Wesley’s theology changed over time. Later in life, Wesley would claim he had been an

Life After Death in the Old Testament

May 2, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - annihilationism, Death, disembodied spirits, Eternal Concious Torment, Hell, torment, universalism

Did the Hebrews have a concept of the soul’s life after death? Did they believe the dead continued to exist as disembodied spirits? Many (but not all) who believe in annihilationism and universalism deny it. They say the idea that the soul survives the death of the body comes from Plato, not the Bible. Why

Moody: Then and Now

May 1, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Grace in Focus Articles

By Shawn Lazar Institutions, especially theological ones, tend to change over time. Most of the time they change for the worse. And there is nothing more dangerous than a downward trend in your understanding of the saving message. For example, The Moody Handbook of Theology seems to have repented of its view of salvation. A

Annihilationism, ECT, and the Biblical Definition of Death

April 30, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - annihilationim, annihilationism, conditionalism, Death, ECT, eternal cons, eternal conscious torment, Hell

I’ve been exploring the debate between annihilationism and eternal conscious torment (ECT) in a series of blog posts. One of the disagreements between the two views is over the meaning of death. Many proponents of annihilationism understand death to mean the cessation of existence, especially conscious existence. They say that when someone dies, the whole

Genesis 1-3 and Everlasting Salvation

April 26, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Creation, eternal life, Genesis, The fall

Does the Bible emphasize the eternality of salvation? When OT and NT people thought of salvation, was “living forever” a new idea or a basic one? Is that something they believed in God to provide? To answer those questions, consider Genesis 1-3. You know the story. You know that God created Adam and Eve