Blog | Grace Evangelical Society

Assurance and Belief in Predestination

April 19, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Ephesians 1:5, Predestination and assurance, Romans 8:29-30

I received a letter asking a great question: “Does the doctrine of predestination destroy one’s assurance of salvation? How can he ever have assurance if he is not sure he is predestined to be saved?” The short answer is that he can’t be sure he has everlasting life. Predestination to salvation is a doctrine held

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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

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The Role of Dreams and Visions in Muslims Coming to Faith in Christ

April 17, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Missions, Muslim coming to faith in Christ via dreams, Muslim evangelism

Pastor Bob Vacendak and I were talking on the phone the other day. The subject of Muslims reportedly seeing Jesus in dreams and visions came up. We had a nice discussion. The next day Bob sent me an article by Sam Martyn (a pseudonym) entitled, “The Role of Pre-Conversion Dreams and Visions in Islamic Contexts: An Examination

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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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From Devout Roman Catholic to Agnostic

April 15, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Absolutes, Agnosticism, apologetics, Jared Bilski, parenting

My sister sent me a blog about a Washington Post article by Jared Bilski entitled, “I’m not passing my parents’ religion on to my kids, but I am teaching their values.” You can read the article here. The blog, by Dr. Jim Denison, covered four main points. You can read his blog here. Bilski grew up Roman Catholic,

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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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Fire Insurance Evangelism

April 11, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Fire insurance evangelism, John 3:16, saving faith

Many object to the practice of some evangelists who say that if you believe in Jesus, then you will be saved from eternal condemnation. They say that is just fire insurance. John Piper has a November 8, 2017, post entitled, “Jesus Isn’t Your Insurance Policy” (see here). He writes, What is this [saving] faith?…It is a receiving of Christ for who he really is:

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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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When Progression Is Not a Good Thing

April 9, 2019 by Kenneth Yates in Blog - Christ, Person of Christ, prophet

The word “progression” is usually seen as a good thing. The definition of the word is: the process of developing or moving gradually towards a more advanced state. Everyone likes progress. In the Gospel of John, we see some good examples of progression. In two conversations people experience a progression in their understanding of who Jesus is. When the woman at

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The Feel-Good Gospel

April 8, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Feel-good gospel, Free Grace Theology, John MacArthur, Lordship Salvation, The Gospel According to Jesus

The following is adapted from one section of Chapter 1 of my book A Gospel of Doubt, a response to Dr. John MacArthur’s book The Gospel According to Jesus. The first chapter of the third edition of John MacArthur’s The Gospel According to Jesus is entitled, “Follow Me.” It is a new chapter which was not included in the first two

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