Blog – Page 18 – Grace Evangelical Society

Is Ray Comfort Correct That We Are Saved by Grace, Not by Faith?

June 9, 2025 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Ephesians 2:8-9, Grace, Justification, justification by faith

Zoltan sent me some videos in which two very popular preachers criticize each other over the issue of repentance and salvation. These preachers are Ray Comfort (with 1,630,000 subscribers) and Ryan Hemelaar (with 147,000 subscribers). See this video by Hamelaar, criticizing Comfort’s view on repentance and salvation, and this video by Comfort, criticizing Hemelaar right

A Contemporary Model of Preaching (2 Peter 1:1-11)

June 6, 2025 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - 2 Peter, Homiletics, preaching, Preaching and teaching God’s Word

When I went to seminary, we had daily chapel messages. We were required to attend four a week for fifteen weeks, or sixty a semester. During the spring semester, four fourth-year students were chosen to give sermons in chapel. These students represented what our seminary was attempting to produce. Back then, the sermons chosen would

Second Corinthians 5:21 Reconsidered

June 5, 2025 by Ken Yates in Blog - 2 Cor 5:9-21, righteous living, righteousness, Rom 6:10-12

Most Evangelicals are familiar with 2 Cor 5:21. The verse says that Christ was made sin so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. The most common way of understanding this verse is that when a person believes in Jesus, all his sins are placed on Christ, and Christ’s righteousness is given

The Problem of Pain and Suffering

June 4, 2025 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - 2 Cor 5:2-4, Pain, Suffering, suffering for the Lord

Why do godly believers suffer? I want to talk about what the Bible says about pain and suffering in the Christian life. I will not be defending the goodness of God. That is a given. The Scriptures are clear that God is good, and we believe God’s Word. Nor will I be defending the idea

Pray or Sleep?

June 3, 2025 by Ken Yates in Blog - 2 Cor 3:18, Gethsemane, glory, Heb 4:16, Luke 9:28-32, Mount of Transfiguration

All three Synoptic Gospels discuss the Mount of Transfiguration, but only Luke mentions that the disciples went to sleep on the mountain. He is also the only one who reports that Christ prayed while the disciples slept (Luke 9:28-29, 32). Why was Jesus praying? He was setting an example for the disciples. He had just

What Does Hope Mean in the New Testament?

June 2, 2025 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Expectation, imminency, Trust

The English word hope means something that we desire to happen, but that is uncertain. I hope to complete one marathon per year until I am ninety. I hope I do not get cancer. I hope Djokovic wins a twenty-fifth major. In the Greek NT, the noun elpis and verb elpizō are typically translated as

Better Watch Out—He’s Coming Soon! First Thessalonians 5:1-11

May 30, 2025 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - 1 Thess 5-11, Gregory, Rapture, watch, Watchful

Do you remember when you realized that Santa Claus was not coming anymore? Did you ever consider that Santa Claus might be a Christ figure? I think the Santa Claus song is good theology if you substitute the Lord’s name for Santa’s: Better watch out, for the Lord Jesus Christ is coming to town. He

A Minister of Justice

May 29, 2025 by Kathryn Wright in Blog - Forgiveness, Isa 1:17, justice

On April 2, 2025, seventeen-year-old Austin Metcalf, a student at Memorial High School in Frisco, Texas, attended a school track meet. He would not leave the event alive. While at the meet, Austin had an exchange with Karmelo Anthony, a student at one of the rival schools, Centennial High. Anthony was sitting under the wrong

Did You Know That Date-Setting for Christ’s Return Has a Long History?

May 28, 2025 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Date-Setting, Eschatology, Millennium, Prophecy, Rapture

In preparation for a breakout session at our 2025 annual conference, I read a book called Dispensationalism Before Darby. The author, Watson, showed that the components of dispensationalism had been taught by British theologians for at least two hundred years before Darby. Something that jumped out at me in Watson’s book was a chart listing

Promised Glory (Luke 9:26-35)

May 27, 2025 by Ken Yates in Blog - 2 Pet 1:16-18, glory, Heb 11:26, Luke 9:26-35, rewards, Suffering

Before Jesus took three of His disciples up the Mount of Transfiguration, He told them things they did not want to hear. He said that He would be rejected by the nation and killed (Luke 9:22). Then He told them that if they wanted to follow Him, they would need to deny what they wanted