Blog – Page 181 – Grace Evangelical Society

Romans 8:1 May Not Mean What You Think It Means, Part 1

November 12, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Katakrima, Penal servitude, Romans 8:1, slavery to sin

Romans 8:1 is widely misunderstood for two reasons: first, katakrima, the word typically translated as condemnation, does not mean that. That will be the subject of this blog. Second, the people being described as having no katakrima are not all who believe in Christ for everlasting life, but a particular type of believer. That will

What to Pray for Your Pastor (Eph 6:19)

November 9, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - boldness, pastors, Prayer

Do you pray for your pastor? What do you ask for? Here’s what Paul requested prayer for: Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may

Can You Believe in the Lord’s Promise of Everlasting Life and Yet Still End Up Being Eternally Condemned?

November 8, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Matthew 7:21-23; Saving Faith; the Promise of Everlasting Life

A friend pointed me to a May 27, 2015, blog post by Dr. John Piper at desiringgod.org. The title of the post caught my attention: “You Can Believe the Promises of God and Be Lost.” You can see that blog here. I was hoping that Piper would say that it is possible to believe non-salvific

“We Go to Heaven by Obeying the Ten Commandments”

November 7, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - evangelism, lutheran, Ten Commandments

Don Matzat, a Lutheran pastor of fifty years, tells the following story of teaching a new church the doctrine of justification by faith apart from works: In one parish I served, after installation, I called every active member, inviting them to come to a Sunday morning Bible Class. I got a decent response so that

Will Your Spirit Be Saved on the Day of Christ Jesus?

November 6, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - 1 Corinthians 5:5; future salvation; the Judgment Seat of Christ

Here is a good question I just received: I’ve been chewing on 1 Cor. 5:5 for these last days, and I can’t get assurance out of the final words “hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.” The

The Anglican Catechism Teaches Salvation by Works

November 5, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Anglican Church of North America, Episcopal, Justification, salvation by works

I’ve been reading several Anglican writers recently who I think are Free Grace friendly. For example, did you know that Dallas Seminary was co-founded by an Anglican priest named W. H. Griffith Thomas? So I started poking around the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) website. The ACNA was formed in reaction to the liberalism,

A Crucial Reminder

November 2, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - David Zahl, Mockingbird, theology of the cross

“The cross reminds us that God is present, especially when it looks like he’s not” (David Zahl, Mockingbird Devotional, p. 62). What does Zahl mean here? When do you feel closest to God? Isn’t it when everything is going “right”? When everyone is healthy? When there’s money in the bank account? When the car or

Justification by Faith and Salvation by Works? — The Key to Understanding Romans 10:9-10

November 1, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Justification by faith alone, Romans 10:9-10, Salvation in Romans

“…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:9-10 is found in most gospel tracts. It is widely

Why Do Good If Salvation Is Not By Works?

October 31, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - good works, Grace, one-way love

If you preach grace—that God saves you through simple faith in Jesus for eternal life, apart from your works (cf. Gal 2:16)—then why do good? What’s the point of all the love commands in the NT (e.g., “serve one another in love,” Gal 5:13), if your eternal destiny in heaven or hell is not on

Knowing God in Our Experience? — 1 John 2:3

October 30, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Knowing God; 1 John 2:3; 1 John 4:7-8

Here is another good question I received: In an article on your page concerning 1 John 2:3-11, you make the following statement: “When John speaks of knowing Christ, he is using a term which can refer to one’s position or one’s experience. In this context the latter is in view. In other words, a believer knows