Blog – Page 182 – Grace Evangelical Society

No Progressive Sanctification? (1 Corinthians 3)

October 29, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - 1 Corinthians 3, Mockingbird, Sanctification

I was reading the Mockingbird Devotional for October 11. The devotion was written by Curt Benham, an Anglican priest in Atlanta. I got to meet him at a Mockingbird conference held in Oklahoma City. Very nice guy. Mockingbird is a ministry that promotes grace. They are not Free Grace in a “thick” sense, but I

Jesus Makes You Family (Galatians 3:26–4:7)

October 26, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Galatians, Grace, Law & Gospel

It is a universal fact of human nature that we all want to love and be loved. We all want to belong. But how will we do it? By law or grace? Why do young men join gangs? Usually because they live at the margins of society where they have little significance in the eyes

Romans 8:1 Doesn’t Mean What Most Translations Say

October 25, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Romans 8:1; No condemnation; katakrima; slavery to sin

Today I received a question via email: In a sermon on Romans 8, Dr. Wilkin refers to the word katakrima in verse 1 as having to do with slavery to sin, though the word is only used two other times in the NT (Romans 5) and does not seem to carry such a connotation, nor

Mark’s Unique Parable: World Changers (Mark 4:26-29)

October 24, 2018 by Ken Yates in Blog - Armageddon, Joel, Kingdom, Seed

In Mark 4:26-29, we find a parable of the Lord unique to Mark’s Gospel. It doesn’t get much attention. I think the attention it does receive is often superficial. A major reason for this neglect is that this parable is often treated more or less as a repetition of the Parable of the Four Soils

A Brief Review of Craig Blomberg’s The Historical Reliability of the New Testament

October 23, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Craig Blomberg, Historical Reliability of the New Testament, inerrancy

The Historical Reliability of the New Testament. By Craig Blomberg. Nashville, TN: B & H Academic, Lexham Press, 2016. 783 pp. Paper, $39.99. I wrote a September 25, 2018, blog (see here) about a JETS review of this book. At the time I had not yet read it. Now that I have, I want to

Mining for Truth (Proverbs 2:3-5)

October 22, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - pluralism, truth

Is it easy to find the truth? Is it supposed to be easy? It depends. Some truth is implanted in your heart. You don’t need to search for it. It is right there. For example, God wrote the requirements of the moral law on the heart, Paul says (Rom 2:15). In an appendix to C.

Where Are the Workers?

October 19, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - boot camp, ministry, seminary, training

Every week a church calls up, looking to hire a Free Grace pastor or minister. And there aren’t any. Well, they are few and far between. There are positions around the country, but few men to fill them. And do you know what happens, next? The church hires someone they hope is at least Free

Naked and Hiding (Genesis 3:6-7; Galatians 3:26-27)

October 18, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Baptism, fig leaf, identity, naked

Have you ever tried to make yourself out to be better than you are? Maybe you were trying to impress a girl or land a job or gain someone’s esteem, but whatever the case, you felt pressured to cover up. That instinct goes back to the Fall. After they ate the forbidden fruit, Adam and

Amazed at What Is Now Normal Soteriological Terms in Evangelicalism

October 17, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Acts 16:14, Calvinism, Repentance, Repentant Faith, Soteriology, temporary spiritual life

Today I read a few articles in the July-September 2018 issue of Bibliotheca Sacra, the journal of Dallas Theological Seminary. It is celebrating its 175th anniversary (since DTS took over an already existing journal). Bibliotheca Sacra is one of the leading theological journals today. And it has been for a very long time. In this

The Difference Between a Promise and a Law (Galatians 3:17-18)

October 16, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Galatians, legalism, promise

The Galatians were being foolish. Or, more literally, they were not thinking things through. The whole province was slipping into legalism, but they should have known better. In Galatians 3, Paul listed some of the theological reasons why the Galatians should not have been deserting Christ and falling for a false gospel. One reason is