Blog – Page 189 – Grace Evangelical Society

Jesus Wants You to Think! (Luke 18:18-19)

July 23, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Deity of Christ, Socratic Method, Trinity

Jesus wants people to think. He especially wants them to think more deeply about Who He is. Consider Luke 18:18-19: Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?  So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.” An anti-Trinitarian person

Opposition All Around

July 20, 2018 by Ken Yates in Blog - Mark 3:6, Pharisees and Herodians, Rejecting Christ, Unbelief

Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him (Mark 3:6). Mark 3:1-6 is the fifth of five encounters Jesus has with religious leaders. None of these encounters go well. Here, in 3:6, we see the conclusion. The religious leaders, the Pharisees, decide that Jesus must die.

What Does It Mean to Believe in Jesus?

July 19, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - believing in Him for everlasting life, believism, faith in Christ, saving faith

After a recent blog (see here) showing that faith in Christ is not a decision, a reader asks: I’m confused. Is it believing in Jesus that saves, or is it believing in Jesus and knowing that believing in Jesus saves? Though a bit complicated, that is a very good question. Read the question again until

Gordon H. Clark on Propositional Truth

July 18, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Gordon H. Clark, propositional, truth

What is truth? What can be true? Christians should be people of the truth. But to be that, we need to know what it means for something to be true or false. To that end, I was reading a 1974 book review written by the late Gordon H. Clark where he gave a very nice

What Did the Lord Mean When He Said We Should Pray “Thy Will Be Done on Earth as It Is in Heaven”?

July 17, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Christ’s return, social gospel, the kingdom, The Lord’s Prayer, theonomy

A few weeks ago I heard a radio preacher quote part of the Lord’s Prayer. He quoted, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10). He said that the Church today is not just sitting by and watching the world go to pieces. We are seeking to change the world

Four Examples of Patience (James 5:7-11)

July 16, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - patience

Do you find it hard to be patient? If you ever need inspiration in that area, consider the four examples offered in Jas 5:7-11. First, there is the patience of planting. “The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains” (v 7).

Is Faith a Decision?

July 13, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - decisionism, Faith, saving faith

In a recent blog you can see here, entitled “Might a Fuzzy View of Faith Lead to a Lack of Assurance,” I suggested that faith is simply being persuaded or convinced that something is true. Saving faith is being convinced that the Lord Jesus was telling the truth when He said, “He who believes in

How the Will Can Influence Your Beliefs

July 12, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - decisionism, doxastic, epistemology, Faith, voluntarism

Free Grace is sometimes dismissed as a form of “decisionism.” That’s a mistake because faith is not a decision. Not everyone in Free Grace circles agrees with that. Some claim they can choose their beliefs. The idea that you can choose your beliefs is called doxastic voluntarism. There are “direct” and “indirect” versions of it.

Did Zane Hodges Believe That Saving Faith Is Intellectual Assent?

July 11, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Faith, Lordship Salvation, saving faith, Wayne Grudem, Zane Hodges

As I mentioned in an earlier blog (see here), Dave Anderson argues in the book A Defense of Free Grace Theology that Wayne Grudem’s view of saving faith is essentially that of nearly all Free Grace advocates. Anderson even goes so far as to suggest that Zane Hodges agreed with Grudem’s view. Zane Hodges was

You Should Be Reading The Grace New Testament Commentary

July 10, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog

People regularly send in questions about grace issues and related problem-passages. I am very happy to answer those basic questions for people who are brand-new to Free Grace issues. However, I often get asked the same questions by people who are not brand-new to Free Grace. They’ve been around the issues for a while, and