Blog – Page 190 – Grace Evangelical Society

Might a Fuzzy View of Faith Lead to a Lack of Assurance?

July 9, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Assurance, Faith, Lordship Salvation, saving faith, Wayne Grudem

Yesterday I received an email from a Free Grace Pastor who likes our writings. He indicated that he was concerned about some things he read in the book A Defense of Free Grace Theology, edited by Dr. Fred Chay, with contributions by Ken Wilson, Paul Tanner, Dave Anderson, Jody Dillow, and Chay. Here is what

How to Come Back from Carnality (James 4)

July 6, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Repentance, Sin

How does a backslidden believer come back into fellowship with God? James 4 gives sound instruction. In vv 1-5, James shines the light on some areas of sin in the lives of these believers. They were engaged in: Quarrels and conflicts (vv 1, 2) Fleshly pleasures (v 1) Lust (v 2) Murder (v 2) Envy

How We Decide Where to Hold a Regional Conference

July 5, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - regional conference

People have often asked, “How do you decide where to hold a regional conference?” Let me shed some light on our reasoning process. There are four basic criteria. First, invitations. Was there an invitation to hold a regional at a given city or area? Those make a big difference in our planning, especially if the

Who Took John 5:4 Out of My Bible?

July 4, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Bible study, John 5:4, Majority Text, Textual criticism

“For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well from whatever disease he had” (John 5:4). A friend sent me Dr. Michael Heiser’s LogosTalk article “Who Took John 5:4 Out of My Bible?”

Eternal Existence vs Eternal Life

July 3, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - annihilationism, conditionalism, ECT, eternal conscious torment, Hell, immortality of the soul

In my discussions with annihilationists, one of the conceptual roadblocks I’ve encountered is an inability to distinguish between eternal existence and having eternal life. Some annihilationists reason this way: “To have eternal life means to exist forever. Only believers have eternal life, therefore only believers will exist forever. Since unbelievers lack eternal life, they will

Efforts to Find Repentance in John’s Gospel

July 2, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - evangelism, Gospel of John, Repentance, turning from sins

Recently one of the readers of our blog asked me to respond to a Spring 2013 Journal article from The Master’s Seminary Journal. The article was by Dr. David Croteau and was entitled, “Repentance Found? The Concept of Repentance in the Fourth Gospel.” Croteau holds to Lordship Salvation and the necessity of turning from one’s

The Arrogance of Control (James 4:13)

June 29, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - arrogance, Fellowship, pride, spiritual maturity

The Epistle of James was addressed to carnal Christians. James urged them to come back into fellowship with God. “Submit…to God,” he wrote (4:7). “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (4:8). Clearly, these believers were far from God. That distance was reflected in their actions, in their speech, and in

Will We Give Back Our Rewards? — Revelation 4:10-11

June 28, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - casting our crowns before Christ, Eschatology, Eternal Rewards, Rev 4:10-11

A reader wondered: I thought of Revelation 4:10-11, where it says the 24 Elders will cast their crowns down before the feet of Jesus. The Grace New Testament Commentary doesn’t say much on this. I looked at another commentary and it said that maybe we will be so full of gratitude that we will be

The Toboggan-Rider, the To-Canada-Flyer, and the Snow-Vacationer

June 27, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - believing, Faith, saving faith

For the last year, I’ve been promising to take my kids to Canada. They want to see the snow. They saw some snow once—two years ago. A light sprinkling that quickly melted. But they want to see the real thing—the kind I grew up with. Two, three, four feet of it. Snow drifts so high

Calvinism Has a Box of Mystery Verses

June 26, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Assurance, Calvinism, Eternal Security, Perseverance, saving faith

I’m sitting on the plane awaiting takeoff from Dallas-Fort Worth to Orlando, FL for our June 8-9 regional conference on the theme “Is Calvinism Biblical?” I pull out my conference schedule and look it over. Then I begin to go over the message I was giving that night. Then something unusual happens. It has become