Blog – Page 2 – Grace Evangelical Society

Am I Totally Depraved?

November 11, 2022 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Total depravity, total inability

In response to the teachings of Arminius, Calvinism developed five points that are known by the acrostic TULIP. The T in TULIP stands for total depravity. That expression sounds as if it refers to someone like Hitler, Stalin, Mao, or Pol Pot. It sounds as if it refers to someone who is just about as

Who Was Right, Erasmus or the Reformers?

November 10, 2022 by Kenneth Yates in Blog - Erasmus, Gospel, Luther, Reformation

I am not a church historian, but I do like reading about what happened in church history. There is a man I’ve read about who has always fascinated me. Erasmus, a contemporary of Martin Luther, produced the first printed edition the Greek NT, Novum Instrumentum omne (1516), which allowed many people to study the NT

Are You Guilty of Having a Non-Profit Religion? (James 2:14)

November 9, 2022 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - James 2:14, James 2:16, what does it profit?

James 2:14 begins with the three Greek words ti to ophelos. These three words are found only one other time in the NT. Guess where? James repeats them two verses later! These words are translated in four different, but related, ways in the leading English translations: What does it profit…? (NKJV, MEV, KJV, RSV, ASV).

How to Help People Evangelize Clearly

November 8, 2022 by Kenneth Yates in Blog - Assurance, crowds

Most of us are familiar with the Gideons. They are responsible for handing out millions and millions of Bibles. The people involved in this organization are laymen who devote their own time and resources to print and distribute the Word of God. When they give out these Bibles, they often engage in evangelism. They are

What’s Wrong with Believing in Limited Atonement?

November 7, 2022 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Assurance and limited atonement, particular redemption

And He Himself is the propitiation [satisfaction of God’s justice] for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world (1 John 2:2). Calvinists believe that Christ died for the sins of only a small portion of humanity, called the elect. Since limited atonement sounds a bit negative, many Calvinists prefer

Can We Misinterpret Life Events?

November 4, 2022 by Kenneth Yates in Blog - combat, Joseph, leadership

One of the most interesting people in America’s Civil War was a man by the name of Leonidas Polk. There is an army post in Louisiana named after him. He illustrates a profound truth: People may look at something as a tragedy or, conversely, a happy occurrence while, in reality, the exact opposite is true.

That Is One Pathetic Group (Jeremiah 43:7)

November 3, 2022 by Kenneth Yates in Blog - Exodus, rebellion, Sin

In Jer 43:7, a group of Jews arrive in Egypt. They are a sad company. Running for their lives, they are fleeing their own country because they fear the Babylonian army will come and kill them. They have endured years of war. They have very little wealth and no power. One of the main reasons

Climate Change and Christianity, Part 3: How Climate-Change Ideology Is Incompatible with Biblical Christianity

November 2, 2022 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Ways the climate-change movement is inconsistent with Christianity

Many climate-change prophets say that life on Earth will end in the next ten to twenty years unless drastic measures are taken. In January of 2019, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that “the world will end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change” (see here). In January of 2020, at the World Economic Forum,

A Ray of Light in the Selective Service? (Romans 1:21)

November 1, 2022 by Kenneth Yates in Blog - Creation, Darkness, depravity, hypocrisy, Romans 1

In Romans 1, Paul discusses the spiritual darkness that descends upon people when they reject what is right before their eyes. Much of the discussion deals with Creation and the created order. Creation itself shouts out that there is a Creator and that there are established sexual boundaries. Throughout history, however, mankind has denied these

Climate Change and Christianity, Part 2: How Climate-Change Ideology Is Compatible with Biblical Christianity

October 31, 2022 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - The compatibility of Christianity and the climate change movement

Part of God’s creation mandate to mankind is that we are to have dominion over the earth: “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing