Blog – Page 4 – Grace Evangelical Society

Do Not Trust in Politicians

January 15, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - politicians, praise, Trust

Did you ever notice that the New Testament barely mentions the names or actions of the ruling authorities of the day? For example, during the time of Jesus, Caesar Augustus was leading the Roman Republic into its epoch-making transformation into the Roman Empire. Humanly speaking, that was one of the most important events in history,

I Did Not Realize How Prevalent Assurance by Works Is

January 14, 2021 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Assurance, assurance and works, John 11:25-27

I have mentioned before that our 2006 annual conference ended up being controversial. There were two messages on assurance of everlasting life that were met with a divided response. I thought those messages would be well received but about half of the people agreed, while the other half thought that the messages by Zane Hodges

Can You Trust in Simple Salvation?

January 13, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Max Lucado, simple

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” “If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.” “Nothing is as simple as it seems.” Those are all common American proverbs that reflect our collective wisdom about dubious offers. However, those are also the ideas that lead many people to doubt the promise of eternal

Another Look at the Convicting Ministry of the Holy Spirit to the World (John 16:7-11)

January 12, 2021 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - evangelism, John 16:7-11, the convicting work of the Holy Spirit

Recently I wrote a blog in which I discussed John 16:7-11 and the fact that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. In the blog, which you can see here, I suggested that the Holy Spirit does the convicting work directly. That is, I suggested that every human being knows that

George Fox on Grace Before Godliness

January 11, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - George Fox, Grace, Quaker, Roman Catholic

George Fox was the organizer, if not the founder, of Quakerism, officially known as The Society of Friends. He traveled throughout Britain and the Caribbean, taking his message to whomever would listen and organizing the bands of followers who left the day’s official churches to worship more simply. Fox’s Journal is very interesting, if for

Lessons from My New Year’s Day Marathon

January 8, 2021 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - 2 Timothy 2:12, 2 Timothy 4:6-8, finishing the race, The Christian race

I thought it would be a good way to begin 2021 by race-walking a marathon (26.2 miles). I trained for it for about 6 months. I had finished seven marathons previously, from 1998 to 2019. This marathon was different in several major ways. First, because of Covid-19, I was not sure that we would actually

Catching and Cleaning Fish

January 7, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Discipleship, illustrations

I’m always on the look-out for simple illustrations of Biblical truths that most people can easily understand. Here’s one— I listened to an evangelist tell the story of how people in his home church grew upset when he started leading people to Christ, and the church began to grow. Some of the old-timers didn’t like

From Haran to Moriah: Spiritual Growth Takes Time

January 6, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Abraham, spiritual growth, spirituality

I get frustrated at my lack of spiritual growth. But then I think of Abraham. In James 2, we read: Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?

Tribulation Believers and the Mark of the Beast

January 5, 2021 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Perseverance of the Saints, Revelation 13:17, Revelation 14:9-12, the mark of the beast

P. N. raises a very challenging issue: So…I think it’s wrong to tell people that if they’re saved, they won’t do this or that (such as commit sin). I think that is works based salvation and I publicly tell people that’s wrong. But there is one area where things become inconsistent. Because I think believers

The Link Between Believing in Jesus for Everlasting Life and Believing that We Are Sinners

January 4, 2021 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - John 16:7-11, John 3:1-18, Sin and salvation

Dick read my recent blog entitled “How to Share Our Faith Clearly and Comfortably by Evangelizing the Way Jesus Evangelized” (see here). That led him to ask this question: Thank you for your ministry, which I have found helpful and encouraging. I do have a question for you, however, centering around the word believe in