GES Regional in Italy 

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On May 3-5, GES conducted a regional Bible conference at Christian International Fellowship, a church pastored by David Showalter, an American missionary. He and his family have been in Italy for many years. The church is located in Sesto Calende, Italy, which is near Milan. Obviously, the country’s culture is heavily impacted by the Catholic
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Is Salvation Unconditional? 

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Dave sent me an article (originally a Facebook post) entitled “Salvation Is Not Unconditional” by Dr. Robert Gagnon (see here). Gagnon says that salvation does have a condition. Gagnon’s second paragraph starts out great: “One has to believe the gospel.” If by the gospel he means justification by faith alone (Gal 1:6-9), then he is
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I Believe, Therefore I Am 

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Rene Descartes wrote in 1637, “Cognito, ergo sum.” That means, “I think, therefore I am.” We know we exist because we are sentient beings. During a dream last night, I thought, “I believe, therefore I am born again.” That is essentially a spiritual rearrangement of what Descartes wrote nearly four hundred years ago. How do
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Why Am I a Zero-Point Calvinist?

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Today, I recorded a seven-minute YouTube video with this same title. It should go up on the Grace Evangelical Society YouTube channel around the time this blog posts. When I graduated from DTS in 1982, I called myself a Calvinist. I considered myself a three-pointer. I’ve come to realize that all five points are a
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Religion Won’t Cut It (Luke 5:12-15) 

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Throughout church history, people have been duped into believing that they could receive wonderful spiritual benefits from religious rituals. Churches have promised the forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation if people submit to baptism, take communion, or join their ranks. Of course, to keep those blessings, the folks must continue in the teachings of the
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Public or Private Rebuke? 

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At a recent men’s conference in Springfield, Missouri, Mark Driscoll, the well-known former pastor of Mars Hill, was booted off stage during his guest speaking appearance. The “Stronger Men’s Conference” was hosted by the James River Church, which is pastored by John Lindell. The conference’s stated purpose was to equip men to “live out God’s
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