Blog | Grace Evangelical Society

The Total Accuracy of the Gospel Accounts

November 25, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Historical accuracy of the Gospels, inerrancy, John 14:26

In the Fall 2019 issue of DTS Magazine, I was quite interested to see an article by Drs. Darrell Bock and Benjamin Simpson, entitled, “Minding the Gap: Orality, Memory, & the Gospels” (pp. 8-11). The gap alluded to in the title is the time between Jesus’ ministry and the writing of the Gospels, thirty years or so. The authors

Matthew 7:21-23 Revisited

November 22, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - “the will of the Father, ” “I never knew you, ” “You will know them by their fruits”, Matthew 7:21-23

In a blog On November 19 (see here), I answered a question from a reader about salvation by self-denial. One of the responses I received to that blog suggested that I had not carefully explained Matt 7:21-23. The questioner had said that the people in Matt 7:21-23 will not go to heaven even though they thought they would. I have

The Outer Darkness Is Not the Lake of Fire

November 21, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Matthew 22:13, Matthew 25:30, Matthew 8:12, The Judgment Seat of Christ, the outer darkness

A friend asked me if I saw an article by Hampton Keathley IV at the Bible.org website entitled, “The Outer Darkness: Heaven’s Suburb or Hell?” You can see it here. I’ve known Keathley for a long time. He is a friend and a Free Grace guy. The expression the outer darkness (or the darkness outside) only occurs three times in

Let’s Have an Argument: The Emerging Church vs Paul

November 20, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - argumentation, Paul

I’m tired of having conversations and dialogues. Let’s have an argument! Gerardo Marti and Gladys Ganiel have written an excellent overview of the emerging church movement (ECM), The Deconstructed Church: Understanding Emerging Christianity. As sociologists, they give an overview of the data they collected about the movement, without offering their own opinions about its theological correctness. The fourth

Arguments for Salvation by Dying to Self and Walking in His Ways

November 19, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Matthew 7:13-14, Matthew 7:21-23, Repentance and Salvation, Salvation and self-denial

A reader of our website has a problem with our stand that salvation from eternal condemnation is by faith alone, apart from works. She wrote: I enjoyed reading your article on Acts 13:48 since I’m aware of Calvinism and did consider this verse very strong for their support.  As is life in Jesus, we read

Where Did the Early Christians Meet?

November 18, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - church buildings, sacred spaces

Where did the early Christians meet? Not in “church” buildings. (I put “church” in italics, because believers are the church, not the building.) The early believers were flexible. They met and ministered wherever they could. 1.They met in the Temple (until it was destroyed): So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they

When to Keep Your Mouth Shut (Amos 5:13)

November 15, 2019 by Kenneth Yates in Blog

Recently I was reading the OT Book of Amos. I ran across an interesting verse. The prophet says, “Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time, For it is an evil time” (Amos 5:13). Amos is saying that there are times when those who are wise do not speak. This occurs when it is “an evil time.” Amos was a prophet

Lordship Salvation Is Poor Comfort for a Dying Relative

November 14, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Death, hospice, Lordship Salvation

This past Sunday, our minivan wouldn’t start, so the kids and I walked to a local church, about a mile away. They protested, feeling it was an exceedingly far distance to travel—“Why is this taking so long? Is this Canada?” Once we got settled in, I found the preacher was teaching through Job. Unfortunately, having recently taught through Job myself,

Why Not Start a Church Bookstore?

November 13, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - ministry, mission, vocation

“Churches need to operate their own bookstores to provide sound material to the people,” David Cloud, a Fundamentalist Baptist, argued. “The typical Christian bookstores are not going to carry the type of information that God’s people need today, because they are in the business of making money and do not want to offend potential customers”

The Last Words in Ecclesiastes (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

November 12, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - 2 Corinthians 5:10, Bema, Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, Judgment of Bad Deeds, Judgment of Deeds Done in Secret, The Judgment Seat of Christ

Ecclesiastes is a difficult book. The reason is probably because Solomon was seeking pleasure and wisdom from a humanistic perspective. But by the time he gets to the end of the book, Solomon has clearly shown that from a humanistic perspective, life has no meaning or purpose. It is all vain. Solomon concludes in this way, “Fear God