Grace in Focus – July/August 2014

Salvation in Romans
In everyday English, the words save and salvation refer to a wide range of deliverances. The same is true in the Bible. Both in the Old Testament (written in Hebrew) and in the New Testament (written in Greek), the words save and salvation refer to many types of deliverance and not just to deliverance from
Intelligent Design or Naturalism? — The Relevance of Romans 1:18-32
By Philippe R. Sterling Stephen King told NPR in a recent interview that he believes in God and intelligent design.1 “If you say, ‘Well, OK, I don’t believe in God. There’s no evidence of God,’ then you’re missing the stars in the sky and you’re missing the sunrises and sunsets and you’re missing the fact
Blameless & Above Reproach
There are only seven uses of the Greek word anenklētos (blameless, above reproach, irreproachable) in the New Testament. Three of these uses refer to one of the requirements of an elder (1 Tim 3:2; Titus 1:6) or a deacon (1 Tim 3:10). Those are fairly well known. The other four are not so well known.
Why It Matters That Hebrews Was Written to Believers
By David Janssen Because the epistle to the Hebrews is a challenging book to understand, many believers today don’t take the time and effort to mine its rich truths. One reason it has become difficult to understand is the debate concerning whom Hebrews was written to.1 Many view Hebrews as a message that was written
Clarity in Evangelism for Baptists
Baptists need to do some soulsearching about our search for souls. We (I am a Baptist myself) love talking about Jesus. We emphasize evangelism. But we aren’t always clear when we present the gospel. We all know that some ways are clearer than others, but how do we tell the difference? How to Present the
Affliction
The world is full of trouble. It comes to everyone. But in the book of Romans, Paul tells us that there is an important difference in how affliction operates in the life of a believer and how it operates in the life of an unbeliever. Someone who believes in Jesus Christ for eternal life can
Q&A
By Bob Wilkin Q : Paul so often talked about the freeness of salvation. He wanted us to know that if works of any kind are added to belief then that is not salvation. Paul went to great effort to show the clear contrast between works and grace. But I do not see Jesus doing