Grace in Focus – July/August 2015
Was the Gospel Lost Until the Reformation?
Conventional wisdom claims that clear presentations of Jesus’ message of life ceased soon after the last apostle died. The following assertion by David Anderson is typical of that claim: [W]e have no written record of anyone from AD 100 to AD 1500 teaching forgiveness of post-baptismal sins once and for all at the point of
God’s Faithfulness to His Promises (Hosea 2:14-23)
The Old Testament prophet Hosea wrote one of the most interesting books in the Bible. God tells this prophet to marry Gomer, a prostitute (Hos 1:2). She would prove to be an unfaithful wife. There are differing opinions as to whether his wife was a prostitute before they married, or became one afterwards. It is
The Warning Passages in Hebrews (Part 3)
George Santayana famously wrote, “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” He forgot to mention that those who do learn from history still have to watch everyone else repeat it. It gets frustrating. No doubt the author of Hebrews felt that way. The Jewish believers to whom he was writing were
In Memory of Reagan Benedict
By Kara Bishop Reagan Benedict was born on Oct 21, 1935. He came to faith in Jesus Christ while in the military through the ministry of missionaries in Korea. After graduating from Dallas Theological Seminary (1966), he spent over 40 years pastoring churches in Iowa, Illinois, New Jersey and Alabama. His passions were meticulous study
Postmodern Doubts and Theological Education (Part 1)
Postmodern Agnosticism Rules at Most Conservative Theological Institutions1 Most Evangelicals have no idea what is being taught in Christian colleges and seminaries in America today. They assume that those training for the ministry are being taught the Bible, sound doctrine, and how to teach and preach. The truth is hard to believe. The norm in
This Is the House That I Built
It is a cute little Cape Cod with clapboard siding and two eye dormers in the front. It was constructed back in 1950, when that particular style was very popular in this country—at least, it was popular on the east coast. Several years later a detached, two-car garage was added. The house is situated on
For the Sake of His Name
The expression “for My [or His] name’s sake” occurs eleven times in the New Testament, in all four Gospels (seven times), Acts (once), John’s first and third epistles (once each), and Revelation (once).1 It is not found at all in the epistles of Paul, Peter, James, Jude, or the book of Hebrews. I was interested
Opening of Acts (Acts 1:1-14)
Prologue (1:1-3) 1:1. Theophilus (v 1) is unknown to us except from Luke’s two prologues. From the Gospel of Luke we gather he was a believer in Jesus Christ (cf. Luke 1:4). His name is found in papyri sources as early as 3 BC indicating this was his pagan name given him by unsaved parents.