Grace in Focus – November/December 2020
Four Ways Jesus Fulfilled the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17)
By Shawn Lazar “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill” (Matt 5:17). Jesus said that He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. In other words, the Lord was giving a purpose statement for His ministry, and whenever someone
The Rapture in Matthew 24? Nine Proofs
By Bob Wilkin Introduction Somewhere around 2000, I became convinced that in Matt 24:40-44 the Lord is teaching the pre-trib Rapture. I was influenced by conversations with Zane Hodges. Around 2005, I then heard a message defending the pre-trib Rapture in the Olivet Discourse by Dr. John Hart. In 2007-2008, we published three articles by
“Righteousness” in Romans
By Ken Yates One of the most interesting things about studying the Book of Romans is how Paul uses the word righteousness. It is used over 35 times in the book. And that is counting just the noun, not the verb. Sometimes the word is translated righteousness, and other times it is translated justification. Most
Samson’s Weakness (Judges 14:1-4)
By Mark Piland Introduction Rob Lowe, the former teenage heartthrob who knows a thing or two about skeletons coming out of the closet, had this to say about the perils of being famous in America: “Anyone who’s lived their life to the fullest extent has a scandal buried somewhere. And anybody who doesn’t have a
Romans 7: A Concise Commentary
From The Grace New Testament Commentary (Revised Edition) By Zane Hodges Our relationship to the law has ended (7:1-6) 7:1. Paul is now addressing those who know the law, in particular, Jewish believers and Gentiles who may have been connected with the synagogues before coming to faith in Christ. The law only has authority over
Time for Devotions
By Allen Rea Even as a pastor, I’ve had my share of spiritual struggles. I know of plenty of times when I’ve gotten out of the will of God, or when I allowed waves of discouragement to overtake me. However, I’ve also noticed that every single spiritual defeat I’ve experienced can be traced back to
Taking Romans 8:28-30 Back from Calvinism
By Daniel Weierbach Calvinists believe that Rom 8:28-30 supports the doctrine of election and predestination. This would mean that God determines all who go to heaven before they are even born. But is that the most accurate interpretation of this passage? Does this passage have anything to do with the receiving of eternal life? It
Reaching the Spanish-Speaking World
By Kelley Easley Back in March, right around the time that the virus hit, I received a message from Shawn, asking what I thought about translating the daily blogs at www.faithalone.org into Spanish. I had been working with GES for the past several months to translate Bob’s book, The Ten Most Misunderstood Words in the
Jesus’ Coronation Names
By Dix Winston Names in the Bible are important, especially when given by God. God names the first man in the Bible Adam because He created him from the earth. Jacob’s name means cheater or swindler, which he was, but after wrestling with the Angel (the preincarnate Christ), he was renamed Israel, meaning “one who
Top 5 Biblical Reasons to Celebrate with Food
By Summer Stevens With the holidays—and holiday foods—just around the corner, and everything at a fever pitch, it can be easy to miss the Biblical significance of feasting and how celebrating with food can actually draw us near to the heart of God. Where in the Bible do we see the theological significance of eating?