Issue One: Assurance, Or, Must One Believe in the Eternality of the Gift? One question that has emerged is whether one needs to believe in Jesus for something that cannot be lost. Whether we call that something justification, salvation, heaven, or eternal life, the question is whether one must believe that what he receives by

Editor’s note: It has been my privilege to edit Zane’s commentary on Second Peter for publication in our one-volume NT commentary, which we expect to be released in November or December. The following struck me as especially powerful. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. 3:10. In the Greek text the word

9The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Peter’s point, of course, is that what seems long and short to men is not long or short to the Lord. Therefore, any seeming delay

Introduction There are at least seven books on the market today called The Promise, including ones by Pearl Buck, Danielle Steele, Hal Lindsay, and Jonathan Morris. There have been at least seven motion pictures bearing this title between 1969 and 2007, including productions by Americans, Germans, Chinese, Filipinos, and Belgians. There are many songs called

By Stephen R. Lewis The Consensus Model Shaped Theology and Exegesis Many today would listen to the text of Scripture through the history of exegesis and track its interpretation first back through the consensus (general agreement among members of a given group or community) of the magisterial Reformation tradition, then comparing that to the Fathers1

Evangelical Is a Very Broad Title The term Evangelical in theory means one who believes the NT evangel, or good news, and especially the message of justification by faith alone in Christ alone. However, in current usage it actually is a very elastic term that says very little about what a person believes. The term