Assurance | Grace Evangelical Society

Faith Alone Saves, But the Faith That Saves Is Never Alone—A Dangerous Contradiction?

January 10, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Assurance, Lordship Salvation, saving faith, The faith that saves is never alone, Wayne Grudem

I received an email pointing me to a video by Dr. Wayne Grudem entitled, “Salvation without Repentance from Sin: A Critique of the Free Grace Gospel.” You can see that 45-minute video here. I’ve written a book responding to Dr. Grudem’s book Free Grace Theology: 5 Ways It Diminishes the Gospel. So I won’t cover his view of

25 Comments

Carl F. Wisløff on Assurance

September 19, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Assurance, Carl F. Wisløff, lutheran, pietism

Carl F. Wisløff (1908-2004) was a Norwegian Lutheran theologian and preacher. I recently acquired a copy of his short systematic theology, I Know in Whom I Believe: Studies in Bible Doctrine (I ordered it from here). Here is what Wisløff writes about assurance of salvation: “In Romans 4:16, it is said of Abraham: “For this

Did the Disciples Become Confused About Salvation When Jesus Spoke with the Rich Young Ruler? Matthew 19:25

August 10, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Assurance, evangelism, Matthew 19:25, Salvation

I receive many questions. Most are very good. Most I’ve heard before. But at least once or twice a week I get a question I’ve never heard that is a good one. Today I received a question via email that is both new and extremely challenging. Here is the question: We know the Scriptures tell

Might a Fuzzy View of Faith Lead to a Lack of Assurance?

July 9, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Assurance, Faith, Lordship Salvation, saving faith, Wayne Grudem

Yesterday I received an email from a Free Grace Pastor who likes our writings. He indicated that he was concerned about some things he read in the book A Defense of Free Grace Theology, edited by Dr. Fred Chay, with contributions by Ken Wilson, Paul Tanner, Dave Anderson, Jody Dillow, and Chay. Here is what

Calvinism Has a Box of Mystery Verses

June 26, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Assurance, Calvinism, Eternal Security, Perseverance, saving faith

I’m sitting on the plane awaiting takeoff from Dallas-Fort Worth to Orlando, FL for our June 8-9 regional conference on the theme “Is Calvinism Biblical?” I pull out my conference schedule and look it over. Then I begin to go over the message I was giving that night. Then something unusual happens. It has become

Confusion Abounds About How to Have Eternal Life Beware of Misleading Blogs

June 22, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Arminianism, Assurance, eternal life, evangelism

A reader told me about a May 20, 2018 blog by Justin Steckbauer entitled “How to Have Eternal Life.” The reader said, “After reading it I felt truly sorry for him.” I just read the blog. You can see it here. I too feel sorry for Steckbauer and for all the people whom he influences.

Cottrell’s Continuing Assurance

June 13, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Arminianism, Assurance, continuing faith, Jack Cottrell

In his book, His Truth: Scripture Truths About Basic Doctrines, Jack Cottrell, an Arminian theologian, wrote on the subject of assurance. He did not give a name for the view he defended. I think it would be appropriate to call it the “I hope I keep believing” view. On Cottrell’s view, salvation is by faith

How Can We Activate Saving Faith?

June 12, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Assurance, evangelism, Faith, saving faith

Take a look at this moving email I just received: I have believed I was saved for a long time. But it was not until last year that I finally heard a proper presentation of the gospel of free grace. The evangelical world is crazy mixed up out there. I was brought to a Reformed

Jack Cottrell Hopes He Will Keep Believing

June 11, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Arminian, Arminianism, Assurance, Continuous faith, Cottrell

Jack Cottrell is an Arminian theologian. If you want to read a serious Arminian, start with him. Cottrell wrote a summary of his beliefs—a short systematic theology—called His Truth: Scriptural Truths About Basic Doctrines. The last chapter is on assurance. At the beginning of the chapter, he identified two prominent errors regarding assurance. The first