Assurance | Grace Evangelical Society

Assurance and Ongoing Faith

May 23, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Assurance, Faith

Shawn Lazar, Ken Yates, and I received the following question via email: I read the affirmations of faith on the website (https://faithalone.org/beliefs) and saw a line that seems out of sort with what I have heard from GES teaching: “That is, as long as a person believes in Jesus for everlasting life, he knows he has

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The Difference Between Backsliding and Apostasy

May 21, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - apostasy, Assurance, Backsliding, Hebrews 6:4-8

Free Grace people are united in saying that born again people are not immune to backsliding. Even Lordship Salvation people agree, though they would say that backsliding can’t last too long (but they don’t know how long is too long). But Free Grace people are not quite united on the question of apostasy. Do born again people

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Asa Mahan’s Assurance of Salvation

May 14, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Asa Mahan, Assurance

Asa Mahan (1799-1889) was an Arminian philosopher and theologian. He was Presbyterian, but at a time when many Presbyterians were becoming Arminian (following the so-called “New Haven Theology”). Mahan was also the first president of Oberlin College (when it was a revivalist school and not the uber-liberal place it is today). Mahan was also co-worker with

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Created for Good Works (Ephesians 2:10)

May 9, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Assurance, Ephesians 2:10, good works, Perseverance

There is a great effort by many to soften the meaning of Eph 2:8-9 by suggesting that verse 10 means that while works are not the means of salvation, they are the necessary result of it. For example, Francis Foulkes writes, “But probably it is the whole course of life that is on view here. The nature and character of the works and

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No Murderer Has Eternal Life Abiding in Him (1 John 3:15)

March 19, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - 1 John 3:15, Abiding, Assurance, Fellowship, Perseverance, Transformation

A reader who likes our magazine wrote, asking us to take him off our subscription list: It is with sadness I ask you to remove me from your mailing list. I truly love your materials. But 1 John is fairly clear that there has to be transformation in your life or eternal life simply doesn’t abide

Saving Faith Debated in Scotland in 1720

March 12, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Assurance, Marrow Men, Marrow of Modern Divinity, Marrow Theology

People often ask who believed in Free Grace before us? There are hints here and there through history. One source of Free Grace type beliefs came from the Marrow Controversy in Scotland in the 18th century. William VanDoodewaard wrote his doctoral dissertation about the Marrow Controversy and published it as The Marrow Controversy and Seceder Tradition: Marrow Theology in the Associate Presbytery and Associate Synod Secession Churches of Scotland

I Discovered Another Calvinist Who Conceded He’s Not Sure

March 8, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Assurance, Doubt, John Piper, Perseverance, R. C. Sproul, Uncertainty

Some of you may have read the article by Dr. R. C. Sproul which he published back in 1989 in Tabletalk. In it he said that he was uncertain about his salvation, but that he learned the lesson that the Apostle Peter learned as well: “being uncomfortable with Jesus [is] better than any other option.” The Ligonier.org website only has magazine articles

Examples of Believers Who Persevered to the End of Their Lives

February 22, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - 2 Timothy 2:12, Assurance, Endurance, Perseverance

Last year in Grace in Focus magazine, Marcia Hornok wrote an article about believers in Scripture who lived messy lives. You can read her article here (pp. 35-36). In her conclusion she said, “Anyone who thinks true believers persevere in following God cannot prove it with Biblical examples.” I received an email from a reader who thought he was accurately

Doing Greater Works Than Jesus Did (John 14:12)

February 15, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Assurance, Greater works than Jesus did, John 14:12

This great question got buried in my Inbox: “Hey GES! I was wondering, in John 14:12, it seems that Christ is saying that work is a direct result of faith. I’m not concerned with the “greater works” part, just the fact that it looks like He’s saying “he who believes WILL do” instead of “should do.” I

Can We Be Sure in This Life That We Will Rule with Christ?

February 6, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - 2 Tim 4:6-8, Assurance, Eternal Rewards, Ruling with Christ

I received the following excellent question via email: Thank you for your daily blogs. They are (for the most part) a great encouragement. I’m still not on board with your women in ministry position. Today’s blog was great, and it raised a question for me.  Near the end you said, “I am a cracked pot. While