Assurance – Page 19 – 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

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

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

Beware of Misleading Blogs 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

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