cross – Grace Evangelical Society

The Darkness at the Cross: Part 3 (Mark 15:33)

August 22, 2022 by Kenneth Yates in Blog - cross, Israel, Judgment, Kingdom, power of sin

In part 2 of this series, I discussed two popular ways of understanding the darkness at the cross of Christ. While there were some truths contained in those views, I think there is a better alternative. This alternative fits the context of Mark 15 better. There are two keys to adopting this view. The first

The Darkness at the Cross: Part 1 (Mark 15:33)

August 17, 2022 by Kenneth Yates in Blog - centurion, cross, Darkness

Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. Apocalypto is truly a guy movie. The hero is about to be sacrificed by a Mayan priest at a temple. The people believe their crops are failing because the gods are angry with them. Just as the

Seeing Good Friday With New Eyes

April 15, 2022 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - cross, Good Friday, Jesus, Psalm 22

If you had witnessed the Romans crucify Jesus, you would not have known the significance of what you saw. You would have seen a Jewish man, among several other men, being beaten, bruised, bloodied, and nailed to some wood by the despised Romans. You would have seen yet another criminal executed for His crimes. You

Is Jesus’ Evangelism Obsolete?

August 10, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - cross, evangelism, Gospel, saving message, Signs

How should you evangelize? Readers of this blog know that we promote Jesus’ method of doing evangelism. In stark contrast to much of what happens in the name of evangelism today, Jesus simply told people that whoever believes in Him has everlasting life (John 3:15-18; 5:24; 6:47; 10:28-29; 11:25-26). It’s that simple. The Lord stated

Two Aspects of the Cross

January 1, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - atonement, Chafer, cross, limited atonement, unlimited atonement

I have started working in earnest on my next book. As a follow-up to Chosen to Serve, which dealt with the doctrine of election, my next book will show that both Limited Atonement and Unlimited Atonement should be rejected because they both (wrongly) assume the benefits of the cross come as a package. My questions

The Different Benefits of the Cross: A Short Survey

May 8, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - atonement, cross

Calvinists and Arminians debate whether the atonement is limited or unlimited. My question is—what if that’s a false dichotomy? The big assumption made by both Calvinists and Arminians is that the atonement comes as a package of benefits. They claim that if one benefit applies to you, they all do because those benefits come as

Old Testament Sacrifices Did Not Come as a Package Deal

May 1, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - atonement, cross

In trying to rethink the debate between Calvinists and Arminians over the limited or unlimited nature of the atonement, I suggested we should rethink the assumption that the benefits of the cross come as a package deal. Maybe, just maybe, the cross has different benefits for different people, under different conditions. But is there any

The Big Assumption Behind Limited and Unlimited Atonement Theories

April 30, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - atonement, cross

Evangelical views of the atonement are broadly divided between two camps. Calvinists believe that Jesus died only for the elect. Hence, their view is popularly known as limited atonement, because the benefits of the atonement are limited to whomever God has predestined to be saved. Arminians believe that Jesus died for the world. Their view

The Benefits of the Cross: Actual or Potential?

December 11, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - atonement, cross

I was talking to a friend about the different views of the atonement in Free Grace circles. We came around to the issue of potentiality versus actuality. What did the cross actually accomplish? What did it potentially accomplish? I came up with an illustration for the differences of opinion that exist in Evangelical circles. Imagine