eternal life | Grace Evangelical Society

The Messiah and Eternal Life (John 6:68-69; 11:25-27)

May 20, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Christ, Christology, eternal life, evangelism

Some people say we must believe that Jesus is the Christ, without necessarily believing in Him for eternal life or any other kind of salvation. By contrast, we argue that when you believe that Jesus is the Christ—i.e., the Savior—you must have some understanding of the kind of salvation He brings. To believe in Jesus as

John Wesley on Being a Fake Christian

August 13, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Aldersgate, eternal life, John Wesley, methodism, Methodist

Do you know when you were born-again? Some Free Grace people say they were born-again before they believed in Jesus for eternal life. They believe those doctrines now, but they say they were born-again before. How do they know? Usually, based on an experience they had. “I suddenly had a desire to read Scripture, and

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.

Genesis 1-3 and Everlasting Salvation

April 26, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Creation, eternal life, Genesis, The fall

Does the Bible emphasize the eternality of salvation? When OT and NT people thought of salvation, was “living forever” a new idea or a basic one? Is that something they believed in God to provide? To answer those questions, consider Genesis 1-3. You know the story. You know that God created Adam and Eve

Everlasting Salvation in Daniel

April 25, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Daniel, eternal life, Kingdom, Messiah, Prophecy

Was it normal for Jewish people to believe that God’s salvation is eternal? Was it normal for them to think of the coming Messiah in “eternal” terms? Was everlasting salvation on their radar? Consider some verses in Daniel. Daniel prophesied about a coming kingdom. How long did he say that kingdom would last? “In

Everlasting Salvation and Abraham

April 13, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Abraham, eternal life, everlasting covenant

What did Abraham believe? What was the content of his faith in God? Did he believe in God for lots of grandkids and great-grandkids, or did he also have everlasting salvation on his mind? When Abraham believed, could he have believed in God for something eternal? I wish there were an explicit verse that answered

The Samaritans and Everlasting Salvation

April 11, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - eternal life, evangelism, Samaritans

Did the woman at the well understand that Jesus was offering her eternal life? Is that the kind of salvation she, and other Samaritans, were expecting from the Messiah? Were they thinking in eternal terms? Or did they believe in Him with no thought of salvation, let alone of eternal life, at all? Well,

Billy Graham’s Final Contradiction

March 1, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Billy Graham, clarity, eternal life, evangelism

Billy Graham went to be with the Lord he loved and served. Here is his final column (see the image below). I thought it was a good one until I read the last sentence. At the beginning of the last paragraph, Graham explained he will be in heaven, not because of the works he did,

Knowing God by our Works? 1 John 2:3-11

July 1, 2016 by GES Webmaster in Blog - Assurance, eternal life

By Bob Wilkin, originally published in the Fall 1988 edition of Grace in Focus. “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments” (1 John 2:3)Recently I was on a radio talk show and a caller asked me to explain how 1 John 2:3 could fit my view that salvation is

Faith Taken Captive

September 14, 2012 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - eternal life, gerhard forde, legalism, lutheran, Soteriology

“Faith itself has been taken captive by legalism.” ~Gerhard Forde Ever since Paul’s fiery denouncement of Judaistic law-keeping in Galatians and Romans, the Christian tradition has recognized, if only grudgingly, that legalism is the death-knell of faith in Christ. Even those churches most closely identified with deeply legalistic tendencies (I am thinking of Catholicism and