eternal life – Grace Evangelical Society

Is Salvation a Gift or a Bargain? An Illustration from Steven Hein

September 4, 2020 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Assurance, eternal life, gift, lutheran, Works

I like Steven Hein’s analogy for two ways of presenting salvation. He compares it to the difference between receiving a diamond as a gift vs. purchasing it yourself for a bargain: What is the difference between receiving the largest, most valuable diamond in the world as a free gift—and getting it for a penny? If

Eternal Life Is Christocentric

July 14, 2020 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Christ, christocentric, Christology, eternal life

Free Grace theology should be thoroughly Christocentric, not least of all because eternal life itself is entirely Christocentric. What I mean is, eternal life is centered around Jesus. By contrast, how many religions are man-centered, works-centered, Mary-centered, saints-centered, money-centered, or even cult-leader-centered? But eternal life is about Jesus. How so? You are called to believe

Is the Gospel Missing in John?

June 8, 2020 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - eternal life, Mid-Acts Dispensationalism, Paul

I was reading this article (“The Gospel Missing in John”) by a mid-Acts theologian about the saving message in John’s Gospel. Although I sympathize with emphasizing the “Jewishness” of the Gospels, and I’ve learned a great deal from mid-Acts and Acts 28 dispensationalists, I think the contrast between the Twelve and Paul is often overblown.

J. Dwight Pentecost on Eternal Security and the Promise of Life

June 28, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - eternal life, Eternal Security, J. Dwight Pentecost

Here is a great quote from J. Dwight Pentecost, writing in 1965, on why the promise of eternal life implies eternal security: The promise of God is a basis for our security. We go into a familiar passage such as John 3:16 where it is made so clear: “…God so loved the world, that he

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

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

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

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