Faith – Grace Evangelical Society

Believing What You Hear (Mark 7:25)

March 17, 2023 by Kenneth Yates in Blog - Faith, Sanctification

To believe something is to be convinced that it is true. To believe in Jesus Christ for eternal life is to be convinced that He gives it to you by faith in Him alone. But there are many other things that the believer is called to believe in after he has received eternal life. When

Is Mental Assent Adequate to Save?

January 26, 2023 by Kenneth Yates in Blog - Faith, Gospel, mental assent

I recently read a few statements by Samuel Harris, one of the leaders of what is called New Atheism. As the label indicates, he is a vocal critic of Biblical Christianity. Something he said in this article caught my eye. At one point, he states that a Christian “believes that Jesus is the Son of

When Being Young Is an Advantage (Luke 1:38)

December 27, 2022 by Kenneth Yates in Blog - Faith, Mary, Scriptures, Zacharias

The Bible clearly teaches that a young believer should learn from those who have been in the faith for a long time. Many older believers have a deeper understanding of God’s Word. Young believers, not knowing what the Scriptures say, will often make poor decisions. They do unwise things and need time to grow and

Billy Graham on Faith as Commitment

February 24, 2022 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Billy Graham, evangelism, Faith

Question Dear Mr. Lazar. Since you wrote this article some time ago, you may have done your research and corrected your misinterpretation of Billy Graham’s final testimony. When Billy Graham stated that Christians should be “committing your life to Christ,” he meant to have true faith and trust in Christ to cross the “bridge.” He certainly did not mean by

Is “Sola Fide” Inconceivable?

September 23, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - believing, Faith, sola fide

Telling people that salvation is by faith in Jesus apart from works won’t mean much if he or she doesn’t know what believing means. I asked a group dedicated to “Provisionalism”—which aims to defend traditionalist Baptist beliefs against Calvinism—what it means to believe. Not everyone in the group is a Provisionalist. But it is disconcerting

Can You Choose Not to Believe?

May 28, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - belief, Believe, choice, Faith, the will, willing

Question I’ve gotten a little confused regarding faith not being a choice. Say, for example, someone believes Jesus is the Christ, believes that He gives eternal life to everyone who believes in Him for it, but refuses to believe in Him for it. Wouldn’t that be a choice?  Because that person understands and believes that

Is Salvation by Faith + Desire?

April 16, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - belief, believing, Desire, Faith, Salvation

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of ways to deny or to confuse the message of faith alone in Christ alone for everlasting life that cannot be lost. I recently heard a new one. Someone who identifies as Free Grace recently told me this (I am paraphrasing): You can believe that John 3:16 is true

J. Vernon McGee on Repentance and Salvation

November 18, 2020 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - back-loaded gospel, believing, Faith, J. Vernon McGee, Repentance, Salvation

Even the most gifted Bible teachers can sometimes preach a confusing saving message. For example, I’m sure most readers of this blog are familiar with Dr. J. Vernon McGee’s Thru the Bible commentary. I’ve been reading through his comments on Luke’s Gospel and found his remarks on Luke 3:8 to be confusing. “John’s message was

William Barclay on Faith as Allegiance

September 24, 2020 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - allegiance, Faith, Matthew Bates, William Barclay

If you’re a preacher, you probably know the name William Barclay from The Daily Study Bible Series commentary. Barclay is a dangerous resource to use. On the one hand, you will almost always find him making an insightful, practical, and/or “preachable” comment on any given text. At least, that’s what I’ve found. On the other

Three False Calvinist Assumptions

July 10, 2020 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Calvinism, Faith, Grace, work

I was explaining Free Grace theology to a Calvinist when he said that I really believed in salvation by works! That’s not something I’ve ever been accused of before, so I was curious why he thought that. During our conversation, it became clear to me that he was making three big assumptions that are worth