lutheran – 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

Why Holiness Churches Lack Assurance

March 10, 2020 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Assurance, holiness, lutheran, Lyle Lange

If you’re in a Pentecostal or Holiness church, or if you’ve recently come out of one, you probably struggle with assurance of salvation. Why? Lyle Lange, a Lutheran theologian, explains: The “holiness bodies” (such as Pentecostal, Church of the Nazarene, Church of God) look to special manifestations of the Spirit’s work in their lives to

“We Go to Heaven by Obeying the Ten Commandments”

November 7, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - evangelism, lutheran, Ten Commandments

Don Matzat, a Lutheran pastor of fifty years, tells the following story of teaching a new church the doctrine of justification by faith apart from works: In one parish I served, after installation, I called every active member, inviting them to come to a Sunday morning Bible Class. I got a decent response so that

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

Saved by Faith, or by Faith Formed by Love?

November 3, 2014 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - fides caritate formata, Free Grace, justification by faith, legalism, lutheran, sola fide, Soteriology

By Shawn Lazar Sola fide or fides caritate formata? Are we saved by faith alone, or faith formed by love? During the Reformation, that was one of the questions faced by Martin Luther, and it is an objection that the Free Grace movement still hears today. Faith in Jesus isn’t enough, some people say, you

Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire? J. D. Greear on Assurance

October 23, 2012 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Assurance, extra nos, Free Grace, J. D. Greear, Luther, lutheran, Soteriology

By SC Lazar Assurance Lost In a recent article in Christianity Today (“Should We Stop Asking Jesus Into Our Hearts?” Posted 7/13/2012), pastor J.D. Greear writes about his struggle to attain assurance of salvation. Greear recounts how his assurance was lost after a Sunday school lesson on Matthew 7:21-23, that pointed to the possibility of

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