Sanctification | Grace Evangelical Society

Grace vs Permissiveness

April 16, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Grace, Sanctification

I was recently chatting with an Episcopal priest about grace. He was very nice, and it was a pleasure talking to him. I asked how the message of grace was received in the Episcopal church. He suggested that while the Episcopal church is not very theological—in that people are not talking about and debating theology—he thought

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Leaving Sin City (Romans 6:1-2)

February 1, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Romans, Sanctification

The Red Light district in Amsterdam is one of the most depressing places I’ve ever been. Abby and I had just moved to the city. We loved walking through it. Amsterdam is more like a large village than a city, filled with beautiful architecture, canals, and shops. But it has some ugly parts, too. We were admiring the town when we turned down

Burden Bearing (Galatians 6:1-6)

December 17, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Christian living, Galatians, Sanctification, spirituality

I believe that Christian “spirituality” boils down to loving Jesus and loving your neighbor. There are some other elements, to be sure, but that’s the master theme. And this isn’t an emotional-sentimental love. It’s a practical, get-your-hands-dirty kind of love. It’s a give a hungry person a sandwich, or better yet, give him a job, kind of love. Christians shouldn’t be known for their spiritually useless liturgical calendars (Gal 4:10) or esoteric

No Progressive Sanctification? (1 Corinthians 3)

October 29, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - 1 Corinthians 3, Mockingbird, Sanctification

I was reading the Mockingbird Devotional for October 11. The devotion was written by Curt Benham, an Anglican priest in Atlanta. I got to meet him at a Mockingbird conference held in Oklahoma City. Very nice guy. Mockingbird is a ministry that promotes grace. They are not Free Grace in a “thick” sense, but I

Commentaries Recognize Philippians 2:12 Is Not about Individual Salvation

May 16, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Phil 2:12, Salvation in Philippians, Sanctification, Soteriology

While working up my recommendations for various books of the Bible, I looked up how two commentators, Ralph Martin and Gordon Fee, handle Phil 2:12. While both men believe that perseverance is required to attain “final salvation,” neither sees Phil 2:12 as dealing with that. Fee says, Obedience in this case takes the form of

What Was Zane Hodges Saying about Salvation in 1 Timothy 4:16?

May 14, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - 1 Tim 4:16, false teachers, Sanctification, Soteriology

“Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Tim 4:16). We ran an article in the May-June Grace in Focus magazine where Zane Hodges discussed 1 Tim 4:6-16. At the end of the article was a short paragraph

Good Apostasy?

October 19, 2016 by Brad Bell in Blog - Flee Iniquity, Sanctification

by Brad Bell “Apostasy” is usually thought of in negative terms. When you think of an “apostate,” it is usually someone who has denied the faith, or who has turned aside from what is true. Would you be surprised to learn that Paul actually commanded Timothy to apostatize? Yes, he did! Let me explain. We

John Mueller on Works Salvation and Assurance

October 17, 2016 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Assurance of Salvation, Sanctification, Shawn Lazar, Works

By Shawn Lazar The Greatest Certainty I was recently referencing John Mueller’s Christian Dogmatics (St Louis, MO: Concordia, 1955), when I came across some excellent quotes on assurance being part of faith, and not something extra in addition to it. “Since saving faith is the believer’s trust in the perfect righteousness which Christ has secured