Sin – Grace Evangelical Society

Can I Dance and Still Be Saved?

February 8, 2023 by Kenneth Yates in Blog - Assurance, Discipleship, Sin

Recently, I taught a Sunday school class at a Baptist church in the town of Aldama, Mexico. It’s about a four-hour drive south of El Paso, TX. The pastor of the church invited me to speak on whatever topic I wanted. He is a very nice man, but is not Free Grace, and it is

Remember Where You Are (Mark 1:12-13)

December 2, 2022 by Kenneth Yates in Blog - Baptism, Death, Sin, wilderness

I saw one of the most beautiful scenes of my life when I was 19 years old. I was sitting in the living room of a cottage in a valley. There was a large window in front of me. As I looked out the window, there was a crystal-clear stream flowing between two large trees.

That Is One Pathetic Group (Jeremiah 43:7)

November 3, 2022 by Kenneth Yates in Blog - Exodus, rebellion, Sin

In Jer 43:7, a group of Jews arrive in Egypt. They are a sad company. Running for their lives, they are fleeing their own country because they fear the Babylonian army will come and kill them. They have endured years of war. They have very little wealth and no power. One of the main reasons

Can We Slow Down Just a Little?

October 26, 2022 by Kenneth Yates in Blog - Death, Fellowship, Flesh, Sin

We have all seen self-destructive behavior. Perhaps it was an alcoholic who continued to drink, even after a number of DUI’s, destroyed marriages, etc. Or perhaps it was a drug abuser who continued that abuse even after the drug had destroyed their life. In cases like that, most of us look at the situation and

What Does “Wages” Mean in Romans 6:23?

October 19, 2022 by Kenneth Yates in Blog - Death, Life, Sin, wages

One of the most well-known verses in the NT is Rom 6:23, where Paul states that, “…the wages of sin is death.” While most people think Paul is talking about what sends a person to the lake of fire, that’s not the case. In chapter six, Paul is talking about what sin does in the

The Darkness at the Cross: Part 2 (Mark 15:33)

August 18, 2022 by Kenneth Yates in Blog - Creation, Darkness, Judgment, Sin

In part 1, I argued that the centurion at the foot of the cross wisely considered the darkness at the time of Christ’s death and came to some surprisingly good conclusions about who Jesus is. We should ask the significance of that darkness as well. First of all, however, I would like to consider some

The Water Will Turn Purple (1 Cor 6:9)

August 3, 2022 by Kenneth Yates in Blog - Assurance, motivation, Sin

Many years ago, I attended a summer camp for Boy Scouts near an Army post. It had a large swimming pool. The Army provided soldiers as lifeguards. These soldiers warned us about using the pool as a bathroom. They told us that the Army had put a chemical in the water, and if we ever

From Clay to Jar (Hebrews 3:13)

August 2, 2022 by Kenneth Yates in Blog - hardening, Repentance, rewards, Sin

Anybody who studies the book of Jeremiah will find himself frustrated about something in the book. It is hard to figure out when much of what the prophet said was spoken. Things are not written in chronological order. He prophesied during the reign of a number of kings, and the reader finds it difficult to

“You Don’t Take Sin Seriously!” (Romans 3:8)

July 25, 2022 by Kenneth Yates in Blog - eternal life, Repentance, Sin, Works

A little while ago, I was teaching a class in a Bible institute in a foreign country. The students were young, between the ages of 18 and 20. As the class progressed, it was clear that they had some issues with the gospel of eternal life. I decided to stop the planned instruction and address

The Growth of Sin in Peter’s Three Denials of Christ (Mark 14:66-71)

June 28, 2022 by Kenneth Yates in Blog - Darkness, progression, Sin

We have all been told that in one sense, sin is sin. All sin is a falling short of the glory of God. If we break one of the commandments, we have broken all of them because we have violated the law of God (Jas 2:10). However, we also recognize that the consequences of certain