Sin – Grace Evangelical Society

No Longer a Slave to Sin (Romans 6:6c-7)

November 17, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - body, Romans, Sanctification, Sin

You’re a slave. There’s no escaping that fact. The question is—whose slave are you? If you sin, then you’re a slave to it. That’s what Jesus taught: Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34). The addict knows this. But I think that, at

Continuing to Sin Is Illogical (Rom 6:1-2)

October 21, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - died to sin, Romans, Romans 6, Sanctification, Sin

Do you remember the episode of Seinfeld where Kramer starts working a 9 to 5 job at a firm called Brand/Leland? Everyone is shocked. But eventually the truth comes to light when Mr. Leland himself calls Kramer into his office for a performance evaluation. “Kramer, I’ve been reviewing your work,” he says. “Quite frankly, it

What Can Eternally Secure Believers Lose? Their Physical Health

July 8, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Eternal Security, health, Once saved always saved, sickness, Sin

Everlasting life is forever. Once saved, always saved. But does that mean believers can sin without any consequences? Absolutely not. People are right to point out that the NT is filled with warnings to believers. But they’re wrong to think those warnings are about the possibility of losing eternal salvation. So what can believers lose?

What Can Eternally Secure Believers Lose? Their Ministry

July 5, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Eternal Security, negative consequences of sin, Sin

You’ve seen it happen often. A celebrity pastor has a dramatic moral fall and loses his ministry. It seems to happen several times a year. But it’s not just celebrity pastors. Local ministers are regularly involved in immorality. This one has had a long-running affair. That one is accused of theft. Another is guilty of

What Can Eternally Secure Believers Lose? Their Physical Lives

July 2, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - consequences, Death, James, physical death, Sin, Thieme

What can believers lose by sinning? People wrongly charge Free Grace of holding to eternal security at the expense of ignoring the warning passages of Scripture. Not true. On the contrary, we acknowledge those warnings and take them seriously. But more importantly, we take them in context. For example, as James says, sin brings forth

Overcoming Sinful Strongholds

December 8, 2020 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - love, punks, Sin

Q. I read your blogs about growing up (see here and here). Do you believe a Christian can have strongholds in his or her life, and if so, do you have some Biblical information on that topic that you can share sometime? A. I’m not entirely familiar with the term “strongholds,” but I think you

Run to Jesus

November 23, 2020 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - advocate, Mediator, Sin

When you’ve done something wrong, and you know you’ll be in trouble, the natural instinct is often to run and hide. That’s what the first sinners did after they committed the first sin and knew they’d be in trouble (i.e., that they would die!). So they tried to hide from God: And they heard the

Ruling Over Sin (Genesis 4:7)

July 31, 2020 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Cain, hamartiology, Sin

Have you ever gone camping and awakened to hear an animal creeping outside of your tent, rummaging through your campsite? Maybe you even turned on your flashlight and could see the menacing silhouette creep around you. Were you scared? If you’ve ever experienced that, then you’ll be very familiar with the first mention of sin

Confession, Not Deflection (Genesis 3:11-13; 1 John 1:9)

April 3, 2020 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Confession, fall, Genesis, scapegoat, Sin

Do you find it easy to take responsibility for your sins, or is your knee-jerk reaction to try and shift the blame to others? If you look up the term “deflection” or “blame-shifting,” most of the articles will tell you that it is a psychological disorder that characterizes narcissists and psychopaths. And many of those

Some Strong Language About Sanctification and Sin

December 9, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Sanctification, Sin

What does it mean to be sanctified? What’s supposed to happen to the sin in your life? As I’ve been meditating on that subject—wondering to what extent Scripture describes sanctification as a process, or as an event, or as both—I noticed some of the verbs that Paul uses to describe what has happened, or what