Works – 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 Must Salvation Be Apart from Works? (Ephesians 2:1-3)

February 28, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - dead, Ephesians, Works

Everyone knows Eph 2:8-9, that we are saved by grace through faith, apart from works. But do you know why that is? Paul explained why in Eph 2:1-3. The Ephesians had been in a bad way. Really bad. Hopeless, really. Here’s how Paul described them: And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses

Free Grace Theology Is Really Important (Mark 4:13)

September 27, 2018 by Kenneth Yates in Blog - basics, four soils, Grace, Mark 4:1-20, Works

At the end of the Parable of the Four Soils in Mark 4, the disciples asked the Lord to explain the parable to them. He does so, but before explaining the parable, He asks them a couple of questions. “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?” (Mark 4:13).

Is Free Grace Universalist?

March 27, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Faith, kowalowski, pentecostal, Sandeman, Works

A Grace in Focus reader alerted us to the following bad quote. It comes from an Assemblies of God pastor named David Kowalowski. He wrote it for a website called www.apologeticsindex.org. As a Pentecostal, his main concern seems to be the hyper-grace movement. But along the way, he says this about Free Grace Theology: “Though

No Deed Too Small

January 2, 2017 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Faith, Works

About a week after my son was born, he developed a fever and ended up in the hospital. Zane was weak. He wasn’t eating well. His oxygen was low. It turned out it was all due to a urinary tract infection. Then, as I was talking to the doctor about Zane’s condition, he asked if

Gym fees

November 29, 2016 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Faithalone, Free, Soteriology, Works

by Shawn Lazar Free or Not? One day, a young mother was looking to join a gym. She heard about a wealthy benefactor who founded several gyms and endowed them with enough money so they could be free and open to all. However, when she visited the gyms and asked about joining she found they

Christian Living and Works

November 14, 2016 by GES Webmaster in Blog - Christian Life, Justification, Works

by Zane Hodges, excerpted from Grace in Eclipse It is quite true that Paul taught justification apart from works. But he did not teach Christian living apart from works. Nor did he affirm that those works flowed inevitably from justifying faith. Instead, Paul instructed Titus: This is a faithful saying, and these things I want

Justification before God Is by Faith Alone, Completely Apart from Works, Romans 3:26

November 3, 2016 by GES Webmaster in Blog - justification by faith, Pauline Theology, Works, Zane Hodges

by Zane Hodges, excerpted from his commentary on Romans The result of the death of Christ on the cross is that God can be righteous and justify the person who has faith in Jesus. The English necessarily obscures an obvious Greek word play, since the Greek words for righteous (dikaion) and justify (dikaiounta) are cognates

Rewards, Selfish?

October 25, 2016 by GES Webmaster in Blog - Faith, Selfishness, Works

by Zane Hodges, excerpted from an article originally originally published in the Autumn 1991 edition of the Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society, note: this is a follow up from the blog posted October 25, 2016 Jesus taught rewards Another problem some Christians have with the doctrine of rewards is that this doctrine seems to

Rewards, Antithetical to Grace?

October 25, 2016 by GES Webmaster in Blog - Grace, rewards, Works, Zane Hodges

by Zane Hodges, excerpted from an article originally published in the Autumn 1991 edition of the Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society Among the very last recorded words of our Lord Jesus Christ are these: “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his