On February 29, a panel discussion on the topic of inerrancy was held in Bonham, Texas, located in the northeast corner of the state, not far from Oklahoma. There are no Free Grace churches in the area. The event was well attended, with about forty people present.
Joe Moore, a friend of GES, put the discussion together. He invited local pastors and anybody else interested to come. During the two-hour session, the speakers addressed the topic and answered any questions from those attending.
The panel consisted of four people. Two were Free Grace–Steve Elkins, another long-time friend of GES, and me. The other two were local pastors.
Each presenter was free to discuss the importance of inerrancy as he saw fit. We discussed what inerrancy means, how we got the New Testament, why inerrancy is important, and the attacks on inerrancy even within Evangelical denominations. There were also some discussions about the supposed errors in certain NT passages and how those accusations are not valid. There were a number of questions asked regarding each topic.
Free Grace issues were not the focus of this meeting, but they did come up in a roundabout way. For example, I was able to bring up Christ’s words in John 5:24. It is a simple proposition. If we cannot trust the words of the NT, how can we know we have eternal life that can never be lost by believing in Christ alone for it, as this verse says?
Some may wonder if such a panel discussion is a wise use of our time as Free Grace teachers. Inerrancy is an important topic, but perhaps our emphasis should be on explaining passages from a Free Grace perspective.
Joe, Steve, and I were pleased with the results of this event. A few in attendance asked about GES and how they could get our literature. One young man said he was interested in taking classes through our online seminary. All of this gave us an opportunity to introduce ourselves to people in the area who are interested in studying the Bible.
Joe plans on having additional panel discussions in the future. These future discussions will focus more on how the NT is interpreted. We have set the foundation of believing that the Bible is true in all it says. Now, what does the Bible have to say about being saved from the lake of fire and how we receive eternal life? What role do works have in the life of the believer? What about passages that seem to contradict each other? These are all potential future topics for discussion. Hopefully, our presence on this first panel gave Steve and me some credibility with those who came. That credibility, we pray, can also lead to some future discussions and to people being open to what we say.
GES is always looking for ways to get the message of grace out to as many people as we can. Joe is looking for ways to do that in far Northeast Texas. Pray for him, and for us, as we try to spread the word with the strength that the Lord provides.
