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A Message for John: Jesus Did Not Release the Captives

By Ken Pierce Matthew 11:1-15 and Luke 7:18-23 record parallel accounts of a fascinating exchange between Messiah and two disciples of Yochannan ben Zecharyah (John, the son of Zechariah, better known as John the Baptist or, more accurately, John the Baptizer), in which Jesus relayed a covert message to his incarcerated cousin. Herod Antipas had […]

Believing in Jesus Is Easy for Some and Hard for Others

By Mike Lii and Bob Wilkin Introduction Have you heard it charged that those of us who accept the Focused Free Grace position teach “easy believism”? Those who level such a charge usually mean that we make salvation too easy by not requiring that people turn from their sins, commit their lives to Christ, and […]

What’s the Relationship Between Assurance and Saving Faith?

By Mike Lii Introduction At the 1997 Grace Evangelical Society National Conference, Zane Hodges gave a message titled, “Assurance Is of the Essence of Saving Faith.”1 His title differs from “Assurance Is the Essence of Saving Faith” only by the addition of the word of. This has led many to confuse the two statements. GES, […]

Healing in His Wings: The Awesome Power of FAITH in Jesus Christ

By Ken Pierce The story of the woman with an issue of blood testifies convincingly to both the awesome power of faith placed in Jesus Christ and the importance of taking Him at His word. Unfortunately, some story elements may escape twenty-first-century readers less familiar than she was with the Tanakh (the Torah—Law, the Neve’im—Prophets, […]

Is the Forgiveness of Sins Equivalent to Everlasting Life?

By Mike Lii I. Introduction: Evangelism Based on the Forgiveness of Sins Have you ever heard the gospel presented as follows: “Believe in Jesus so that all your sins—past, present, and future—will be forgiven.” This kind of gospel presentation tells one to believe in Jesus for “the forgiveness of sins.” Is a gospel presentation that […]

The Habit of Bible Reading

By Ken Yates I think many readers of this blog can relate to my church background. The churches I attended when growing up did not really teach the Bible. I never heard a sermon in which the speaker looked at the context and explained the meaning of the verses that were read. Once the Bible […]

A Book and Life in Jeopardy

By Marcia Hornok and Leah Gingery In November 2023, we sat around the dinner table with our adult children and spouses and reviewed our “Praise Notebooks” for the year. Holding our youngest daughter’s hand, her husband said somewhat drolly, “Highlight for January—my wife didn’t die. Highlight for February—Leah still didn’t die. March—Leah is still alive.” […]

Focused Free Grace Versus Flexible Free Grace: Can Two Walk Together? Part 2

By Mike Lii1 V. Fundamental Theological Differences as a Consequence of the Two Essential Differences (Eternal Life and Assurance) A. THE NATURE OF THE FAITH THAT SAVES Many Flexible Free Gracers view assurance of eternal life as optional for saving faith because they understand faith as including something more than the Focused Free Grace definition: […]