Self-Control: A Virtue That Wins Rewards (1 Cor 9:24-27)
What is the secret to a prosperous life? In their controversial bestseller, The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America, Amy Chua and Jeb Rubenfeld offered to explain why some cultural groups do better than others. They put it down to possessing three traits: a superiority […]
How Lutherans Implicitly Deny Faith Alone in Christ Alone
In doing some research for an article—and a future book—on an “Objective Atonement,” I have been reading the work of Robert D. Preus, one of the most prominent confessional Lutheran theologians of the 20th century and one of the few systematic theologians whom Zane Hodges quoted with approval. Indeed, I find there are several […]
Every City a Mission
A CITY IN DARKNESS In contemplating the issue of missions, I immediately thought of Montreal, the city where I was born and raised. With a metropolitan population of nearly four million, Montreal is the 15th largest city in North America, and the 2nd largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris. Its vibrant European-style culture […]
Justification by Works for Baptists (James 2:14-26)
Why I Love Problem Verses If you’ve ever preached that justification is by faith apart from works, someone has most likely asked you to explain James 2:14-26. What did James mean when he said that “faith without works is dead” (Jas 2:17, 20, 26) and that “a man is justified by works” (Jas 2:24; cf. […]
A Tribute to Dr. Earl Radmacher
By Hersh Lange and Shawn Lazar The Autumn 2013 issue of The Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society was a special festschrift published in honor of Dr. Earl D. Radmacher. Many of our readers know Dr. Radmacher from his long tenure at Western Conservative Baptist Seminary where, for thirty-four years, he taught systematic theology, and […]
Religion on Trial
Religion on Trial. By Craig A. Parton. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2008. 97 pp. Paper, $14.00. Craig Parton’s Religion on Trial is an introductory defense of Christianity in the tradition of legal apologetics. The back cover description claims that Parton “argues that religions uniformly fail the simplest tests of admissibility for their respective claims.” […]
Free Grace for Baptists
Introduction Some Baptists identify as Arminian, others as Calvinist, and a few as Calminian. But there are many more Baptists who avoid each of these labels without having a name for what they believe. I would suggest that some are Free Grace without knowing it. Free Grace is a relatively new term but the theology […]
Cheap Grace or Cheap Law?
Charles F. Baker on Common Mistakes About Eternal Security
I came across the book called A Dispensational Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Grace Publications, 1972, 2008) by Charles F. Baker. Baker was born in Dallas, in 1905, and attended Scofield Memorial Church, where his pastor was Lewis Sperry Chafer. He studied at DTS, then at Wheaton, and later taught theology at Grace Bible College in […]
A Review of Jesus + Nothing = Everything
Jesus + Nothing = Everything. By Tullian Tchividjian. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011. 220 pp. Hardcover, $18.99. Tullian Tchividjian is Billy Graham’s grandson and the Senior Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. His book, Jesus + Nothing = Everything concerns the dangers of legalism and the importance of looking to Christ alone for our justification and […]