Rejecting the Language of Monergism and Synergism
As Free Grace people, most of us want to be strict Biblicists. We are not tied to, or at least try not to be tied to, the language of prior theologians or theological traditions. We want to be Biblical through and through. And that often means rejecting commonly used terms. I was reminded of this […]
Look Only at the Lord (Matthew 14:30)
I have a devotional by Watchman Nee called The Lord Is My Portion. In the reading for January 22nd, Nee meditates on Matt 14:30, which reads: But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” Nee makes this comment: In walking […]
An Elder’s Library Starter Kit
In his booklet Shepherd the Flock, Donald Norbie summarizes the qualifications of an elder, one of which is being “able to teach” (1 Tim 3:2). The elder should be able to teach God’s Word, but to do that, he must become a man of the Book, which takes time and discipline: This means he will […]
Becoming a Man of the Book
Are you an elder? Do you hope to become one? Are you trying to raise them up in your church? If so, Donald Norbie has some practical advice. In his booklet, Shepherd the Flock, Norbie summarizes the qualifications and functions of the elder. One qualification is being “able to teach” (1 Tim 3:2). Teach what? […]
Doctrinal Emotive Behavior Therapy in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
On Sunday morning, I had “house church” with the kids. They liked it. We gathered together, sang a Psalm; Daphne read the Scripture (Luke 12:32-34), and we started discussing it. The kids had been fighting over toys recently, so we discussed the reason why. Why do they find it so hard to share their toys? […]
Doctrinal Emotive Behavior Therapy in 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5
In an earlier post, I talked about what I call Doctrinal Emotive Behavior Therapy (DEBT). It is similar to Albert Ellis’s Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), but with a Biblical basis. REBT treats patients with emotional disturbances by challenging their irrational beliefs and convincing the patient to adopt more rational beliefs. That should lead to […]
A Free Grace Evening in Arkansas
I recently spent a whirlwind day driving to Siloam Springs, in Northwest Arkansas for our first “Free Grace Evening”—basically, a mini-regional. We do one national conference a year in Dallas and have been doing anywhere between three to four regionals a year, involving multiple speakers (for future events, see here). Organizing a regional takes a […]
Paul Zahl on Grace for Couples with Young Children
How do you live the Christian life? Or, to take a specific example, how does a married couple with young children live out grace in their new family? We all know what a dysfunctional family looks like. We’ve either experienced it ourselves or have seen it in others. But for those of us trying to […]
Charles Parham and Agnes Ozman on Speaking in Tongues and Missions
I came across an interesting admission in a footnote in a book about Pentecostalism, missions, and speaking in tongues. The Topeka Outpouring of 1901, a book edited by Larry E. Martin, gives the reader a documentary history of the beginning of the Pentecostal movement. Long story short, in 1900, a man named Charles Parham opened […]
Where Did We Get the Term “Free Grace”?
By Shawn Lazar We believe in Free Grace Theology—which is distinct from Calvinism, Arminianism, Lutheranism, Thomism, and other -isms. But where did the term “free grace” come from? Historically, the expression “free grace” was used by both Calvinists and Arminians. Arminans Have Used the Term For example, John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, preached a […]