Have We Misrepresented Calvinism?
Question Hello! I have listened to quite a few of your YouTube videos because I was curious about what your views are. After listening, I just wanted to lovingly point out that you are confusing works and Calvinist views and misrepresenting Calvinism in general. God causes the rebirth so that you love to obey His […]
How Do You Know You’re Trusting Jesus to Save You?
Question How do I know that I am trusting in Jesus to save me? I am worried if I was to die, I’d find out that I was believing something else. I guess I get a bit confused because I was raised believing that if someone is truly saved they will have a changed life, […]
God Is Omnipresent
The ancients thought their gods were limited to certain places. A god was in this tree or city, or only had power over that mountain or river. Outside of his or her particular domain, the god was powerless. By contrast, in Biblical thought, God is omnipresent. That means that, unlike creatures (or pagan gods and […]
Peter Kreeft on Free Will
Peter Kreeft is a prolific Catholic philosopher and apologist. He has written numerous books on apologetics and introductions to philosophy that I greatly enjoyed. What makes Kreeft’s introductions different is their dialogical format. Plato wrote his philosophy in the forms of dialogues, and Kreeft has followed that tradition. In Kreeft’s case, the dialogues occur between […]
Fifteen Characteristics of Life in the Millennium According to Isaiah
The Millennial kingdom will begin after the Tribulation. What will life be like? A great deal could be said about it. For starters, here are fifteen characteristics of life in the Millennium, based on three passages from the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 2:2-4 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain […]
No Trinity, No Salvation?
Question: Are “Christians” who don’t understand or believe the traditional doctrine of the Trinity really Christians? Answer: That’s a good question. I take it you’re asking whether they have eternal life. The traditional answer would be “No.” I believe the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and historic Protestant Churches would say you have to believe the […]
Giving and Growing
We hit two milestones recently. First, my webmaster informed me that the Grace in Focus podcast has been downloaded over 151,000 times. That’s a pretty good number for a show doing serious theology (as opposed to, say, funny cat videos)! And, of course, that doesn’t include our radio audience. I’m encouraged! Second, this month, faithalone.org […]
How Can Faith Not Produce Good Works?
I was recently asked, “I am a little confused as to the relationship between faith and works in the Free Grace understanding. My own understanding is that faith naturally has a corresponding action. It’s not that the action proves or adds anything to salvation, but that grace-born trust in Jesus could not fail to be […]
Jesus’ Last Week in Light of Daniel 9:25-26
After centuries of promising to send a Messiah, God finally gave a concrete timeline in Daniel 9:24-27 for when He would come. And vv 25-26 give us specific information about what would happen to Messiah at that time: “Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem […]
Foundation Crumbling
Over the summer, I’ve been re-reading Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series. Haven’t read it since high school. The series is set 20,000 years into the future. A Galactic Empire is spread across the stars. But it’s crumbling. Hari Seldon, a “psychohistorian,” foresees the empire will fall, leading to a long period of barbarism. So Seldon puts […]