Engineered to Be Dependent
There are two themes in John’s Gospel that may appear to be contradictory, but together teach an important lesson about the Christian life. The first theme is the divinity of Christ. The Gospel begins and ends with two statements that Jesus is God. They act like bookends for the Gospel. The very first verse reads, […]
Act or Attitude?
I’ve been reading through the works of Major Ian Thomas. He was the founder of Torchbearers International and the stunning Capernwray Bible School (look at that scenery!). Many in the Free Grace movement hold to “higher life’ or Keswick spirituality. Thomas was an influential figure in that movement, so I thought I should get to […]
The Source
One of the recurring ideas in John’s Gospel is that Jesus can do nothing of Himself: “I can of Myself do nothing” (John 5:30). The works Jesus did were what He saw the Father do: Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, […]
The Cross and the War for Dominion
My book, Chosen to Serve, was meant to rethink the Biblical doctrine of election. I was presenting an alternative to the Calvinist doctrine of Unconditional Election and the Arminian doctrine of Conditional Election. I found the Bible taught something different from either of those two positions. My next big project is to rethink the meaning […]
Arminians and Works Salvation — Q & A
Question I stumbled on a paper from your journal that left me with a big question. I don’t know when it was written, but the author was Bob Wilkin. The title of the paper is, “Justification by Faith Alone is an Essential Part of the Gospel.” Near the middle of the article, page 5 of […]
Dictionary Definitions
I came across this nugget recently: “There are five very effective tips that anyone who desires to understand the Bible can put into practice immediately, regardless of how much or how little his knowledge of God’s word may be…” “The first tip is to bear in mind that the dictionary’s definition of a word does […]
The Annunciation
A Catholic friend was explaining to me the virtues of the Virgin Mary—that she was highly exalted by God, and how amazing her annunciation was. “The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin” is the moment when the angel Gabriel told Mary she could conceive and become pregnant with Jesus. My friend went on to point to […]
The Origin of Sin — Ezekiel 28:15
Where did sin come from? Did God create it? Is sin co-eternal with God—where both good and evil have struggled together forever? Many religions believed that. But the Bible tells a different story. According to the Bible, God made everything good. Even Satan. His original name was Lucifer. He was a guardian angel. And for […]
Eternal Life Now
When you buy a house, you and the seller must agree on the closing date and the move-in date. If you do not have the when, you do not have a contract. There’s also a crucial when in evangelism, namely, “When does a believer gets everlasting life?” Jesus promised one thing. Sadly, many evangelists promise […]
Revelation Assurance
Ladies, when a man says he’ll fix something, he will. There’s no need to nag him about it every six months. OK, well, maybe some promises should be met with a healthy dose of skepticism. But what about God’s promises? If God says that as a believer, you have everlasting life, do you believe Him […]