Are You a Sandemanian?
By Bob Wilkin Most Focused Free Grace advocates have never heard of Robert Sandeman (1718-1771). He was born in Scotland and planted churches there. In 1760, he came to America and planted churches here, dying in Danbury, CT, in 1771. He was just fifty-three. His father-in-law was John Glas, a Scottish minister who profoundly influenced […]
What Is the Israel of God in Galatians 6:16?
By Philippe R. Sterling Believing Jewish individuals are “the Israel of God” in the Church age (Rom 9:6-8; 11:1-6; Gal 6:16). They are part of the Church and of ethnic Israel (Eph 2:11-22). Non-Jewish believers are part of the Church and of their respective ethnic groups and nations (Acts 17:26; Rom 13:1-7; 1 Cor 10:32). […]
Voice From the Past: The Doctrine of Rewards, Part 2
By Zane Hodges This article originally appeared in the November-December 1994 issue of Grace in Focus. INTRODUCTION In the previous issue, we discussed a problem some Christians have with the subject of rewards. Some are troubled by the doctrine of rewards because it seems to suggest “merit” instead of “grace.” We saw that this point […]
The Mystery of Godliness
By Ken Pierce And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: (1) God was manifested in the flesh, (2) Justified in the Spirit, (3) Seen by angels, (4) Preached among the Gentiles, (5) Believed on in the world, (6) Received up in glory (1 Tim 3:16, numbers added). Not long after the demise of […]
Watch Out for Legalism
By Ken Yates Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?” (Mark 7:5)…[Jesus said] “There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are […]
Did John the Baptist Lose His Faith While in Prison? Matthew 11:2-3
By John H. Niemelä Did imprisonment cause John the Baptist to doubt? Did this courageous herald of the Messiah fail to finish strong? Over 99 percent of Christians would assert something like the following: “Matthew 11:2–3 is clear about John’s struggle at the end of his life. He developed an Elijah complex as he collapsed […]
Introduction to the Plagues of Egypt
By David M. Renfro It is probably the most famous story in the Old Testament. It involves God’s miraculous and gracious deliverance of His people from slavery in Egypt. Yahwehi had spoken of the plagues earlier in the book of Exodus. When He commissioned Moses to be His spokesman before Pharaoh Amenhotep II (1450-1425 B.C.), […]
The Powerless Gospel
By Kathryn Wright INTRODUCTION In 2023, well-known Calvinist Tim Keller created a series of YouTube videos aimed at showing that the gospel is found in every book of the OT. Keller passed away before completing the series, but he did finish videos covering Genesis through the book of Job. According to the YouTube description of […]
What Is the Filling of the Holy Spirit & How Do We Get It?
By Bob Wilkin I came to faith and was discipled through the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. We had a booklet about how to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Four Spiritual Laws booklet was our essential evangelistic resource. The Holy Spirit booklet was our key discipleship resource. I served as a staff […]
Una vida en equilibrio precario
Como muchas niñas, tomé clases de ballet cuando era pequeña. Llegué bastante lejos, incluso comencé a bailar en puntas en la escuela secundaria. Aunque hace mucho tiempo que dejé mis zapatillas de ballet, una lección que siempre me ha acompañado es la importancia del equilibrio. Cualquier bailarina que se precie te dirá que el equilibrio […]