Don’t Want Rewards in the Kingdom?
The New Testament is full of teaching that tells us Christ will reward the good works of believers at the Judgment Seat of Christ (1 Cor 3:10-15, etc.). When we teach these passages, many maintain that they do not want any rewards. Part of the reason given is that they are unworthy. Perhaps all of […]
Why Holiness Churches Lack Assurance
If you’re in a Pentecostal or Holiness church, or if you’ve recently come out of one, you probably struggle with assurance of salvation. Why? Lyle Lange, a Lutheran theologian, explains: The “holiness bodies” (such as Pentecostal, Church of the Nazarene, Church of God) look to special manifestations of the Spirit’s work in their lives to […]
The Advent of the New Birth
A pastor asked me this excellent question: “Is it believed that when a person placed his faith in the Lord during the pre-cross dispensations, was he given eternal security/sealed with the Spirit, etc. or is that unique to the church age?” After I sent an initial reply, he followed up in this way: “Can you […]
Jean Vanier and the Trouble with Works Salvation
Everyone knows Mother Teresa. But you may not know the name Jean Vanier. I did. He was Canada’s equivalent to Mother Teresa. Vanier was the son of a Canadian ambassador, who became a Catholic theologian and philosopher and left academia to found the international L’Arche communities for people with developmental disabilities (currently 154 centers in […]
Two Abidings (1 John 2:24)
Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father (1 John 2:24). Do you remember everything you hear in church or in school? Does it automatically “stick”? Not with me. I usually have […]
The Day of the Lord in 1 Thessalonians 5:2
For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. Like a Thief in the Night This expression only occurs three times in the NT: Matt 24:43; 1 Thess 5:2; and 2 Pet 3:10. Paul and Peter received this expression from the Lord’s teaching in the […]
C. F. W. Walther on Horrible Evangelism
Not everyone believes the promise of life the first time he hears it. Some people are so committed to salvation by works that they think the promise of eternal life is ridiculous. Before such a person will believe, he will probably have to go through a process of conviction first. He will need to be […]
LGBTQ Questions
Here are two questions I have received in the last few weeks: Question #1: I have a cousin who was married for over thirty years. He decided to become a female, and he has changed his name to a female name and legally changed his sex status to female in Austin, though he still has […]
Michael Eaton on What You Can Lose When You Sin
People who deny eternal security think it’s unfair to say that Christians can sin and get away with it. But that’s a misunderstanding. The doctrine of eternal security doesn’t say you get away with sin. All it means is that whatever the consequences may be, they do not include losing your eternal salvation (see here […]
Sola Feels
The Babylon Bee, a Christian humor site, recently published an article lampooning progressive Evangelicals for rejecting Sola Scriptura in favor of the doctrine of Sola Feels. From the article: “Quite simply, ‘Sola Feels’ means that all spiritual truths only become true once they’re filtered through and accepted by our feels—all the feels,” popular author and […]