National Conference 2019 PowerPoints
Here are most of the power-points for the GES National Conference 2019 Bond_GES – Eph. 6 Faul_God’s Wisdom for Marriages Ken Yates Plenary GES 2019 Eph 1 Kenny Hodges Ephesians 3.1-13 GES (1) Lazar_BeRenewed_Eph4_17to24 Lee_GESNational2019_Lee_The Real Illuminatti Lucas_GESNational2019 Lucas NIemela_Pauls Hallelujah Chorus Eph 1 1 14 Thurman_GES Eph 4 WHY Wilkin_Plenary 1 Saved by Grace […]
The Messiah and Eternal Life (John 6:68-69; 11:25-27)
Some people say we must believe that Jesus is the Christ, without necessarily believing in Him for eternal life or any other kind of salvation. By contrast, we argue that when you believe that Jesus is the Christ—i.e., the Savior—you must have some understanding of the kind of salvation He brings. To believe in Jesus […]
Asking Jesus for the Living Water (John 4:10)
The following comment recently appeared in a comment on one of our blogs, “According to Jesus, if you knew the gift of God and knew who He is who offers the gift to you, you would ask Him for the gift, and He would give the gift to you. John 4:10.” Though surely well intentioned, […]
Christians Living Differently (Ephesians 4:18-19)
I’ve been thinking a great deal about the doctrine of “separation.” It was, and may still be, a defining feature of the Fundamentalist movement. Sadly, I think that doctrine often took a legalistic form. It became part of what you needed to do to be saved or to prove you “really” believed. That doesn’t mean […]
Good Works by Non-Church Goers
In a recent blog I suggested that Eph 2:10 is about local churches doing good works and thus about believers doing good works in and through their churches. I then got this question, “Perhaps I’m reading too much into your comments about doing good works through the local church, but do you think believers who […]
Asa Mahan’s Assurance of Salvation
Asa Mahan (1799-1889) was an Arminian philosopher and theologian. He was Presbyterian, but at a time when many Presbyterians were becoming Arminian (following the so-called “New Haven Theology”). Mahan was also the first president of Oberlin College (when it was a revivalist school and not the uber-liberal place it is today). Mahan was also co-worker […]
The Nature of Saving Faith
Recently I wrote a blog in which I said that before faith in Christ can occur, a person must understand the promise of everlasting life which the Lord Jesus makes to the believer. This led to an interesting question from a reader: “Where does it say in the Bible that understanding is a condition for […]
What Is Love? (Ephesians 5:1-3)
Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children. Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself for us as a fragrant offering and a sacrifice to God. And do not let sexual immorality, or any impurity, or greed be named among you, as these are not proper among saints (MEV). The Ephesians were […]
Created for Good Works (Ephesians 2:10)
There is a great effort by many to soften the meaning of Eph 2:8-9 by suggesting that verse 10 means that while works are not the means of salvation, they are the necessary result of it. For example, Francis Foulkes writes, “But probably it is the whole course of life that is on view here. […]
The Different Benefits of the Cross: A Short Survey
Calvinists and Arminians debate whether the atonement is limited or unlimited. My question is—what if that’s a false dichotomy? The big assumption made by both Calvinists and Arminians is that the atonement comes as a package of benefits. They claim that if one benefit applies to you, they all do because those benefits come as […]