Pastor Tom Rodgers Taught on the Bema Days Before He Died
A reader sent me an email about the passing of Pastor Tom Rodgers last year. Here is what he wrote: I believe you knew Tom Rodgers over in Wichita Falls, and I imagine you were aware of his passing recently. He and Reggie Coe were our pastors back in the early 1980s when we were […]
Justification by Faith or by Faithfulness?
There are people within Reformed thought who are very concerned that a growing number of Reformed theologians and pastors are preaching justification by faithfulness, not justification by faith. A reader pointed me to an interesting article (originally a blog) entitled Sola Fide or Sola Fidelity? (See here.) It is by Wes White, a Reformed Pastor. […]
Examples of Believers Who Persevered to the End of Their Lives
Last year in Grace in Focus magazine, Marcia Hornok wrote an article about believers in Scripture who lived messy lives. You can read her article here (pp. 35-36). In her conclusion she said, “Anyone who thinks true believers persevere in following God cannot prove it with Biblical examples.” I received an email from a reader […]
Studying the Real Thing (John 3:16)
I don’t know if it is true or not, but many years ago I was told that the Treasury Department has a specific way of training agents involved in preventing counterfeit money. They do not train them by showing them different examples of illegal currency. Instead, they spend thousands of hours studying what authentic money […]
The Free Grace Movement and Sanctification
Central Seminary, MacDonald Lectures 2019 Pastor Bill Lee (Trego, WI) told me about a conference being held at Central Seminary (officially Central Baptist Theological Seminary) in Minneapolis, MN. They were having a conference on “Issues in Sanctification.” One of the messages was entitled, “The Free Grace Movement and Sanctification.” The speaker, Dr. Jon Pratt, Professor […]
Preaching Repentance and the Forgiveness of Sins (Luke 24:47)
While trying to clear out my Inbox, I found an email question that needs an answer: Many in my church think repentance of sin is a required part of being born again. How would you explain the words of Jesus after the resurrection in Luke 24:45-47? “And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the […]
Doing Greater Works Than Jesus Did (John 14:12)
This great question got buried in my Inbox: “Hey GES! I was wondering, in John 14:12, it seems that Christ is saying that work is a direct result of faith. I’m not concerned with the “greater works” part, just the fact that it looks like He’s saying “he who believes WILL do” instead of “should […]
Taken on Testimony
“On a scale of 1 to 10, how’s your pain?” Often, my kids will come and say they have a headache or a tummy ache, or their throat is sore, or they hurt their knee. I can’t feel their pain, but I can sympathize and guess what it feels like based on my own experiences. […]
Replacing Everlasting Life with a Relationship with Jesus
Shawn was talking with a friend who takes online seminary classes. The man told Shawn he was a bit reluctant to raise Free Grace issues in his papers for class because the professor gives no indication that he is at all open to Free Grace Theology. Shawn’s friend told him that the professor is also […]
More Than a Herd of Pigs (Mark 5:1-20)
We tack silly cartoons to our office wall. Here’s a recent one we enjoyed: Poor pig. The cartoon is referring to the episode in Mark 5:1-20 in which Jesus visited the land of the Gerasenes and met a man who was demon possessed. Long story short, Jesus cast out the demons who then entered a […]