Why Do Good If Salvation Is Not By Works?
If you preach grace—that God saves you through simple faith in Jesus for eternal life, apart from your works (cf. Gal 2:16)—then why do good? What’s the point of all the love commands in the NT (e.g., “serve one another in love,” Gal 5:13), if your eternal destiny in heaven or hell is not on […]
Knowing God in Our Experience? — 1 John 2:3
Here is another good question I received: In an article on your page concerning 1 John 2:3-11, you make the following statement: “When John speaks of knowing Christ, he is using a term which can refer to one’s position or one’s experience. In this context the latter is in view. In other words, a believer knows […]
No Progressive Sanctification? (1 Corinthians 3)
I was reading the Mockingbird Devotional for October 11. The devotion was written by Curt Benham, an Anglican priest in Atlanta. I got to meet him at a Mockingbird conference held in Oklahoma City. Very nice guy. Mockingbird is a ministry that promotes grace. They are not Free Grace in a “thick” sense, but I […]
Jesus Makes You Family (Galatians 3:26–4:7)
It is a universal fact of human nature that we all want to love and be loved. We all want to belong. But how will we do it? By law or grace? Why do young men join gangs? Usually because they live at the margins of society where they have little significance in the eyes […]
Romans 8:1 Doesn’t Mean What Most Translations Say
Today I received a question via email: In a sermon on Romans 8, Dr. Wilkin refers to the word katakrima in verse 1 as having to do with slavery to sin, though the word is only used two other times in the NT (Romans 5) and does not seem to carry such a connotation, nor […]
Mark’s Unique Parable: World Changers (Mark 4:26-29)
In Mark 4:26-29, we find a parable of the Lord unique to Mark’s Gospel. It doesn’t get much attention. I think the attention it does receive is often superficial. A major reason for this neglect is that this parable is often treated more or less as a repetition of the Parable of the Four Soils […]
A Brief Review of Craig Blomberg’s The Historical Reliability of the New Testament
The Historical Reliability of the New Testament. By Craig Blomberg. Nashville, TN: B & H Academic, Lexham Press, 2016. 783 pp. Paper, $39.99. I wrote a September 25, 2018, blog (see here) about a JETS review of this book. At the time I had not yet read it. Now that I have, I want to […]
Mining for Truth (Proverbs 2:3-5)
Is it easy to find the truth? Is it supposed to be easy? It depends. Some truth is implanted in your heart. You don’t need to search for it. It is right there. For example, God wrote the requirements of the moral law on the heart, Paul says (Rom 2:15). In an appendix to C. […]
Where Are the Workers?
Every week a church calls up, looking to hire a Free Grace pastor or minister. And there aren’t any. Well, they are few and far between. There are positions around the country, but few men to fill them. And do you know what happens, next? The church hires someone they hope is at least Free […]
Naked and Hiding (Genesis 3:6-7; Galatians 3:26-27)
Have you ever tried to make yourself out to be better than you are? Maybe you were trying to impress a girl or land a job or gain someone’s esteem, but whatever the case, you felt pressured to cover up. That instinct goes back to the Fall. After they ate the forbidden fruit, Adam and […]