Anguish for Godly Ministers (Galatians 1:6)
“I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel” (Gal 1:6). Did you know that Harvard was founded to train ministers, specifically Puritans, to preach the gospel? Then liberals snuck in, and instead of starting their own school, they parasitically took over […]
Simon the Magician Was Born Again — Acts 8:4-25
We have run articles before in which we showed that Simon the Magician, aka Simon Magus, was a believer who sinned, not an unbeliever who sinned. See this article by Jody Dillow, this 1867 article by James Inglis, and this article by Zane Hodges, for more details. Today I came across an article by Dr. […]
Beyond Quiet Time
Are you a trifler? That’s not a word you hear very often. To trifle means to talk or act frivolously. If you’re a trifler, you are not taking things seriously; you are not pursuing them with purpose. John Wesley warned his itinerant preachers against being triflers in religion: “Fix some part of every day for […]
The Majoristic Controversy
There is nothing new under the sun. I recently came across a debate in Lutheran circles known as The Majoristic Controversy. It anticipated many of the questions and positions that the Free Grace movement deals with today. The debate is explained by Timothy J. Wengert’s book, A Formula for Parish Practice. In 1548, the emperor […]
Nicolaus Amsdorf and the Harm of Preaching Works-Salvation
In his book A Formula for Parish Practice, Timothy J. Wengert explains how a friend of Luther’s named Nicolaus von Amsdorf objected to the works-salvation taught by Lutherans like Philip Melanchthon and George Major. Amsdorf controversially said: “All those who teach and write that good works are necessary for salvation are going directly against Luther, […]
More Questions about Salvation in Hebrews
Recently I wrote a blog answering a question about “eternal salvation” by obedience in Heb 5:9. You can see the blog here. I suggested that eternal salvation in Heb 5:9 refers to ruling with Christ in the life to come, that is, being His partners (cf. Heb 1:9). I received follow-up questions about Heb 1:14 […]
Genuine Disagreements in the Free Grace Movement
I’m sad to say there is a lot of “fake news” about GES online, where people have made outlandish claims about what we believe. Frankly, I think much of it counts as bearing false witness against GES. However, despite the fake news, there are some areas of genuine disagreement between GES and our critics in […]
A Disciple of Christ Is Different Than a Believer in Christ
I get lots of emails. Lots of questions. A parent emailed me with concern about their daughter. The youth pastor’s wife has begun to disciple the daughter one on one. The problem is that the youth pastor and his wife teach that unless you are in one-on-one discipleship, you are not a disciple of Christ. […]
A Simple Way to Pray
Do you know how to pray? Are you making progress in your prayer life? Do you find your prayers have become repetitive, dry, or boring? I find I need help to learn how to pray. Do you? Martin Luther’s barber once asked for advice on developing his prayer life. So Luther wrote him a letter […]
One of My Heroes: Simon the Zealot
Mark tells us the names of the Lord’s original 12 disciples in Mark 3:16-19. Some of them are better known than others. For example, Peter, Matthew, Judas Iscariot, James, and John are better known than the other seven. With about half of them, we basically know nothing other than that their names are included in […]