Easter Eggs and Biblical Literacy
by Shawn Lazar I grew up reading comic books. I collected them. I went to conventions. My best friend Dennis and I would have competitions drawing our favorite heroes—his was Spider-Man, and mine was Iron Man. There was a time when I even aspired to be a professional comic artist. But in my late teens […]
Two Lessons from Robert Chapman on an Accurate View of Sin and Pleasing God
by Brad Bell Robert Chapman was a 19th century pastor/elder of an assembly of believers in Barnstable, England. He was widely respected by men including Spurgeon, Darby, and Müller. Believers are called to live pleasing to God. But some are too quick to think they have achieved sinless perfection, or something close to it. Yet, […]
How to Rescue Yourself and Those You Serve
by Art Farstad During the hundreds of years in which the notorious Spanish Inquisition was in force to root out and destroy “heresy,” there was a “ceremony” called an auto da fe, which is Portuguese for “act of faith.” In Spain, Portugal, and their New World colonies, Protestants, Jews, and other non-conformists were frequently burned […]
Navigating Among Mountains and Words
by Brad Bell The tractor is running. The computer is running. My nose is running. He runs every day. We’ll give him a run for his money. The machine is running. It was a quick run. This is a long run of sentences. The English word run has a large range of meaning. It can […]
In Essentials, Unity — What is Essential?
by Bob Wilkin Chuck Swindoll, in an Insight for Living broadcast, taught from Joshua 1. He presented the principle that the new nation which was about to go in under Joshua and take the land of promise “forgot their differences and they closed ranks in unity.” He then quotes the famous saying, “In essentials, unity, […]
Eating as a Metaphor for Faith
by Shawn Lazar A popular confusion about the condition of salvation comes from a misreading of John 6, where Jesus says, “If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world…Most assuredly, I say […]
Beware of Tradition
by Bob Wilkin The word tradition does not have favorable connotations in the New Testament. While Free Grace people can see the flaws in the Calvinist and Arminian traditions, we tend to be blind to the flaws in our own flavor of Free Grace Theology (FGT). We all must be like the Bereans of Acts […]
3 Tragic Consequences of a Two-Party System
by Brad Bell Protestant Theology has long been plagued by one of the same problems as politics. Ironically, this problem has been around much longer in theology than our current political systems. What is this common problem? A two-party system. Long before our modern governments took form, Protestant theological discussion became gridlocked by two polarized […]
Schindler’s List — Treasure in Heaven
…but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Matthew 6:20) Matthew 6:20 is one of the many well-known verses from the teaching of Christ Himself. It is found in His famous Sermon on the Mount. Almost all Christians are at […]
Salvation by Self Denial?
by Bob Wilkin Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to […]