What Are the Hebrew Scriptures?
It is becoming increasingly popular in Evangelical circles to use the terms the Hebrew Scriptures or the Tanakh to refer to the thirty-nine books that are popularly called the Old Testament. This is because some Jewish people prefer that we call their Scripturesi the Hebrew Scriptures or the Tanakh. Calling those books the Old Testament […]
Nobody Has Out-sinned the Grace of God
Manasseh, one of the kings of Judah, was not a good man. He brought a great deal of grief upon his people. He ruled for 55 years and is described by the author of 2 Kings as the evilest king in the nation’s history (2 Kgs 21:1-16). When God gave the Jews the Promised Land, […]
Was the Tanakh Written to Believers?
GES has a cadre of more than a dozen writers working on a commentary for the OT (the Tanakh). Last night, we had a Zoom meeting of all the authors plus the six editors. At one point, the question of the readership of the OT came up. Except for John’s Gospel, the NT is written […]
Spiritual Psychological Warfare
Every war utilizes what military people call “psyops.” It is a shortened way of saying psychological operations. This psychological warfare is an attempt to get into the heads of the enemy’s soldiers. The goal is to discourage them. This would make them less effective in fighting or maybe even convince them to give up altogether. […]
Can You Evangelize Without Words?
There is an old maxim, often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, that says, “Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.” In a similar vein, there’s another adage that says, “I’d rather see a sermon than hear one.” Both phrases teach a similar idea: that our actions are more important than words, […]
Free Grace Can Be Misleading Because…
At our May 2023 Annual Conference, Mike Lii gave a talk in which he distinguished between what he called “Focused Free Grace” and “Flexible Free Grace.” You can see his message on the GES YouTube channel here. He also translated that message into a JOTGES article that we plan to run in the Spring 2024 […]
Itching to Enter the Fight (Rev 17:14)
It may sound strange to civilians, but I can attest that members of the military’s elite forces are eager to be a part of the battle when our nation goes to war. They consider it an honor to defend their country and put an end to any threat. They see themselves as defending their own […]
Do You Know These Five Greek Words?
In August, we started the GES Seminary with six opening classes. The most popular class, with 23 students, is first-year Greek. In that class, Drs. Tony Badger and Ken Yates are teaching the students many amazing Greek words. By the end of the second semester–that is, by next April–the students should be able to translate […]
Salvation in the Old Testament (2 Kings 20:12-13)
Occasionally, I am asked about how people in the OT received eternal life. Unfortunately, even Free Grace people will sometimes say that OT people were eternally saved by the OT sacrifices, or by keeping the Law of Moses, or simply by believing in the God of Israel in some very general sense. But eternal salvation […]
Does Christ Disapprove of Some Born-Again People?
On 8/21/23 GES posted a video by Mike Lii and me. You can see it here. We were discussing a video by Allen Parr. Currently, there are 79 comments. One of the comments, actually a question, caught my attention: “Are you implying that a believer can be disapproved by Christ and still be saved?” Yes. […]