Can We Earn God’s Love?
Doug asks this super question: I just heard a podcast you did on August 2, 2022, about the letter to the church at Philadelphia. You talked about John Niemelä’s suggestion that Rev 3:9 should end with a comma instead of a period: “Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan…to know that I […]
Preaching in Kenya
I recently spent nine days in Kenya (July 30-August 7). While there, I was given the opportunity to preach in three different churches. At another church, I was asked to lead a Bible study of people who have been exposed to Free Grace teaching and had believed in the Biblical gospel of grace. I just […]
Did Adam and Eve Lose Everlasting Life When They Sinned?
Doug sent in this interesting comment in which he is essentially suggesting that Adam and Eve lost everlasting life: Adam and Eve did nothing to get or deserve the blessed state and paradise God put them in. It was God’s free gift of grace. But that does not mean that they couldn’t do anything to […]
Being a Judge Is Not an Easy Job (Acts 18:12-17)
I attended a church in Texas once where one of the deacons was a county judge. He would sometimes talk about cases that appeared before him. Oftentimes guilt or innocence was cut and dried. Other times, it was difficult to determine. In most cases, there was always a question about the fine he should give […]
Does God Guarantee to Bring the Gospel to Anyone Desiring to Know Him?
Bill read my recent blog on middle knowledge and the fate of those who never heard (see here). He then asked this excellent follow-up question: Some people think that if a person becomes God conscience and has a desire to known Him, then God will provide that person “a clear gospel presentation.” I have heard […]
Uncertainty in Life, But Certainty in Eternal Life
For those who follow our blogs, you probably know that my dad, Ken Yates, and I were scheduled to go to Kenya at the end of July. We were going to meet our friend Kristina, who was coming from Italy, and do a week of outreach and a pastors’ conference. We are partnering with Acres […]
Doctrine Versus Personal Encounters with God
The question of the place of doctrine versus the place of personal experience is a big one today in terms of both salvation and discipleship. Many people say that simply being persuaded of certain doctrinal truths is not saving faith. Instead, a personal encounter with God is what saving faith really is. Is faith propositional […]
The Water Will Turn Purple (1 Cor 6:9)
Many years ago, I attended a summer camp for Boy Scouts near an Army post. It had a large swimming pool. The Army provided soldiers as lifeguards. These soldiers warned us about using the pool as a bathroom. They told us that the Army had put a chemical in the water, and if we ever […]
From Clay to Jar (Hebrews 3:13)
Anybody who studies the book of Jeremiah will find himself frustrated about something in the book. It is hard to figure out when much of what the prophet said was spoken. Things are not written in chronological order. He prophesied during the reign of a number of kings, and the reader finds it difficult to […]
Does Free Grace Theology Believe in Middle Knowledge?
The following question was put on the GES Facebook page: Your recent post [that mentioned middle knowledge] leaves me wanting to know what your view is on God’s omniscience? Do you hold to simple foreknowledge, divine decrees, open theism, or middle knowledge (obviously not)? Or is there something between Calvinism and Arminianism? Free Grace Theology […]