Thrown in the Deep End (Mark 5:21-23)
When I was a boy, almost everybody my age learned to swim at a young age. As each one of us was learning, it was common to hear that somebody without any flotation devices was on the verge of getting into the deep end. Often, however, the young boy or girl would be afraid to […]
Do Angels Have Everlasting Life?
Buddy asks this super question: My question is about angels. Do obedient angels, after all is said and done in the eternal state, have eternal life? When a believer is born again, he becomes a child of God and is adopted as a son. Hebrews seems to indicate that angels minister to sons but are […]
Is It True That “No One Will Be in Heaven Who Did Not Walk in Good Works on Earth”?
I get lots of email. Sometimes it takes me a long time to reply. For example, I received an email on Nov 19, 2020, from Kent asking me to respond to a Nov 14, 2020, blog. Today, December 17, 2021, thirteen months later, I finally got around to answering his question. Why the long delay? […]
Jesus Is Inviting You (Matthew 11:28)
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28). Jesus invites you to come. To Him. Right now. Yes, you. Of course, other people have called you to “Come here!” but not like this. Soren Kierkegaard noted just how radically different is Jesus’ invitation. For […]
What Is the Role of the Shed Blood of Christ in Forgiveness? Part 4: Do the Scriptures Teach That God Has Already Forgiven Our Future Sins?
The four parts of this article stem from a question I received about unlimited atonement and the forgiveness of sins. You can see the question in part 1, here. In this fourth part, we will consider the question of whether there are two types of forgiveness, fellowship and positional, or just one, fellowship. When a […]
What Is the Role of the Shed Blood of Christ in Forgiveness? Part 3: If Believers Must Confess for Forgiveness, Are We Out of Fellowship a Lot?
When I came to faith in Christ, my concern was how I could be sure I was saved. Warren Wilke used Eph 2:8-9 to show me that all who believe in Jesus have been saved once and for all. I knew I was born again. I don’t recall that we discussed the issue of the […]
Further Reflections on Four Levels of Free Grace Theology
I received a lot of replies to my blog post on four levels of Free Grace Theology. I realize that I need to answer some of the follow-up comments and questions. J. H. writes, I am Free Grace and agree with you on the first level. I disagree with you on plenty of the rest […]
What Is the Role of the Shed Blood of Christ in Forgiveness? Part 2: If Jesus Actually Removed the World’s Sin, Are All Forgiven?
In part 1 (see here), I presented Dan’s question about Jesus’ shed blood and the forgiveness of sins. I showed that Jesus actually took away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Now in this second installment, I will show that there is a difference between taking away sin and forgiving it. Many people wrongly […]
Roman Catholics Need Evangelization
A Filipino pastor reached out to say that a Free Grace professor was teaching them not to evangelize Roman Catholics because Catholics are already saved. “What Roman Catholics need is discipleship, not evangelism.” If those charges are accurate, that is a sign of deep theological confusion in that ministry. Are Roman Catholics saved? It turns […]
What Is the Role of the Shed Blood of Christ in Forgiveness? Part 1 Did Jesus Actually or Potentially Take Away the Sin of the World?
I received this terrific question from Dan. He writes: My wife and I are fairly new Christians. We live in a suburb south of San Diego. We attend a large Baptist church, and two weeks ago we joined a home Bible study. We are learning all sorts of new things, but at this second Bible […]