Do We Sometimes Nullify God’s Word by Our Traditions (Mark 7:1-16)?
How do we decide how to apply the Word of God? Some traditions today say that wearing bright clothing is sinful. Even the use of buttons is considered sinful by some traditions. Other traditions say that drinking coffee or tea is transgressing God’s commands. Still others say that the eating of pork is a violation […]
The Amish Against Assurance?
Like many Americans, I have a fascination with the Amish. I’m intrigued by their life, and I respect their resilience in maintaining their identity in the face of massive societal pressure. They have survived for centuries. If large-scale cultural collapse is on the horizon (and I think it probably is; see here), Evangelicals should take […]
Musings from Kenya
Part of what I do for GES is teach in other countries. My daughter Kathryn usually accompanies me on these teaching trips. We recently returned from a couple of weeks of teaching in Kenya. There is a solid Free Grace couple from Kenya who invite us on an annual basis to come and conduct conferences […]
William Lane Craig on Works Salvation
William Lane Craig is a Christian philosopher and apologist who has done excellent work in defending the existence of God from atheism. During university, I found his books on natural theology to be enormously helpful and I regularly recommend them to others. For a time, I was even a (small) monthly donor to his ministry. […]
What Does “My Sheep…Follow Me” (John 10:27) Mean?
Michael asks a great question: John 10:27 is used by certain groups to say that a true believer will always want to hear every word of Christ and will follow anything He commands (these people reject salvation being an event and instead believe that salvation is a lifelong process, that the person has to breathe […]
Paul Rejected Salvation by Non-Meritorious Works
Some works-salvation teachers will try to soften—or obscure!—their message by saying that doing good works is necessary for salvation, but those works are not meritorious. In their view, requiring works for salvation becomes a problem only if you think you can earn your way into heaven. Is that a possible Biblical position? Consider what Paul […]
Michael Eaton on the Legalism of the New Perspective on Paul
Seminary students and pastors will have heard of the “New Perspective on Paul” (or “covenantal nomism”) championed by scholars such as N. T. Wright, James D. G. Dunn, and E. P. Sanders, and reflected (I think) in popular movements such as the “Federal Vision.” The critical issue with the New Perspective is that it promotes […]
What Is Gehenna and Why Does That Matter?
Recently I wrote a blog on Gehenna (see here) in which I suggested that it might be another name for the lake of fire where the unsaved dead will be forever. I received some rather animated objections from quite a few readers. While none of them said why they were so disturbed by my blog, […]
Are the Seven Letters of Revelation 2-3 Directed to Believers After the Church Age?
SF writes, Surely ALL of the Revelation must be future. The “letters to the churches” are just chock full of works doctrine. Can you at least entertain the idea that those letters are to believers and proselytes after the age of grace has come to an end, after the Rapture? GES is all about grace, […]
Free Air or Hot Air?
Look at this sign. It reads, “Free Air. $0.25” See the problem? Not everyone does. The person who made the sign didn’t. To him it made perfect sense. I’ll admit that a quarter is a good price for air—I don’t see it going for less than $1.25 in my neighborhood. A quarter is certainly cheap. […]