How Would You Define Saving Faith?
I still use the expression saving faith occasionally since it saves a lot of space. By saving faith, I mean faith in the saving object, the gift of God (everlasting life, John 4:10, 14; Eph 2:8) given by the Messiah Giver Jesus (John 4:25-26; 6:47). But what is faith? It probably is no surprise to […]
Is It Likely That a Born-Again Person Would Rape, Pillage, and Murder?
“What if?” questions are handy for testing the consistency of a plan or theory. Philosophers love hypothetical scenarios. For example, the trolley problem helps test the consistency of your moral intuitions (see here). And the brain-in-a-vat problem tests theories about what you can and cannot know (see here). If a hypothetical reveals a self-contradiction within […]
What Did Moses Mean When He Asked God to Blot Him Out of His Book (Exod 32:32)?
Today I received an actual typed letter. It was from Martin. He asked about a famous verse in Exodus 32. That chapter deals with the golden calf incident. While Moses was up on Mount Sinai meeting with the Lord (preincarnate Jesus Christ) and receiving the law, Aaron, at the insistence of the people, made two […]
Is Your Desire for Rewards Too Weak?
Jesus commanded, “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matt 6:20), and He promised to return with “My reward…to give to every one according to his work” (Rev 22:12). You can find the topic of eternal rewards written across Scripture, with promises of riches, wealth, mansions, and authority in the life to come. Shouldn’t you […]
What and Where Is Gehenna?
My friend Bill Fiess sent me an email suggesting that my view of Gehenna was not correct. He wrote: “It has been suggested (I think by you) that hell is not the same as the lake of fire [Rev 20:15], but I think that Matt 18:8-9 [and also the parallel Mark 9:45-47] suggest otherwise.” Matthew […]
Does GES Have Follow-Up Materials for Bible Studies and Discipleship Groups?
A friend who does college ministry on campus for several colleges in his area asked me if we have any discipleship materials: “Do you have any Free Grace follow-up material on things like assurance of salvation, quiet times, walking in the Spirit, the Great Commission, and the need for fellowship. I’d prefer FG material.” We […]
Did John Fail?
When people hear the claim that John wrote his Gospel with an evangelistic purpose, they’re often surprised because they’ve never heard that before. But after reading John 20:30-31, they usually admit that is the case. However, people become very skeptical when you start reasoning based on that premise, such as deducing that John’s Gospel must […]
Widespread Confusion in Evangelicalism Today: Is Faith Plus Works a Saving Message?
Works salvation is the view that justification is not by faith alone, but is by faith plus works (e.g., baptism, turning from sins, and perseverance in obedience). Many who call themselves Evangelicals today believe that works salvation is a saving message. That obviously includes those who believe in works salvation themselves. One denomination teaches that […]
Encourage and Build Up One Another (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
My wife and I bought our house in 2015. It’s our first house. Up till then, we rented—living in apartments and townhomes where we were restricted on what we could do to make the space our own and depending on the landlord to make repairs. Now things are different. The responsibility of maintaining the house […]
Have Over 100 Billion People Lived on the Earth?
I was surprised when I read in DTS Magazine (Summer 2021) that “Over 100 billion people have lived upon the earth…” (p. 9). I know that among young earth creationists (YECs), they hold to a much smaller number. I found a National Library of Medicine (NLM) article (see here) that says, “105 billion people have […]