“Soul Salvation,” Part 5 — Suffering Which Results in Abundant Life — 1 Peter 1:9
“Receiving the end of your faith–the salvation of your souls.” This is the most difficult of the passages on “soul salvation” in the Bible, in my opinion. A casual reading of this text seems to suggest that eternal salvation is in view. This is suggested by the fact that the salvation in question is said […]
Short Sighted Believers (2 Peter 1:9)
For he who lacks these things is short sighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. The writer of this article has been nearsighted since grade school. My 7th grade teacher noticed me squinting as I tried to read the blackboard. She shared this observation with my parents, […]
“Soul Salvation,” Part 4 Gaining by Losing – Matthew 16:24–28
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if […]
Letters to the Editor
Dear GES Team, I just wanted to express my thanks and amen to what you stand for and how your newsletters are such a blessing. I have been blessed to be given an outreach in high schools across our great land. I am honored to be able to give the Grace Gospel in each school […]
Grace When It Hurts
This morning as I drew aside the drapes and looked out my bedroom window I saw a pale purple-and-gold-streaked sky that brought to mind this fine nineteenth century German hymn: When morning gilds the skies, My heart awaking cries: May Jesus Christ be praised; Alike at work or prayer To Jesus I repair: May Jesus […]
“Soul Salvation,” Part 3 – Saving Your Soul By Doing Good – James 1:21
Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. This verse certainly is confusing for the person who understands it as dealing with how a person obtains eternal salvation from hell. Note the conditions stated. There are two. The first is […]
The Bible and the Presidents
February is a presidential month for historically-minded Americans. And rightly so. Our first and truly great President! George Washington, was born in February (Feb. 11, 1732, “Old Style” calendar, Feb. 22 “New Style”). So too was Abraham Lincoln, perhaps our greatest and most beloved President of all (Feb. 12, 1809). Their respective birthdays have been […]
The Unbeliever’s Day in Court
With some use of imagination, but sticking as closely as possible to the facts of Scripture, we are trying here to reconstruct the unbeliever’s day in court. This is a theological meditation on, and a dramatic presentation of, Rev 20:15. If you are unfamiliar with the text you might wish to study it before reading […]
1991: ANOTHER GOOD YEAR
You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance. –Psalm 65:11 So wrote King David centuries ago. Or perhaps he wrote this as a young man taking care of his father’s sheep. Or he might even have written it while he was a fugitive from the hatred of King Saul. It […]
Does Free Grace Turn Heaven into Hell?
A few months ago I presented a paper on Gal 5:21 at a meeting of Bible scholars in Kansas City, Missouri. During the question and answer time after my presentation, a striking question was raised. I had suggested in my paper that failure in the Christian life will result in loss of kingdom rewards, not […]