Breaking Bread: The Centrality of Eating to New Testament Church Life
Shawn Lazar Associate Editor Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society What role did eating play in the NT church? While that may not seem like a particularly interesting question, my growing conviction is that theology should emphasize what the Bible emphasizes, and there are at least eight important connections between eating and a healthy NT […]
God Has Chosen: The Doctrine of Election Through Christian History
In the last issue of the JOTGES we ran a review of Ron Merryman’s book Understanding Biblical Election. We wrongly indicated that the price of the book is $17.95. Actually, Merryman Ministries has the policy that “All materials are distributed without charge on a grace basis.” They add that, “At the request of a number […]
The House Church in the Writings of Paul
The House Church in the Writings of Paul. By Vincent Branick. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 1989, 2012). 144 pp. Paper, $20.00. Where and how did the early churches meet? In this slim volume, Vincent Branick summarizes the academic literature on house churches in Paul’s writings. Along the way, he also explains the many different […]
Not Afraid of the Antichrist: Why We Don’t Believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture
Not Afraid of the Antichrist: Why We Don’t Believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture. By Michael L. Brown and Craig S. Keener. Minneapolis: Chosen Books, 2019. 236 pp. Paper, $15.99. Michael Brown is the founder and president of FIRE School of Ministry in Concord, NC, and host of the daily radio program The Line of Fire. […]
40 Questions About Calvinism
40 Questions About Calvinism. By Shawn D. Wright. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2019. 303 pp. Paper, $24.99. On my bookshelves, I have several books in the Kregel Academic “40 Questions” series and find the format very practical, even if I don’t fully agree with all of the answers given to every question. However, 40 […]
Without a Doubt: How to Know for Certain That You’re Good with God
Without a Doubt: How to Know for Certain That You’re Good with God. By Dean Inserra. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2020. 79 pp. Paper, $7.99. Great title. Great subtitle. But then I read the book. There are some Calvinists like David Engelsma who believe in the certainty of everlasting life. Calvinists like Engelsma base assurance […]
The Unsaved Christian: Reaching Cultural Christianity with the Gospel
The Unsaved Christian: Reaching Cultural Christianity with the Gospel. By Dean Inserra. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2019. 203 pp. Paper, $14.99. I have often said and written that most Evangelicals need evangelizing. So, I agree in principle with Inserra. However, there is a major difference in how he and I identify an Evangelical who is […]
Grace, Faith, Free Will—Contrasting View of Salvation: Calvinism & Arminianism
Grace, Faith, Free Will—Contrasting View of Salvation: Calvinism & Arminianism. By Robert E. Picirilli. Nashville, TN: Randall House, 2002. 245 pp. Paper, $19.99. Normally we do not review books that were published more than a few years ago. However, I just came across this book. It is by someone who calls his view Reformation Arminianism […]
Salvation as Spiritual Health in 1 Corinthians
Robert N. Wilkin Executive Director Grace Evangelical Society I. INTRODUCTION There are nine uses of the Greek verb sōzein, to save, in 1 Corinthians (1 Cor 1:18, 21; 3:15; 5:5; 7:16, twice; 9:22; 10:33; 15:2). There are no uses of the related noun sōtēria, salvation. There are five uses of the Greek noun sōtēria in […]
Doing Theology with the Reformers
Doing Theology with the Reformers. By Gerald L. Bray. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2019. 277 pp. Paper, $23.99. Bray is a professor at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama. In this book, he discusses how the various strands of theological thought in the Reformation of the sixteenth century were the basis of the different […]