Archives for February 2012

A gracEmail subscriber chides, "I see you saying that you believe in salvation by faith alone, which is an improvement over the doctrine of salvation by works, but is not satisfactory to careful Bible students. (I teach that we are saved by faith and not by works, but not by faith only.)" * * * Good brother, we can't have it both ways. We are either saved by or we are saved by. Either Jesus did it all, or we do some of it. We either bring something to God, in exchange for which we hope to receive his favor, or we come to him with empty hands trusting his promise that he loves us and … [Read more...]

Paul promises that whoever confesses Jesus as Lord and believes that God raised him from the dead will be saved (Rom. 10:9-10). Jesus warns that in the Day of Judgment he will turn away some people who had called him "lord" (Matt. 7:21-23). A gracEmail subscriber asks how both statements can be true. * * * Paul and Jesus are describing two different sets of people. The only thing the two groups have in common is something they say. They both call Jesus "lord," but the similarity ends there. One group means what they say, and their lives show it. The other group is simply saying words, words, … [Read more...]

For six decades he travelled a quarter-million miles by horseback, spreading the message of Jesus. He scandalized 18th-century British sensitivities by taking the gospel out of the pulpits to the factories, market-places and mines where he found the unchurched. He began a worldwide revival that still bears his name. Among his converts was William Wilberforce, credited with ending Great Britain's slave trade. I speak of John Wesley (1703-1791), surely one of the greatest evangelists of all time. Yet Wesley testified that the grace of God entered his head long before it finally claimed his … [Read more...]

Someone asks how we may ever be assured that we are right with God, since our lives are always imperfect and none of us is without sin. * * * The gospel weaves a three-fold cord to wrap the gift of peace with God. These three strands are faith, grace and certainty, and Paul connects them in Romans 4:16. God's promised salvation "is by FAITH," the apostle tells us. That means we must trust God for it, because it rests on the performance of our Savior and representative, the Lord Jesus Christ. This salvation by faith is "in accordance with GRACE," Paul continues. It is God's undeserved gift … [Read more...]

A gracEmail reader asks, "How do I know if my faith is adequate? It is so weak. And what if my works or obedience are inadequate? How can I have confidence that God loves me?" * * * God, who sees the heart, knows if humble trust is there or not. Our works and obedience demonstrate our faith, but we need not fear that they are inadequate if our heart is true -- for they will then follow. I have some hibiscus plants in my back yard. Some days they bloom and some days they do not. But they are clearly alive. If I went out and the plant was obviously dead, I would cut it down. But when I see … [Read more...]

"A gracEmail subscriber asks what the Scripture means that says we are saved "by grace through faith" *          *          * Here Paul literally says that "by grace" we are "saved ones through faith" (Eph. 2:8). This is all the more remarkable because we once were "dead ones in trespasses and sins" (v. 1). Our state changed because of "God being rich in pity" (v. 4). To say that we are justified "by grace" means that God has declared us acquitted and accepted as his covenant people by a verdict which is wholly undeserved. This declaration is not God's response or reaction to anything he … [Read more...]

"Why did Jesus tell the ten lepers to go show themselves to the priests, asks a gracEmail reader, "and what did that have to do with their being healed? Was this a condition of their healing, like Naaman being told to go dip seven times in the Jordan River?" * * * Luke tells the story of the Ten Lepers shortly after the disciples beg Jesus, "Lord, increase our faith" (Lk. 17:5, 11-19). In this context, "faith" almost equals "chutzpah" -- the nervy audacity by which repulsively sick, "untouchable," beggars shout out to Jesus for mercy from a distance. What do they have to lose? They already … [Read more...]

A gracEmail subscriber writes: "This idea of just 'accepting Jesus as our Savior' can be a dangerous teaching. Satan knows this fact, and if anyone is headed straight for hell he is. There must be more to this than just a head knowledge of the gospel. Perhaps we must also repent and submit to baptism." * * * Indeed there is more to saving faith than "head knowledge" and anyone who tells you otherwise is simply wrong! You are correct that Satan himself possesses "head knowledge" of the gospel -- he knows first-hand that Jesus died for sinners, that he was buried as other men are and that he … [Read more...]

"What," someone asks, "does it mean to 'trust Christ?' I often hear people use that term but it is not clear to me what they are saying." * * * The bottom-line question each of us must face is this: "Am I personally willing to trust what God has already done, once for all, in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, as the adequate and sufficient basis for my right standing with God, or must I try to supplement that in any manner whatsoever in order to be secure and to feel secure before a holy God?" One's honest, soul-level answer to that question will indicate whether that … [Read more...]