Salvation by grace through faith
-
Salvation in the Old Testament: by Works or by Grace?
It is often thought that the Old Testament presents salvation by works, while the New Testament presents the opposite, salvation by grace. Not true, however – God’s way of salvation is always by grace and it has always been so. Instead, the New Testament only shows how God makes His grace available to all – through Christ’s work Continue reading
-
Thanking God for the CERTAINTY of Eternal Life
Some ideas blow your world apart, and 33 years ago, I heard such an idea when I was at West Point on bivouac. Bob Maruna, an upper class cadet, stopped by my tent and told me I could know whether I was going to heaven. I had never heard such a thing before, but it is Continue reading
-
What Does It Mean To Be “God’s Chosen People”?
For 8 years I led a Bible study for inmates at “the Walls”, the castle-like maximum security prison in the middle of Waupun. During this time, one of the most interesting characters I met was neither a guard nor an inmate but another prison “minister” like me, an orthodox Rabbi not surprisingly named Moshe (Moses). Moshe was a delightful Continue reading
-
The Most Counterintuitive Truth in the Bible
I had a delightful lunch today with dear friends from our church who have become significantly involved with an underprivileged family in the area. Just listening to them describe their work in the home of this family was absolutely joyous. It made me think of the starfish story: One day a man was walking along a beach on which literally Continue reading
-
Pray This Prayer…
2 Thessalonians chapter 1 has a prayer that I have been praying off and on for over 2 decades: To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of Continue reading
-
A Trade You Must Make To Get Into Heaven
(A loose and modern-day paraphrase of Philippians 3:4 – 9) “Years ago, I had my confidence in all the wrong places. I assumed that I could know God and go to heaven on the basis of what I had done. For instance, I was extremely religious. It came naturally. My grandfather was a deacon and Continue reading
-
Just Give Me Jesus
The Bible clearly teaches that salvation comes only by grace through faith, but sometimes we come upon certain sections of the New Testament that seem quite the opposite…downright works-oriented. Take for instance, Luke 14:25 – 33. Here, as a requirement for being his disciple, the Lord Jesus requires hatred toward father and mother, children and brothers. And Continue reading
-
Why Do I Need to Repent if Salvation is by Grace Through Faith?
For years I was confused about the call to repentance in the Bible. I knew that salvation was by grace through faith, and yet I wondered about the emphasis on repentance which I saw in the New Testament. This emphasis is certainly all over the place, and so it’s clear that to become a Christian, a Continue reading
-
Is Baptism Necessary For Salvation?
It was probably 10 years ago that I got a call from another pastor in town (since moved away) inviting me to lunch. He and I had never really connected, so I gladly accepted. As we sat down at Culvers one early afternoon, he didn’t take too long to get to his point. He had Continue reading
About Me
I’ve been a follower of Christ since an upper-class cadet at West Point showed me…read more here
CATEGORIES
- Accident
- Apologetics
- Bible
- Bible Interpretation
- Biking
- Born Again
- Carpe Deum
- Contentment
- Devotions
- Discipleship
- exercise
- Fellowship
- Glorifying God
- Good Deeds
- Grace
- Prayer
- Preaching
- Purity
- Quiet Time
- Secret Sin
- Self-righteousness
- Sexual Immorality
- Shepherding
- Sin
- Spiritual Training
- Sports, Football
- The Bible
- The local church
- The Lord's prayer
- The Return of Christ
- Uncategorized
Entrusted with the Gospel 