Blog

24
Apr
2016

Cheap Grace

Dove

There is a dangerous and unbiblical concept taught by some which states that people can be reconciled to God merely by acknowledging that they have faith in Jesus. There is little to no emphasis on instructing the new Christian to turn their back on sin (repent), make Jesus their king, allow Jesus to transform their life to be more like Him, live a clean life filled with good works, etc.

In other words, the emphasis is on the benefits of Christianity without acknowledging the commitment. The end result of this teaching is a person who believes they have obtained eternal life from Jesus, but displays no signs of a changed life and gives no indication that they understand the need to obey Him.

Continue reading →
Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Grace
24
Apr
2016

The Limits of Grace

Dove

Christians can and should have complete confidence in their salvation. However, salvation is a gift that can be “returned”. The bible is quite clear that we can relinquish our salvation, but only if we reject it willfully. We don’t “accidentally” lose our salvation each time we commit a sin nor even during periods of time when we relapse into sinful behavior. We can forfeit our salvation, but not as easily as many people think.

The writer of the Hebrew letter gives some very important information to help us in our understanding of the conditions under which a saved person rejects God’s gift.

Continue reading →
Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Grace
23
Apr
2016

Grace Assures Our Salvation

Dove

Grace, properly understood, should leave us feeling assured of our salvation. However, it is common for people to doubt their salvation at some point after becoming a Christian. There are several reasons for this. One reason might be that as we learn, we realize how good God is and how bad we humans are. Being more aware of our sins may lead us to question how God could love someone as “bad as I am”. We feel there are sins we can’t overcome, we have thoughts we shouldn’t have, we keep failing, etc. We feel we are a failure as a disciple and therefore God will reject us.

Sometimes bad theology is to blame. Some Christian teachers/preachers erroneously teach that each time we sin after becoming a Christian we have lost our salvation until we repent and pray to God asking forgiveness. A variation on this teaching is that we don’t lose our salvation every time we sin, but we lose our salvation when we “backslide”. The term “backslide” means to relapse into patterns of sinful behavior. Fortunately, the Bible does NOT teach these ideas of “intermittent salvation”. The bible is quite clear that Christians can and should have assurance of their salvation.

Continue reading →
Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Grace
23
Apr
2016

Saved by Grace?

Dove

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God (Eph 2:8 ESV)

Grace saves us!

Grace, simply defined, is God’s generosity, goodwill, favor, loving kindness, etc. Because God is so loving and generous it pleases Him to give us the gift of eternal life.

Continue reading →
Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Grace
23
Apr
2016

What is Grace?

Dove

Grace is perhaps the most fundamental message of the bible and is one of the most frequently referenced concepts in Christian circles. Ironically, it is not well understood by many Christians. This lack of understanding can lead to all sorts of problems such as the extremes of legalism (strong emphasis on a system of rules to obtain salvation) and license (do as you please and God will look the other way). A poor understanding of grace has resulted in many Christians living in misery constantly doubting that God has really forgiven them of their sins.

Ask most Christians to define grace and they’ll respond, “unmerited favor”. This is a correct answer and a good one, but many people are unable to elaborate in a meaningful way beyond this memorized answer.

Continue reading →
Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Grace