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GraceNotes
GraceNotes is a concise quarterly Bible study on the important issues related to salvation by grace and living by grace. They are designed for downloading (*pdf available) and copying so they can be used in ministry. No permission is required if they are distributed unedited at no charge. You can receive new GraceNotes by subscribing to our free quarterly GraceLife newsletter.
Topic: Salvation
We should begin with John to understand how to be saved and examine it closely to discover the condition for salvation.
Does James 2:14 teach that works are a necessary component for salvation?
Everyone knows somebody who calls himself or herself a Christian, but doesn't act like one. Christians struggle with how to think about these folks.
Is a disciple merely another name for a Christian who is born into God's family through faith in Jesus Christ, or is a disciple a Christian who meets specific conditions about following Jesus?
A commonly asked question is whether a born-again believer who commits suicide will still go to heaven.
There is every reason to think that those who have believed in Jesus Christ as Savior and are consequently born into God's family will experience a changed life to some degree. Some would say that this changed life is evidenced by good works which proves they are saved.
Many people have the idea that if they do enough good, or don't do too much bad, then God will allow them to enter heaven. In other words, when it comes to obtaining eternal life, they think God grades on a curve.
A person may wonder if he or she has believed enough to be saved. No wonder - there are those who claim that salvation is given only to those who have enough faith, a full faith, a special faith, etc., implying that one's faith in God's promise of salvation can be insufficient.
Does a person have to be baptized in water in order to have eternal life?
Interpreting 1 John is troublesome to some because of statements that appear to be tests or conditions. The prevailing view among commentators is that the purpose of these tests is to determine if someone is saved eternally or not.
Because the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only message that can save people, we want to be as clear as possible in explaining how someone can have eternal life.
When sharing the gospel clearly we should have two great concerns.
Jesus is Lord. No one who believes the Bible denies that. But what does that mean and how does Christ's lordship apply to our salvation and our Christian life?
There are some who think that a person must be regenerated (born again) before he or she can believe the gospel. What does the Bible say?
Can we truthfully say to anyone 'Jesus Christ died for your sins'? While many Christians say we can, there are some who disagree.
It is not uncommon to see this verse used to encourage professing Christians to examine themselves to see if they are genuinely saved.
As used here, apostasy refers to a departure from or denial of the Christian faith by someone who once held to it. There are several views about what happens to someone who leaves the faith.
If John establishes the fact that Christians sin in chapter 1, how can he say later that Christians do not sin? An incorrect interpretation of these verses has caused many Christians to doubt their salvation.
Is there any way a Christian can be 'of the devil,' or could that only refer to unsaved people?
This passage (See also Matt. 10:22; Mark 13:13; cf. Luke 21:19) is often used to argue that only those who continue in faith and good works to the end of their lives will receive salvation or prove they were saved.
Some use this passage to say that believers can lose their salvation. Others say that it shows that some who are considered believers prove to be false believers because they did not stick with the gospel. Neither of these views satisfies the details of the passage in its context.
Some readers assume that Jesus invites Andrew, Peter, James, and John to salvation. Their view requires that salvation is obtained by following Jesus, with the implication that every Christian must be a committed follower. In other words, there is no distinction between being a Christian and being a disciple. Is the call to follow a call to be saved?
When we look at the practical, theological, and biblical objections to this phrase, we may decide to use different language.
A question often asked by those who hold the Free Grace position is Why is Lordship Salvation so popular?
Theological labels are a convenient way to summarize belief systems. Many labels have become an established part of theological dialogue, like Arminianism, Calvinism, amillennialism, or premillennialism. Many who hear the label 'Free Grace Theology' wonder what it means. Here is a brief summation.
Can an individual recently saved from an occultic background commit a serious sin? Or would that horrendous blunder prove he was never really saved?
The biblical record of Israel presents God's unrelenting grace that pursued the prodigal nation in the past and persists into the future.
Some people say the Free Grace view gives people false and damning assurance on the basis of their profession of faith. After all, they may not have believed with all their heart, turned from all their sins (in their of repentance), or done enough good works.
An incorrect understanding of justification can corrupt the gospel, undermine the foundation of the Christian life, and make assurance of salvation impossible.
John 6:44 points to God's sovereign work that brings people to Jesus Christ, and from the context of John 6, they evidently believe in Him for eternal salvation. Some think this verse teaches that God draws people in such a way that they cannot resist. But would God force His salvation on people against their will? Is God's grace irresistible?
Is there such a thing as carnal Christians, believers who persist in disobedience to God? Some say no. While conceding that Christians can and do sin, they deny that true believers will persist in sin until the end of their physical lives.
There are some who claim the saving message of the gospel is 'Believe in Jesus as the guarantor of eternal life, which can never be lost.' In other words, a person must know, understand, and express agreement with the doctrine of eternal security ... but does a person have to affirm this in order to be saved, or is this an unwarranted addition to salvation by faith alone in Christ alone?
In chapters 3 and 4 of Romans, The apostle Paul established beyond dispute that one is eternally justified before God only on the basis of faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Why, then, does he say in chapter 10 that one must "confess the Lord Jesus" for salvation?
Most Bible commentators interpret this passage to say that these people at the Passover did not really believe in Jesus for salvation, therefore Jesus did not commit Himself to them because He knew the unbelieving condition of their hearts. Their faith was defective or insufficient for salvation because it was based only on the signs that Jesus performed and/or they believed only in His name, not His person.
A question often heard is \How were people eternally saved in Old Testament days?\" For a more comprehensive perspective
Though law is used in various ways in the Bible, The New Testament often uses the term for the Law delivered through Moses. It is important to understand how Christians should relate to the demands of the Mosaic Law. We will look at the nature and purpose of that Law and how it affects Christians.
This passage, especially verse 22, raises the questions, who is the apostle Paul addressing?, what does it mean to be \cut off\"?
Arminian theology (not Armenian, which is someone from the country of Armenia) is named after its proponent, Dutch theologian Jacob Arminius (1560-1609), who objected to the strong determinism of John Calvin. Arminius died before he could formally present his arguments, but his followers formalized them into five articles in the Remonstrance of 1610.
About 2000 years ago, the apostle Paul (with his co-laborer Silas) answered a frightened prison guard's question, "Sirs..."
At the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, one of the two criminals who was crucified next to Him was eternally saved. What does his story teach about salvation?
These three passages are similar in that they list sins and the consequence of those who commit them. The passages often confuse people. What kind of people do they describe, believers or unbelievers? What is the point of listing these sins for the original readers and for us today?
Some believe that salvation can be lost. Considering all that transpires in one's salvation, if it were possible to forfeit that salvation, here's what someone should be told to do.
Can a person obtain eternal life by doing good or be justified by keeping the law? Yes, of course—that’s what these verses in Romans say—at least speaking theoretically. Some would argue that these verses teach how one can obtain eternal life or prove they are justified by continuing to do good or obeying the law. But how are these verses used in context and can a person be good enough to satisfy God’s perfect justice?
We are defining Calvinists as those committed to the theology of the five-point TULIP. ...Deterministic Calvinism raises some significant questions.
Does faith come from God to a person as a gift, does faith describe a meritorious work that comes from a person, or is faith a person's response to a truth or promise?
What does Roman Catholicism (RC) teach about how a person can be saved eternally? The RC view of salvation is derived from their beliefs about grace, justification, and the atonement, but are they biblical?
Of Jesus Christ's seven last sayings on the cross, "It is finished!" is surely the most profound. Understanding what Jesus meant with this saying can encourage believers, witness to unbelievers, and clear up bad theology about the gospel of salvation.
Dismissed. Neglected. Forgotten. These words can describe how many treat the doctrine of the Judgment Seat of Christ (JSOC) in the New Testament.
This passage is packed with language and theology that has generated various interpretations. These three verses are most easily understood within the flow of the preceding context of verses 8-27, which speaks of the restoration and return of creation to a glorious end with believers ruling with Christ over all creation, and the following context of verses 31-36 which assures believers that nothing can prevent them from realizing this destiny. Verses 28-30 explain how God’s eternal purpose for every believer guarantees their final destiny with the encouragement of verse 28 explained by verses 29-30. The entire context focuses on the divine side of salvation.
Free Grace teaches that salvation is absolutely free. Those who simply believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, being convinced that He died on the cross for their sins and rose again, have eternal life. But this is a problem for some who derogatorily call this “easy-believism.”
Hypergrace, sometimes called the modern grace movement or radical grace, strongly emphasizes Jesus Christ’s finished work, grace, and the Epistles while minimalizing the Old Testament and the Gospels. Adherents claim they are restoring the true gospel of grace. But is this the case?
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