Redeeming God

Have you ever heard the wheelbarrow tightrope walk over Niagara Falls as an illustration for faith? It is a terrible illustration, because it does not accurately portray what faith really is or how faith works. This post considers the illustration and defines faith from Scripture.

What is evangelism? What needs to be said in evangelism? Who do you say it to? How long does evangelism take? What Scriptures should you use? How do you know when someone has been evangelized? Since there is so much confusion around evangelism, maybe we should start talking about gospelism instead.

There have been lots of strange teachings about the Rich Young Ruler in Matthew 19:16-21 (and Luke 18:18-23; Mark 10:17-22). Did Jesus really mean that the rich can earn eternal life if they give all their possessions away? No. By understanding the cultural and theological view of riches in the days of Jesus, we can better understand what Jesus was telling the Rich Young Ruler.

In this interview with Shawn Lazar, we discuss his book "Chosen to Serve" and how divine election is to service; not to eternal life. After presenting the concept of election as it is taught in Scripture, we discuss Acts 13:48, 1 Peter 1:2, and 2 Peter 1:10-11. By listening to the episode, you can learn how to get 50% off his book.

In this teaching on Ephesians 1:4-5, I explain the biblical concepts of election, predestination, and adoption, showing you that God does NOT choose some to receive eternal life while everyone else receives eternal death. Election is to service; not to eternal life.

What does Paul mean about divine election in Romans 9 when he writes about God loving Jacob and hating Esau, making what he wants from clay, and hardening Pharaohs heart? This article answers these questions from Romans 9, and also looks at what Romans 11 teaches about divine election.

The biblical teaching on election is a controversial issue in the church. But it need not be so. By carefully defining our terms and then looking at how the word election is used in context, we see that what the Bible teaches about election is not something to be debated, but celebrated.

While the Gospel of John shows that eternal life is the free gift of God to anyone who believes in Jesus for it, it also shows that the path of discipleship has numerous other conditions and requirements. The Gospel of John does a great job showing the different conditions and results between eternal life and discipleship.

It is critical to recognize that the Sermon on the Mount does not contain the offer of eternal life, because if we get confused on this fact, we will think that one gains eternal life by fulfilling the conditions and requirements Jesus talks about in this Sermon.

Here is a truth that will help you unpack many tricky and often-misunderstood Bible passages: Though all believers have eternal life, not all believers are disciples, and not all disciples are believers. Once you understand the difference between believing in Jesus for eternal life and becoming a disciple of Jesus during this life, many tricky Bible texts will make a lot more sense.

Just as eternal life is a life lived in eternity where we live life to its full potential, so eternal death, or the second death is a life lived in eternity where people achieve none of their potential. It is a life of everlasting death. Of no escape from the consequences of selfish human decisions.

When John writes in 1 John 3:14 that we know we have passed from death to life because we love our brethren, he is not talking about how we know we have eternal life, but how we know we are in fellowship with God and one another.

Frank Viola, author of Insurgence, joins me to discuss the Gospel of the Kingdom and what it really means to seek the Kingdom of God in our lives here and now. They also look at Luke 17:20-21 and Matthew 11:12 and what these passages teach about the kingdom of God.

When James writes about dead faith in James 2:14-26, many people think he is referring to faith that does not exist. But this is not the message of James. What is dead faith? It is useless faith. It is faith that does exist, but is not accomplishing what God wants or desires for it.

Is Paul teaching in Ephesians 2:1 that unbelievers cannot even believe in Jesus for eternal life unless God first regenerates them? Must God give unbelievers new life (regeneration) before they believe and so that they can believe? No. This is not what it means to be dead in trespasses and sins.

Most Christians are doing more harm than good with how they attempt to share Jesus with others. Many of the modern evangelistic efforts of Christians only do harm to the cause of Christ and the message of the gospel. If you want to see what I mean, I explain it all in parable form through my new book, Adventures in Fishing for Men.

In Romans 5:12, Paul writes that through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. Almost everybody thinks that Paul is referring to the event in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. But is this what Paul has in mind? It doesn't seem so ...

The Crown of Life is not eternal life. Eternal life is a free gift. The Crown of Life is special reward for a special act of service and dedication to the King. Just as you win an award for winning a race, so also God gives rewards to people who run well in this life. This article looks at the crown of life and what we learn about it in James 1:12 and Revelation 2:10.

There are several verses in the Bible which seem to teach that you need to make a public confession of Jesus in order to be saved. One of these is Romans 10:9-10. Many people interpret this to mean that if you do not let others know that you are a follower of Jesus, then you do not truly have eternal life and will therefore not spend eternity with God in heaven.

Does 1 John 1:9 mean that if we do not confess our sins to God, He will not forgive us? No, the truth is that God has already forgiven you for all your sins, past, present, and future. So what does 1 John 1:9 mean? This article explains more.