Tag Archives: Sanctification

The Meaning of 1 John 3:9

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Four Views That Appeal To This Verse 1. The works-righteousness view This view teaches that one earns or keeps salvation by good works, and thus that the person who chooses to sin has forfeited any right to heaven. This view contradicts the Bible’s clear teaching on salvation as God’s gift through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9), purchased for us not by our works but by the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross (Romans 3:24–25, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 2:24). 2. The instantaneous sanctification/Wesleyan view This view states that it is possible for a believer to have an experience following conversion in which the principle or root of sin is removed and replaced by love for God.

What Happened to Keswick?

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Years ago a few Fundamentalists had occasion to identify with the Keswick movement, also known as the “deeper life,” or “victorious life.” Others have slurred the movement in somewhat the same way that New Evangelicals have slurred the Scofield Reference Bible. The point is worth some notice. While the movement traces back to the perfectionist movements that in the 1860s produced Holiness, it went in a somewhat different direction. Credit seems to go to William Boardman, who in the 1860s was preaching a higher life, and to Pearsall Smith and his wife Hannah Whitehall Smith.

When is a Church a Church?

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Many people are hopelessly confused by the maze of religious institutions that call themselves a church. The modern ecumenical movement has created an atmosphere quite hostile to any dogmatic, specific definition of a church. On the other hand, interdenominational thought, with its primary emphasis upon the “universal church,” and its accompanying “parachurch” organizations has given little thought to exacting definitions of the nature of a true local church. In the minds of many, the definition, organization, and function of a church are relatively unimportant, provided the church is reasonably biblical and functions as local churches traditionally function.

Three Principles for Biblical Church Growth, Part 2

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Dr. Luke’s account of the church in Antioch (Acts 11:19–30) yields three principles for Biblical church growth. The previous issue of the Faith Pulpit explained the first principle: “Reach Out To The Lost” (11:19–21). The believers in Antioch shared the good news of Christ with their neighbors, “and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord” (11:21). Reports of church growth reached the believers in Jerusalem. Earlier they had sent Peter and John to Samaria (8:14). This time they sent Barnabas to Antioch (11:22).

What is Legalism?

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Introduction This article is not really a book review. But it is a response to a very important issue raised by Charles Swindoll in his book Grace Awakening. While there are many helpful truths in the book, there are also several problems – one of which is his understanding of legalism. Because it is wrong and colors his thinking, it affects many of the other things on which he comments. A Definition of “Legalism” Swindoll’s book is a sustained attack on “legalism,” yet the term is not defined until page 81.