Resources by Topic: Doctrine and Theology

Those who are now mistakenly embracing the Law are doing so because they see it as a good thing designed by God for our blessing.

The word “infinite,” in Christian theology, has meant “without limit.” “Eternal” means everlasting, without end.

If there is a plane crash in which all 345 passengers die isn’t it accurate to say “Many died in that plane crash”? (If Christ died for everyone, for billions of people, that certainly qualifies as many.) Now if someone said, “many, but not all, died in that plane crash” that would be different.

A person may know all the facts of the Bible and believe them to be true and still spend eternity in Hell. A person may believe that God exists, that Jesus lived, died, and was resurrected from the dead. A person can be very religious and still not know Christ.

God does not compel anyone–He offers. He has made sure that all know that He exists, and He has provided the answers for all those who seek.

We have so emphasized the idea of never acting in our own self-interest, that we ignore the continuous appeals of Scripture to be motivated by the fact that following our Lord is not only right, but smart. And sin is not only wrong, but stupid.

Because the inspired writers chose their words to communicate meaning to specific audiences, the interpreter seeks to understand the text as it would most likely have been understood by its original readers

It is interesting to observe that antichristian groups rarely try to lead lost sinners to their false faith. Instead, they spend much of their time trying to convert professing Christians (and church members, at that) to their own doctrines. They are out to “seduce” the faithful.

The critical question is do you believe God and His Word; or, do you believe your own understanding? 

Despite my best attempts to be careful with Scripture, my understanding is far from complete and is without doubt incorrect in some areas. But if the reader diligently investigates the Scripture passages referred to in this summary, he may discover to his surprise (and either to his delight or discomfort) that some of his own notions and assumptions about heaven are in fact not biblical. In the process, he will gain a far greater understanding of this vital subject.

In his excellent book Bible Doctrine, Wayne Grudem says, “Common grace is the grace of God by which he gives people innumerable blessings that are not part of salvation. The word common here means something that is common to all people and is not restricted to believers or to the elect only.” 

Universalism originated in the Garden of Eden when Satan said ‘you will not surely die’ (Gen. 3:4). The appeal by Universalists to God’s desire to save all is unconvincing because the same God who reveals that He desires for everyone to be saved also reveals that not everyone is saved. Additionally, we must distinguish between God’s sovereign will (which God infallibly brings to pass in the world), and His permissive will (what He does not want in and of itself, but wills to occur in light of all of history considered together).

If you have a spirit friend who communicates with you, you are (or think you are) in fact “consulting the dead.” Even if he is coming on his own initiative, the spirit is disguising himself as someone who is being welcomed by you, instead of being told to stay away on the basis of the shed blood of Jesus.

Eternal rewards is a hot topic in the evangelical community, partly because some people think it is anti-grace and leads to works-righteousness to earn salvation. Nothing could be further from the truth, but that’s the perception.