Saved by Grace #7 — JUSTIFIED BY FAITH, YET JUDGED BY WORKS?
We have stressed, as does Paul, that sinners are justified by faith, apart from works of law (Rom. 3:28; 5:1). But the fact is that many Biblical texts specifically say or at least imply that we will...
View ArticleSaved by Grace #6 — GRACE VS. GALATIANISM
In lesson five I said that many Christians lack assurance of salvation because they do not understand how “justification by faith” relates to STAYING saved, once one has become a Christian. It is...
View ArticleSaved by Grace #5 — JUSTIFIED BY FAITH: THE KEY TO ASSURANCE
The immediate practical benefit of understanding that we are saved by grace is that we have assurance of salvation. Assurance is not the same as “once saved, always saved.” It is a confidence in our...
View ArticleSaved by Grace #4 — SAVED BY GRACE, THROUGH JESUS CHRIST
Romans 3:24-25 says, “We are all justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth to be a propitiation—a sacrifice of atonement—through faith in his...
View ArticleSaved by Grace #3 — DOUBLE CURSE, DOUBLE CURE
The English word “grace” can be used in three ways. First, it can refer to the cause of salvation: it represents the aspect of God’s nature that causes him to love sinners and seek their salvation even...
View ArticleSaved by Grace #2 — SAVED BY GRACE, NOT BY LAW
Think of heaven (just for the purpose of this illustration) as a gigantic city enclosed by an impenetrable and unscalable wall. You can see this city from afar, and you desperately want to enter into...
View ArticleSaved by Grace #1 — GRACE ISN’T FAIR, BUT THAT’S GOOD!
Almost everyone develops a “fairness mentality” to some degree. We are conditioned from childhood to respect and seek fairness, otherwise known as justice. We know what it means to deserve (or not...
View ArticleTHE MESSAGE OF ROMANS 1-8
THE MESSAGE OF ROMANS 1-8 A DEVOTIONAL GIVEN BY JACK COTTRELL AT THE MAY 2016 MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE CHRISTIAN RESTORATION ASSOCIATION I. INTRODUCTION. How can we discern what Paul is...
View ArticleHAVE WE LEARNED TO THINK IN GRACE?
HAVE WE LEARNED TO THINK IN GRACE? AN AID FOR SELF-EXAMINATION Jack Cottrell – June 2016 In Romans 6:14-15, Paul says we Christians are “not under law, but under grace.” I.e., we are not under the law...
View ArticlePREACHING ON BAPTISM: AN EXAMPLE
PREACHING ON BAPTISM: AN EXAMPLE Jack Cottrell – June 2016 Brother Bob Hentrich, minister of the Chillicothe (IL) Christian Church, wrote me this not long ago: “Dr. Cottrell, I plan to preach on Romans...
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