GRACE DISTINCTIONS #1-6 Quiz

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GRACE DISTINCTIONS #1-6 Quiz For those who have studied (or want to study) the first six mini-essays on “Grace Distinctions” that I have been posting, here is a TRUE-FALSE exam you can take. (I will post the correct answers later.) NOTE: answer every question assuming that you are a CHRISTIAN. 1. As a creature, I am under the absolute authority of the Creator-God. 2. I am living under the grace system of salvation. 3. I am obligated to obey the law commands that are addressed to me as one living in the New Covenant era. 4. Because I am a … Continue reading →

GRACE DISTINCTIONS #6

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GRACE DISTINCTIONS #6 – by Jack Cottrell VI. GENERAL WORKS vs. WORKS OF LAW. In our desire to understand grace, it is absolutely essential that we have a proper understanding of the term “works.” This is because Ephesians 2:8-9 specifically says that because we are saved by grace through faith, we cannot be saved by works. So we must know what “works” means in this statement. The problem is that most people have no idea what Paul means when he makes this statement. That is because they assume that whenever the Bible uses the term “works,” it simply means “something … Continue reading →

GRACE DISTINCTIONS #5

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GRACE DISTINCTIONS #5 – by Jack Cottrell V. OBEDIENCE TO LAW and OBEDIENCE TO GRACE. This next distinction grows directly out of the previous one. If there are two kinds of commands, then there must be TWO KINDS OF OBEDIENCE. Most of the time our obedience is the way we respond to the Creator’s law commands. We are simply obeying our everyday law code. E.g., every time we speak the truth, we are obeying a law command of God (Eph. 4:25). Honest payment of taxes is obedience to God’s law (Rom. 13:6-7). Living peaceably with our neighbors is obedience to … Continue reading →

GRACE DISTINCTIONS #4

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GRACE DISTINCTIONS #4 – by Jack Cottrell IV. LAW COMMANDS vs. GRACE COMMANDS. The fourth distinction is between two kinds of commands given by God: law commands, and grace commands. (The latter can also be called GOSPEL commands.) A command is a grammatical imperative. It is a verbal communication in which someone is ordering or instructing another person to DO something. Much of God’s communication with us is in the form of commands, and much of our relationship with God consists of responding to these commands. This response can be either positive (obedience) or negative (disobedience). The important thing to … Continue reading →

GRACE DISTINCTIONS #3

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GRACE DISTINCTIONS #3 – by Jack Cottrell III. LAW SYSTEM vs. GRACE SYSTEM. Here we are thinking of the distinction between the two systems or ways of being right with God. When we think of “being right with God,” we are thinking of receiving eternal life and going to heaven. From our perspective as sinners, we can think of it simply as salvation. And the point here is this: we must distinguish between two ways or systems of being “saved,” i.e., of getting to heaven. These two ways are the LAW SYSTEM (see point II. above) and the GRACE SYSTEM. … Continue reading →

GRACE DISTINCTIONS #2

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GRACE DISTINCTIONS #2– by Jack Cottrell II. LAW CODES vs. THE LAW SYSTEM. In this second grace distinction, we are speaking about Paul’s use of the Greek word for “law,” namely, NOMOS. He uses this term many times, especially in Romans and Galatians. See, e.g., Rom. 2:12-15; 3:19-20; 3:27-28; 6:14-15; 8:1-4; Gal. 2:16. Here I am emphasizing a crucial distinction, namely, the distinction between LAW CODES and the LAW SYSTEM. Understanding this distinction is essential for a proper understanding of grace. Unfortunately, you will almost never see anyone talking about it. It is virtually unrecognized. But I stress (holler, yell) … Continue reading →

GRACE DISTINCTIONS #1

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I have a project in mind that many of you may find helpful. It is something I have not done before. Usually I wait for a facebook friend to ask a question, then I try to answer it. Often I will refer to something I have already written. But this time I will take the initiative. I plan to publish a series of about ten short essays as an introduction to the subject of grace. I will publish them perhaps at the rate of one a day. They are in a deliberate sequence, so they should be read and studied … Continue reading →

Justification: A Paradigm Shift?

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PAUL’S CONCEPT OF JUSTIFICATION A Book Review, by Jack Cottrell Richard K. Moore has written a book entitled Paul’s Concept of Justification: God’s Gift of a Right Relationship (Wipf & Stock, 2015; pb, 221pp.). Moore is associated with Vose Seminary (formerly Baptist Theological College of Western Australia). In 1978 he wrote a doctoral dissertation which he reworked and expanded into three volumes published as Rectification (‘Justification’) in Paul, in Historical Perspective, and in the English Bible (Edwin Mellen, 2002-2003; 1,372pp.). The present volume is a less technical and updated summary of that work. Moore’s basic purpose is to examine how … Continue reading →

Homosexuality and the Biblical World View

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HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE BIBLICAL WORLD VIEW © Jack Cottrell – July 17, 2015 [NOTE: I preached this as a sermon at First Church of Christ, Greendale IN, on July 19, 2015. There I gave it the title, “The Sermon I Don’t Want To Preach.” That title was literally true, since I would actually have preferred to preach on something else. But recent events in our country’s history have led me to conclude that we as a church need to know what the Bible says about gay marriage, and about homosexuality as such. That is the rationale for this message.] It … Continue reading →

My First Sermon on Homosexuality

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MY FIRST SERMON ON HOMOSEXUALITY Jack Cottrell – July 2015 The first time I preached a sermon on homosexuality was 42 years ago, on October 18, 1973. By that time the gay liberation movement was well under way, having begun with the Stonewall riots in June 1969. The occasion for my “sermon” was the official “coming out” program for gays at the University of Cincinnati. The theme of the program was “Gay Is Here”; the main speaker was Frank Kameny, a leading activist in the gay liberation movement. (He coined the slogan, “Gay is good,” patterned after “Black is beautiful.”) … Continue reading →