Tag Archives: Justification

The Ten Commandments of Grace

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The Ten Commandments of Grace by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Friday, January 15, 2010 at 1:43pm This note is a follow-up on my earlier note, “Grace, Law, and the New Covenant.” In my teaching about grace I make it quite clear that I believe traditional Restoration Movement thought comes up quite short on this subject in many ways. Certain concepts that are deeply rooted in Restoration tradition are in fact significant barriers to a right understanding of grace. I have tried to sum them up very briefly in a list that I call “The Ten Commandments of Grace.” All of … Continue reading →

Grace, Law, and the New Covenant

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Grace, Law, and the New Covenant by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 9:39pm QUESTION: What is the connection between the New Covenant and the “grace system,” to which you refer in your book, “Set Free! What the Bible Says About Grace” (pp. 50-51)? I have been taught by Restoration Movement teachers that grace is a New Covenant reality, i.e., that the New Covenant has replaced the Old Covenant with its legal requirements, and that we are now saved under the New Covenant by grace. In other words, to be under the New Covenant is synonymous with … Continue reading →

Are We Justified by Christ’s Death or by Faith?

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Are We Justified by Christ’s Death or by Faith? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 11:40am QUERY: Are we justified by Christ’s death, or by our faith in Christ? ANSWER: Both are involved, but in different ways. Romans 5:9 says we are “justified by his blood,”and Romans 3:28 says that “one is justified by faith.” Justification (equivalent to forgiveness of sins) is God’s declaration that he accepts us as righteous before the law, in the sense that our debt of eternal punishment has been canceled. To be justified means that God, in his role as Judge, … Continue reading →

Can Christians Be Called “Sinners”?

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Can Christians Be Called “Sinners”? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 7:37pm THIS IS A RECENT REQUEST (edited): “Someone asked me if it is OK to call a Christian a sinner. The one who asked seemed to think it is not. He reasons that the Bible refers to Christians as Overwhelming Conquerors, Saints, those who have the Righteousness of God in Christ, etc. So how can it be OK for a Christian to be called a Sinner and a Saint at the same time? Is this not a contradiction?” MY REPLY: This is simply a matter … Continue reading →

Ananias and Sapphira: Saved or Lost?

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Ananias and Sapphira: Saved or Lost? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 7:37pm HERE’S AN INTERESTING QUESTION: “We are working through the book of Acts in our Sunday School class, and last week discussed Ananias and Sapphira. The question which hung a few of us was: ‘Did they go to heaven when they were struck dead?’ Most of us felt, assuming they were born again believers, they did. If all it took to banish a born again believer to Hell was sinning at the moment of death, Grace would seem less ‘graceful.’” MY REPLY: I vote … Continue reading →

Thomas Campbell’s Declaration & Address

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Thomas Campbell’s Declaration & Address by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 9:33am ANOTHER RECENT QUERY: What is your opinion of the relevance or validity of Proposition 6 in Thomas Campbell’s “Declaration and Address,” which reads thus: 6. That although inferences and deductions from Scripture premises, when fairly inferred, may be truly called the doctrine of God’s holy word, yet are they not formally binding upon the consciences of Christians farther than they perceive the connection, and evidently see that they are so; for their faith must not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the … Continue reading →

Are we justified by Christ’s LIFE or by his DEATH–or both?

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Are we justified by Christ’s LIFE or by his DEATH–or both? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, September 17, 2009 at 10:27am HERE IS ANOTHER QUESTION I received recently: “I have been following a discussion on a Calvinist blog re: the ‘active obedience’ view of the atonement. I read your section in ‘The Faith Once for All’ [p. 323], wherein you call this a ‘serious error.’ I’d be interested to know why this is such a serious error, i.e. what it in fact might lead to. Thanks for any help.” HERE IS MY REPLY: I usually speak of Christ’s “active … Continue reading →

“Second Work of Grace”

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“Second Work of Grace” by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 at 2:06pm I HAD A REQUEST about Wesleyanism: “The Wesleyan church believes there are two forms of grace. I don’t understand this. Their doctrine is similar to the Christian Church. Can you help me understand this?” MY REPLY: Wesleyanism includes those groups growing out of John Wesley’s teaching: Methodist churches, Holiness churches, and many Pentecostal churches. This theological school is similar to the Christian Church (Restoration Movement) in one main way: it is non-Calvinist, or Arminian; it accepts truly free will in human beings. In many other … Continue reading →