What is Actual, Biblical Sanctification?

By David Servant

One of the most liberating events of my Christian life was the moment I decided I was going to read the Bible honestly, believing everything as it is written, without trying to find ways to force my theology into passages that, on the face, seemed to contradict my theology.

As you might imagine, my theology started changing. It was so liberating to finally be able to accept many passages that I previously rejected—albeit unconsciously—because I was sure, yet self-deceived, that I was a “Bible-believer.”

The Most Embarrassing Evangelical Bible Verse

By David Servant

If some Evangelicals (“born-again” Christians) are ever given the option to vote one verse from the Bible, I suspect it would be James 2:24: “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

At face value, James 2:24 flatly contradicts the cardinal evangelical doctrine of “salvation by faith alone.” And that is the primary reason Reformer Martin Luther referred to the book of James as “the epistle of straw.” His disdain set the tone for all Evangelicals who followed him.

My Hardest Life-Lesson

By David Servant

Now having 66 years to look back on, I can recall lots of ups and downs, and plenty of twists and turns, of my life’s journey. I’ve learned so many lessons along the way. How I wish I could have begun adulthood with the wisdom I’ve accumulated over the past five decades. It would have saved me so much pain!

The Righteousness That Comes Through Faith

By David Servant

I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith (Phil. 3:8-9).

“Christianity is not about rules, it’s all about a relationship.” Really?

By David Servant

Facebook is full of posts containing “Christian” clichés, often presented as if they are profound truths.

Whenever we read one, however, we should first look for a Scripture reference that is offered for its support. I’ve noticed that many of them include no supporting Scripture reference. That should serve as the first warning. Biblical truth should be based on the Bible.

Time to Try Pond #2

by David Servant

Note to readers: I penned the following e-teaching in 2007, but I was recently reminded of it by a minister-friend from New Zealand, Andrew Strom, who is now investing his time preaching the gospel in parts of Africa—in part because of what he read in the teaching that follows. May it similarly motivate other God-called servants to focus on parts of the world where “the fish are biting”! By the way, some of the statistics I cited in 2007 are no longer entirely accurate. Still, the general truth found in those statistics has current application. — David

Imagine for a moment that you are fishing at the edge of a pond. You’ve been standing there all day, every day for months, continually casting your line, lashing the waters to foam. Thousands of worms have sacrificed their lives in the process. But for all your efforts, the only thing that has happened is that on one day, one fish jumped out of the water and spit in your direction. Pretty discouraging fishing.

The Main Reason I Don’t Preach the False-Grace Gospel

By David Servant

There is a very simple reason that I don’t preach the false-grace gospel: I believe the entire New Testament, not just select verses that fit my theology.

For example, I don’t just believe Ephesians 2:8-9:

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Why the Seven Churches of Asia Do Not Represent Seven Church Ages

By David Servant

I cannot count the number of times over the past 50 years that I’ve heard it taught that the seven churches of Asia—of which we read in Revelation 1-3—symbolically represent seven church ages. It is purely a theory, and I will show in this short article why it is a theory that is full of holes.

Yet Another False-Grace Heresy: “Christians Will Never be Judged!”

By David Servant

The New Testament owned by every Christian warns, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment” (Jas. 3:1). Yet some false-grace “teachers” are now telling us that we will never be judged! They claim that we don’t have to worry about standing before Jesus. “Why would Jesus ever judge us?” they ask, since He paid the price for all our sins, past, present and future? Besides, haven’t you ever read Jesus’ words in John 5:24, which say, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life’?”