B (5:35)

That's what I was going to bring up is we know from pretty much all the epistles, most of them have some kind of purpose statement, but they're all written to churches or believers and it's made clear in those letters. So it just wasn't the purpose. And most of the letters don't really have any explicit or I don't think any of them have any explicit. Here is the saving message that is laid out in John.

C (5:59)

Well, it's interesting you get close in Ephesians 2, 8, 9, but it's interesting it doesn't mention the name of Jesus. For by grace you've been saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It's the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Now we know that saved there refers to everlasting life because of verse 5 where he says he made us alive by grace you have been saved. But not everybody gets that when they read Ephesians or hear Ephesians 2. 8. So you don't even always grasp the fact that this salvation is secure and cannot be lost. Whereas you do get that in the Gospel of John, it's coming.

A (6:36)

It'll be here before you know it. What am I talking about? The Grace Evangelical Society's National Conference 2026, May 18th through the 21st at Camp Koppass, an absolutely beautiful campground in North Texas, right on the lake with lots of recreation, great food, a great place to stay, wonderful fellowship and wonderful free grace teaching Information and online registration now@faithalone.org events first timers waive registration fees. Faithalone.org events we do have like Titus.

C (7:12)

3:5, he didn't save us by any works of righteousness we've done. We've got references like James 1:18. He brought us forth by the word of truth, but that doesn't specifically tell us what the word of truth is.

A (7:26)

Right?

C (7:27)

So even in the epistles for the most part, we don't get a real strong statement. I think one of the best we get is first Timothy 1:16 where Paul says, I'm an example of those who are going to believe on Jesus for everlasting life. He's got believing in or on Jesus for everlasting life. That's probably one of the clearest. But there aren't too many of those in the epistles. And think of epistles that you couldn't be born again from the epistle 2 John, there's not an anything in there or third John that's going to tell you how to be born again. Nothing there. Even Jude, although he talks about our common salvation, he doesn't say anything about how a person is born again. And so you couldn't be born again from that. So I would say, Hayden, great question, but the reason we don't find it in the synoptics is because the synoptics are not focusing on the saving message. It's the same reason why there's so much missing from the Gospel of John. Do you know there's not a parable anywhere in the Gospel of John. And almost all of the major details of the life of Jesus found in Matthew, Mark and Luke aren't found in the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John is very selective and it's pointing us to the saving message. Well, I think you said we had more than one question from Hayden.

B (8:51)

Yeah, we've got a fun one that we can do to wrap up. He's got a question about the Catholic Church. If Luther was successful in reforming the Catholic Church and then he says, and they became focused free grace. But I'm not convinced that Luther was focused free grace. But let's say we had one central Christian church like the Catholic Church, but they were solid in their theology, would that be a good thing?

C (9:19)

Yeah, that's a great question, Hayden. I tell you what I like about touches on both the saving message and church government. It's one thing to have the saving message, right? So I would be delighted if the Catholic Church was proclaiming faith alone in Christ alone. If it was proclaiming that everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ has everlasting life and will never perish. But if the Roman Catholic Church was imposing a hierarchical structure on local churches so that local churches were not independent, but local churches had to answer to a bishop and then an archbishop and then a cardinal and then ultimately to the College of Cardinals and ultimately to the pope, that structure would be very unhealthy. Think of grace, evangelical society. We are not a church and our aim is not to be a church. But what if we were? What if we were a denomination and we had everybody looking to us and somehow we had this hierarchical structure that would be unhealthy. Then you would have, okay, whenever I step down and somebody else succeeds me, then you're going to be wondering, well, did we read the smoke right? Did the popes get it right? I mean, the cardinals get it right when they selected the new leader? No, I don't want to be the head of an organization that is a church. I want to be the head of a Parachurch organization that helps local churches to proclaim not only the saving message, but the entire council of God. Clearly. And let me say, GES is starting to get into the business of planning churches. We want to see home churches planted all over the world. Dix Winston and Jeff Stevens are having some success already, and we're seeing some being planted in various places. I think Hayden is planning a local church where he is in Australia. All that is great, but they're going to be independent. So even if the Roman Catholic Church was absolutely clear on the Focus Free Grace position, which I would rejoice in, I wouldn't rejoice in that kind of structure.

B (11:42)

Right. Because it's unbiblical. Putting that much pressure on one person for the Pope. He can't be wrong. He's essentially the messenger for God to God's people. That's way more pressure than was ever intended to be put on a human because at the end of the day, everybody could be wrong. You or Ken or me or anybody can be wrong. So everybody should be searching the scriptures for themselves.

C (12:09)

And if the Pope said that, if.

B (12:11)

The Pope said, you know, here's what I think, but go read your Bible for yourselves, then I think he'd be doing a great job. But in my experience, that's not how the Catholic Church operates. They do the hard work for the people, so they don't need to search the Scriptures and they don't need to verify what the Pope or what the cardinals say. And that's not biblical.

C (12:31)

Yeah, that's well said. Well, thank you, Hayden, for those two questions. I think we may in the next episode take a few more Hayden questions. By the way, if you send in questions, follow Hayden's example, keep them short. They're more likely to get answered if they're short. And in the meantime, Sam, let's keep Grace in focus. Amen.

A (12:54)

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