Keep plowing or die! (Luke 9:62)
Jesus said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62) Is Jesus calling you to a life of [...]
Articles by Paul Ellis
Is it wrong to ask God for forgiveness?
“Beware the grace Pharisees who jump on you if you dare to ask God for forgiveness. They will say you’re operating in unbelief and legalism.” This claim is sometimes [...]
Herod’s death and the wrath of God
The Old Testament writers record a brutal history of divine wrath that came to an abrupt end at the cross. Before the cross, wrath was poured out on… – a world [...]
Message to E2R Subscribers
Normally when you publish a book you seek endorsements from famous people. However, for my next book – a compilation of Escape to Reality’s Greatest Hits – I’m [...]
What Pleases the Lord?
Scripture exhorts us to “find out what pleases the Lord” (Eph 5:10). Do you know what pleases the Lord? You do! You are his dearly-loved child and your heavenly Father is [...]
What is Godly Sorrow?
For godly sorrow worketh repentance… (2 Corinthians 7:10) What is godly sorrow? Apparently it’s when the Holy Spirit makes you sorry for your sin. “God grieves over [...]
The Big House – out today
My first children’s story has just been published. It’s called The Big House and it comes out today. It’s a story about two siblings, Theo and Audrey, who discover that [...]
Myth 5: Hyper-grace preachers say God is not grieved by your sin
“Hyper-grace preachers say God doesn’t care when we sin.” Actually, we say God cares very much because sin hurt the objects of his affection—us! Sin damages people, [...]
How Does the Holy Spirit Convict us?
How does the Spirit convict us? “Through the law,” says the mixed-grace preacher. “It is by God’s law that we are convicted. When you sin, the Holy Spirit will remind [...]
Fatherless fiction
I have four children under the age of ten so I read a lot of children’s books. Sometimes I even read them to my kids! A recurring theme I have noticed in children’s [...]
“The Romance of Grace” by Jim McNeely
Reviewed for E2R by Steve Hackman. As the message of grace spreads through the church it goes without saying that grace authors face an increasingly difficult challenge; [...]
Does the Hypergrace Gospel Promote Lawlessness?
Yet another article has come out in CharismaNews maligning the hypergrace gospel and those of us who preach it. In it, Daniel Norris worries that preaching grace without [...]
Are Grace Preachers are Against Confession?
“Hypergrace preachers say it’s wrong to confess sins. They say confession is a form of unbelief.” Ever heard that? It’s not true. Every hyper-grace preacher [...]
How to Live at Peace in a Hostile World?
Our world is marred by violence, greed, and all the fruits of sin. What this world desperately needs is a revelation of Jesus and his peaceable kingdom. But how do we live at [...]
If We’re Holy, Why Does God Call Us to be Holy?
Here’s a question grace preachers hear a lot: “If we are already holy, then why does God call us to be holy?” Answer: He’s calling us to be who we truly are. He [...]
Are Hypergrace Preachers Opposed to Repentance?
“Hypergrace preachers say there’s no need for repentance. They dismiss repentance as unbelief.” Actually, hypergrace preachers are for repentance. We say things like [...]
The Hyper-Grace Quiz
In the past few months, there has been an aggressive backlash against the gospel of grace. This backlash has been seen in the Christian media, social media, and in the [...]
Grace bumper stickers
Recently someone wrote to ask me if they could put EscapeToReality.org on the back of their truck along with a short grace slogan. I was honored to be asked. But their [...]
Three books on parenting
Recently, I have read three books on parenting. One of them was good, one was not so good, and the third was a surprise. Let’s start with the good one. Grace-Based [...]
Conversations about Hell
[The following are extracts from conversations I’ve had in the past month.] Paul, you’re opposed to inclusionism and you’re skeptical about universalism. Why [...]
What About Those Who Never Hear the Gospel?
Everybody responds to God’s love and grace, one way or another. But what about those who die before they get a chance to respond? To pick an extreme example, what about [...]
What Happens to Babies Who Die?
What do you say to the parents of a deceased baby? What would you say to the families of the 80 children who died on flight MH17 last week? I’m not sure what you should say [...]
What if I deny Jesus? (2 Timothy 2:11–13)
“Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we [...]
Inclusionism – What harm is it?
When I wrote about the dangers of inclusionism two years ago, few people cared. When I wrote again last year, everybody did. In this high-speed world, much can change in a [...]
“Grace: The Power to Change” by Jim Richards
One of the misperceptions about the “modern” grace message, is that it makes people lazy. As I explain elsewhere, nothing could be further from the truth. But the [...]
The Parable of the Beaten Servants
There are only two ways you can respond to Jesus; positively, in faith, or negatively, with unbelief. Consequently, it makes sense to speak of people dividing themselves into [...]
Are there degrees of judgment?
Jesus once told a parable about servants getting beaten up and cut to pieces by their master. It sounds like a sadistic version of Downtown Abbey. And it’s a story that [...]
How to Teach the Gospel of Grace
I know a church where the pastor preached a series of sermons simply titled “Jesus.” For several weeks he expounded on the character of Christ and what he has done for [...]
God Believes in You!
Last night I caught my five-year-old son reading in bed when he should’ve been sleeping. I asked him to give me his book and he did, albeit reluctantly. I reminded him that [...]
The X-Men Gospel
In all literature, there may be only five or six truly Great Stories but these few stories are told again and again, a thousand different ways. I was reminded of this while [...]
What is the Greater Condemnation? (Matthew 23:14)
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. (Matt. [...]
5 Signs of Nose-Punching Preachers
A recent article in Charisma News warns about the dangers of ear-tickling preachers and their deceptive message. An ear-tickler is someone who tells you what you want to [...]
Who Dares to be a Teacher? (James 3:1)
Recently I read something that made me sad. It was a Facebook note penned by a noted Bible teacher and it went something like this: “I’m a teacher of the gospel, but [...]
1 John 1:9 – Ask the Right Question
In many grace books it is common to find some discussion on 1 John 1:9. This verse is special because it is the only verse in the new covenant that appears to link confession [...]
“The Jesus Storybook Bible” by Sally Lloyd-Jones
A question I am often asked is, “What grace resources are available for children?” It seems there are hardly any. In Sunday School children are much more likely to learn [...]
How to Recognize the Hypergrace Gospel
The hyper-grace gospel declares that God’s love for you is unconditional and his grace is superabounding. It’s the how much mores that Jesus spoke of and the grace upon [...]
Win more cool stuff
So many people are living in the gloomy shade of mixed-grace religion when they could be frolicking in the sunlight of their Father’s unconditional love and grace. It’s [...]
How to Recognize a Mixed-Grace Gospel
In churches every week, you will hear one of two messages. You will either hear a mixed-grace gospel or you will hear the hypergrace gospel. Do you know how to tell the [...]
May the grace be with You
This week I made six Star Wars movies. Well, they weren’t actual movies, more like short video clips riffing on the theme of Hyper-Grace. Here’s the first one: Why [...]
One Church, Two Gospels?
In the church today there are two gospels competing for the hearts and minds of hearers: 1. Mixed-grace gospel: You are saved by grace but sanctified by works2. Hyper-grace [...]
How to Become an Unbeliever in 3 Easy Steps
How do you turn a believer into an unbeliever? How do you extinguish the flame of faith? These questions have been on my mind lately because I have seen people reject that [...]
Questions ain’t questions
Growing up in Australia, I was used to seeing trucks from a company called “Soils Ain’t Soils.” Strange name for a company but I get it. They’re saying there are [...]
Pictures of Hyper-Grace
Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, Your justice like the great deep. (Ps. 36:5–6) [...]
What is Hyper-Grace?
Here’s something you may not know about grace: Jesus never defined it. As far as we know, the Lord of grace who came from the throne of grace full of his Father’s grace, [...]
‘The Hyper-Grace Gospel’ – out today!
I wrote my latest book by accident. It’s called The Hyper-Grace Gospel and it’s out today. You can find it on Amazon. My new book has an interesting back-story. After [...]
What Happens When we Fall from Grace?
I am so glad the book of Galatians is in the Bible because we can learn a lot from other people’s mistakes. The Galatians lost their liberty in Christ by allowing [...]
Continue in the Faith (Colossians 1:23)
Here’s a scary verse: God will present you holy, unblemished, and unblameable—if you continue in the faith. (Colossians 1:23) That doesn’t sound good. That [...]
“Hyper-Grace” by D. R. Silva
Reviewed by Steve Hackman What is “Hyper-Grace” and why would anyone think it could be a bad thing? In any debate, whether it be cultural, philosophical, or [...]
Win cool stuff!
This competition is now closed. Congratulations to Sebastian Mathews who walked away with the prize pack! My new book, The Gospel in Twenty Questions, came out three months [...]
“One Way Love” by Tullian Tchividjian
One of the biggest stumbling blocks to grace is the thought that God’s love for us is unconditional. Perhaps you’ve heard, “The phrase ‘unconditional love’ is [...]
“All of Grace” by Charles Spurgeon
Prior to the coming of Jesus, the eternally good news of God’s love and grace was obscured behind the temporary strictures of the law-keeping covenant. Some wise old guys [...]
8 Signs of Hypergrace Churches
Charisma Magazine recently published an article entitled “8 signs of hyper-grace churches.” (Update: The article has been removed, but you can find it on the WayBack [...]
Happy Fourth Birthday (And get a free book!)
Escape to Reality is four years old today! To celebrate our four-ness, I want to give you four really great deals. 1. Get my new ebook Who’s Your Daddy? for FREE on [...]
The wrath of God has come upon them at last (1 Thess 2:16)
In our ongoing series on the wrath of God, there is an important scripture we have not yet looked at. It’s this one: For you, brothers, became imitators of God’s churches [...]
Why did Jerusalem fall?
Ever had someone come up to you and say, “Why do you think Jerusalem fell in AD70?” That’s probably never happened to you. But it speaks to the circles I move in that I [...]
What is the “Coming Wrath”?
You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? (Luke 3:7) When John the Baptist said this to the Pharisees and Sadducees, what did he mean? What is the [...]
“The Power of Right Believing” by Joseph Prince
The other day Camilla and I were watching a movie called Silver Linings Playbook. At the end of the film I wanted to hug every character in it and give them a copy of The [...]
Top 13 of 2013
As we start a new year of walking in grace, I thought I’d take a moment to look back at some of the highlights and lowlights of the past year on E2R. If I was to summarize [...]
Five-star grace books 2013
A few months ago my book, The Gospel in Ten Words, joined an exclusive club of books that have received 100 five-star reviews on Amazon. In recognition of this achievement, [...]
“Jesus Is” by Judah Smith
About four years ago, Judah Smith’s church wanted to put Jesus on the minds of people living in Seattle. So the church put up billboards with the phrase, “Jesus Is [...]
Jesus and the wrath of God
Are you familiar with the hymn In Christ Alone? Do you know this hymn is not hundreds of years old? It’s not even 20 years old. In Christ Alone is a very modern hymn. It [...]
The Gospel in Twenty Questions – out today!
My new book, The Gospel in Twenty Questions, has just been released! What’s it about? It’s a book of big questions – questions that will open doors, set you free, and [...]
The Bible is Not a Rule Book
Imagine it’s your wedding day. You’ve had the ceremony, and you’re starting to relax when the minister hands you a gift, a thick book of Marriage Rules. “Read [...]
How Should We Read the Words of Jesus?
Jesus is the greatest preacher of all time. He told stories and preached sermons the whole world needs to hear. The genius of Jesus is that he often preached one message with [...]
Want to read Paul’s new book?
UPDATE: All 150 free copies were snapped up within 52 minutes! My apologies if you missed out this time. My new book, The Gospel in Twenty Questions, will be released next [...]
Help me design my new book
Dear Friends, As you may know, my next book is coming out soon. It’s called The Gospel in Twenty Questions. Despite the title, the book actually deals with more than 200 [...]
Three new releases
It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed any books. Here are three good ones that have come out recently. It’s All About Jesus, by D.R. Silva I like good questions which [...]
The Wrath of God in the New Covenant
This is the third article in my series on the wrath of God. To see how well you have been paying attention, I want to ask you a question: In the new covenant, what is the [...]
What provokes God’s wrath?
As we saw in our last post, the wrath of God is a reaction to something – but what? In the old covenant, God reacted to sin. He had to. God cannot be God and let sin go [...]
What about God’s wrath?
The other night my little girl was on the toilet when she started yelling. “There’s a spider!” Normally, I would encourage my kids to face their fears and deal with [...]
“Abba’s Child” by Brennan Manning
Brennan Mannings 1994 book, Abba’s Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging, is a collection of essays on the theme of identity. There are chapters on who we are [...]
Grumble and die? (James 5:9)
If you went to Sunday School you probably know that the Israelites grumbled in the wilderness. And you may know what God did to them when they grumbled. He slaughtered them [...]
10 Reasons Why the Doctrine of Inclusion is not Good News
I love the gospel. It’s the best message I’ve ever heard. But to appreciate the positive, sometimes you have to highlight the negative. To help people understand the good [...]
First Adam vs Last Adam
Universalism and inclusionism are twin towers built on the same foundation, which is this: When Adam fell, he took all of us with him. We had no choice in the matter. If [...]
12 ways the doctrine of inclusion misleads
We have been called to preach the gospel of God’s grace and no other gospel. Why grace? Because only grace can save those who trust in it (Eph 2:8). The gospel is true [...]
The Gospel in 10 sound bites
People sometimes ask me why I wrote The Gospel in Ten Words. I tell them it was like having an unplanned baby. I never meant to write that book. It just sort of happened. I [...]
What is your dream?
Fifty years ago today, Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and gave one of the most stirring speeches of all time. His “I have a dream” [...]
Grace is inclusive but inclusionism is not grace
One of these claims is not like the others. See if you can spot the difference… “Believe and be saved” ~Jesus (Mk 16:16, Luk 8:12) “Believe and be saved” ~Paul [...]
Faith is a Rest
The gospel declares God’s grace comes through faith. So if you wanted to undermine the gospel, there are two ways you could do it: 1. attack grace – put price tags on it [...]
Everybody responds
In the film The Wedding Singer, there’s a scene that captures the story of God’s relationship to us. A waitress called Julia is preparing for marriage but she’s [...]
What is the Cure for Guilt?
The other day I lost my temper. It was only for a moment, but it was enough. Damage was done. Later I felt sick about what I did and took steps to make amends. This is how [...]
Jay Pritchett on Hell
Whenever I talk to certain people about hell I am reminded of something Jay Pritchett said on the TV show Modern Family. Whether you are a universalist, inclusionist, [...]
Alternatives to Hell
You may have been raised with a picture of judgment that says sinners go to hell where they are tormented for eternity. Unless you say the magic words of a formulaic prayer, [...]
Fear God Who Can Throw Us Into Hell?
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in Hell. (Matthew 10:28) This a puzzle [...]
What Does it Mean to Take Up Your Cross Daily?
Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). What does it mean to take up your cross daily? [...]
12 ways Superman is NOT like Jesus
Another Superman movie has just opened. I’ll probably go see it. I like Superman. What’s not to like? He’s a cool guy. But what puzzles me is how some churches are [...]
Does God scourge us? 7 reasons to say “No!”
Much of what we believe about discipline in the church is informed by the old covenant. For instance, if you think God’s discipline entails punishment in any shape or form, [...]
Hebrews 12:6 – Does God scourge his kids?
Everyone has a mental picture of God. Perhaps you think he is distant, aloof, angry, even terrifying. Possibly you envision him holding a whip in his hands… For those whom [...]
“Grace Works” by Dudley Hall
Imagine you’re a cave man and you’ve just brought down a woolly mammoth. Maybe you were hungry before but now you’ve got food for months. That’s how I felt after [...]
Is the Christian Race a Marathon?
Some believe that Christianity is a race. But what kind of race is it? Is it like a marathon, something to be endured rather than enjoyed? And do only those who endure to the [...]
God is Not Your Employer
The good news of God’s acceptance is not widely preached. You are much more likely to hear about God’s high standards than his unmerited favor. It’s like Jesus has this [...]
Endure to the End and be Saved
Can you can lose your salvation if you fail to stand firm or endure to the end? What if you stumble at the end? There are about two dozen scriptures that have some bearing on [...]
Disqualified for the Prize?
I’m a bit of a runner. Last year I clocked up 500 miles in runs around my neighborhood. No marathons or ultras or anything like that. Just regular 5 mile runs and the odd [...]
12 reasons why a sentimental Hell appeals
I have never written about hell and once this series is done I may never write about it again. Fact is, unless you are a smug, self-righteous, look-at-me-God-I’m-impressive [...]
The sentimental view of Hell
Here’s an interesting fact: Jesus preached about hell a lot while Paul never mentioned it by name. Have you ever wondered why? The reason has to do with their different [...]
What about Hell? 10 things to know
A few people have asked for my views on hell. I have never written on hell before. Like the weather on Uranus, hell is not a subject I think much about. I’m unlikely to [...]
Top 10 Brennan Manning Quotes
Brennan Manning passed away last Friday at the age of 79. I only found out this morning and I’ve been thinking of him all day. I never met Brennan Manning and I never heard [...]
“Classic Christianity” by Bob George
If knowing the truth sets you free and part of your life is not free, what does that tell you? It means that part of your life is in error. It means you are living under a [...]
7 more things that happen to Christians who stray
Nearly every book in the New Testament warns Christians of the dangers of false preachers and teachers who preach another Jesus or another gospel. Jesus, Paul, Peter, et al. [...]
What Happens When We Stray?
What happens to Christians who stray, or follow another Jesus, another Spirit, or another gospel? This is not a hard question to answer because it happened in the Bible. The [...]
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