Christmas is a season we celebrate the incarnation. The 18th century saw the rise of anti-Trinitarian theologies that undermined belief in Christ’s deity. Some scholars argue that John Wesley held a deficient view of the…
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Richard Watson on the Origin of Depravity: “The Withdrawing of That Spirit from Adam” (1832)
[This post first appeared at GospelEncounter.wordpress.com] “Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.” – King David, Psalm 51:11 KJV “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law…
More from Richard Watson on Prevenient Grace
[This post originally appeared at GospelEncounter.wordpress.com] “This struggle, this “striving with man,” this debating with him, this standing between him and death […] are to be acknowledged as magnifying that grace which regards the whole…
Prevenient Grace in Romans 1-2: some thoughts with Arminius & Wesley
[This post first appeared at GospelEncounter.wordress.com] “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.” – Romans 1:19 ESV “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness…
Richard Watson, “Man Is Not Only Indifferent, but Even Averse and Hostile to the Truth”
From Rev. Richard Watson’s sermon, “God With Us”, preached in August, 1829 (bold mine): “For in Him we live, and move, and have our being,” Acts xviii, 28. […] The question, whether we are left…
Richard Coords, “In Christ”
In Christ Being “in Christ” implies believing-Christians being in union with Christ, that is, spiritually residing in the Body of Christ. After all, John 3:18 indicates that unbelievers remain condemned and judged, while Romans 8:1…
“Comments on The New City Catechism and Some New Answers to Questions 27 and 48″
[This post first appeared at gospelencounter.wordpress.com] I have started working through The New City Catechism (produced by the Calvinist organization The Gospel Coalition together with Tim Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church) with my children, and I have been…
Mark K. Olson, “Millennial Aspirations and the Problem of Religious Nominalism”
Abstract: This is part one of a five-part study on John Wesley’s eschatology. This opening article recounts the development of eschatology in England from the Protestant Reformation to the Evangelical Revival in the eighteenth century.…
Antinomianism and Reformed Arminianism
This original article can be found at the Helwys Society Forum: http://www.helwyssocietyforum.com/antinomianism-and-reformed-arminianism/ Some may be tempted to think the following: Since Reformed Arminians teach that apostasy may occur only by the renunciation of faith, then…
Richard Coords, “Grace”
What is God’s grace? It is several things. It includes the fact that Jesus died for you, so that your sins can be forgiven, if you will meet His condition of placing your faith and…
Richard Coords, “Gospel”
The message of the gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, in which there is life in His name, for whosoever believes in Him. John 3:16 summarizes it well: “‘For…
Paul Copan, “Top Books on Arminianism/Molinism”
Please click on the link to read Paul Copan’s top recommendations for books on Arminianism, available online from Credo House: Top Books on Arminianism/Molinism The author explains: Since Jacob Arminius was as good an Arminian…
Richard Coords, “Favoritism”
At Acts 10:34-35, the apostle Peter treated divine impartiality as a virtue, implying that it is something good and noble about God, perhaps which we should all emulate in our own interactions with our neighbors:…
Richard Coords, “Faith”
Faith is common to man, which Calvinists readily acknowledge, though while offering the caveat of a distinction between what they define as human “natural faith” vs. divine “saving faith.” For the Calvinist, “natural faith” never…
Richards Coords, “Evangelism”
There certainly are Calvinists who are evangelists, but one issue worth discussing is how the theology of Calvinism impacts evangelism. Some are turned off from Calvinism because of how it is perceived that it would…
Richard Coords, “Evanescent Grace”
Evanescent Grace John Calvin taught a doctrine known as Evanescent Grace which Calvinists nearly universally denounce, though without providing an alternative explanation. The basis for the doctrine was to explain why the non-elect sometimes take…
Coords, Richard, “Emotions”
According to Calvinism, God decreed whatsoever comes to pass. Such belief in exhaustive determinism has then led to the longstanding objections made against Calvinism in that God’s emotions would no longer make any sense if…
Vic Reasoner, “Interpreting the Word Accurately: Wrestling with Jacob’s Experience (2 Timothy 2:15)”
In Richard S. Taylor’s book Preaching Holiness Today he discusses three classes of holiness texts. A Class A text is a passage where entire sanctification is the main thrust of the passage. John Wesley built…
Joseph D. McPherson, “Born of Water, Born of the Spirit: What Did Jesus Mean by Being “Born of Water?”
Jesus’ words to Nicodemus found in John 3:5 are not only startling, but strongly enforced. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter…
Richards Coords, “Deadness”
One of the most influential concepts of Calvinism is spiritual deadness.97 Whereas non-Calvinists speak of humanity as being lost and in need of a Savior, Calvinists speak of humanity as being dead and in need…
