Ordo Salutis

Arminians are Christians, Barely

Submitted by WilliamBirch on Tue, 08/24/2010 - 7:51am

In the introduction to his book, Willing to Believe: The Controversy over Free Will, R. C. Sproul, Sr., when asked if he thinks Arminians are Christians, answers, "'Yes, barely.' They are Christians by what we call a felicitous inconsistency."¹ He agrees with J. I. Packer and O. R. Johnston, who insist that Arminians, because they reject the (unproven and eminently philosophical) theory that regeneration must precede faith, they "thereby deny man's utter helplessness in sin, and affirm that a form of semi-Pelagianism is true after all."² This is the reason, so the authors are convinced, that "Reformed theology condemned Arminianism as being in principal a return to Rome (because in effect it turned faith into a meritorious work) and a betrayal of the Reformation (because it denied the sovereignty of God in saving sinners . . .).³

On the Ordo Salutis and Colossians 2:13, As Presented by Brian N. Daniels

Submitted by WilliamBirch on Tue, 06/22/2010 - 8:36am

The following is taken from a larger essay, exegeting Colossians 2:13, by Brian N. Daniels¹, a M.Div. student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a four-point Calvinist.

"Of the many issues that divide Arminians and Calvinists, one of the more interesting has to be the relationship between regeneration and faith. The question may be put like this: which comes first and grounds the other, new life given by the Spirit or belief in Christ? This question is important because of its connection to many other points of soteriology. One’s answer generally reveals much about what he believes regarding the nature of grace and depravity, as well as the more difficult issue of election and predestination.

James White and Turretinfan on 1 John 5:1

Submitted by Godismyjudge on Mon, 03/29/2010 - 7:04am

James White and company have used 1 John 5:1 to argue that regeneration comes before faith. (link) I actually called in to the Dividing Line (James White's webcast) to explain to him my take on the passage and why I do not think it teaches faith precedes regeneration. It's at the end of the hour long program. (link) James White objected to my approach on the air and Turretinfan has objected to it on his blog as well (link). I would like to briefly summarize the issue, explain the text and then respond to Turretinfan.

1 John 5:1 states: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.

Kenneth Keathley and the Doctrine of Overcoming Grace

Submitted by WilliamBirch on Thu, 03/18/2010 - 6:40am

Kenneth D. Keathley, Professor of Theology and Dean of Graduate Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, has completed his latest book, Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach, published by B&H Academic. Today's post will interact with his chapter on Overcoming Grace (pp. 101-37).

From the back cover of the book, one reads the following: "Salvation and Sovereignty begins with author Kenneth Keathley asking, 'What shall a Christian do who is convinced of certain central tenets of Calvinism but not its corollaries [conclusions]?' Like many, he suspects the usual Calvinist understanding of sovereignty (that God is the cause of all things) is not sustained by the biblical witness as a whole."

Some Excellent and Concise Comments on Free Will, the Bondage of Sin, and Prevenient Grace

Submitted by Ben Henshaw on Wed, 03/17/2010 - 8:20am

Overall, the following comments by F. Leroy Forlines are an excellent representation of the Arminian viewpoint:

“Freedom of will is a freedom within a framework of possibilities. It is not absolute freedom. Man cannot be God. He cannot be an angel. The freedom of a human being is in the framework of the possibilities provided by human nature. Also, influences brought to bear on the will have a bearing on the framework of possibilities.

Some Basic Thoughts on "Decisional Regeneration" From an Arminian Perspective

Submitted by Ben Henshaw on Thu, 02/11/2010 - 11:03am

Someone asked a while back in the comments thread to one of my blog posts what I thought of “Decisional Regeneration”. Since this is a rather new label being thrown around mostly by Calvinists in a seeming attempt to mock a view of salvation conditioned by faith, it is important to address. Rather than write a new post I will just quote my initial response to the question below:

I think “decisional regeneration” is a hard phrase to pin down and is just thrown around as a slander by Calvinists towards those who do not believe that regeneration precedes faith or that regeneration is irresistibly and unconditionally given to the “elect” alone. But there can be much more to it and so I wanted to be clear as to what your specific concern was.

Supralapsarian Calvinists Criticize Infralapsarian Calvinist C. Michael Patton

Submitted by Kevin Jackson on Wed, 01/13/2010 - 1:52pm

Calvinist C. Michael Patton recently did a post entitled Calvinism and the Divine Decrees – Correcting a Misunderstanding. In the post Patton argues for the Infralapsarian view of Calvinism. The infralapsarian view is a less extreme form of Calvinism. It states that in the logical order of God's decrees, God first decreed the creation of man and then allowed for the fall.

Patton's post has been criticized by Supralapsarian Calvinist "Tur8infan" of Alpha and Omega Ministries (James White's organization). That post can be found here: Response to C. Michael Patton on the Divine Decrees and Hyper-Calvinism. The Supralapsairan view is the most extreme form of Calvinism. It states that God decreed the fall of man before the creation of Adam was decreed.

John Goodwin, Redemption Redeemed

Now available here online, John Goodwin's Redemption Redeemed may be the best defense of Arminianism ever written. Published in 1651 by the Arminian Puritan John Goodwin (1593-1665), it is written in seventeenth century English with a Puritan writing style, which can make for challenging reading. But it contains tremendous biblical exegesis. The patient reader will be rewarded with a powerful, classic, comprehensive, biblical defense of five point Reformation Arminian theology.

Is the "New Heart" of Ezekiel 36:26-27 a Reference to Regeneration Preceding Faith?

Submitted by Ben Henshaw on Mon, 11/02/2009 - 11:36am

Calvinists will often quote Ezekiel 36:26-27 as a proof text for regeneration preceding faith. The Calvinist doctrine insists that one must be given a new heart before that person can believe the gospel. For that reason, Ezekiel 36:26-27 is often called into service to demonstrate this principle. Below is the passage with verse 25 included:

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (ESV)

Does this passage give the Calvinist what he needs to defend his doctrine? Does it truly demonstrate that regeneration precedes faith and that God must give a sinner a new heart before he or she can believe unto life?

Resistible vs. Irresistible Grace: The Key Issue

Submitted by Godismyjudge on Mon, 09/28/2009 - 9:45am

The topic of resistible vs. irresistible grace is of vital importance. In my experience, the Calvinist's biggest objection to Arminianism is that it is a man-centered theology and gives man a reason to boast. In contrast, they view Calvinism as the "doctrines of grace". But what's the key issue?

The key issue is not:

Society of Evangelical Arminians