Apostasy

Donald C. Stamps on Individual Apostasy

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The following is from Donald C. Stamps, Life in the Spirit Study Bible, pp. 1962-63: The Greek words for apostasy appear twice in the NT in the noun form apostasia, (Acts 21:21; 2 Thes 2:3)…

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The Arminian Theology of C.S. Lewis

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C.S. Lewis is one of the most widely read Christian writers of the last 100 years. Although he doesn’t seem to have ever directly referenced Arminius or Wesley in his writings, his theology is nonetheless…

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Eternally secure, provided that…

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The debate over eternal security among various stripes of evangelicals is unlikely to go away any time soon. Some assert that upon conversion believers are guaranteed their salvation cannot be lost. Others disagree by claiming…

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Monergism: A Doctrine of Demons?

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Probably not, but this is SO MUCH FUN to say with a straight face. Let’s run with it a while and see how much mileage we get from it.

First, Calvinists claim that monergism is the only view of salvation that really glorifies God. Any non-Calvinist Christian knows this a lie, and since Satan is the Father of Lies …

Second, Calvinists claim that anyone who rejects monergism is a Pelagian at worst or a semi-Pelagian at best. Arminians know this is a false accusation, and since Satan is the Accuser of the Brethren …

Third, “Calvinism makes it difficult to recognize the difference between God and the devil except that the devil wants everyone to go to hell and God wants many to go to Hell.” (Roger Olson) Calvinists might whine they’re being misrepresented here, but Calvin himself said that election necessarily entails reprobation.

“But God isn’t sending people to Hell by withholding grace; he’s merely allowing them to go,” Calvinists might reply.

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The Extent of Spiritual Death

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This post was written by SEA member, Pastor Christopher C. Chapman “Very, Very Dead” Calvinist Challenge: Ephesians 2:1-2 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked…” The spirit of…

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René A. López, “IS FAITH A GIFT FROM GOD OR A HUMAN EXERCISE?”

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This article is posted with permission from the publisher, the scholarly journal Bibliotheca Sacra. Please click on the attachment to view René A. López, “IS FAITH A GIFT FROM GOD OR A HUMAN EXERCISE?” Bibliotheca Sacra 164 (July–September 2007) 259–76.

It should be noted that, while this is a learned and helpful article, López seems to have missed one major view on the question of whether faith is a gift of God, which is a more typical Arminian view than that it is not; and that is that faith is a gift in the sense that God must enable us to believe, but that like most gifts, it can be rejected and is not irresistible.

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