One’s justification and thus atonement before God is realized by one’s faith in and union with Christ Jesus (which is akin to Calvinistic doctrine and very much unlike Roman Catholic doctrine). The following is what…
Faith
Supralapsarian Calvinists Criticize Infralapsarian Calvinist C. Michael Patton
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…
Dr. Thomas McCall Takes On John Piper and the Calvinistic View of God’s Sovereignty: 2 New Articles Added to Our Resources
We are excited to have added two articles by Thomas McCall, assistant professor of Biblical and systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, which critique John Piper’s theology of God’s sovereignty.
Scholarly Resources Added – Steve Witzki
We have added several new scholarly resources on the topics of faith and perseverance. These have been written and / or compiled by Arminian Steve Witzki. Be sure to check them out! Arminianism–The Conditional Preservation…
Eric Landstrom, Proof-texting Presuppositions with John 6:44, 65
Proof-texting Presuppositions with John 6:44, 65 John 6:44 and 6:65 are commonly used as proof-texts that more often than not reveal the exegete’s presuppositions that are imposed upon the Gospel According to John than I…
The Simplicity of Salvation
The Simplicity of Salvation — by Christopher Skinner We cannot save ourselves from God’s wrath but God has provided salvation for us. It is easy to be saved. Numbers 21:4: And they journeyed from mount…
Arminius on the Gift of Salvation
In Arminius’ “Apology” he tackles several charges that have been brought against him by his critics and addresses them by both demonstrating the inaccuracy of the chargers and bringing clarity to his own thoughts on…
Is God a Miserable Failure?
A favorite apologetic argument of Calvinists is that if Arminianism is true in regard to universal atonement (i.e., Jesus died for everyone, and not just for the elite few), then he has failed miserably. Here is…
Pursuing Righteousness by Faith
What is pursuing righteousness by faith? In Romans 9, Paul speaks of pursuing righteousness by faith rather than works: What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that…
A Calvary-Focused Faith
“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; [And] having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” (Col 2:13-15 AV)
During a recent discussion of the relevance of the resurrection with regard to Christ’s crucifixion at Calvary, this passage from Paul’s epistle to the Colossians came to mind. There is a thought I want to touch on dealing with the sufficiency of Christ’s finished work at Calvary.
Prereformation Church History & the Calvinist/Arminian Debate
Calivinists have a rich heritage – one that they can be proud of. It’s unquestionable that Augustine, many of the Reformers and Puritans, held Calvinist ideas. But after reading Boettner’s introduction of the Reformed Doctrine…
The Difference Maker
Hodges’ Argument
Hodge argues that unless grace is resistible, the ultimate reason some believe and not others is found in us and not in God. Hodge says this would make believers better, more impressible or less obstinate than others.1
Problem Non-Unique
Personally, I find this one of the most powerful Calvinistic arguments. The idea that I can take credit for my salvation is intolerable, as is the idea that I am better than someone else. But the Calvinistic solution is no solution, and it creates more problems than it resolves.
Let’s take the argument that believers can take credit for their faith. But Calvinists also say that people believe. Therefore Calvinism entails that people can take credit for their faith.
The Equivocation of Regeneration
In the order of salvation, which comes first, faith or regeneration? Before we can answer that, don’t we first need to understand what regeneration is? In this post I plan on contrasting Charles Hodge’s view…
Friday Files: S. M. BAUGH AND THE MEANING OF FOREKNOWLEDGE: ANOTHER LOOK
Tom McCall and Keith Stanglin’s article S. M. BAUGH AND THE MEANING OF FOREKNOWLEDGE: ANOTHER LOOK reviews Baugh’s arguments that the meaning of foreknowledge in the NT renders “impossible” the “Arminian notion of ‘foreseen faith’.…
Which Comes First, Faith or Regeneration?
Although I argued that “what” regeneration is is more important than “when” regeneration happens, we do still need to touch on the question of the timing of regeneration. These passages show that regeneration comes after…
Friday Files: Hamilton – The Order of Faith and Election in John’s Gospel
Robert Hamilton makes a very good case that passages such as John 10:26 ‘you do not believe, because you are not my sheep’ refers primarily to the faithful sons of Abraham who were God’s children…
Paul Copan, “Taking Calvinism Too Far: R.C. Sproul Jr.
In his book Almighty Over All (Baker, 1999), R.C. Sproul Jr. makes some controversial statements—ones that appear to be sub-biblical. What tipped me off to this was hearing a paper presentation at a conference in April in…
Brennon Hartshorn, “Proof-texting without Context: A closer Look at 2 Timothy 2:25”
Some well-meaning Christians make the mistake of using proof texts to prove a theological point without considering the context of the larger passage that the proof text comes from. It is important to keep in…
The God Who Blinds?
The Bible Tools, “Sabbath-keeping, non-Trinitarian” post I was viewing read, “God Himself has kept Israel from seeing and hearing (understanding and applying) His truth, giving Israel a spirit of slumber to make possible the salvation…
Friday Files: Godet on Romans 9
In Frederic Louis Godet takes a “National Election” approach in his commentary on Romans 9. He summarizes the flow of Romans 9-11 as follows: “1. That of God’s absolute liberty in regard to every alleged…
Recent Posts
Eric Landstrom, Grace and Responsibility: A Response to the Calvinist Question, “Why One and Not Another?”
If Jesus Died for All to Save Them Yet Not All Are Saved, Does That Mean He Failed or That He Requires the Lost to Pay for Sins Already Paid For?
William Burt Pope on the Creation and Nature of Man
The Arminian Magazine 17 Issue 1 (Spring 1999)
