I am shocked at how easily, even in my most rational moments, I can sometimes walk willingly into sin. Even when I know a dozen good reasons why I shouldn’t do it, I can be…
Perseverance
Robert Shank on Calvinist Pastors and the Warning Passages of Scripture
In 1960 Robert Shank published a book called Life in the Son. This book was written to refute the teaching of eternal security. At the time of it’s publication Robert Shank was a Southern Baptist minister. The book caused no little stir among the Southern Baptists and it led to the author eventually leaving the Southern Baptist denomination and joining the Churches of Christ. In this book Shank writes about the way Calvinist Pastors preach and teach the warning passages in Scripture. Though a bit polemical, I found it expresses well the way Arminians view the Calvinist understanding of the warning passages. Following the quote by Shank I will give an example of what he’s talking about from popular Calvinist Pastor John Piper. Shank writes,
“Completely absurd is the assumption that men are to be sincerely persuaded that apostasy is impossible and, at the same time, sincerely alarmed by the warnings…
Albert Nash, Perseverance and Apostasy: Being an Argument in Proof of the Arminian Doctrine on that Subject (1871)
Please click on the link to view Perseverance and Apostasy by Albert Nash.
Daniel Whitby, Discourses on the 5 Points
Warning: Whitby slighted the doctrine of original sin. But besides that, he had the loudest voice against Calvinism in his day. His classic work from 1735, which provides detailed scriptural explanations of large numbers of…
Edward Bird on The Horrible Decree of Unconditional Election
Great example of early Engish Arminianism (1726). Bird explains total depravity, prevenient grace, unlimited atonement, conditional decrees, predestination and perserveriance as he examines some of the problems in Calvinism. He has mild appeals to middle…
Robert Hamilton, “Allegiance: What Must I Do To Be Saved?”
In this article, Robert Hamilton discusses the necessity of Allegiance to Christ. “What exactly must I do in order to be accepted by God? What are the conditions for salvation? There is a tendency today for…
The Early Church and Calvinism
This is a detailed study of Calvinism in light of the earliest Christian writers (Ante-Nicene Church Fathers). It demonstrates that the primary features of Calvinism were not taught by the Ante-Nicene Fathers but were actually considered heretical by these early Christian writers (often connected to various forms of gnosticism). Numerous quotes from these Ante-Nicene writers are provided for the reader to carefully consider.
Tim Warner, “Perseverance of the Saints”
Please click on the link below to view the article.
http://www.pfrs.org/calvinism/calvin05.html
Friday Files: McKnight on the Hebrew Warning Passages
Scot McKnight’s article “The warning passages of Hebrews: A formal analysis and Theological Conclusions” reviews the warnings of apostasy in Hebrews 2:1-4, 3:7-4:13, 5:11-6:12, 10:19-39 and 12:1-29. McKnight identifies four alternative interpretations of the warning…
Jabez Burns, “The Universal Love of God and Responsibility of Man”
This is a book written in 1861 by Jabez Burns, an eminent minister of the English General Baptists. Please click on the attachment to view “The Universal Love of God and Responsibility of Man”. Burns_Universal…
Perseverance of the Saints Part 13: Salvation Assurance
For the rest of the series, see here. We now come to the important topic of salvation assurance. Calvinists have often claimed that Arminians do not have solid ground for assurance because Arminians do not…
I John 5:12-13; A Devotional
The one who has the Son has life; the one who does not have the Son of God has no life. These things I have written to you so that you will know that you…
Brenda B. Colijn, “Let Us Approach: Soteriology In The Epistle To The Hebrews”
Please click on the attachment to view Brenda B. Colijn, “‘LET US APPROACH’: SOTERIOLOGY IN THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS”, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 39/4 (December 1996) 571–586. Soteriology in Hebrews (PDF)
Jim Leonard, “Eternal Security and Exegetical Overview of Hebrews”
This article derives from: http://jmleonardfamily.googlepages.com/eternalsecurityandexegeticaloverviewofhe2 and may be viewed there (where the formatting is better) or by clicking on the pdf attachment: Leonard. Eternal Security and Exegetical Overview of Hebrews.
The Biblical Doctrines of Grace (Part Two)
For the Calvinist, the “doctrines of grace” is a synonym for TULIP theology. So, do the Biblical Doctrines of Grace of Arminianism also follow a system, such as TULIP? Arminianism proper has not historically employed an acronym as the one used for nearly four centuries by Calvinists.
Let it be stated, however, that if it had not been for the followers of Arminius (the Remonstrants) presenting their five arguments to the state to be approved as orthodox consent, then the TULIP would have never been constructed. And the original order of the Remonstrants was Conditional Election (to those in Christ), Unlimited Atonement, Total Depravity, Resistible Grace, and Conditional Perseverance.
If the Calvinists had strictly followed the Arminian system, it would have spelled ULTIP, which is a bad acronym, considering Ultip is not a word. Worse off, the Arminian acronym would have been CUTRC. The best sense which we could make out of that construct is TRUCC, also not a word.
Eternal Security and Exegetical Overview of Hebrews
An Attempt to Move the Issue from Prooftexting to Texts which Sustain the Argument Introduction to the Theological Debate For 500 years, much of evangelical Christianity has been split on the issue of whether a…
Never Really Saved to Begin With?
This post attempts to put the Calvinistic “never really saved to begin with” view of apostasy to the test when reading select passages relevant to the topic of apostasy. The results speak for themselves.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. [proving that he was never in Christ to begin with, making it impossible to ‘remain’ in Him or be ‘cut off’ from Him] Jn. 15:3-6
Eternal Security and Exegetical Overview of the Book of Hebrews
The following link is to an article by James M. Leonard, “Arminian Baptist,” who argues from the overall text of Hebrews for the actual possibility of believers leaving their faith.
http://jmleonardfamily.googlepages.com/eternalsecurityandexegeticaloverviewofhe2
Perseverance of the Saints Part 12: Examining Passages Commonly Appealed to by the Advocates of Unconditional Eternal Security
For the rest of the series, see 5/6/2008-5/9/288, 5/12/2008-5/16/2008, 6/16/2008, 7/23/2008 Having examined the primary passages that teach apostasy we now examine the passages that the advocates of unconditional eternal security believe clearly support their…
Can Salvation be Lost?
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let…
Recent Posts
Roy Ingle, “Calvinism and the Atonement”
Why Does God Deny the Opportunity of Choice for or Against Him to Young Children Who Die and the Mentally Impaired?
Mark K. Olson, “Wesley’s ‘Warmed Heart’ at Aldersgate – What Really Happened?”
Adam Roe, “The Crucial Thread of Prevenient Grace: A Wesleyan Perspective on Divine Drawing”
