We just wanted to alert you to the fact that we now have Brian Abasciano’s doctoral dissertation available on our site: “Paul’s Use of the Old Testament in Romans 9:1-9: An Intertextual and Theological Exegesis”…
Scripture Index
Friday Files: McCant’s A Wesleyan Interpretation of Romans 5-8
Jerry McCant’s Interpretation of Romans 5-8 is in response to a request to provide a Wesleyan view of Romans 6-8. He expands the scope to cover chapter 5, since he finds a close connection between…
Ephesians 2:4-5; A Devotional
But, being rich with mercy, God, through His great love with which He has loved us though we were dead in trespasses, has made us alive with Christ (by grace you have been saved) The…
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…
1 Cor 10:13 – Free Because God Is Sovereign
1 Cor 10:13 (ESV) says: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
While not all Calvinists adhere to exhaustive determinism, I think it is worth while to see if exhaustive determinism is biblical. I believe this verse shows us that we (Christians) are free (in the non-Calvinist sense of the word) to choose not to sin.
Ephesians 2:3; A Devotional
Along with them, we all once lived by the passions of our flesh, doing the desires of the body and of the mind. Like the rest of them, we were children of wrath. What do…
Ephesians 2:1-2; A Devotional
And you were dead because of the transgressions and sins in which you once walked, as the world has through the ages according to the ruler of domain of the air ; the spirit now working in the unyielding6 sons.
A major aspect of Christian life is remembering where you came from. Christianity is fundamentally a faith of redemption. Part of redemption is being redeemed from something.
There are two common problems we encounter when dealing with our sinful past.
Ephesians 1:22-23; A Devotional
And He set everything under His feet, and made Him head over the assembly which is His body: the very thing which fills every bit of everything.
Ok, let us recall Paul’s context:
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…
Ephesians 1:19b-21; A Devotional
…according to the work of His mighty strength which was worked in Christ, arousing Him from the dead and sitting Him at God’s right side in the celestial realms, far above any ruler, authority, power,…
The Apostle John’s World
Recently, I have found myself focusing on the effects of a word or two, sovereignty and dominion being the last foray. Today the word world comes into play. It is a long disputed term, used…
Ephesians 1:18-19; A Devotional
“…having your mind’s eye enlightened in order to perceive what is the hope of His invitation, what is the glorious wealth of His inheritance in the saints and what is the surpassing greatness of His…
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…
Ephesians 1:17; A Devotional
…that the God of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation on the knowledge of Him… This verse is a verse about the Father, and,…
Friday Files: Benson on John 6
Benson’s comments on the ‘giving’ and ‘drawing’ in John 6 (Volume 4 pages 563-565) are reasonably simple. First, Benson notes the passage teaches man’s depravity; no man can believe in Christ to the saving of…
Ephesians 1:15-16; A Devotional
Because of this, and because I heard about your faith in Lord Jesus and about your love toward all the saints, I’ve not stopped praying for you, recalling you to mind in my prayers. The…
Friday Files: Benson on Acts 13:48
Joseph Benson makes several key points in his commentaries on Acts 13:48 page 772. He argues that the Calvinist translation of tasso entails reprobation and impugns the God’s character. He argues that the Calvinist view…
Ephesians 1:13-14; A Devotional
In whom you also have heard the word of truth: the gospel of your salvation by which, having believed, you were sealed by the promised Holy Spirit who is the down payment of our allotment,…
Friday Files: Whitby on Acts 13:48
Dr. Whitby discusses Acts 13:48 in his Discorses on the 5 Points, page 70. First, he gives three problems with the Calvinist translation and then provides multiple examples of how tasso ‘ordained’ is often translated…
Ephesians 1:11-12; A Devotional
Furthermore, in Him we have been chosen by lot (being predetermined according to the plan by which all things are worked out and according to the purpose of His will) to be who we are,…