It has been contested that John 3.16 fits well within a Calvinistic framework. After all, as Calvinist R. C. Sproul has noted, whosoever will may come to Jesus. But, he continued, no one will ever…
Scripture Index
1 John 2:24-27; A Devotional
You, what you heard from the beginning, let it remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning would remain in you and you in the Son, you will remain in the Father. 25…
Calvinism And Free Will: An Exegetical Vindication of Matthew 23:37
The following post was first published at http://www.indeathorlife.org/. I decided to re-post it as it relates to the previous post regarding God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Free Will. A few minor revisions have been made.
Arminians have long pointed to Matthew 23:37 to respond to the Calvinist doctrines of determinism, limited atonement, and irresistible grace.
Calvinism teaches that Christ died only for the elect (particular atonement), that he has decreed whatsoever shall come to pass in human history (determinism- no human free will as pertains to true contingencies), and that man has nothing to do with his own salvation (monergism), which necessitates their doctrine of irresistible grace.
A Recent Reading of Ephesians
My wife and I have a daily reading of Scripture where we read through large sections of the Bible at once, to get the bigger pictures in Scripture, and cover the full ground of Scripture…
1 John 2:21-23; A Devotional
I did not write to you that you do not know the truth but that you know it and that all lying is not from the truth. 22 Who is the liar if not the…
1 John 2:18-20; A Devotional
Little children, it is the last hour, and as you heard that an antichrist is coming, and even now many antichrists are here, because of this we know it is the last hour. 19 They…
1 John 2:15-17; A Devotional
Do not love the world nor things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 Because all the things in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, are not from the Father but are from the world. 17 And the world is passing away and its lusts, but the one who does the will of the Father remains forever.
This passage begins the recurring theme of love and its import to the Christian. This time, love is focused in a negative way, as in what not to love. The world here stands for those things not from God. This can be seen in the terse explanation that love of the world precludes love from God.
Note how that was worded: love of the world, in other words the love one has for the world, precludes love from God, that is the love instantiated in the person of Christ. One can either love the world or be saved. John does not allow room for gray, he sees this in simple black and white.
Essay on Ephesians 2.1-10
I. Grace Is Essential Because Sinners Are In A “Dead” State Of Mind. (2:1-3) The Greek text of Ephesians 2:1 begins with, Kai hymas ontas nekros, literally, “and you were dead.” The New King James…
1 John 2:12-14; A Devotional
I am writing to you, little children, that your sins would be forgiven you through his name. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you have known it from the beginning. I am writing…
1 John 2:8-11: A Devotional
Beloved, I do not write a new command to you but an old command, which you have from the beginning. The old command is the word which you heard. 8 Yet I write a new…
1 John 2:6; A Devotional
The one who claims he remains in him ought to walk even as that one walked. (author’s translation) This verse is just incredible. John challenges the reader in a way like only “Be perfect” can.…
Perseverance of the Saints Part 9: Hebrews 10:32-39
We finish our exegetical examination of the warning passage in Hebrews 10 with verses 32-39: [32] “But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, [33] partly by…
Perseverance of the Saints Part 8: What Kind of Sanctification is Being Described in Hebrews 10:29?
We now examine another interpretation that looks to make this sanctification merely outward with no internal reality. It looks to compare the sanctification described in 10:29 with the outward ceremonial cleansing referred to under the…
Perseverance of the Saints Part 7: Who is Sanctified in Hebrews 10:29?
The content of this post was authored by Ben Henshaw and is posted on his behalf. We will now examine one of the alternative interpretations offered by the proponents of unconditional security concerning the apostate…
Perseverance of the Saints Part 6: Hebrews 10:26-30
The content of this post was authored by Ben Henshaw and is posted on his behalf. We now examine what I consider to be the most significant warning against apostasy in the entire Bible: Hebrews…
Perseverance Of The Saints Part 5: Hebrews 6:4-9
The content of this post was authored by Ben Henshaw and is posted on his behalf. Audience: There is general agreement that this letter was written to Hebrew believers who were in the midst of…
1 John 2:3-5; A Devotional
The content of this post was authored by Ron Fay and is posted on his behalf. And by this we know that we have known him, if we keep his commands. 4 The one who…
Perseverance Of The Saints Part 4: Again Entangled In Corruption
The content of this post was authored by Ben Henshaw and is posted on his behalf. We will now examine 2 Pet. 2:20-22: [20] “For if after they have escaped the defilements of the world…
Perseverance Of The Saints Part 3: The Ancient Olive Tree
The content of this post was authored by Ben Henshaw and is posted on his behalf. This passage is very similar in meaning and application as the passage previously discussed from Christ’s discourse in John…
Perseverance Of The Saints Part 2: The Vine And The Branches
The content of this post was authored by Ben Henshaw and is posted on his behalf. Before we examine John 15, I want to give a general outline of how I envision this series unfolding.…