One of the most popular passages stating God’s universal salvific will (i.e that God desires every human individual to be saved) is 2 Peter 3:9. 2 Peter 3:9 states that God “is not willing that any should perish,…
Will of God
God’s Will in Heaven and on Earth
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus instructs us to pray, Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Matthew 6.10 Often this gets translated “on earth as it is in…
Dr. Roger Olson, “Does God Always Get His Way?”
Dr. Olson laying out the importance of distinguishing God antecedent will with His consequent will. Does God Always Get His Way?
An Objection To Premise 3 Of The Maximally Great Argument For Arminianism
[All links are in the following post are external] Recently, I posted an argument for Arminianism that combined philosophy and scripture to support its premises called “A Maximally Great Argument For Arminianism”. (MGA). The premise got to…
Resisting God’s calling—Exodus 4:1-17
By Dr. Craig Keener
When God calls Moses to confront Pharaoh, God not only promises to be with Moses; he also gives Moses a sign to confirm that God is with him. Unfortunately, this first-offered sign will be obvious…
Accepting/Rejecting Calvinism (Pt. 11: Molinism Defended)
This is from a series of posts which was copied with permission from Jordan Apodaca’s blog, “Thoughts & Anti-Thoughts,” which can be accessed here: https://jordanapodaca.wordpress.com/ This particular post, which allows comments, can be accessed here:…
Paul Copan, “Divine Exasperation”
Part of proper hermeneutics is not simply seeing what any individual passage means, but also looking for themes and styles of expression throughout the Bible and understanding what they mean for our relationship with God.…
Ben Witherington and Roger Olson, “Roger Olson’s Arminian Theology – Part 11”
BEN: On p. 123 you say that sin does not thwart the will of God. I think this is a mistake. Surely any time evil or sin happens it goes against the will of God…
God is in Control? Clarification on a Common Phrase
I drove six hours home to Oklahoma a few days before my grandmother’s funeral. Her fight against cancer was over. I remember when my dad called me with the news. It did not come as…
Steve Sewell, “Rebuttal to Maverick Victor Witlouw” [Prevenient Grace vs. Irresistible Grace]
Maverick Victor Witlouw, of Sovereign Grace Messianic Blog, wrote a response to my article, “Why Irresistible Grace Doesn’t Work, and Why Prevenient Grace Does” [Responding to Steve Sewell’s Presentation of Prevenient Grace]. He happened to…
Does God Want All to Be Saved? A Response to Dr. Kruger
Dr. Kruger is the President and Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS). His interests in the formation of the NT canon and the early history of the church align with…
Reward and Punishment Necessitate Libertarian Freedom
As is stated in previous posts on this site, libertarian free will is assumed throughout the tenor of the entire Bible, and determinism is exposed as not merely flawed but erroneous and damaging to the…
Cheryl Schatz, “Purposeless Evil”
Is there purposeless evil if God did not foreordain all things? Calvinists often talk about “purposeless evil”. In fact, Dr. James White, a Calvinist apologist from Alpha and Omega Ministries, has stated that if God did…
Matt Brown, “Does God Really Have a Wonderful Plan for Your Life?”
Please click on the link to view Matt Brown, “Does God Really Have a Wonderful Plan for Your Life?”
If Jesus Wants Everyone Saved, Why Did He Not Pray For The World?
One very common Calvinist proof text for limited atonement and a limited salvific will on God’s part is in John 17:9. The context of the passage is Jesus in the Garden Of Gethsemane. The synoptic…
Roger Olson, “C. S. Lewis Said It: God’s ‘Goodness’ Cannot Be Wholly Other”
For years now I have been insisting that the main reason I am not a Calvinist (or any kind of divine determinist) is that, taken to its “good and necessary consequences,” Calvinism makes God morally…
Philosophical and Scriptural Argument For God’s Universal Salvific Will
Arminians and Molinists believe that God wants everyone saved. We also believe that Jesus Christ died for every single human being who will ever exist in this world. There’s an overabundance of scriptures that testifies…
Did God Fix the Outcome of the Seahawks/Packers Game?
The Seattle Seahawks have been in the news recently because of their improbable last minute win over the Green Bay Packers. With four minutes left in the game, the Packers had a 99.9% statistical chance…
Mike Barlotta – Ordaining All that Comes to Pass
The Westminster Confession was drafted in 1646 and is one of the Reformed creeds of faith. In this confession (chapter III section 1) it reads: God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and…
Degrees of Union with God’s Will
There are different degrees of union with the Divine Will, some of which it may be proper to notice and discriminate. 1. Union With God in Submission The first degree may be described as union…
