Did God, in His sovereignty and providence, spare our beloved Arminius from the shenanigans of the Synod of Dort? I would like to think so. However, did God not also care for those who defended…
Recent Posts
Synod of Dort (Part One)
Divine Election in the Old Testament: Israel
If you had to describe the significance of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, it would be hard to do it better than with the simple phrase, “chosen people.” Israel is not represented…
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.
Divine Election in the Old Testament: Abraham
It is important to recognize, when dealing with the subject of divine election, that the concept does not originate in the New Testament. When the New Testament writers–primarily Paul–discuss our election in Christ, they are…
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…
Eric Landstrom, The False Antithesis Between Monergism and Synergism: A Lesson from Historical Theology
A false division exists within theological discussions that centers on monergism and synergism. Within Reformed circles, on a lay level, monergism is considered to be Reformed orthodoxy and synergism heterodox to Reformed theology. However, this…
A Very Brief Excursion on Election
Arminius, at times, equated election with predestination, as many Calvinists do as well. For these people, the matter of one’s eternal destination is wrapped up in the word, “predestination.” Today, however, theologians have properly distinguished…
Point by Point with John Piper on Arminianism
This point/counterpoint is inspired from John Piper’s “How I Distinguish Between the Gospel and False Gospels,” a message he delivered at the 2008 Resurgence Conference. I’d like to comment on some of the statements…
John Piper Implicitly Denies Aseity
I figured the title would grab your attention for a few different reasons. First, what the heck is aseity and second, assuming you know what aseity is, what do you mean by saying Piper rejects…
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…
A Premised Question Easily Addressed
While readying myself this morning I was browsing through a couple of blogs and a discussion board and came across an inquiry of sorts that seems to beg an entire issue rather than just a…
Regeneration Precedes Faith, and Faith is the Gift of God?
In his book How to Be Born Again, Billy Graham states, “Jesus said that God can change men and women from the inside out. It was a challenge -a command. He didn’t say, ‘It would…
Why Divine Foreknowledge Does Not Determine the Future
by
James M. Leonard
arminianbaptist.blogspot.com
Robert E. Picirilli, in his excellent work Grace, Faith, and Free Will, broaches the subject of Divine Foreknowledge of future events. (See his JETS article here: http://evangelicalarminians.org/files/Picirilli.%20Foreknowledge,%20Freedom,%20and%20the%20Future_0.pdf )
He’s very clear on the subject, and convincing. He draws from Arminius himself and from Richard Watson, although he admits that the 19th century theologian’s style is belabored. I’m not sure what is original either to Dr. Picirilli or to his sources.
Eric Landstrom, Is God’s Knowledge the Cause of All Things?
There is a common argument that says God’s knowledge causes all things. It goes like this: If God foreknows that something (x) is going to occur, then something else (non-x) cannot occur. If something (x) does not occur, then God’s knowledge was false. Curiously since they make strange bedfellows, this argument is used by theological determinists like Calvinists as well as those holding to process theology and Openness against orthodox Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and orthodox non-Calvinist Protestants. The argument is used by theological determinists to show that God must determine all things before they come to pass and alternatively, by those who hold that God cannot know the future for free will to be actual and not mere rhetorical sophistry.
Eric Landstrom, What Are Those Arminians Thinking?
How does your perception of what is and is not Arminian theology dovetail into the following true story that relates to mans’ sin nature? The great Wesley scholar, Albert Outler was once giving a lecture…
Eric Landstrom, On Regeneration
Is regeneration a work of God and are the results of regeneration (e.g. repentence, confession) the works of God?
By way of survey regeneration is the inward quickening of the repentant and believing sinner. It is also referred to as the point of transition from being dead to God to being a child of God.
The Greek New Testament uses the Greek equivalent of regeneration (palingensia), meaning “new birth,” or “born again”) only once in regards to conversion (Titus 3:5) but the same idea is expressed using different terms elsewhere (cf., Eph. 2:1; James 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:23). The term is also used by Jesus when he spoke to Nicodemus and the listening crowd when he said, “Marvel not that I said unto thee [Nicodemus], ye [all those listening in the crowd] must be born again.” This idea of being reborn was not a new teaching to the Jews as the prophets of old had foretold of it (Ezek. 36:26, for example).
Examining Inconsistencies in Calvinistic Monergism Part 2: Sanctification
The content of this post was authored by Ben Henshaw and is posted on his behalf.
Examining Inconsistencies in Calvinistic Monergism Part 1: Intercessory Prayer
The content of this post was authored by Ben Henshaw and is posted on his behalf.
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…
Robert Picirilli, “The Extent of the Atonement”
Please click on the link to view Robert Picirilli, “The Extent of the Atonement.”
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”
