Common Ground between Calvinists and Arminians
God is sovereign, but in the election of His people – those who will be saved – God’s choosing is not in isolation of His foreknowledge or His knowledge of all things. God’s choosing does not give way to His knowledge of all things, nor does God’s knowledge of all things give way to […]
A Former Arminian at Peace
For most of my life I was an Arminian Christian. I wrote and taught Arminian theology for many years. But I was not merely an Arminian, I was passionately against Calvinism. No one wrote against Calvinism with more passion than I did. I even prayed against Calvinism. I think it would be accurate to […]
Chosen in Christ—the Seed of Genesis 3:15
God’s choosing of specific individuals to be saved was just as certain as God’s choosing of His Son to save us—as His “Chosen One” (Lu 9:35), as these passages reveal: (Ephesians 1:3-4) – 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ: 4 even as he […]
Everyone Called, Receives Christ
In regard to the call to salvation in Christ, there’s two forms: First, there’s a general call that goes out to the world via the spoken or written gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s inevitable that there will be many people who hear the words of the gospel message, because the message is going out to the world via […]
Arminian CE vs. Calvinist CE (OT Pattern) — [4 of 4]
Four, Arminian Corporate Election (CE) falls short in its understanding of the connection between Old Testament Israel and New Testament Israel, which results in an erroneous position on CE. First let me say again that I am a strong proponent of Fulfillment Theology, which is a central teaching of Covenant Theology, Baptist Covenant Theology and New Covenant […]
Arminian CE vs. Calvinist CE (Christ as the Group) — [3 of 4]
Three, Arminian Corporate Election (CE) has the erroneous idea that Christ Himself is the group. In close association with the previous flaw (part 2), Arminian CE teaches that Jesus is essentially the group Himself—as the corporate Head of the group. But this cannot be, since the group is the Church, and Christ died for the Church and He is Head […]
Arminian CE vs. Calvinist CE (Christ’s Twofold Election) — [2 of 4]
Two: Arminian Corporate Election (CE) fails to factor-in the two-fold election of Christ, which disallows the idea that we can share in His election. Arminian CE describes election in a manner that only takes in one aspect of Christ’s election. While it acknowledges that Jesus was chosen to be both the Corporate Head of the Church and its Savior, it fails to factor-in His election […]
Arminian CE vs. Calvinist CE (Corp & Indiv) — [1 of 4]
(Please read Introduction first) Four Major Flaws of Arminian Corporate Election (CE) I have a lot of respect for the Arminian view of CE. It presents a scholarly and fairly plausible interpretation of the doctrine of election. There are certain aspects to that position that I agree with. I think it has the right basic idea, […]
Arminian Corporate Election VS. Calvinist Corporate Election – [Introduction]
Introduction Union and Identification vs. Actual Sovereign Choice Corporate Election (CE) is normally associated with Arminian theology. However, it can be argued that CE is fundamentally a Calvinist position on the doctrine of election — which I shall do in this study. Central debate: Is election merely one of union and identification? Or is […]
Paul’s Conversion Exemplifies the Election He Taught
“The pattern of Paul’s conversion is right in front of us, and should be allowed to instruct us in our understanding. Whenever such clear insight is given to us, it should not be relegated to the realm of least importance, but be given the highest place of consideration when studying these doctrines. Examples in […]