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 […]
There’s No Such Thing as Unlimited Atonement
Arminianism (also Provisionism) teaches that the atonement of Christ is unlimited, where Christ died for all and salvation is available to all. However, in the strict meaning of the word, there is no such thing as unlimited atonement. That would only be true if everyone got saved. The fact is, only a small fringe group of people believe in universal salvation. Orthodox, historical Christians […]
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 […]
Strongest Argument for Unconditional Sovereign Election
There are two primary ways to understand the doctrine of election: Unconditional Sovereign Election — This is God’s choosing of certain people, chosen “before the foundation of the world, according to His own good pleasure” (Eph 1:4-6). God’s choosing of certain people guarantees that the one chosen will respond to the gospel of Christ […]
False Prophets & False Believers Among Us
Introduction In the passage below, Jesus warns us about “false prophets” (false teachers). They’re either deceivers or are totally deceived themselves. This also applies to false believers, those who believe and practice what false prophets teach (Lu 6:43-45). He tells us to “watch out.” Jesus gives us this warning and instruction because it’s important that we’re not deceived by those […]
Election of True Israel in Christ — [Commentary on Romans 11]
All Scripture quotations are from the 1901 American Standard Version (updated) unless otherwise noted. Introduction Like Romans 9, Romans 11 is one of the most important chapters in the New Testament regarding the doctrine of election, Israel and the Church. This discussion – that actually began in Romans 8 (especially verses 28-39) – ends […]
Apostasy, the Unpardonable Sin, and the Sovereignty of God
Apostasy: To fall away (He 6:4-6; He 10:26-30). To know and accept (intellectually) the doctrines of Christianity, but to renounce and abandon them later on for a different belief system—whether it’s a variation (distortion) of Christianity (Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Catholicism, etc.) or a completely different religion (Islam, Buddism, Hinduism, etc.). What apostasy is not is losing one’s salvation, due to the fact that we cannot […]
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 […]