Every Christian must use both proverbial hands to be a good theologian. In a closed hand we must put non-negotiable doctrines, over which we must fight to preserve what it means to be a Christian. These truths include the perfection and trustworthiness of the Bible; God as Trinitarian creator and redeemer; human sinfulness; Jesus’ sinless … Read more
The term “reformed” has become virtually synonymous with Calvinism and the five points which is confusing. Furthermore, the Protestant Reformation is better understood under the broad agenda of the solas than the more narrow five points of Calvinism, “The five solas are five Latin phrases popularized during the Protestant Reformation that emphasized the distinctions between … Read more
Systematic theology is a method that pulls Scriptures from across the Bible into organized topical categories. Biblical theology seeks to summarize the teaching of a biblical author or text without imposing systematic categories on the text of Scripture by allowing it to speak for itself in its’ original context separate from contemporary concerns. Christian students … Read more
If I had to choose between the two options of the 5 Points of Arminianism and the 5 Points of Calvinism, I would have to choose the 5 points of Calvinism not because I find it all correct, but because it has less problems than the 5 points of Arminianism which, when consistently committed to … Read more
Pastor Mark tackles a much-debated topic of predestination in this sermon from Romans 9:1-13 and the question of whether we choose God or God chooses us and how a loving God could choose some people and not others.
Arminians can trace their modern history to a theological council that met in 1610. It was called the Remonstrance, which means “protest.” They were protesting the Calvinistic position on such doctrines as predestination with what is known as the Five Points of Arminianism, which stressed the freedom of the human will in salvation. In response, … Read more
Not unlike American politics which has fallen into two parties (Republicans and Democrats) with a broad cross-section of people at various places in the middle, there are now, broadly speaking, two general Christian schools of thought regarding salvation in general and predestination in particular. These schools follow the teachings of John Calvin and James Arminius. … Read more
It is believed that the phrase “prevenient grace” which is previous to salvation was coined or at least popularized by Augustine. He said, “God anticipates us…that we may be healed…anticipates us that we may be called…that we may lead godly lives”. (Augustine of Hippo, “A Treatise on Nature and Grace,” in Saint Augustin: Anti-Pelagian Writings, … Read more
In church history there are, generally speaking, two broad categories into which various answers to these questions fall. Synergism is the belief that, in varying degrees depending upon who is advocating this position, God and man work together in the process of justification. Conversely, monergism is the belief that God alone works for our justification, … Read more
When I was a little boy, the kids at my school liked to play the game duck duck goose. We would sit in a circle, and one person was given the unique authority to walk around the circle tapping each person on the head and declaring them to a be a duck or a goose. … Read more