Simply mention the word “Calvinism” in certain circles and watch the emotional responses! It’s amazing the amount of misunderstanding, confusion and misrepresentation that goes on in the discussion of the…
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Arminians claim Calvinism hinders evangelism and that election somehow keeps some sinners “out” who would otherwise desire to be saved. If the Arminian view of predestination and foreknowledge is true…
Covenant theology is the Gospel set in the context of God’s eternal plan of communion with his people, and its historical outworking in the covenants of works and grace (as…
Man is like a tree. His heart, not his will alone, is the root. There is no possible way by which the will can choose to produce fruit contrary to…
Our natural prejudgment of reality is against God. To receive the truth of God requires that our “anti” bias be changed. The key work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration…
‘God casts His vote; Satan casts his, but you must cast the deciding ballot’? The touchstone question in the running debate between Jesus and the Pharisees, Paul and the Judaizers,…
NINE years have now elapsed since Albertus Pighius, the Campanian, a man of evidently phrensied audacity, attempted, at the same time, and in the same book, to establish the free-will…
1. Man a free agent, denied by two parties BUT is man a free agent? Many have denied it. These may be ranked under two classes, Theological Fatalists and Sensualistic…
Edited by Stephen Pribble The Gospel is the good news about the great salvation purchased by Jesus Christ, by which He reconciled sinful men to a holy God. The purpose…
God’s decrees foreordain, and his creative act brings into actuality, beings other than God. Creation marks the beginning, therefore, of non-divine “otherness.” Now of course otherness does exist eternally within the divine nature….
Not unto us, 0 LORD, not unto us, but unto Thy Name, give glory for Thy mercy, and for Thy truth’s sake (Psalm 115:1). Some expositors have supposed, that this…
The doctrine of original sin leads to one of two conclusions: God’s Sovereignty in salvation, or an Arminian version of prevenient grace. Both Calvinists and Arminians say they believe in…
The Nature of Fallen Humanity This chapter explores whether the Wesleyan concept of prevenient grace can be supported from the Scriptures. Before examining this question, I want to emphasize that…
It is notable that John Wesley would agree with the preceding diagnosis. He writes, I believe that Adam, before his fall, had such freedom of will, that he might choose…
If Wesleyans and Calvimsts concur on the human condition, wherein do they differ? One major place that Wesleyans break with Calvinists is through their doctrine of prevenient grace. Elton Hendricks…
For all Bible-believing Christians, the most important question in matters of doctrinal dispute is this: what is the Bible’s teaching as it pertains to the issue at hand? Calvinists and…
We now proceed to analyze the four arguments for prevenient grace advanced by Wesleyans. I will argue that their case is unpersuasive and that their doctrine of prevenient grace is…
This chapter explores whether the Wesleyan concept of prevenient grace can be supported from the Scriptures. Before examining this question, I want to emphasize that there is a significant area…
Semi-Pelagianism While not denying the necessity of Grace for salvation, Semi-Pelagianism maintains that the first steps towards the Christian life are ordinarily taken by the human will and that Grace…
Some time ago a novel appeared with an historical background. It concerned the period of the Revolutionary War when the American Colonies were fighting for their independence from the British…
Reformed theology gets its name from the sixteenth century Protestant Reformation, with its distinct theological emphases, but it is theology solidly based on the Bible itself. Believers in the reformed…
I believe that my one aim in life and death should be to glorify God and enjoy him forever; and that God teaches me how to glorify him in his…
What controversies have been engendered by this subject in the past! But what truth of Holy Scripture is there which has not been made the occasion of theological and ecclesiastical…
The decree of God is His purpose or determination with respect to future things. We have used the singular number as Scripture does (Rom 8:28; Eph 3:11), because there was…
