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 well as in the various progressive stages of the covenant of grace). Covenant theology explains the meaning of the death of Christ in light of [...]
Reformed Theology
There is scarcely another word that arouses such suspicion, mistrust, and even animosity among professing Christians as the word Calvinism. And yet much of the zeal that is levelled against this system and those who hold and preach it is most certainly a zeal which is not according to knowledge. The following articles are written in the hope that much of the abuse that is hurled at the Calvinistic system of theology will be withdrawn, and that the truth of that great teaching, which was the backbone of our fathers in the faith, and the strength of the church in a far more glorious era than our own, will be clearly seen. ~ W.J. Seaton, The Five Points of Calvinism
Does Man Have a “Free Will?”
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 the character of the root. If the root is bad, the tree is bound by its very nature to produce evil fruit. Man is like [...]
R.C. Sproul on Regeneration
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 is not giving new knowledge to the brain but changing the disposition of the heart. Before the Spirit turns that heart of stone into a [...]
Who Saves Whom? by Michael S. Horton
‘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, Augustine and Pelagius, the Dominicans and the Franciscans, the Reformers and the medieval Roman Catholic church, and the Calvinists and Arminians is this: Who saves [...]
Does the Doctrine of Election Mean that God Plays Favorites?
When discussing the issue of God’s sovereignty in the salvation of sinners, the topic of Unconditional Election will typically turn to a false notion of “fairness” that says God “doesn’t play favorites” or to put it biblically, that God is “no respecter of persons.” Having heard this numerous times from folks when talking about Calvinism, [...]
Discussing Arminianism with My Daughter
Tonight I had a long conversation with my daughter about the meaning of 1 Tim. 4:10. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. As we talked, we explored various interpretations of this [...]
Covenant Interest in God by John Gill
1 SAMUEL 30:6. LAST CLAUSE. But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. David was at this time in as great distress, if not greater, than ever he was in all his life. He had been persecuted from place to place by Saul, and his life often in imminent danger; but then he had [...]
The Covenant of Grace, The Support of a Believer Under Outward and Inward Troubles, Part 1 by John Gill
Although my house be not so with God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure. 2 SAMUEL 23:5 THE preceding verses have already been considered; an introduction, therefore, to the present discourse, is unnecessary: suffice it to say, our text contains part of the last words of [...]
The Covenant of Grace, The Support of a Believer Under Outward Troubles, Part 2 by John Gill
Although my house be not so with God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure; for this is all my salvation and all my desire, although he maketh it not to grow. SAMUEL 23:5 In our last discourse of this text, Three things were proposed for consideration. [...]
A Treatise of the Eternal Predestination of God by John Calvin
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 of man. and to subvert the secret counsel of God, by which He chooses some to salvation and appoints others to eternal destruction. But as [...]
Free Agency and the Will by R. L. Dabney
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 Necessitarians. The former argue from the doctrine of God’s foreknowledge and providence; the latter from the certainty, or, as it has unluckily been termed, necessity [...]
What is the Gospel? by Loraine Boettner
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 of this booklet is to set forth, in plain language and in terms easily understood, the basic differences between the Calvinistic (Reformed) and Arminian understanding [...]
The Mystery of Creaturely Otherness by John M. Frame
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. But creation is the beginning of something new: a non-divine otherness, a creaturely otherness. Creatures are the work of God, fully planned by God, dependent on him, and [...]
Arminianism: The Golden Idol of Freewill by Augustus Toplady
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 Psalm was penned by the prophet Daniel; on occasion of the miraculous deliverance of Shadrac, Meshac, and Abednego, when they came out, unhurt, from the [...]
Is Prevenient Grace in the Bible? by Joseph M. Gleason
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 original sin. Adam was the father of the human race, and when he sinned, his sin was imputed to all of his children, including you [...]
Does Scripture Teach Prevenient Grace in the Wesleyan Sense? (Part I) by Thomas Schreiner
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 there is a significant area of common ground between Wesleyans and Calvinists. The disagreements that we have in some areas can cause us to overlook [...]
The Wesleyan View of Fallen Humanity (Part II) by Thomas Schreiner
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 either good or evil; but that, since the fall, no child of man has a natural power to choose anything that is truly good. Yet [...]
Prevenient Grace in the Wesleyan System (Part III) by Thomas Schreiner
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 says that this doctrine ”played a more important role in Wesley’s theological thought than in that of any other Protestant theologian.”[14] Williams affirms that it [...]
Wesleyan Arguments in Favor of Prevenient Grace (Part IV) by Thomas Schreiner
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 Armimans likewise must turn to the Bible. The critical question is whether or not the doctrine of prevenient grace is supported by Scripture. We cannot [...]
A Critique of the Wesleyan Arguments for Prevenient Grace (Part V) by Thomas Schreiner
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 not found in Scripture. Wesleyans, however, advance some exegetical and theological arguments in defense of prevenient grace that will be considered here. We turn first [...]
Wesleyan Prevenient Grace – Conclusion (Part VI) by Thomas Schriner
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 of common ground between Wesleyans and Calvinists. The disagreements that we have in some areas can cause us to overlook the extent to which we [...]
Differences between Semi-Pelagianism and Arminian Beliefs
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 supervened only later. Arminianism In contrast to semi-pelagianism, Arminianism teaches that the first steps of grace are taken by God. This teaching derives from the [...]
Calvinism vs Arminianism – Comparison Chart
The following material from Romans: An Interpretative Outline (pp.144-147). by David N. Steele and Curtis C. Thomas, contrasts the Five Points of Arminianism with the Five Points of Calvinism in the clearest and most concise form that we have seen anywhere. It is also found in their smaller book, The Five Points of Calvinism (pp. [...]
Is it a Terrible Faith? by Gordon Girod
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 Empire. One of the characters in the story was described by the author as a hard, cruel, vindictive person. The author portrayed him as mean [...]
Reformed Theology by James Montgomery Boice
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 tradition regard highly the specific contributions of such people as Martin Luther, John Knox, and particularly John Calvin, but they also find their strong distinctives [...]
