Where the Reformed and the Arminian agree: Christ’s death is sufficient for each and every person. “It is not asked with respect to the value and sufficiency of the death of Christ- whether it was in itself sufficient for the salvation of all men. For it is confessed by all that since its value is infinite, it would have been entirely sufficient for the redemption … Continue reading Some Turretin Quotations on the Atonement
The Apostle Paul utilizes a horticultural analogy in the book of Romans which and the interpretation of which has become highly disputed: If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among … Continue reading Does Romans 11 Teach We Can Lose Salvation?
Leighton Flowers wrote a blog attempting to refute four different passages of Scripture that are commonly used by Calvinists to prove divine determinism. I found it while searching specifically for Dr. Flowers’ interpretation of Acts 2 and 4. Thankfully, those verses were the last ones addressed in the blog, and I would like to refute his commentary. A Calvinist Interpretation: Allow me to begin with … Continue reading Is God a Cop?
Introduction Someone left a comment on another post I wrote regarding assurance of salvation claiming that Calvin teaches God lies to people, the elect included, about their salvation. Jean Calvin expressly states in the Institutes that the Calvinist God lies to people even the “elect” cannot be certain of their salvation. They may go to heaven, they may not. Depends on their spiritual state at … Continue reading Does Calvin Teach God Deceives People?
I am not one who likes to criticize Leighton Flowers for having such a narrow apologetic focus. Dr. Flowers’ ministry is dedicated entirely to refuting Calvinism, and this irritates many of his opponents, most notably, Dr. James White. While many take issue with Flower’s myopic apologetic, I do not. I believe that the wealth of access we have to information today is making the “jack-of-all-trades” … Continue reading Can Calvinists Have Assurance of Salvation?
Introduction Dr. Tim Stratton is very fond of a lengthy logical proof which attempts to both disprove Irresistible Grace, as well as prove Molinism. He calls this ten step refutation the “Omni Argument” due to the fact that He argues the traditional “omni” attributes of God (omnipotence, omniscience, and omnibenevolence) work against the Calvinist system. Here I will interact with the argument (The quotations are … Continue reading Answering Tim Stratton’s Ten Step Refutation of Irresistible Grace
As I have been reading through Chrysostom’s Homilies on Ephesians, I stumbled upon three very interesting quotations from his first sermon. Sola Fide? That you may not then, when you hear that He has chosen us, imagine that faith alone is sufficient, he proceeds to add life and conduct. To this end, says he, has He chosen us, and on this condition, that we should … Continue reading Three Interesting Quotations from Chrysostom
Leighton Flowers is dogmatic that his soteriological approach (which he refers to as “Provisionism”) cannot be rightly identified with the ancient heresy known as semi-Pelagianism (from here on out I will refer to it as one word, Semipelagianism). Nonetheless, it is common for those of us who disagree with Dr. Flowers to level that accusation against him. Thus, I will briefly explain why, in my … Continue reading Are “Provisionists” Semi-Pelagians?
Jesus and Tradition Jesus’ condemnation of Pharisaical traditions seems to supply a sufficient blow to the Regulative Principle of Worship (RPW). Now when the Pharisees gathered to [Jesus], with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their … Continue reading Jesus, Calvin, and Holidays
A rapper known by the name FLAME recently recanted his Calvinism and joined the Lutheran church. He made waves in the Reformed world by also releasing an album explaining his denunciation of his former disposition. Under most circumstances something like this wouldn’t merit a blog. However, as he is now using his platform for anti-calvinist polemics, I decided one of his most recent tweets on … Continue reading A Lyrical Lutheran on Limited Atonement
Resisting the Winds 