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?
John Lennox & Unbelievable? Unbelievable? is doing a U.S. tour, and audio from a Q & A session was posted online. In this audio, much time is spent by the panel members teeing off on Calvinism. For an more thorough discussion, follow this link. I would like to focus only on one comment from the panel which was made by John Lennox. I believe the … Continue reading On Pelagius’ Front Door
Recently, I was talking to some brothers in Christ about Calvinism. Through our conversations it was clear that their primary rejection of Calvinism as they know it was due to the concept of what we Calvinists call God’s decree. In other words, they had some basic understanding of how, in Calvinism, God has decided what happens in history, and given all the evil and suffering … Continue reading TULIP(S): Why I Believe in a Sovereign Decree
Introduction: It is imperative one reads the first blog of this series prior to continuing in order to understand my heart and purpose. In that blog responding to Heiser’s book, I covered the issue of sovereignty (God’s decree and plan.) In this blog, I will focus on the other issue Dr. Heiser regularly brought up: free will. The Bondage of the Will: In the debate … Continue reading Responding to Supernatural Part II: Free Will
Introduction: I recently finished Dr. Michael Heiser’s book Supernatural. It has been recommended by a good friend, as well as a trusted pastor. After finishing the book, I had conflicting emotions. The book has many positive qualities. I would say the primary thesis of the book is largely established. The book is a challenge to Christians to rethink what the Bible says about the unseen … Continue reading Responding to Supernatural Part I: Sovereignty with a Chest
Perseverance of the Saints This is the final post of the T.U.L.I.P. series. The final letter stands for Perseverance of the Saints (PS). Sometimes referred to as Eternal Security, PS teaches that a person who has genuinely been saved cannot lose that salvation. Those who are saved have eternal life; it is not something they still may not receive. This doctrine is very much a … Continue reading Why I Believe in Perseverance of the Saints
The next stop in our TULIP series is the “I” of TULIP, Irresistible Grace. The general concept of this doctrine essentially is that when God desires someone to be saved, He will save them. Although God has an elect people, a people who are elected before the foundations of the earth, the elect are not born believing, justified Christians. They are elect, but they are … Continue reading Why I Believe in Irresistible Grace
Resisting the Winds 