Reformation Day Symposium - 2008 Edition (10/31/08 - 37 Comments)
Today is Reformation Day--the 491st anniversary of the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of Wittenberg's Schlosskirke. That small act triggered a series of events that forever changed the world. It stands as one of the most important events in all of history--though an event that has been largely forgotten. Today we remember that day and express our gratitude to God for raising up men such as Martin Luther. I have...
Calvinism and Evangelism (09/29/08 - 21 Comments)
One of the joyful challenges I face in maintaining this blog is answering the questions of Christians who are wrestling with issues related to Reformed theology. I receive many questions from people who are new to the doctrines of grace or who are fighting through them for the first time. I try to answer as many of these questions as I can, though admittedly, a few do get away. Some time ago a reader asked...
All Men Are Equal Down at the Cross (05/07/08 - 18 Comments)
Yesterday I wrote about sin, asking if sin is primarily something we do or something we are. Some questions arose in light of that article and I wanted to carry on a bit of discussion by looking further at the doctrine of human depravity. I have shared most of this in the past but felt it was well worth covering again. It is easy to see this doctrine as one that is terribly depressing and...
The 2007 Reformation Day Symposium (10/31/07 - 24 Comments)
Today is Reformation Day--the 490th anniversary of the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of Wittenberg's Schlosskirke. That small act triggered a series of events that forever changed the world. It stands as one of the most important events in all of history--though an event that has been largely forgotten. Today we remember that day and express our gratitude to God for raising up men such as Martin Luther. As...
A Reformation Day Symposium (2007 Edition) (10/17/07 - 17 Comments)
The Second Annual Reformation Day Symposium October 31, two weeks from today, will mark the 490th anniversary of the day that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the church at Wittenburg. In so doing he struck a match, beginning a fire that quickly spread throughout Europe and throughout the world. Having become increasingly disillusioned with the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, and in particular the sale of indulgences, Luther wrote...
The Reformed Expository Commentary Series (08/23/07 - 7 Comments)
An interview with the editors of the Reformed Expository Commentary series. There have been a few times in the past few months that I've mentioned the Reformed Expository Commentary Series. This is a growing series of commentaries written from a distinctly Reformed perspective and targeted at both pastors and laypersons. Having used these commentaries for both research and personal devotions, I am very enthusiastic about them and am anxious to spread the word. To that...
Hyper-Calvinism: A Brief Definition (06/28/07 - 114 Comments)
The term hyper-Calvinist is often used as a pejorative. Almost any Calvinist who adheres to the doctrines of grace is likely to be considered a hyper-Calvinist by at least someone. Frankly speaking, a hyper-Calvinist can be any Calvinist to a person who doesn't understand Calvinism. So today, just briefly, and because the term has come up a few times in recent weeks, I want to narrow in on a more accurate definition of it. First...
Becoming Reformed (06/14/07 - 57 Comments)
By all accounts it would seem that evangelicalism is currently in the midst of a resurgence of interest in Reformed theology. At conferences and in publications all sorts of people are noting the growing interest in Calvinistic theology, especially (though certainly not exclusively) among younger people. Collin Hansen captured some of this interest in an article he wrote for "Christianity Today" called "Young, Restless, Reformed." Now certainly simply saying something is happening does not make...
The "L" in TULIP (04/25/07 - 71 Comments)
This is the long-awaited third part of a series I began quite some time ago, a series which I am writing not primarily to rehash the theology of each of the points or to provide an exhaustive apologetic of Calvinism, but to draw some fresh application and to show what these doctrines mean to me as I ponder them and attempt to live in light of them. I hope to show that these doctrines of...
The "U" in TULIP (12/14/06 - 122 Comments)
This is the second part of a series I am writing dealing with the doctrines of grace (otherwise known as the five points of Calvinism). I am writing these articles not primarily to rehash the theology of each of the points or to provide an exhaustive apologetic of Calvinism, but to draw some fresh application and to show what these doctrines mean to me as I ponder them and attempt to live in light of...
The T in TULIP - Part 2 (11/01/06 - 11 Comments)
This is the second article in a series dealing with the Five Points of Calvinism and attempting to draw some fresh application from them. I anticipate that each of the five points will merit two articles. The first article dealing with the T in TULIP can be found here. Today we will seek personal application for this doctrine. Total Depravity: The Great Equalizer I often feel that I have a boring or even uninspiring testimony....
The T in TULIP - Part 1 (10/30/06 - 39 Comments)
Yesterday morning my pastor preached on Romans 12-13 under the heading of "Cross-Centered Authenticity." Though I missed much of the first half of the sermon walking the halls with a fussy baby, I returned in time to hear the end of the first (and longest) point and the final four points. I am glad I heard at least the summary of the first point, for it is a critical one. The pastor spoke of how...
A Reformation Day Symposium (10/17/06 - 54 Comments)
October 31, just two weeks from now, will mark the 489th anniversary of the day that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the church at Wittenburg. In so doing he struck a match, beginning a fire that quickly spread throughout Europe and throughout the world. Having become increasingly disillusioned with the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, and in particular the sale of indulgences, Luther wrote his Theses to try to...
Redefining Arminianism (10/13/06 - 124 Comments)
I thought it would be interesting to contrast two books I have received in the past weeks. The first quote is from Steve Lawson's Foundations of Grace which I wrote about a couple of days ago. In this quote he contrasts Calvinism and Arminianism: Never have two systems of thought been more polarized. The first system, Calvinism, is a God-centered, Christ-exalting way of viewing salvation. God alone is the Savior and, thus, God alone is...
What It Means To Be Reformed (06/21/06 - 48 Comments)
Every year or so I find myself crawling back to a definition of the word Reformed that I first wrote up a couple of years ago. I find it worthwhile to revisit this every twelve months or so. With the amount of reading and studying I do in a year, I feel it is interesting to turn to this definition to see what I would change and what I would refine. I also find it...
Assurance of Salvation (Part 3) (01/16/06 - 25 Comments)
Today we will conclude this short three-part series dealing with assurance of salvation by discussing first the basis of assurance and then some marks of salvation. We have all known people who think they are saved when all the evidence points elsewhere. It is a sad fact, and one we examined in the second part of this series, that many who think themselves Christians are not. At the final judgment many will approach Jesus convinced...
Assurance of Salvation (Part 2) (01/12/06 - 13 Comments)
On Tuesday we began a short series on assurance of salvation, a series that was rudely interrupted by my site crashing. I sought to show that, in many ways, contemporary evangelicalism can create an atmosphere in which many who consider themselves may have false assurance of their salvation. A decision-based system of conversion and regeneration has been historically proven to create many who believe they are Christians, yet who show little evidence of conversion. I...
Sincerity and Assurance of Salvation (01/10/06 - 0 Comments)
If I were to ask you, "How do you know that you are a Christian?" how would you respond? Where do you look for your assurance of salvation? Do you look inside yourself? Do you look to the past - perhaps to an act or decision you made? Or do you look outside of yourself? I have written in the past about the doctrine of assurance of salvation, a belief John MacArthur rightly calls "the...
The Servetus Problem (09/19/05 - 0 Comments)
John Calvin is a man loved and respected by some, despised and reviled by others. Those who dislike Calvin and his theology are likely to protest on many grounds, but the most common are his view of predestination and an understanding of Calvin as something of a dictator over the town of Geneva. It is not unusual to find people who villify Calvin as nothing short of tyrannical - a despot who let no one and nothing stand in his way. Calvin is most notorious for the situation regarding Servetus, a man who was found guilty of heresy and executed for this belief. Here are a few quotes I found regarding Servetus:
Total Depravity and Divine Knowledge (Part 2) (04/21/05 - 0 Comments)
In the first article of this brief series we examined Total Depravity, as a prerequisite to evaluating the following statement: "Those who believe in total depravity have more confidence in the possibility of humans having divine knowledge- detailed, down to the footnotes knowledge- than many who don't call themselves Calvinists." I indicated that I did not wish to debate Total Depravity at that time, but instead merely wanted to define it. After ninety eight posts (and counting) in the forums I have to conclude that Total Depravity is quite the hotly-debated topic and is one I will have to return to in more detail in a later series. I do not think it is a topic that can be covered sufficiently in only a few paragraphs. With the promise to return to Total Depravity at a later date, let's move on through this series and examine the clarity of Scripture.
