John Piper preached a sermon on God’s sovereign control over all things. In this sermon, Piper highly praises the works of Jonathan Edwards and relies heavily on his accounting of sovereignty to explain how God can decree and ordain all evil in this world, and yet not be rightly called the author of all sin [...]
Filed under: determinism, Edwards, God's glory, John Piper, predestination, secret decrees, sovereignty | 4 Comments »
As I noted in my previous post, according to Jesus, far more will be lost than saved (Matt. 7:13, 14). In Calvinism this can only mean that God has reprobated from eternity far more than He has elected to save. According to Calvinism, God’s reprobation of most of humanity is “for His glory”. From this [...]
Filed under: determinism, election, God's glory, predestination, secret decrees, sovereignty | 10 Comments »
Of course, when Calvinists speak of sovereignty, they are referencing their own bizarre definition of sovereignty which is synonymous with exhaustive decretal determinism. While Calvinists hold to this definition of sovereignty (what they often call “absolute” sovereignty), they have a hard time speaking and thinking in a consistent manner with all that view of sovereignty entails. Thankfully, [...]
Filed under: determinism, predestination, secret decrees, sovereignty | 8 Comments »
Continuing with the series on Romans 9, we’ll now address the issue of God’s prerogative in saving who He wishes and how Calvinists often misinterpret its implications. God’s Prerogative Reaffirmed When speaking to zealous Calvinists, especially those who are very young and/or “educated” by internet echo chambers, the strawmen abound. It’s not uncommon to hear [...]
Filed under: Calvinism, election, Posts written by JC Thibodaux, Romans 9, sovereignty | 43 Comments »
Not surprisingly, a Calvinist has taken issue with my recent critique of Paul Washer’s arguments for unconditional election. This Calvinist, who goes by the moniker, “Saved by Grace” (SBG), left a very lengthy and detailed comment after reading my post, rebuking me for misrepresenting Calvinism and for failing to rightly interpret numerous passages of Scripture. [...]
Filed under: synergism, faith, irresistible grace, ordo salutis, regeneration, John 6, prevenient grace, John 12:32, dead in sin, total depravity, determinism, sovereignty, free will, atonement, election, predestination, monergism, calvinist polemics, Paul Washer, secret decrees | 32 Comments »
About a year ago I engaged in a conversation with someone who kept misrepresenting Arminian and Wesleyan teaching while insisting that his claims were “historical facts”. This person kept making reference to the “15 Major Tenets of Arminianism” to back up his claims. I had no idea what this could be a reference to since [...]
Filed under: apostasy, atonement, determinism, election, eternal security, faith, foreknowledge, free will, irresistible grace, monergism, penal satisfaction, perseverance, predestination, prevenient grace, regeneration, sanctification, secret decrees, sovereignty, synergism, total depravity | 5 Comments »
John D. Wagner has provided another valuable resource for all those interested in the Calvinist and Arminian debate. Arminius Speaks is a compilation of Arminius’ writings particularly focused on election and salvation. Unfortunately, Arminius is often maligned but rarely quoted or directly interacted with by his detractors. His views have been misrepresented and misunderstood by [...]
Filed under: Arminian books, Book Reviews, determinism, election, free will, irresistible grace, predestination, prevenient grace, secret decrees, sovereignty | Leave a Comment »
Introduction Romans 9 is one of the most controversial and often-misinterpreted passages of scripture among evangelicals. Controversy, however, should not make us timid when it comes to the things of God. This inspired chapter is valuable for teaching doctrine, and should not be ignored or glossed over. At the same time, it should not be [...]
Filed under: Divine Hardening, election, faith, Posts written by JC Thibodaux, Romans 9, sovereignty | 39 Comments »
I often wonder at how Calvinists seem to shelve their deterministic doctrines and essentially adopt the contrary doctrines (of Arminianism) while trying to argue against Arminianism. I see this all the time in modern print and on the internet, but it was no less a problem long ago. The following is a quote from a Calvinist against the [...]
Filed under: determinism, secret decrees, sovereignty | 40 Comments »
Be sure to check out this excellent post by Kevin Jackson [link] that deals with the earthquake in Haiti and disasters in general in a very level-headed and Biblical way. It is a breath of fresh air compared to the usual unguarded statements made by many popular Christian teachers in response to such events.
Filed under: sovereignty | 3 Comments »
