“God is not double-minded. He can decree one thing and desire another, because He has layers of purposes.” 0 — John Piper Many Christians wrestle with a tension in Scripture. On one hand, it says that God "desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim 2:4) … Continue reading Does God Want All to be Saved? Calvinism and the Two Wills of God
If anything affecting someone's salvation can be finally controlled by the action, inaction, or governing parameters of God, then God is ultimately sovereign over salvation, and Calvinism is essentially true. In other words, if we prod into the reasons for someone’s salvation, and the conversation ends up with a statement beginning with “because God…”, Calvinism … Continue reading Calvinism is True “Because God…”
Judging from the numerous posts I see online where non-Calvinists (often Arminians) attack Calvinists for depicting a God who causes sin and treats the reprobate unfairly, I think it’s time to make a post to bring some clarity and cultivate unity. Below are eight Calvinistic propositions which significantly intersect with Arminian theology, yet are either … Continue reading Clarifying Calvinist Concepts for Arminians
So many debates between evangelical theological camps revolve around Theodicy, or the theological attempts to vindicate our omnipotent, omnibenevolent God from the problem of evil. Within this debate, the emphasis is often on the relationship of God’s predetermination and foreknowledge to evil. I am going to challenge that emphasis! Are Determinism and Foreknowledge Really the … Continue reading Glass Houses Throwing Stones: The Counterproductive Theodicy Debate Between Theology Camps
God’s Foreknowledge The Christian doctrine of foreknowledge asserts that God possesses exhaustive knowledge of all future events, including human choices and actions. This means that God knows beforehand what will happen in the world and in individual lives. The concept of foreknowledge is often connected to God's omniscience, His attribute of knowing all things. Berkhoff … Continue reading The Angel of the Lord: A New Answer for the Open Theism Debate
For the past two thousand years, theologians of every pedigree have debated about the role of man and the role of God in the salvation process. Is man a free agent who receives saving grace conditionally, or is God the free agent who grants saving grace to those He chooses unconditionally? Did Jesus die for … Continue reading An Arminian Friendly Calvinism: Navigating Tulip with Richard Baxter
The Middle Ground 