Introducing “The Doctrines of Grace: Student Edition” by Shane Lems

Shane Lems, The Doctrines of Grace: Student Edition (P&R 2013) I still remember that day as a teen when a fellow classmate at my (Reformed) Christian High School said, "Predestination?  That's absurd!  That would make us robots!"  Though I was catechized at my church, I was wholly unprepared for the objections my classmate had to …

Grammar and the Bondage of the Will

  Here's an instance where a small and sometimes difficult point of grammar can show the source of some doctrinal truths we (Reformed Christians) confess.  In this case, it is the bondage of the will prior to conversion/regeneration as shown from Titus 3.3 (see Canons of Dort III/IV.3). In this verse, Paul uses an imperfect "being" …

The Canons of Dort, the Law, and Luther

  "Neither can the decalogue...save men.  For though it reveals the greatness of sin, and more and more convinces man thereof...it neither points out a remedy nor imparts strength to extricate (free) him from this misery, but...leaves the transgressor under the curse; man cannot by this law obtain saving grace."  Canons of Dort,  III/IV.5 Question: …