Our Wills: Created and Corrupted (Owen)

 In Reformed theology, following Augustine and ultimately Paul/Scripture, we deny the Arminian position that all people have free will which gives them the power and innate ability to believe in Christ as they wish.  John Owen brilliantly countered this Arminian position of free will in his book, A Display of Arminianism. Below is a section of chapter …

Justification Can Never Be Lost (Watson)

This is very good, very biblical, and very comforting: Justification is 'inamissibilis;' it is a fixed permanent thing, it can never be lost.  The Arminians hold an apostasy from justification; today justified, tomorrow unjustified; today a Peter, tomorrow a Judas; today a member of Christ, tomorrow a limb of Satan.  This [Arminian doctrine] is a …

John Wesley’s Hatred of Predestination

I was recently reading Lee Gatiss' collection of essays on Reformed theology and history when I ran across his article called, "Strangely Warmed: John Wesley's Arminian Campaigns."  I have to admit I have not read much of Wesley's writing (though what I have read has been less than impressive).  Since Gatiss mentioned Wesley's oft-preached sermon …

“A Strange Anomaly in Contemporary Evangelicalism” (Boice)

James Montgomery Boice made some good points on the perseverance of the saints in these following paragraphs: This doctrine has a logical connection to the other Calvinistic distinctives, of course.  Because we are radically depraved and because salvation depends on God's sovereign acts in our salvation, we have a security that is based on his …

The Necessity of Effectual Calling (Or: We Need a Miracle!)

This is a very helpful discussion of effectual calling/regeneration: If you believe that the natural state of human beings today is that of moral and spiritual neutrality, so that they can do good or bad as they please (the Pelagian view), you will not even feel the need for an effectual call or for regeneration. …