While tending to my workday duties this past week I found my mind wandering down a familiar path. I had been thinking about significant people that have contributed, in one way or another, to my well being as a person. As I continued to ruminate several people came to mind that I need to reach out to. There is some important and unfinished business that needs to be recognized and tended to, and that will only happen if I initiate it.
The theological discourse surrounding the doctrines of legalism, antinomianism, and the Gospel is of utmost importance. This short essay aims to clarify the distinctions between these three concepts by examining the underlying attitudes of individuals belonging to each category during the process of salvation, using prayers as a means to convey their respective dispositions. Here are three illustrations using prayer to contrast two false understandings of the gospel with a true one:
1) Lord, I have forsaken my sin, committed my life to you, now accept me. (legalism)
This simplified version of the original writing is a contemporary adaptation that makes the theological concepts and principles of Calvin's thought more accessible and engaging for high school students.
by John Calvin
Understanding our own limits
In the sacred sphere of Christian community, the pursuit of holiness is of paramount importance, as it reflects the image and character of the divine. The visible Church, as a collective body of believers, is entrusted with the solemn responsibility of nurturing and maintaining the spiritual well-being of its members. This duty entails the practice of church discipline, a vital aspect of ecclesiastical life rooted in the Reformed theological tradition.
HELLO,
I have a new question and I have not found an answer so I ask you for help.
The question is from an Arminian perspective and I have difficulty defending my Calvinistic interpretation of salvation in LUKE 8:12:
If un-regenerated men are utterly, totally, and completely unable to respond to the gospel presented in any fashion until first being born-again, then why would Satan steal the word from their heart to prevent them from believing and being saved (like Jesus said) if they are totally unable to do so?
In the Bible, the sovereignty of God stands as a central theme, a foundation upon which the understanding of His character, His works, and His relationship with creation is built. The Scriptures unequivocally declare that God is sovereign (Exo 15:18; 1Chr 29:11-12; 2Chr 20:6; Psa 22:28). His rule and reign extend over all things, from the vast expanse of the cosmos to the minutiae of daily life. This exposition will elucidate the depth of God's sovereignty, specifically as it pertains to His active ordination of everything.
The Nature of Ingratitude
The sin of ingratitude arises from a heart that is unresponsive to the abundant mercies of God. As the Scriptures declare, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights" (James 1:17). A heart that is steeped in ingratitude denies the divine origin of these gifts and, in so doing, spurns the Giver Himself.
And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them.And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.
Our good works are the inevitable fruit of our union with Christ, not the root. We do good works not in order to be saved (or find acceptance with God) but because we are saved. But it is also true that faith without works is a dead faith. In his epistle, James asserts that a faith devoid of works is lifeless, akin to a body without a spirit (James 2:26). This stark metaphor captures the reality that genuine faith, when united to Christ, must inevitably produce good works as a natural consequence of that union.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ warns against hypocrisy in judgment (Matthew 7:1-6). His exhortation to first remove the plank from one's own eye before addressing the speck in a brother's eye serves as a profound reminder to approach judgment with humility and self-awareness and the recognition of one's own sins and weaknesses when addressing the shortcomings of others.
