Canons Of Dort (16): Scripture Teaches Both Definite Atonement And The Free Offer Of The Gospel
The Reformed confession may be wrong but it cannot be called rationalist.
Arminius and the Remonstrants, though they protested that they were merely following Scripture (as someone, somewhere said, “all heretics quote Scripture”) were, in the judgment of the Reformed churches, guilty of subtly placing reason above Scripture. It is not that there is no place for reason in Reformed theology. None of the magisterial Protestants (least of all... Continue Reading
[Danger!] 5 Signs You’re Legalistic (and Probably Miserable)
It sucks the life out of you, drains your joy, and makes your relationship with God an absolute nightmare. And more than anything else, it’s displeasing to God.
While you may know the technical, dictionary definition, I’m beginning to learn that legalism (and being legalistic) is much slimier and more slippery. It shows up in odd places, unexpected and unwelcome. It slides into the nooks and crannies of my heart. It’s an expert con man, pretending to be my friend and convincing me to... Continue Reading
God Moves in a Mysterious Way
God Moves in a Mysterious Way
By the beginning of 1773, successive blows had left Cowper staggering. His brother died in 1770, followed by two of his cousins the following year. In 1772, neighbors’ whispers suggested that Cowper’s relationship with his landlady was something short of innocent. The grief and the slander soon gathered into clouds too dark for his sanity.... Continue Reading
The Rhythms of Grace
The end of a year provides a natural opportunity to look back and remember the ups and downs of the year and all the grace received.
To look back and remember requires faith. It requires believing that God sovereignly determined everything you experienced this year. Such exercise of faith is easier to say than to do. In fact, knowing that God was behind everything that happened this last year is the kind of answer that raises other questions. For we don’t... Continue Reading
Humiliation and Exaltation
Before sin came into the world, there was no shame, no embarrassment; no humiliation; then along with the first experience of sin came burden of personal shame and embarrassment.
In common language, the terms exaltation and humiliation stand as polar opposites. One of the most magnificent glories of God’s revealed truth and most poignant ironies is that in the cross of Christ these two polar opposites merge and are reconciled. In His humiliation, we find our exaltation. Our shame is replaced by His glory. It just hangs... Continue Reading
When the Category of Evil Disappears
A helpful discussion of evil, truth, and the “new tolerance.”
…we are told that 62 percent of evangelical Christians are homophobic. The evidence? People were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement, “I believe that homosexuality is immoral.” If they agreed, they were classified as homophobic. In other words, there was no moral engagement with the complexities surrounding human sexuality, but merely a... Continue Reading
Don’t Reap to the Edge of Your Field
Even though I’m not a farmer, the principles that seem to relate only to the farming society of Israel are applicable in the 21st century, one driven by technology and business.
“When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the very edge of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the resident alien; I am the Lord your God” (Lev. 19:9-10). I’m not a farmer. I’ve wondered... Continue Reading
Abraham’s Seed
The promise of a righteous seed is the thread running through every covenant promise.
Abraham’s seed was physical. God promised that Abraham would be a father of many nations (Gen. 17:5). Nations arose from his offspring with Hagar and Keturah, but the seed of promise was Isaac, the son of Sarah. From Isaac came Jacob and then the nation of Israel. The development of this physical seed was essential to... Continue Reading
How Can the Fallen Mind Accept Exodus 4:22?
"Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.”
I have read this verse countless times over the years. What struck me today is how utterly and totally foreign a text like this sounds to fallen ears. After all, this is God pronouncing a judgment on Pharaoh, on his house, and on his dynasty—one that would take the life of Pharaoh’s own child. What... Continue Reading
The Reason for Dort
After the Reformation, one of the greatest challenges to the Apostolic faith arose within the Dutch Reformed Church from a minister and professor named Jacobus Arminius and from his followers.
In 1608, Arminius was required to write out his views — his Declaration of Sentiments — for evaluation by the civil government, which supervised the university. This declaration showed his rejection of a Calvinist doctrine of election. Recent studies of his work have concluded that he was motivated not so much by a desire to assert... Continue Reading