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Introduction Recent scholarship on Arminius has pointed out that he was a theologian of grace. Of course, I am yet to read of a Christian theologian who would not wish to be described that way. Some scholars have also tried to narrow the gap between Arminius and the Reformed tradition, with some suggesting that Arminius was correct to view himself as Reformed.  Historically speaking, according to the judgment of many Reformed divines, Arminius, and his Remonstrant successors, deviated from the Reformed doctrine of justification by faith alone in a significant way. Arminius thought his difference was only minor. In fact,...

”For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8, 9) A key idea in the contemporary evangelical movement is that revival can be engineered. The Purpose Driven Web site says, “Peter Drucker called him [Warren] ‘the inventor of perpetual revival’ and Forbes magazine has written, ‘If Warren’s church was a business it would be compared with Dell, Google or Starbucks.’”1 The Purpose Driven movement can cite this business management guru approvingly only because they have a...

Death is the wages of sin (Rom 6:23) and Jesus Christ had none (Heb 4:15; 1 Pet 2:22; 1 John 3:5; 2 Cor 5:21). Death, therefore, had no rightful claim on Him thus Jesus died an unnatural death. This means that Jesus, the true remnant of Israel, alone fulfilled the covenant from our side, pleasing God. And all who are united to Him share in His distinction that death has no rightful claim on them (6:23b). So Jesus alone is our focus, our religion, our righteousness. Yet we still, as Christians often get caught up in our own spirituality. That...

Also available in (Kindle .mobi ) & (ePub Version) formats To download eBook, click the link and select "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As..."------------------------------------------------------------------------ While this is by no means an exhaustive list, the following are Christians in the course of the history of the Church who believed and taught monergistic regeneration: (we will add to this list as more resources are found) Scripture, Augustine, Council of Orange, Martin Luther (who considered this doctrine the heart of the Reformation), John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, Blaise Pascal, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, John Owen, John Flavel, Thomas Manton, William Gurnall, Thomas Watson,...

The Unambiguous Teaching of our Lord that Regeneration Precedes Faith According to Scripture, all people are born dead in sin (Eph 2:1). This simply means that, as a result of the Fall, people are born without the Holy Spirit and therefore, (left to themselves) are hostile to Christ and unable to understand to spiritual things (1 Cor 1:21). It does not mean they can do (or think) nothing in their state of common grace, but it means they can do nothing spiritual or redemptive ... that they will always think God's word is foolish (1 Cor 2:14) until the...

Jesus Christ: The Interpretive Key to the Scripture With Five Examples of Doctrinal Errors that Arise When this Key is not Used."You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life." (John 5:39, 40) "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" - (1 Tim 2:5)"The Scriptures should be read with the aim of finding Christ in them. Whoever turns aside from this object, even...

WHO OPENED LYDIA'S HEART? The hearts of all mankind are closed to the gospel, to the preaching of the word, the beseechings and invitations of the Lord. by Geoff Thomas Lydia's home town was four hundred miles away in Thyatira a city famous for its dyes (there is an early inscription to a guild of dyers there). Lydia was a business woman and an entrepreneur. She traded in purple cloth, up-market material because purple dye was expensive (she may have been the agent for a Thyatiran manufacturer). We are also told that she was also a worshipper of God, that...

*aka Monergistic Regeneration Albert Martin is the Senior Pastor of Trinity Baptist Church, Essex Fells, New Jersey. This material is the substance of an address which was transcribed with minor revisions from the tape. The Experience of God B. B. Warfield describes Calvinism as ‘that sight of the majesty of God that pervades all of life and all of experience’. In particular as it relates to the doctrine of salvation its glad confession is summarized in those three pregnant words, God saves sinners. Now whenever we are confronted with great doctrinal statements in Holy Scripture, God does not leave us...

A Defense of Monergistic RegenerationBy Gannon Murphy I. INTRODUCTION Is the saving grace of God irresistible or resistible? Moreover, is the regenerating power of God installed in the believer's life before or after the decision is made to receive Christ as Savior? The former position, sometimes called the monergistic view of regeneration or irresistible grace, is the classical position of Calvinists. According to this view, "the grace of God is the only efficient cause in beginning and effecting conversion." Thus, proponents of monergism consider the decision itself to receive Christ as the natural and inevitable fruit of the Holy Spirit's...

"Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be." Rom. 8:7 Our theology really reflects how we think about God. When we have poor theology it reveals that we are thinking wrong thoughts about God. Wrong thoughts about God dishonor Him. Good theology, then, means that we are thinking more closely in line with His revelation about Himself, and therefore honor Him with our thoughts. A.W. Tozer once remarked: "The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him." I would...

The Illogical Arminian By now, you have probably read several of my essays (although you could be one of the lucky ones who stumble upon this essay first) :-) Most readers are well aware of my Calvinistic thinking--in other words, my correct thinking. ;-) But it is not enough to simply show the Biblical and logical proof that Calvinism is correct. No, our culture is too caught up in the "me-me-me" mainstream that simply showing Calvinism is correct is not enough; I must also show how Arminianism doesn't make any sense. It is not by accident that the first time...