Tag Archives: faith

The Apostasy Vortex

Posted on by
1

From a scientific point of view a vortex is a circular, spiral motion in water or air that pulls things toward its center. The term is often used for topics that draw or pull people in and results in a challenging situation.

By Robert D Anderson (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) via Wikimedia Commons

By Robert D Anderson (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons

Recently I taught a lesson on the Hebrews warning passages and the inter-related topics of eternal security, faith, and apostasy, which created a vortex within the classroom.

In this post I hope to outline three major views of eternal security and how they relate to enduring faith and apostasy.

Before we do that, we will need to make an assertion and then define three terms.

While Christians may differ on how one comes to faith, all would agree that salvation is conditioned on a person having faith (John 3:16, 36; 6:47).

whoever believes has eternal life. – John 6:47

The doctrine of Eternal Security holds that if a person has been genuinely saved, then that  person cannot forfeit salvation. They will receive eternal life. However, how eternal security relates to the related doctrines of apostasy, and enduring (or persevering) faith varies among proponents. Continue reading →

5 Things John says about Jesus in 1 John

Posted on by
1

In the prologue to the epistle we know as 1 John, the Apostle writesThe Apostle John

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, … which we have touched with our hands … we proclaim to you

Here are 5 things that John proclaims to us about Jesus in this letter:

Jesus is the Christ

  • contra the claims of the false teachers (2:22), John boldly proclaims that Jesus is the Christ (1:3; 2:1; 3:23; 4:2; 5:1, 6, 20). All who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son sent by the Father to be the Savior, have eternal life (3:23; 4:14; 5:1,12 cmp John 3:16; 11:27).
  • John does not go to great lengths to explain the term Christ – which means Messiah — in this epistle. But it is evident from his Gospel that Messiah refers to the Savior and King promised to Israel and written about in the Scriptures (John 1:41; 4:25; 7:27,31,42; 12:34).

Jesus is Righteous Continue reading →

Neutral Zone Infraction

Posted on by
5

The neutral zone is an area that is no larger than the width of a football. It is the zone that separates the offense and defense before the play starts. When a defensive player enters the neutral zone and causes an offensive player to commit a false start (move before the ball is snapped) they are flagged with a penalty known as a neutral zone infraction.

This is also a penalty that Calvinists are quick to charge Arminians with as well.

In “A Calvinist’s Understanding of Free Will”, C.Michael Patton writes (emphasis added) that

Arminians, […] believe in the doctrine of prevenient grace, which essentially neutralizes the will so that the inclination toward sin—the antagonism toward God—is relieved so that the person can make a true “free will” decision.

Later he writes that a “neutralized will amounts to perpetual indecision”. Patton asserts (emphasis added) the same thing in “Why I Reject the Arminian Doctrine of Prevenient Grace”:

Prevenient grace neutralizes the will, making the will completely unbiased toward good or evil. Therefore, this restored “free will” has a fifty-fifty shot of making the right choice. Right? This must be. The scales are completely balanced once God’s Prevenient grace has come upon a person.

Finally,  Randy Seiver (over at Truth Unchanging) echoes the idea of a neutralized will:

 If the will is free to choose other than it has chosen, would that not suggest that it is as inclined to choose what it does not want as it is to choose what it does want? Would that not suggest that, according to this view, the sinner is in a state of absolute neutrality?

Why do Calvinists throw the penalty flag? Continue reading →