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Progressive Dispensationalism Some Observations -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Its Leaders 1) Craig Blaising, a former Dallas Seminary Professor who is now teaching at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY (a Southern Baptist school which is non-dispensational); 2) Darrell Bock, professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Seminary; 3) Robert Saucy, who taught at Talbot School of Theology (Talbot Seminary). Due to the pioneering work of these men and others, many others have entered the progressive fold. 2. Its Books 1) Dispensationalism, Israel and the Church by Blaising and Bock (1992); 2) The Case for Progressive Dispensationalism by Saucy (1993); 3) Progressive Dispensationalism...

The Formation Of The Canon Of The New Testament by B. B. Warfield [ B. B. Warfield (1851-1921) was the last great theologian of the conservative Presbyterians at Princeton Theological Seminary. His activity as a theologian coincided with the period when higher-critical views of Scripture and evolutionary conceptions of religion were replacing evangelical convictions in most of America's major institutions of higher learning. Warfield distinguished himself as a scholarly defender of Augustinian Calvinism, supernatural Christianity, and the inspiration of the Bible. The following article was originally published in 1892 (the year of C. H. Spurgeon's death) by the American Sunday...

The Church Age C.I. Scofield -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I believe that the failure of the Church to see that she is a separated, a called-out Body in the purposes of God, charged with a definite mission limited in its purpose and scope, and the endeavor to take from Israel her promises of earthly glory, and appropriate them over into this Church dispensation, has done more to swerve the Church from the appointed course than all other influences put together. It is not so much wealth, luxury, power, pomp, and pride that have served to deflect the Church from her appointed course, as...

Rome's New and Novel Concept of Tradition Living Tradition (Viva Voce - Whatever We Say) A Repudiation of the Patristic Concept of Tradition by William Webster -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the history of Roman Catholic dogma, one can trace an evolution in the theory of tradition. There were two fundamental patristic principles which governed the early Church's approach to dogma. The first was sola Scriptura in which the fathers viewed Scripture as both materially and formally sufficient. It was materially sufficient in that it was the only source of doctrine and truth and the ultimate authority in all doctrinal controversies. It was...

A SERIOUS CALL TO A DEVOUT AND HOLY LIFE By WILLIAM LAW, A.M. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER I Concerning the nature and extent of Christian devotion. DEVOTION is neither private nor public prayer; but prayers, whether private or public, are particular parts or instances of devotion. Devotion signifies a life given, or devoted, to God. He, therefore, is the devout man, who lives no longer to his own will, or the way and spirit of the world, but to the sole will of God, who considers God in everything, who serves God in everything, who makes all the parts of his common...

THE FIVE POINTS OF CALVINISM "Weighed And Found Wanting" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction MAJOR SECTION ONE: EXPLANATIONS Total Depravity Explained Unconditional Election Explained Limited Atonement Explained Irresistible Grace Explained Perseverance of the Saints Explained MAJOR SECTION TWO: COUNTER POINTS Calvinistic Total Depravity Refuted Unconditional Election Refuted Limited Atonement Refuted Irresistible Grace Refuted Calvinistic Perseverance of the Saints Refuted Conclusion The Lazy Man's Guide to Understanding Calvinism An Even Lazier Man's Guide to Understanding Calvinism INTRODUCTION For more than a decade I was the host of a Christian talk show called 'Scripturally Speaking.' On many different occasions the topic of...

The Trinity by Francis J. Beckwith OUTLINE: PART I: DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, GOD, AND THE DEITY OF THE FATHER PART II: THE DEITY OF THE SON PART III: THE DEITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT PART IV: THE THREE PERSONS ARE THE ONE GOD PART V: ONENESS OBJECTIONS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PART I: THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, GOD, AND THE DEITY OF THE FATHER I. The Christian doctrine of the Trinity is part of every major creed in the history of Christendom. It can be defined in the following way: In the nature of the one God there are three centers...

CALVISM DEFINED By Richard Watson CALVINISM, that scheme of doctrine on predestination and grace, which was taught by Calvin, the celebrated reformer, in the early part of the sixteenth century. His opinions are largely opened in the third book of his "Institutes:" "Predestination we call the eternal decree of God; by which he hath determined in himself what he would have to become of every individual of mankind. For they are not all created with similar destiny; but eternal life is foreordained for some, and eternal damnation for others. Every man, therefore, being created for one or other of these...

Concerning Free Will and Predestination by St. John of Damascus (8th cent.) From his Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book II, Chs. 25-30 Chapter 25. Concerning what is in our own power, that is, concerning Free-will. The first enquiry involved in the consideration of free-will, that is, of what is in our own power, is whether anything is in our power: for there are many who deny this. The second is, what are the things that are in our power, and over what things do we have authority? The third is, what is the reason for which God Who...

Calvinism and Arminianism Compared By Dr. A.M. Hills Edited By Jeff Paton -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When one observes Calvinism and Arminianism, we can see that on many subjects they are perpetually in conflict. Perhaps we may as well here as anywhere make a careful comparison between them. Theistic fatalism would be but another name for Calvinism. "Predestination" says Calvin, " we call the eternal decree of God, by which He has determined in Himself what He would have to become of every individual of mankind. For they are not all created with a similar destiny; but eternal life is ordained for some,...

The Biblical Teaching of Justification By William Webster -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One of the great truths of salvation is that of justification. But what is justification? The heart of the Reformation controversy was over the meaning of this word and despite the impression given by ECT, the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches are still very much at odds with one another on this issue. The Reformers claimed that the Roman Catholic Church had perverted the true biblical meaning of the term by insisting on the necessity of works and sacraments as the basis for justification. And the Roman Church charged that the...

The Validity of the Received Text by Debra E. Anderson Much is being said today in an attempt to denigrate the Textus Receptus, the Greek New Testament text upon which the English Authorised Version and other Reformation-era translations were based. Critics believe that there is no single text which can validly claim the title "Received Text", that the text originated in the works of a Roman Catholic priest, that it was produced using only a few manuscripts - these things would all exclude its use as a valid source of translation, and thus any translations based upon something called the...

The New Testament The Lord Jesus Christ ascribed inspired authority to the Old Testament Scriptures (Matthew 5:18; 15:3; Mark 12:36; John 10:35). He also promised that, after His return to heaven, He would send the Spirit of God to communicate further truth to His chosen servants and enable them to record it. This would provide the Christian Church with an infallible guide. "The Comforter", He said, "which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you" (John 14:26;...

Do You Interpret the Bible Literally? Give Yourself the Following Six Tests INTRODUCTION Dispensationalists seek to interpret the Bible literally, that is, to consistently understand the Scriptures in their plain, normal sense (much like we would read and understand the newspaper or other forms of literature). The Clarifying Statement on Dispensationalism, published by the New England Bible Conference, says it this way: The Bible must be interpreted literally which is the way language is normally and naturally understood. We recognize that the Bible writers frequently used figurative language which is a normal and picturesque way of portraying literal truth. The...

The Dangers of REFORMED THEOLOGY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Scripture tells us to "prove all things [test all things by the Word of God]; hold fast that which is good" (1 Thess. 5:21). As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ it is our responsibility to test and examine what men teach in light of the inerrant Word of God. We will attempt to do this with respect to the teachings of Reformed Theology. May the Lord grant that this critique would be fair and accurate, and most of all true to His Word. A brief paper such as this can hardly do...

The Influence of the King James Version on English Literature THE Bible is a book-making book. It is literature which provokes literature. It would be a pleasure to survey the whole field of literature in the broadest sense and to note the creative power of the King James version; but that is manifestly impossible here. Certain limitations must be frankly made. Leave on one side, therefore; the immense body of purely religious literature, sermons, expositions, commentaries, which, of course, are the direct product of the Bible. No book ever caused so much discussion about itself and its teaching. That is...

The Five Articles of the Remonstrants, 1610 The Articles of the Remonstrants given below, though published by his followers a year after his death, expresses the confession of Arminius and his followers. 1. That God, by an eternal and unchangeable purpose in Jesus Christ his Son, before the foundations of the world were laid, determined to save, out of the human race which had fallen into sin, in Christ, for Christ’s sake and through Christ, those who through the grace of the Holy Spirit shall believe on the same his son and shall through the same grace persevere in this...

Lesson Twelve: Deliberating the Arguments "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." (John 5:39) LESSON INDEX The foundations of mankind are philosophies, traditions (Col. 2:8 ), and science (1 Tim. 6:20). The reality, however, is that our very bedrock lies with the blessed Hope and His bountiful word (Heb. 11:1-3). What and how we think is not as important as what God says. How we view our world is not how God views it (Isa. 55:8). Therefore, if we are to know the truth of a matter...

The King James Version as English Literature LET it be plainly said at the very first that when we speak of the literary phases of the Bible we are not discussing the book in its historic meaning. It was never meant as literature in our usual sense of the word. Nothing could have been further from the thought of the men who wrote it, whoever they were and whenever they wrote, than that they were making a world literature. They had the characteristics of men who do make great literature—they had clear vision and a great passion for truth; they...

Lesson Eleven: Translational Considerations LESSON INDEX As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. (2 Peter 3:16) The majority of objections to the King James Bible can be placed in one of two categories. The first deals with the text. In regard to this, we have not only considered the underlining Greek text of the Authorized Version, but also the Greek text which underlines the vast majority of...