Free Republic

IntroductionThe purpose of this book is not to decide the religious issue of the present day, but merely to present the issue as sharply and clearly as possible, in order that the reader may be aided in deciding it for himself. Presenting an issue sharply is indeed by no means a popular business at the present time; there are many who prefer to fight their intellectual battles in what Dr. Francis L. Patton has aptly called a "condition of low visibility."[1] Clear-cut definition of terms in religious matters, bold facing of the logical implications of religious views, is by many...

Rev. 4:11 “Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.” The 16th Century was famous for at least two monumental events: The Protestant Reformation and the Copernican Revolution. No doubt, you have heard of the Reformation when men such as Martin Luther, were raised up by God to bring the one true biblical Gospel back to the Church. That's what this blog is all about. With the Reformers of old and with Scripture alone as our sure foundation, we affirm that justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone —...

Knowing Ourselves The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? – Jeremiah 17:9 IntroductionWhen Plato expressed the ultimate purpose and great imperative of philosophy with this command, “know yourself,” he had struck upon a valuable insight. If we would know our purpose in life, how we should relate to the world and to others around us, what our goals and dreams and desires should consist of, how we should spend our time, then we must know who we are. We must know how we were made and for what purpose, and we must know...

*Reformed Christians are defined as those holding membership in The Great Reformed Ping List (GRPL) Or Those who are members in on of the following Churches: APC, ARP, BPC, CARC, CARPC, CREC, EPC, FRCNA, HRC, OPC, PCA, RPCNA, URCNA, ARBCA, Founders SBC, RCUS Or Subscribe to one of the following The Augsburg Confession, The Three Forms of Unity, The London Baptist Confession of 1689, The Westminster Confession of Faith ___________________________________________________________________________ Chapter I: Religion 1. The Nature of Religion. The Bible informs us that man was created in the image of God. When he fell in sin, he did not entirely...

A Letter to The Learning Channel To Whom It May Concern, I write today to offer your television network the rights to what I am convinced will soon be the most popular reality show on television. Reality television has offered the discerning viewer much entertainment and so many opportunities to learn. We have learned how to dress, how to cook, how to build motorcycles and hotrods and even how to build beautiful rooms using plywood, staple guns and glue guns. We've seen what it takes to make it as an executive for the world's leading corporations. We've seen the inner-workings...

I’m not a big fan of such things as books addressed to “dummies”, nor theology that has to be proven relevant before being heard, nor am I a fan of education for the sake of merely getting a job, nor of little cutesy figurines with scripture slapped on them, nor of plastic lit up baby Jesus in someone’s front yard, nor of reality TV, and neither am I a fan of acrostics in order to communicate biblical truths. With that said, I must say that sometimes one perhaps will look inside a book addressed to dummies for some quick info,...

One of the main objections of Arminians, Semi-pelagians and other synergists to divine election is based on moral rather than exegetical grounds. While debating these issues online over the years, I have heard many of them contend that the Augustinian view of God is morally repugnant since God could and would never force humans to do something against their will. And since God is holy, they reason, He could not ordain all things that come to pass, because this would make God the author of evil. Well, instead of this being an essay defending God's sovereignty and meticulous providence over...

Dear Friends: Perhaps you have run into an earnest Christian, that when opposing the biblical teaching of the "bondage of the will", "salvation by grace alone" and "election" will use the common salvation analogy which likens the unsaved to a helpless drowning man. That a loving God gives us free choice while drowning whether we will reach out and take His hand to be saved or not. That only an 'evil' God, they say, would leave or not attempt to save people who are drowning in a lake. "How could a loving God be so cruel just to leave them...

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...

he worst of times: Evangelicalism in critical condition With the wild popularity of so many evangelical fads like "Forty Days of Purpose"; the lucrative success of the Christian publishing and contemporary Christian music industries; the growing influence of the "emerging church" phenomenon; and a recent cover story by Time magazine featuring "The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America," lots of evangelicals might be tempted to think these are the best of times for their movement. My own assessment would be that evangelicalism's spiritual condition at the beginning of the twenty-first century is reminiscent of the medieval church just prior to...

Leon Lamb Morris was perhaps Australia’s most prolific biblical and theological author. He wrote over fifty books of theology and biblical commentary which have sold nearly two million copies worldwide and been translated into many languages. This is an astonishing output for an Australian writing technical or academic books. He was well-known throughout the Christian world as a careful, conservative biblical scholar. Extraordinarily, Morris received no formal theological education, apart from two years of supervision for his doctorate in Cambridge. He was self-taught theologian who brought his rigorous and disciplined training in scientific enquiry to his study of the Bible...

Just how dead is dead? Exactly what can a dead person do? And you were dead in your trespasses and sins... - Ephesians 2:1. The Greek word here for "dead" is the word nekros which means "dead like a corpse." As far as his relationship to God is concerned, man is a lifeless corpse, unable to respond or even make a single move toward God, unless God first brings this spiritually dead corpse to life. He is dead in trespasses and sins. It is a very strange kind of death because while dead, he is nevertheless up and about...

O God the Holy Spirit, Thou who dost proceed from the Father and the Son, have mercy on me. When thou didst first hover over chaos, order came to birth, beauty robed the world, fruitfulness sprang forth. Move, I pray thee, upon my disordered heart; Take away the infirmities of unruly desires and hateful lusts; Lift the mists and darkness of unbelief; Brighten my soul with the pure light of truth; Make it fragrant as the garden of paradise, rich with every goodly fruit, beautiful with heavenly grace, radiant with rays of divine light. Fulfil in me the glory of...

On more than one occasion I have concluded that I am inhabiting a Salvador Dali painting: clocks dripping off of trees in surreal landscapes, and all that. Perhaps no occasion more deeply pressed this haunting suspicion than on a trip through America’s heartland this past summer. I was making my way to New Haven, Connecticut, from California in my heavy-laden Pathfinder. Having driven across the country numerous times, I have tried to punctuate the tedious trek with stops at various points of local interest. But this time, on my fourth day of the journey, I stumbled on a dizzying discovery....

Alan Maben is a graduate of California State University, Long Beach and Simon Greenleaf School of Law   ARE YOU SURE YOU LIKE SPURGEON?"The doctrine of justification itself, as preached by an Arminian, is nothing but the doctrine of salvation by works..." -- C.H. SpurgeonPraised by many evangelicals as a great preacher, Charles H. Spurgeon is considered a successful and "safe" example of a "non-theological" ministry. His works are recommended as a means to lead many aspiring pastors into developing their own successful ministries. His Lectures to My Students are often used for this purpose, emphasizing the "practical" aspects of...

THIS THREAD IS INTENDED TO SERVE AS A CELEBRATION THREAD RCOGNIZING THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE GREAT REFORMED PING LIST.   We respectfully request that our beloved Christian friends who do not hold to the Doctrines of Grace (aka Calvinism) please respect the intent of this thread, which to serve as a place where Members and Friends of the GRPL can celebrate the 1st anniversary of the GRPL in peace. Please do not posts any flames on this thread.    It has been a year since Calvinists were called to  “Arise…. and plead your cause. The doctrines of grace are mightily assailed by those...

Arminians must be nervous wrecks. I was thinking about this while raking leaves on my front lawn. If I believed, as Arminians do, that sinners can choose to accept or resist the gospel, I’d be a nervous wreck. If I thought for a moment that the grace of God could be resisted and that even Christians - by sinning - can fall from the state of grace, I’d go nutzo. And I’d be a mess, believing that I could be doing lots more to persuade those sinners and redeem those fallen believers. If it’s true, as Arminians argue, that salvation...