A Work In Progress: Colin Maxwell Dictionary On Free Grace Theology Terms

Here's a start on the FG dictionary:
God’s Free Will: Never thought of that!

Old Time Non Calvinist: Some one whose theology was formulated before 1980

FGer who sees the light and goes over to Calvinism: Breath taking apostate of the highest order, but still saved anyway. Probably only get a run down, rat infested shack in Gloryland. I jest:0)

Moving in Free Grace circles:Going round and round and round

Ultimate assurance: Being asked the join the UoG team and getting your name on the "Who" list on the top left hand corner (The "Who's Who" of Bible truth)

Quoting John Calvin favourably even if you are not a Calvinist: Living dangerously on the very precipice of temptation. :o)

Triablogue: A Dictionary of Arminian Terms

Triablogue: A Dictionary of Arminian Terms

Lou Martuneac on the GES' Contribution to the Lordship Debate

The following I have cut and paste from the comments thread at Jonathan Moorhead's blog-post "Am I A Heretic?". Lou Martuneac was the author of this gem. It made me smile.

"PS: Reminder to any readers here. When any GES faction person addresses LS, be mindful that he/she is speaking from an extremist position that is NOT accepted by balanced Bible-believing people in the FG community. The GES’s Crossless gospel presuppositions, IMO negate those who hold to it from any meaningful contribution to a discussion of Lordship Salvation."

http://jmoorhead.blogspot.com/2008/05/am-i-heretic.html

David's Senior Ball

GES Heresy

The Unashamed of Grace blog has me in their blogroll as an "enemy of free grace theology". Well I guess I am more so an enemy of the GES version of the Gospel. And, as such, I wish to share a link here to Jonathan Moorhead's blog where the GES is under the microscope. I am troubled that friends and many other Christians are getting caught up in this heresy.

Here is the link... http://jmoorhead.blogspot.com/2008/05/is-this-heresy.html

Mark

Let us consider 1 John 2:2

1 John 2:2 - 2And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Let's focus on the word "propitiation". Strong's number 2434 - hilasmos; atonement, i.e. (concr.) an expiator: -propitiation

Question: If Jesus is the One Who offers Himself to appease the Father for OUR sin, if He is the One Who satisfies an infinitely holy God's justice in dealing with OUR sin; if He is the One Who pays the penalty for OUR sin - OUR sin ... Then it says that He has done so for the whole world as well...
How is it possible that He has done so for us (actual)
And also for the world (potential)?

I do not see how the definition for propitiation can be both actual and potential, especially in view of verse 1, view both together - 1My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
2And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.


Calvinists and nonCals, what say you?

A Look At John 12:32

The following was taken from here...
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom35.ii.v.html

It is John Calvin's commentary on John 12:32.

Here it is -

32. If I be lifted up. Next follows the method by which the judgment shall be conducted; namely, Christ, being lifted up on the cross, shall gather all men to himself, in order that he may raise them from earth to heaven. The Evangelist says, that Christ pointed out the manner of his death; and, therefore, the meaning undoubtedly is, that the cross will be, as it were, a chariot, by which he shall raise all men, along with himself, to his Father. It might have been thought, that at that time he was carried away from the earth, so as no longer to have any interests in common with men; but he declares, that he will go in a very different manner, so as to draw upwards to himself those who were fixed on the earth. Now, though he alludes to the form of his death, yet he means generally, that his death will not be a division to separate him from men, but that it will be an additional means of drawing earth upwards towards heaven.

I will draw all men to myself. The word all, which he employs, must be understood to refer to the children of God, who belong to his flock. Yet I agree with Chrysostom, who says that Christ used the universal term, all, because the Church was to be gathered equally from among Gentiles and Jews, according to that saying,
There shall be one shepherd, and one sheepfold, (John 10:16.)
The old Latin translation has, I will draw all things to me; and Augustine maintains that we ought to read it in that manner; but the agreement of all the Greek manuscripts ought to have greater weight with us.

New Covenant Theology on Imputed Righteousness

The entire article can be found here http://www.ids.org/pdf/classic/imputation.pdf
A Theological Disclaimer

Listen up and listen good! We are NOT rejecting the imputation of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross (his passive obedience) to the believer. I hope you caught the emphasis there. But for the sake of clarity, we will say it again but we will say it positively this time—we affirm the imputation of the sin-bearing work of Jesus Christ on the cross to the believer. The believer acquires the results of the sin-bearing work of Christ by faith alone in Christ alone. This faith is the result of God’s irresistible grace alone. We are only rejecting the imputation of the active obedience of Christ, and we reject it because we cannot find it in Scripture. We wholeheartedly embrace the imputation of the sin-bearing work of Christ as absolutely essential and foundational for our acceptance with the Father—essential to being declared righteous in his sight. The imputation of Christ’s cross work is the sine qua non of the Christian faith.

The History of New Covenant Theology

Please have a look at this link and let me know what you think.
http://www.pressiechurch.org/Theol_1/history_of_new_covenant_theology.htm

Happy reading!
Mark

What Is New Covenant Theology?

This article is very brief. There will be more in the coming days.

http://ids.org/ids/?page_id=456

I loosely embrace New Covenant Theology (NCT). Join me in my journey as I work through the implications of this system.

Please feel free to let me know what you think.

Mark

The Analogy of Faith: Does Scripture Interpret Scripture

http://www.equip.org/site/c.muI1LaMNJrE/b.2548859/k.672D/The_Analogy_of_Faith_Does_Scripture_Interpret_Scripture.htm

Please feel free to leave a comment

Presuppositional Apologetics, Anyone?

It is a long read. Enjoy
http://www.the-highway.com/defense_VanTil.html

Feel free to leave a comment.

Mark

A Comparison Of Three Systems

For those who are interested in comparing Dispensationalism, Covenant Theology and New Covenant Theology, please check out this post. Feel free to let me know what you think after checking out this link.
http://www.pressiechurch.org/Theol_1/a_comparison_of_three_systems.htm

Mark

Sadness

Well, my son has finally pushed enough buttons so that even my wife has asked him to think about moving out of the house. This is a dark day. For years I've tried to get through, but to no avail. I've been reading age-level gospel literature to him and praying with him since he was an infant. Nothing.

My brother, who died on May 11, 1999, went a similar course. He was 18 in 1977 when he moved out of my parent's house. He always gave my father grief, disobeying and dishonoring him, and showing no regard for his authority. He went on to live as a free spirit, and became very much an alcoholic. He went about telling people that my father had abused him. Not true. My mom and dad prayed and prayed for his salvation. He left no evidence that he ever came to Christ before he died.

Will this happen again in my life?

Richard Sibbes on the Holy Spirit

The whole article can be found here...http://www.puritansermons.com/banner/beeke01.htm

The Indwelling Spirit

The Spirit's indwelling is requisite to entertaining Him, Sibbes said. Sibbes taught that when the Spirit of God enters the heart of a sinner, regenerating him and persuading him of the truth of the gospel, the Spirit immediately begins to live within that person. The Spirit does not draw attention to Himself, however. Rather, the Spirit works to knit our hearts to God and to Jesus Christ. Sibbes wrote: "He, the Spirit, sanctifieth and purifieth, and doth all from the Father and the Son, and knits us to the Father and the Son — to the Son first, and then to the Father, because all the communion we have with God is by the Holy Ghost; all the communion that Christ as man had with God was by the Holy Ghost; and all the communion that God hath with us, and we with God is by the Holy Ghost. For the Spirit is the bond of union between Christ and us, and between God and us."

While the Father and Son perform no work without the Spirit, the Spirit also does no work apart from the Father and the Son. Sibbes explained, 'As the Spirit comes from God — the Father and the Son — so he carries us back again to the Father and the Son. As he comes from heaven, so he carries us back to heaven again. The role of the Spirit is to introduce and intimately acquaint us with the Father and the Son."

Thus, if we are believers, the Spirit establishes communion between us and the other two Persons of the Trinity. It is as if He captures us and lifts us up. to know the Father and the Son's love for us. The Holy Spirit lifts us to see by faith the crucified and resurrected Jesus seated in glory. That is why the Spirit comes, and that is how He functions in our lives. Therefore we may say that while, in one sense, fellowship between ourselves and God is reestablished once and for all, yet in another sense the Spirit maintains and increases that fellowship during our entire lives.

The Personality of the Holy Spirit

The following is an excerpt from the works of R. A. Torrey, and can be found in its entirety here...http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Believer's%20Corner/Doctrines/holyspirit-torrey.htm

The Holy Spirit came into this world to be to the disciples of our Lord after His departure, and to us, what Jesus Christ had been to them during the days of His personal companionship with them (John 14:16, 17). Is He that to you? Do you know Him? Every week in your life you hear the apostolic benediction, "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." (2 Corinthians 13:14), and while you hear it, do you take in the significance of it? Do you know the communion of the Holy Ghost? The fellowship of the Holy Ghost? The partnership of the Holy Ghost? The comradeship of the Holy Ghost? The intimate personal friendship of the Holy Ghost? Herein lies the whole secret of a real Christian life, a life of liberty and joy and power and fullness. To have as one's ever-present Friend, and to be conscious that one has as his ever-present Friend, the Holy Spirit, and to surrender one's life in all its departments entirely to His control, this is true Christian living. The doctrine of the Personality of the Holy Spirit is as distinctive of the religion that Jesus taught as the doctrines of the Deity and the atonement of Jesus Christ Himself. But it is not enough to believe the doctrine--one must know the Holy Spirit Himself. The whole purpose of this chapter (God help me to say it reverently) is to introduce you to my Friend, the Holy Spirit.

The Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit

An excerpt from Spurgeon sermon The Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit, sermon 201
http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0201.htm

And I must say, before I leave this point, that all the former part of what I have mentioned is done instantaneously. When a man is converted to God, it is done in a moment. Regeneration is an instantaneous work. Conversion to God, the fruit of regeneration, occupies all our life, but regeneration itself is effected in an instant. A man hates God; the Holy Spirit makes him love God. A man is opposed to Christ, he hates his gospel, does not understand it and will not receive it: the Holy Spirit comes, puts light into his darkened understanding, takes the chain from his bondaged will, gives liberty to his conscience, gives life to his dead soul, so that the voice of conscience is heard, and the man becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus. And all this is done, mark you, by the instantaneous supernatural influence of God the Holy Ghost working as he willeth among the sons of men.

The Ineffable Splendor of The Holy Spirit

Posted by Bobby Grow under T. F. Torrance, The Holy Spirit, Theology
http://theologyofbobby.wordpress.com/2008/04/06/the-unbecoming-becoming-of-the-holy-spirit/


The Holy Spirit is such a minimized character within the triadic unfolding of God, partly because this is His mission—to bear witness and magnify Jesus—and partly because if He has received any attention, often times it is in an abused way (i.e. pentecostalism). The Holy Spirit, historically, has been thought of as the linch-pen who subjectifies, for us, the objective work of Christ. He is the One who, eternally functions as the communal personage that completes the interpenetrating (i.e. perichoretic) stasis of Father and Son. He subjectively brings us into this communion, by uniting us with Christ through His humanity, and into His divinity. This is why Paul can say:
. . . But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. ~ I Corinthians 6:17

So much beyond the minimalist and abusive notions that accompany thinking about the Holy Spirit today, there is a richness about Him, that can only be fully appreciated within the context of Jesus’ incarnation, which He bears witness to, and the subsequent fullness of Joy He brings us into as our union with Christ becomes the occasion for knowing the Father. Once again Torrance has this insightful plus for our consideration:

Like Christ the Holy Spirit is one in being and of the same being as the Father, but unlike Christ the Holy Spirit is not one in being and of the same being as we are, for he incarnated the Son but does not incarnate himself, he utters the Word but does not utter himself. He directs us through himself to the one Word and Face of God in Jesus Christ in accordance with whom all our knowledge of God is formed in our minds, knowledge of the Spirit as well as of the Father and of the Son. This is the diaphanous self-effacing nature of the Holy Spirit who hides himself, as it were, behind the Father in the Son and behind the Son in the Father, but also the enlightening transparence of the Spirit who by throwing his eternal Light upon the Father through the Son and upon the Son in the Father, brings the radiance of God’s Glory to bear upon us. We do not know the Holy Spirit directly in his own personal Reality or Glory. We know him only in his unique spiritual mode of activity and transparent presence in virtue of which God’s self-revelation shines through to us in Christ, and we are made through the Spirit to see the Father in the Son and the Son in the Father. While the Holy Spirit thereby guards the transcendence of God who infinitely exceeds what finite minds can grasp, nevertheless through his personal presence to us he brings the ineffable Being and Reality of God out of his unapproachable Light to bear upon us, and brings us out of our distance and darkness to have communion with himself and through himself with the Father and the Son. Because through him the Word of God continues to sound forth and is heard and believed, because in his light we see light and by his creative operation we come to know the unknowable and eternal God, we know the Holy Spirit, although personally distinct from the Father and the Son, to be no less Lord God than the Father and the Son, both as he is toward us and as he is antecedently in the undivided oneness of God’s eternal being. (Thomas F. Torrance, “The Christian Doctrine of God: One Being Three Persons,” 66-7)

One event - two motives

by Colin Maxwell http://ulsterfpcs.blogspot.com/

I am just reading over my message before I preach tonight on God's requirement that the altar be made without hewn stones (Exodus 20:24-26) One point that I make is on the difficulty which people have in trying to reconcile the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. I take the Cross as an example. Both God and men ordered the Cross to happen. Yet:

God ordered the Cross because He loved men.
Men ordered the Cross because they hated God.

This is the same event - yet from two different approaches:
One brings God eternal praises
The other buries unrepentant man in eternal shame.

No Pearls Before Swine: Is Evangelicalism Still Christian? - Pt. 2: External vs. Internal Gospel#links#links#links

No Pearls Before Swine: Is Evangelicalism Still Christian? - Pt. 2: External vs. Internal Gospel#links#links#links