Archive for category: Reformed Apologetics

If God knows every detail of the future with infallible certainty, then (by definition) the outcome of all things is already determined. And if things are predetermined but God did not ordain whatsoever comes to pass, then you have two choices: 1. A higher sovereignty belongs to some being (or beings) other than God. That is idolatry. 2. Some impersonal

The “Calvinist vs. Arminian” debate is substantially a debate between what is called “synergism” and “monergism.” There is no third option (unless one is willing to affirm Pelagianism). For those who are new to the Calvinist-Arminian debate, the following is a primer on the two perennial branches of theological systems in Christianity. Or to put it another way, there are

For seven years the only format you could purchase the 3-day radio discussion with George Bryson aired on The Bible Answer Man Broadcast was on CD, by contract. But, as of now, we can make the entire debate available in downloadable mp3 format! This is one of the most popular encounters on the important subject of God’s sovereignty in salvation,

Click Here for Information. Join us for a day of Biblical exposition and exhortation with Dr. James White and Ryan Habbena at Signet Ring’s 2010 Annual Conference. We will focus on the declaration and defense of the doctrines of grace as well as the immense implications of these Scriptural truths. This conference is free of charge and will be held

I was forced at gunpoint to join Mike Abendroth (one of the nefarious and widely feared Abendroth Brothers Gang) on his No Compromise Radio Program today. What was worse, he forced me to listen to Rick Warren’s presentation at the DG Conference. Very painful. 350 pithy platitudes strung together on citations of the Message and the Living Bible interspersed with

A reader asked: Please clarify for me, which came first, the decree of God to reprobate and damn this or that particular individual or that individual’s sin against God and then the decree to reprobate and damn him for his sin? The issue of the order of decrees is a topic that seems to be of the greatest interest to

I have said many times over the years that Calvary Chapel is right on when it comes to the inspiration, inerrancy, consistency, and power of the Bible as God’s Word. Fault them wherever else you may, but they encourage their people to read, and believe, the Bible, and that is vitally important. They are to be lauded and commended for

Some of you remember the “debate” with “Lou Rugg” of PalTalk fame: Lou is very big on self-promotion. Sometime last year he was talking about how his new book would “crush” me, etc. I have yet to see this book, but he promises us that, eventually, Calvinism will be vanished from the face of the earth through his personal brilliance

   The Berean Call put out their monthly newsletter a few days ago, and I could not help but noticing the following paragraph. If you are not intimately familiar with the argument of Romans 9, and especially its insistence that the choice of Jacob and the rejection of Esau was not in any way, shape, or form, based upon the actions

   Yesterday’s encounter with Dr. Michael Brown was very interesting. My goal had been to provide an opportunity for the listeners to compare and contrast the exegesis of the text offered by both sides of this important issue. While that was accomplished to some extent, what ended up happening was more of a contrast of differing methods of exegesis itself, which

   For those interested, we will be covering three texts of Scripture on Thursday: John 6, Romans 8/9, and Ephesians 1. Each will have 8 minutes to provide their exegesis of the text; then we will have four minutes of cross-ex each, then three minute conclusions before moving on to the next text. I know, not a lot of time, but

On my way to Leavenworth, Kansas for this weekend’s conference, but fired up the MacBook long enough to get my mail. Not only did another loving missive from Peter Lumpkins come through, but I was directed to what can only amount to his published response of my documentation of his false accusations. Personally, I think this speaks volumes about the

I’m not particularly keen on reinventing wheels. Part of the fortunate heritage of the Reformed worldview is that much better minds than mine have studied the Biblical text, then formulated its information into concise doctrinal statements. Of course the statements are only as good as the verses they’re based on. For instance, chapter three of the Westminster Confession of Faith

   I had a great time on the Janet Mefferd Show yesterday, discussing the nature of the Trinity. Even had a Jewish apologist caller, which proved interesting. You can listen to Janet’s show here.

An evidently anti-Reformed textual critic has posted a brief criticism of using 1 John 5:1 as a text relevant to the ordo salutis and in particular to the relationship of saving faith and regeneration (though both terms appear in the text). Anyone who knows the identity of this blogger please let me know, I’d be interested in knowing. I have

I am rendering a video right now on 1 John 5:1 in response to Brian Brodersen of Calvary Chapel. But it is taking a while, I have ministry this evening, packing, etc., so while I really hope to get it posted before I head home tomorrow, I can’t make any promises. Till then, some commentary on the text Pastor Brodersen

The kind folks at Rockdale Community Church have posted the audio of my Sunday morning message from 1 Corinthians 1, a favorite text of mine when speaking while traveling. Timeless passage reminding us that God is God, and we are liable to a great deal of creaturely arrogance.

I have been very busy since the end of the Michael Brown debate today, and in fact, have been working toward a possible major debate event that I really didn’t think was going to happen (can’t go into details yet), so I have not had a chance to do much else. I would like to thank Dr. Brown for a

   I once heard a lecture by Dr. Paul Lim on the extent of the atonement. He commented that years ago students approached their grade from the perspective of a zero with the aim of increasing the points to a letter grace of D, C, B, and hopefully an A. He said this is not the case anymore since many students

C. Michael Patton has a new post entitled, Calvinism and the Divine Decrees — Correcting a Misunderstanding. Unfortunately, Patton’s post actually promotes a misunderstanding and confuses a few categories.

I will be joining Dr. Michael Brown live on his Line of Fire radio program January 26th and 27th to discuss Calvinism. Dr. Brown did a series a few months ago on why he is no longer a Calvinist, and he mentioned then that he wanted to do a debate on his program. After we do those programs we will

If you are in the Greenville, SC area on Monday, Dec. 7 at 6pm, Greenville Seminary will be showing the (debate/discussions) film Collision. If you are interested in coming, please contact me. Soon, very soon (I hope) I will make an announcement concerning an event to be held in Greenville SC on March 9-11, 2010. Those who enjoy Alpha and

I was directed to what must be the most convoluted, complicated, amazing attempt to get around the plain meaning of John 6 I’ve ever seen. You really have to work at producing this kind of complexity in the face of plain teaching. The lengths to which people will go to avoid a sovereign God! If you have time for such

Today’s Dividing Line (DL) program will be posted soon, I’m sure. In the meantime, since the issue came up in passing during the DL, and since you have some time to kill while you are waiting for the mp3 of the DL to become available, you can check out a response I wrote a couple of years ago to William

James Swan, who is involved in teaching ministry at the Pompton Plains Reformed Bible Church in New Jersey, will address “ Did Martin Luther Believe in the Reformed Tulip?“ MP3 Available Here James has a hobby of tracking down obscure Luther facts. Today we’ll examine some of the recent claims about Martin Luther, as well as address the similarities between