Dr Paul Allen

In 1610, the followers of the Dutch pastor and professor Jacob Arminius drafted a protest called “the Remonstrance.” The document contained five negative statements that rejected specific Calvinistic doctrines, followed by five articles stating Arminian doctrines. Among the Calvinistic teachings with which the Remonstrance took issue was the doctrine of irresistible grace. In the fourth negative statement, the Arminians rejected the following: “That the Holy Spirit works in the elect by irresistible grace, so that they must be converted and be saved; while the grace necessary and sufficient for conversion, faith, and salvation is withheld from the rest, although they are externally called and invited by the revealed will of God.” The statement of the Arminian doctrine was then presented in the fourth article on Resistible Grace: “Grace is the beginning, continuation, and end of our spiritual life, so that man can neither think nor do any good or resist sin without prevening, ...

Matthias Flacius taught a strong view of what later theologians would call total depravity. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Paul raises in Romans 9:19, we cannot explain God’s sovereignty and man’s inability by appealing to conditional election or libertarian free will . This objection only makes sense if the Calvinistic doctrines of total depravity , unconditional election, and irresistible grace are true. But how is that fair? How can God command that which is impossible, and still hold people accountable? How can He command people to be born again, even though the new birth depends entirely upon “God, who has mercy” (Rom 9:16)? Well, Paul’s answer is to rebuke the questioner who seeks to impugn the righteousness of God: “On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God?” (Rom 9:20). If you seek to find fault with God’s character, you have a skewed understanding of righteousness (Rom 9:14; cf. 3:5b–6) and better put your hand over your mouth fast. But there i...

One of Piper’s great strengths in representing and defending Calvinistic theology has been in not merely defending this doctrine, but in making it lead to wonder and to worship. “My experience is that clear knowledge of God from the Bible is the kindling that sustains the fires of affection for God. And probably the most crucial kind of knowledge is the knowledge of what God is like in salvation.” Of course this is what the five points of Calvinism are about—“not the power and sovereignty of God in general, but his power and sovereignty in the way he saves people,” which is exactly why these doctrines are commonly referred to as  the doctrines of grace . He insists that he does not begin here as a Calvinist who sets out to defend a system, but as a Christian who holds the Bible above any system of thought. As with many modern Calvinists, Piper does not love the TULIP acronym that has become synonymous with Calvinism. He steps away from the acronym and the stand...

John Calvin (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Those who proclaim the gospel preach in a graveyard. Lazarus cannot obey Christ 's command until he is given new life , and this is something only God can do (John 11:1-44). When Lazarus is given new life, he immediately responds and exits the tomb . In the same way, the spiritually dead sinner cannot respond to the gospel until he is given new life through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit . Once he is regenerated, however, he immediately responds, placing his faith in Jesus . He is then justified by God. Those who proclaim the gospel preach in a graveyard Irresistible , or efficacious, grace is not a dry and dusty old doctrine that was invented by curmudgeonly Calvinists . It is, in fact, a glorious biblical doctrine, for without the efficacious work of the Holy Spirit, we would all be without hope in this world and the next. When we come to a full understanding of how serious our situation is as fallen human beings, our perspect...

John Calvin (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Calvinists believe that God the Father , God the Son , and God the Holy Spirit are united in the work of redeeming lost mankind. Calvinists do not believe that they act against one another or even on one another, but with one another in our salvation. For instance, Jesus did not die to convince the Father to change His attitude toward us from enmity to love. Rather, Jesus died on the cross because of the Father's love for us, as John 3:16 says: " For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."  The Father and Son are united in their work for the salvation of those who believe: the Father electing and sending His Son; the Son atoning for the sins of those chosen and given to Him by the Father (John 6:37–40). The same harmony exists between the Son and the Spirit. Jesus did not die for the sins of all people, only to have the Holy Spirit apply the ...

Christ in Gethsemane (Christus in Gethsemane), oil painting by Heinrich Ferdinand Hofmann (Heinrich Hofmann). The original is at the Riverside Church (Riverside Church, New York City). (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6:44). The doctrine of election is grounded in the fact that man is so sinful, so depraved in his fallenness, that apart from the irresistible grace of God not one could ever turn to Christ . In John 6:25–58, Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” Jesus did not say some people can come, or only a few people; He said no one is able to come to Him. Absolutely no one can come unless God does something first. Jesus said “can.” Can means “is able,” while " may" means “has permission.” Jesus did not say that no one has permission to come to Him, or no one may come to Him. Rather, Jesus said that no one is able to com...

Christ the Saviour (Pantokrator), a 6th-century encaustic icon from Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai. NB - slightly cut down - for full size see here (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6:44). The  Augustinian doctrine of election is grounded in the fact that man is so sinful, so depraved in his fallenness, that apart from the irresistible grace of God not one could ever turn to Christ . In John 6:25–58, Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” Jesus did not say some people can come, or only a few people; He said no one is able to come to Him. Absolutely no one can come unless God does something first. Notice that Jesus said “can.” Can means “is able,” while may means “has permission.” Jesus did not say that no one has permission to come to Him, or no one may come to Him. Jesus said that no one is able to come to him  beca...

English: Portrait of Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609) from the Dutch portrait collection of the Andover-Harvard Theological Library, Harvard Divinity School. From an engraving by J. C. Philips and J. G. Meet. From the Seventeenth Century.Category: (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) It began within the theological faculty of a Dutch institution that was committed to Calvinistic teaching. Some of the professors there began to have second thoughts about issues relating to the doctrines of election and predestination. As this theological controversy spread across the country, it upset the church and theologians of the day. Finally, a synod was convened. Issues were squared away and the views of certain people were rejected, including those of a man by the name of Jacobus Arminius . The group that led the movement against orthodox Reformed theology was called the Remonstrants . They were called the Remonstrants because they were remonstrating or protesting against certain doctrines within their ...

Louis Comfort Tiffany, Window of St. Augustine, in the Lightner Museum, St. Augustine, Florida (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Many Christians recognize the name of Augustine of Hippo from his valiant defense of the biblical doctrine of divine sovereignty against the man-centered heresy of the British monk Pelagius. And we know that the Reformers made exceedingly frequent references to Augustine’s work as they fought against the man-centeredness of the Roman Catholic Church . But what many don’t know about Augustine was his consistent emphasis on the centrality of the affections—and particularly joy—in the believer’s life. In fact, he even defined love for God in terms of enjoying Him: “I call [love to God] the motion of the soul toward the enjoyment of God for his own sake, and the enjoyment of one’s self and of one’s neighbor for the sake of God.” [1] It was this pursuit of his own pleasure—indeed, his own pleasure in God Himself—that strengthened Augustine to engage in the many...