Dr Paul Allen

Even though we may not be able to fully explain why Satan came into being, we know he does exist, and he was there from the beginning of mankind because he tempted Adam and Eve in the third chapter of Genesis.  We also know that Jesus commanded “the unclean spirits, and they obey him” (Mark 1:27), Which is a fantastic statement. He said to Satan in the wilderness, “Be gone!” and he was gone (Matthew 4:10). And we know at the end of history, God will throw Satan into the lake of fire so that he can’t influence God’s people anymore or harm us anymore (Revelation 20:10). So, from all this, we know God could have bound Satan completely the moment he fell or at any point in history in between. We know he doesn’t because, in the end, the whole New Testament is telling the story of Satan’s activity in this world and how he deceives, how he tempts, and how we need to do warfare against the principalities and powers. “Seeing and savoring the superior beauty of Christ is the way we defeat the ev

To clarify what total depravity does and does not mean, a few points are helpful. First, depravity is total in that it refers to all people . Paul here speaks of “all”, “none is righteous”, “no, not one”, “no one”, “all have turned aside”, and “no one does good, not even one”. Second, depravity is total in that it infects and affects the totality of our being. Think of it like a cup of clean water that then has polluted water added to it. The polluted water dirties the entire glass in the same way that sin dirties the entire person.  For clarification, total depravity does not mean utter depravity. Utter depravity means a person is as completely sinful and evil as possible. Although people are totally depraved, Romans teaches that they are not utterly depraved for three reasons:  1. God has given us a conscience that knows something of right and wrong even if we do not know God (Romans 2). 2. God has allowed death to occur so that sinners are brought to an end, and to deter people fro

Look am I really depraved? The answer from the Bible and the testimony of universal human experience is, “Yes, you really are.” But even if we have to accept that this is, in fact, the Bible’s teaching, it’s not obvious why we should like it. Isn't there a little bit of good in me? Aren't I nice, friendly and kind?  This is why some find it odd that Calvinists seem to love total depravity (the doctrine, not the condition) so much. Their question is, “What’s so great about the doctrine of total depravity? I would offer three answers to this important question. The first answer is that through the lens of a biblical understanding of ourselves, we come to appreciate the gospel. The only way to see the greatness of the gospel is to see how bad is our plight. Or to put it differently, unless we know what we are being saved from, we really don’t grasp the glory of our salvation.  But I not as bad as Hitler? Don't we compare and grade each other on a scale?  Or am I o

The doctrine that states that God is the one who chooses who will be saved is one of the most consternating and has resulted in incendiary discussions in church history. Emotions run very high in this debate, especially when people picture the non-elect as desperate puppies begging to be chosen but being left to starve by a feckless God who plays favorites and abandons his responsibility to millions of his hapless creatures. But the real issue is what the Bible says and how we are to understand it. Everyone who believes the Bible also believes in election. Ooh, them be fight’n words. Let me explain… The Greek word for elect means chosen or called out from a group. It is used seventeen times by six New Testament authors. Yes, even in the NIV. So it cannot be ignored or denied.  The debate pivots only on the matter of election being  conditional  or  unconditi onal. Arminians say ‘ I owe my election to my faith .’ Calvinists say ‘ I owe my faith to my election .’