The Arminian/Calvinism Conflict and Why It Matters | Part Three

This series is from the From the Editor's Desk column of the Sword and Trumpet. The articles were co-authored by Paul Emerson and myself. In this series on Arminianism vs Calvinism, we will attempt to briefly discuss Aurelius Augustine because of his contribution to the controversy by writing against the errors of Pelagius. Augustine was … Continue reading The Arminian/Calvinism Conflict and Why It Matters | Part Three

The Arminian/Calvinism Conflict and Why It Matters | Part Two

This series is from the From the Editor's Desk column of the Sword and Trumpet. The articles were co-authored by Paul Emerson and myself. The theological disagreement that we know today as the Arminian/Calvinist controversy is an age-old schism. It first revealed itself in a major way through Pelagius (circa 354-418 AD). We will attempt … Continue reading The Arminian/Calvinism Conflict and Why It Matters | Part Two

The Arminian/Calvinism Conflict and Why It Matters | Part One

This series is from the From the Editor's Desk column of the Sword and Trumpet. The articles were co-authored by Paul Emerson and myself. Throughout church history the two truths of the free will of man and the sovereignty of God have often been presented as oppositional to one another. Whole systems of dogmatic theology … Continue reading The Arminian/Calvinism Conflict and Why It Matters | Part One

What Arminius Taught About Salvation | Part 6

The four issues I’ve outlined are genuine problems in our generation. We have drifted from biblical center, and it is vital that we again find our moorings. Beyond Arminianism, we need to moor ourselves to the Scriptures. In our laxity and our preference for comfortable beliefs over biblical beliefs, we have lost track of some of the essentials of the gospel. Read More

What Arminius Taught About Salvation | Part 5

I believe much of what hides behind the label “Arminianism” today actually disregards core Scriptural truths. Since Arminianism is generally accepted as a viable framework, Arminian-sounding beliefs are accepted as true, even if they are disharmonious with God’s revelation. I will attempt to paint several warning signs that we can use to determine when someone is beginning to go off the rails of biblical Christianity. Read More

What Arminius Taught About Salvation | Part 3

Arminius was quite unwilling to go beyond the clear teachings of Scripture. As such, he left a number of theological blanks, unwilling to fill them in if he believed Scripture gave no clear answer. Those who followed him gradually filled in those blanks, developing a system more logically cohesive but less biblical. Logic superseded biblicism and the resulting system, though not unbiblical, seems to me to exceed God’s revelation in Scripture. Read More

What Arminius Taught About Salvation | Part 2

Arminius believed that if anything good will happen in our world, it must begin with God. The foremost good thing is the salvation of sinners, a work God both initiates and enables. Arminius allowed no merit or credit to go to man, describing even faith itself as God’s gift. As we think of our own salvation experiences, we are reminded that God alone gets the glory for saving sinners such as us. Read More