Apostasy

How Revelation 3:20 Creates a Dilemma for Calvinism

In Revelation 1, 2, and 3 John prophesies to the seven churches in Asia. The last group he addresses is the church in Laodicea. After addressing the Ladocians, he concludes with the following prophesy:

    (Jesus speaking) Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. -Revelation 3:20-22

This passage can be interpreted in two ways, both of which present problems for Calvinism.

Arminian Confession of 1621 and Apostasy

Arminian Confession of 1621 and Apostasy - an article about the Remonstrants' position on the possibility of apostasy.

Click on the pdf to view

Verses All Arminians Should Know

This list was compiled about a year ago by many members of The Society of Evangelical Arminians. I was asked to put it into blog form, and have finally sat down and gotten it done.

I hope for this to be a useful resource for any Arminian needing good scriptural texts that display his or her view. It should be cautioned that proof texting is far too easy for anyone to do, and with any of these verses the context should be considered. Far too often, context is ignored and erroneous interpretations are formed. So, use these verses, but corroborate their contexts. We strove to carefully consider the contexts and, in our minds, these verses and explanations faithfully represent the author's intent, showing Arminianism to have strong Biblical support.

Also, if you see any verses that you think should be added, comment on the post and let me know.

Verses that show election is conditional:

James White and Turretinfan on 1 John 5:1

James White and company have used 1 John 5:1 to argue that regeneration comes before faith. (link) I actually called in to the Dividing Line (James White's webcast) to explain to him my take on the passage and why I do not think it teaches faith precedes regeneration. It's at the end of the hour long program. (link) James White objected to my approach on the air and Turretinfan has objected to it on his blog as well (link). I would like to briefly summarize the issue, explain the text and then respond to Turretinfan.

1 John 5:1 states: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.

Some Further Reflections on the Nature of the Sealing of the Holy Spirit in Eph. 1:13 and 4:30

The quoted material below comes from my post, Perseverance of the Saints Part 12: Examining Passages Commonly Appealed to by the Advocates of Unconditional Eternal Security. The sections in between these quotes are further reflections and exegetical notes on the quoted material.

    In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory….Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption (Eph. 1:13, 14; 4:30).

Ben Witherington - “Christian Apostasy and Hebrews 6”

On Wed, February 13, 2008, Dr. Ben Witherington posted “Christian Apostasy and Hebrews 6” on his blog. It is an excerpt from a book he would later publish entitled The Indelible Image. Witherington is Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary.

(Click on PDF to view article, PDF compiled by Steve Witzki)

Messianic Jew David Stern and the Security of the Believer

Article compiled by Steve Witzki. Below is the intro, click on the PDF link for the complete article.

"David Stern is a Messianic Jew who believes that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah. He has written The Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) and The Jewish New Testament Commentary (JNTC). He provides a number of insightful translations in the CJB and comments in the JNTC. One of the things I found interesting was his comments on passages that Arminians typically use in support of conditional security and the possibility of apostasy (i.e., believers becoming unbelievers through unbelief manifested in sin and disobedience toward God and His Word). He clearly falls on the side of Arminianism. I have put his CJB translations in bold to offset his comments in the JNTC."

Some Good Comments from Robert Shank on Rom 8:28-29

Robert Shank wrote:

“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified” (Rom. 8:29, 30).

Some Great Comments on Corporate Election, Apostasy/Perseverance, and Rom 8:28-39

Here are some great comments from B.J. Oropeza, who holds to corporate election, tying in corporate election with the doctrine of perseverance and Rom 8:28-39:

Resources by Dr. Jack Cottrell Added

We have recently added some resources by Dr. Jack Cottrell, a well known theologian from the Church of Christ fellowship. Check out our recent articles box on the right side of this page for a few articles by him responding to advocates of Calvinistic election (2 articles) and universalistic election (1 article). We have also added a link on our Links and Books page to an offsite Jack Cottrell resource page, which contains audio resources as well as a few articles. Check out his audio entitled "Once in Grace". It is a really good refutation of Eternal Security.

Syndicate content