One of the arguments raised concerning Lord’s Day Sabbath observance is that the early reformers, especially Calvin rejected it seeing it as belonging to the Old Covenant. It was, according to the viewpoint only reintroduced by later, Sabbatarian puritans taking a more legalistic hardline. It is true that Calvin did make talk in terms of… Continue reading Calvin and the Sabbath
Tag: Calvinism
Total Depravity
This is the “T” in TULIP. Total Depravity means that because of Adam’s sin, our spiritual condition is that we are dead in sin. It means that sin or depravity reaches into every aspect of our lives, there isn’t a part of my life that wasn’t affected by sin. Key Bible passages include Genesis 2:17-18… Continue reading Total Depravity
Knocking on doors or kicking down walls? Irresistable Grace
You may have heard the saying that “The Holy Spirit is a gentleman who won’t come in uninvited”. Not so, says the Five Points of Calvinism. If we are dead in our sin, not just weakened by it, then if the Holy Spirit waits for our invitation to come in to our lives, then he… Continue reading Knocking on doors or kicking down walls? Irresistable Grace
Unconditional Election
The other day I started to write about the 5 points of Calvinism, often referred to under the mnemonic “TULIP”, Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Perseverance of the Saints. It’s worth remembering that whilst this has become a shorthand summary of reformed theology, it was intended as a specific response to specific challenges at… Continue reading Unconditional Election
Limited Atonement?
People often talk about the Five Points of Calvinism, under the anacronym TULIP The Five points actually were put together some time after Calvin at the Synod of Dort, a council called by the Dutch Reformed Church to respond to Arminianism. There is a risk then with seeing a five point attempt to rebut and… Continue reading Limited Atonement?
Calvin on parents and children
Having had a look at what Calvin has to say about slaves and masters based on Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 5-6, I thought it would be worth having a look at his comments on the other two issues treated there, first on parents and children, then on wives and husbands. Calvin picks up on the… Continue reading Calvin on parents and children
Calvin on slavery
I thought it might be of interest to have a look at one of the Reformers and see how he handled the question of slavery in Scripture. So here’s some commentary on how John Calvin handles Ephesians 6. Calvin is of particular interest because as I’ve argued previously, he seems to argue from Ephesians 5:21… Continue reading Calvin on slavery
Balance is often the enemy of truth
One of the idols we chase is “balance.” It is an established political fact that unless everyone else has headed off to the extremes, elections are normally won from the political centre. Opinion polls show that most voters consider themselves to be in the centre and judge the parties by where they believe they sit… Continue reading Balance is often the enemy of truth
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