We’ve had a look at what John Calvin has to say about desire (concupiscence). It is worth widening out our look at the Reformed tradition. The Westminister Confession The Westminster Confession’s 6th chapter is all about sin. I note that in the version I’ve got in front of me, the term concupiscence doesn’t appear in… Continue reading More reformed perspectives on sin, temptation and desire
Tag: reformed theology
Is there such a thing as “The Reformed view”?
John Stevens recently drew followers of his Facebook page to a quote from Sinclair Ferguson Within Reformed theology there has always been a diversity of viewpoint on various issues. Being aware of this saves us from naively (but dogmatically!) saying, “The Reformed view is…..” when all we are entitled to say is, “The view held… Continue reading Is there such a thing as “The Reformed view”?
Calvin and the Sabbath
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
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?
Irresistable grace – the lost sheep revisited
How do you imagine the lost sheep responding when the shepherd arrives to find it? Perhaps you see it there, hearing it’s master’s voice and running, or hobbling to get close. Maybe, you picture it docile as the shepherd speaks gently and picks it up into his arms. Both are possible depending on the sheep’s… Continue reading Irresistable grace – the lost sheep revisited
The pandemic elephant in the room. What happened to our reformed theology?
This is a little bit of a lament. I come from the Reformed tradition theologically. We pride ourselves in this tradition on deep theological reflection. This theological reflection is meant to be rooted in detailed exegesis of the text set within two important theological disciplines, Biblical Theology which enables us to see how God’s redemptive… Continue reading The pandemic elephant in the room. What happened to our reformed theology?
When are we justified – and does it matter?
In my talks on Romans 4 and 5 I mentioned something called The New Perspective on Paul, an approach to Pauline studies associated with EP Sanders, Tom Wright and James Dunn. The NPP argues that we’ve misunderstood the Jewishness of Paul’s Gospel and therefore going right back to the reformers have misunderstood Paul’s teaching and… Continue reading When are we justified – and does it matter?
Conservative evangelical theology SHOULD mean there is no excuse for abuse
Predictably, one of the responses to two high profile cases of abuse has been for some to identify a specific problem with conservative evangelicalism and therefore with its underlying theology.. conservative evangelical, or more properly, “Reformed Theology” holds that. God is the great and glorious Lord, the Triune God who is love, holy and just. … Continue reading Conservative evangelical theology SHOULD mean there is no excuse for abuse
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