Theological Issues

The following sections are related to several theological issues that we believe are very important even though they are not popular. These issues include exposing the more popular false gospels prevalent in the religious world, the relationship of the believer to the law, the nature of sanctification, the issue of reprobation, the relationship between God's decree and the fall of Adam, and so-called common grace and the well-meant offer of the gospel.

False Religion

According to the apostle Paul and despite what most people think there is only one true Gospel and any other gospel is false and damning. Because of this fact we must understand what constitutes the gospel, in it's definitions and implications, and as well, to be able to identify what are false gospels.

In the religious world there are many "versions" of the gospel. There is the Baptist version, the Church of Christ version, the Presbyterian gospel, the Arminian gospel, the Calvinist gospel, the Lutheran version, etc. Some of these groups may have great truth in them, but when their doctrine is separated from the Gospel, then they are false. For example, if a Calvinist separates the issues of imputed righteousness, sovereign election, and definite atonement from the Gospel, then the gospel they believe is not in fact essentially different from that of the Arminian, manifesting that they hold to a false gospel. There are many false gospels masquerading as the truth and one of the biggest is Arminianism. The following articles expose this and various other heresies.

• Promoting Satan's Lie by Bill Parker

• The Christ of Arminianism by Steven Houck

• A Display of Arminianism by John Owen

• Arminianism: The Road to Rome by Augustus Toplady

• An Antidote to Arminianism by Christopher Ness

• Naked and Unashamed: John Wesley Exposes Himself by Christopher Adams

• Three Reasons Why Arminians Are Not Saved by Christopher Adams

• An Everlasting Task for Arminians by William Gadsby

• Arminianism in the Oven by Samuel Turner

• Four Unanswerable Questions by Greg Elmquist

• The Arminian Skeleton by William Huntington

• The Funeral of Arminianism by William Huntington

• Response to Evangelical Arminianism by John Pedersen

• The Lie of Arminianism by Anthony Lawson

• A Review of Norman Geisler's Chosen But Free by James Harrison

• Two Crosses by Ward Fenley

• A Brief Response to the Popular Tract: "God's Simple Plan of Salvation by Scott Price

• False Religion in the Name of Christ by Scott Price

• Beware of Men by Scott Price

• The Freewiller's False Religion by Scott Price

• Hyper-Evangelism: Another Gospel by John Kennedy

• The Gospel According to John MacArthur by John W. Robbins

• Joseph Bellamy and True Religion Delineated by George Ella

• A Gospel Unworthy of Any Acceptation by George Ella

• The Evangelical Liberalism of Andrew Fuller by George Ella

• Why I am not a Follower of Andrew Fuller by George Ella

• Pied Piper by John Robbins

• The Changing of the Guard by Mark Karlberg

Believer's Relationship to the Law

The Bible says that the believer is dead to the Law. What does this mean and what implications does it have for the believer who has been freed from legal bondage? Some claim that God's people are still under the 10 commandments, while others allege the believer is under no law. The Bible stresses that God's elect are under the Law of Christ and there are many implications for this in relation to the Gospel and the believer's life.

• The Death of Legal Hope by Abraham Booth

• Dead to the Law by Bill Parker

• The Law and the Gospel by Bill Parker

• The Believer and God's Law by Bill Parker

• Are Believers Today Under the Ten Commandments as a Rule of Conduct? by Bill Parker

• What Law are Christians Under? by D.M. Canright

• The Seed of Abraham and the Old Covenant by Albertus Pieters

• The New Covenant: Introduction to the Covenants by Robert Higby
  • The New Covenant: The End of Obligatory Covenant
  • The New Covenant: The End of Works to Gain Blessing
  • The New Covenant: The New Sabbath
  • The New Covenant: The New Circumcision
  • The New Covenant: The New Tabernacle
  • The New Covenant: The New Priesthood
  • The New Covenant: The New Sacrifice
  • The New Covenant: The Last Sacrament
  • The New Covenant: The End of the Tithe
  • The New Covenant: The Fulfillment of all Sacred Times
  • The New Covenant: He Installs the One New Covenant Sign and Seal

Sanctification

What is the doctrine of sanctification? Most Calvinists teach that sanctification is the process of becoming more and more holy and thus less and less sinful, that is, the doctrine of progressive sanctification, but the Scriptures teach that it refer to one's state, by which the defilement of sin is removed by the work of Christ.

• The Meaning of Sanctification by Bill Parker

• The Scope of Sanctification by Bill Parker

• The Pursuit of Holiness by Bill Parker

• Sanctification by John Pedersen

• The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification by Walter Marshall 

• Sanctification by William Gadsby 

• What is Sanctification? by Don Fortner 

• Does the Bible Teach "Progressive Sanctification"? by Don Fortner 

• Sanctification by Gilbert Beebe

• The Doctrine of Sanctification by Arthur W. Pink

Sovereign Reprobation

The doctrine of election refers to God's positive choice of certain ones in Christ to eternal life, the doctrine of reprobation is God's position rejection of those outside of Christ to eternal wrath and death. When talking about reprobation most either deny it out right or try to lessen the sting by making it conditioned on man's sin.

• Sovereign Reprobation by Gise Van Baren

• The Place of Reprobation in the Preaching of the Gospel by Herman Hoeksema

• God's Sovereign Elective Grace George Ophoff

• The Sovereignty of God in Reprobation by A.W. Pink

God's Eternal Decrees and Supralapsarianism

Most Calvinists do not understand the issues of God's sovereign decrees and their implications for theology nor the difference between infralapsarianism and supralapsarianism. Although not a primary theological issue, the lapsarian question does have implications that must be thought through.

• The Decrees of God by Hugh Binning

• The Fall of Man was Both Necessary and Wonderful by Theodore Beza

• The Causes of Salvation and Damnation by William Perkins

• Supralapsarianism by Ward Fenley

Common Grace

The doctrine of common grace teaches a favorable attitude of God towards all mankind in general, this is distinguished from particular grace which is specifically towards His elect. There are many problems with the doctrine of common grace that have implications that affect the doctrines of sovereign Grace and of the Gospel.

• Grace Uncommon by Barry Gritters

• Common Bounty or Common Grace? by David Engelsma

• The Myth of Common Grace by Garrett Johnson

• Another Look at Common Grace by Herman Hanko

Well-Meant Gospel Offer

One of the implications of the idea of common grace is the so called free offer of the gospel, sometimes called the well-meant offer of the gospel. When the doctrine of the free offer is defined to mean simply the general proclamation of the gospel to all mankind, there is no problem, but when it's defined to mean that God has a well meant desire for the reprobate to believe the gospel and be saved, then there are many problems and implications that affect the Gospel and the very nature of Grace.

• The Gospel an Offer? by Scott Price

• Jesus Savior and the Evil of Hawking Him by Herman Hoeksema

• Is Denial of the "Well-Meant Offer" Hyper-Calvinism? by David Engelsma

• Preaching and Missions without a Debilitating Offer by Thomas Miersma

• Reexamination of the So-Called Well-Meant Offer by R. Blacketer

• A History of Hypo-Calvinism from Trinity Review

• The Banner of Truth Versus Calvinism from Trinity Review

• The "Free Offer" and Conditionalism from Outside the Camp

• Moderate Modern Calvinism by Chris Connors

• The Biblical Offer of the Gospel by Chris Connors

• The Gospel to Believe....What? by Chris Connors

• The History of the Free Offer by Herman Hanko