The operative word in Augustine’s view is that regenerating grace is monergistic. It is the work of God alone. Pelagius rejected the doctrine of monergistic grace and replaces it with a view of synergism, which involves a work of cooperation between God and man.   The early part of the fifth century witnessed a serious controversy in the church that is known as the Pelagian controversy. This debate took place principally between the British monk Pelagius and the great theologian of the first millennium, Augustine of Hippo. In the controversy, Pelagius objected strenuously to Augustin ..read more

Discussing the “saccharin-like” preaching of Joel Osteen, Wells says this of the kind of God he presents: “The dominant view, even among evangelical teenagers, is that God made everything and established a moral order, but he does not intervene. Actually, for most he is not even Trinitarian, and the incarnation and resurrection of Christ play little part in church teenage thinking—even in evangelical teenage thinking. They see God as not demanding much from them because he is chiefly engaged in solving their problems and making them feel good. Religion is about experiencing happiness, contente ..read more

If God says sound doctrine is good for us, then that’s the way it is. If He says meditating upon His law day and night is what makes a man prosper and mature (Ps. 1:3), then that’s simply what we’ve got to do. It matters very little if our flesh objects otherwise. God’s Word sets the standard. Our part is to believe and obey. So what does this look like practically? In short, it looks like giving ourselves wholeheartedly to the means God has supplied for the instruction and upbuilding of His church.    …being nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which y ..read more

Praying comes last after we Seek God and Praise God. Praying comes as a result of seeking God by His Word, and Praising God for who He is and what He has done. We come to God through words after we have already heard His Word and praised Him despite our circumstances. Our seeking is often primed because of difficult waiting, our praise is often primed by encountering and remembering the character and work of God, and our prayer is primed by trusting in the promises of God. We can run to God in prayer, thank Him and ask him to help us during this time of waiting.   We have all had moments ..read more

In the course of his book, Swinnock considered at least sixteen specific attributes of God. He defined God’s attributes as “those perfections in the divine nature which are ascribed to Him so that we can better understand Him. They are called attributes because they are attributed to Him for our sake, even though they are not in Him as they are in humans or angels.”8 Swinnock’s definitions of these attributes are rooted in Scripture, clearly explained, and simply expressed.   The Puritans rightly believed that though “the magnitude of God’s perfections is well beyond the re ..read more

The Scriptures are clear that governments act per the will of God (Romans 13:1, Colossians 1:16). The U.S. prides itself on democracy, independence, and freedom for all. America is not perfect; it fought its own battle with slavery and civil rights. However, the founding ideals and principles have maintained prominence in American culture and have become the standard for many people worldwide. It is not a coincidence that people seek to migrate to America from all over the globe.   Foreign policy positions have always divided Americans. Division exists even within the Democratic and Repub ..read more

The Christian who wraps his soul in the objective truth of Scripture shapes his subjective heart for the wiles of war. He takes the divine word deep into his human center, for transformation and joy. He not only searches the Scriptures, but lets the Scriptures search him. He ingests God’s truth both to feed and to condition his soul, subjectively using the objective truth to shape his pliable affections. Slowly, one day at a time, over months and years, this wrapping makes him a vastly different person, far better equipped to both identify truth and embody it.   Given enough time, me ..read more

As we weigh in the options to leave or keep fighting we can do what Jesus did. We can pray. I know that doesn’t sound like the solution we are looking for. But although the cup wasn’t removed from him, he did get the strength to stay, Luke 22:43. And let me tell you, it takes a lot of strength, strength from above to stay. We think quitting is courageous but I think staying takes more courage. But that’s what God does. He gives us staying power as he did his son.    We are living in a world that glorifies quitting for better options. They say if you don’t like that job then get anoth ..read more

There is no doubt that Peckham is a gifted writer, and his intentions motivating his work are noble. He seeks to provide an account of the divine attributes that is biblically faithful and theologically coherent in hopes that readers will be drawn to worship and praise for God. Unfortunately, Peckham’s unique formulation of the doctrine of God has far too many deficiencies to overcome. Rather than pointing readers to the God of Scripture, Peckham has breached the Creator/creature distinction and created a God made in the image of man.   Following up on his introductory work, The Doctrine ..read more

God is not simply a big person, sharing our imperfections with us or exalting the supposed virtue of dependence, as if God is somehow glorified in His need. Rather, His divine life is marked by a completely different type of being—so much so, that it is more proper to call him the source, ground, or fount of being.   Readers of my column may remember that my eyes were first opened to the beauty of divine simplicity through the work of the Reformed Scholastic Francis Turretin. I had encountered the doctrine elsewhere, through both introductory and advanced systematic works, but Turretin ex ..read more