Theological Meditations

S. Lewis Johnson on the Universal Offer and God's Desire for the Salvation of All Men

2012-01-01T12:57:00.007-06:00

"Fifth, the gospel is offered indiscriminately, because God desires that every man believe. God should be guided by his own inner feelings, if I should use that term of God, not by those of sinful man. Why can he not say, as the Bible suggests, "Turn ye, turn ye. For why will ye die?" If a man has a kind and compassionate nature, it's unreasonable to require that he suppress it's promptings

Herman Kuiper on Calvin's View of a Purpose of God in Common Grace

2011-10-10T15:37:00.006-05:00

"In Calvin's writings we also meet with the view that God in various ways manifests His goodness to men at large in order that He may turn them from their sins and allure them to Himself. So for instance our author tells us in several places that God woos men to Himself and urges them to come to repentance by the bestowal of various blessings. (I, 5, 14; Gen. 39, 1-2; Is. 26, 10; Hos. 6, 5; 9, 15

Jonathan Moore on Owen, Scudder, Polhill and English Hypothetical Universalism

2011-09-24T04:24:00.015-05:00

Although language could be very heated at times, and this controversy was deemed by many to be of the utmost importance, polemic fell short of using such emotive language, provided that a common abhorrence of, and separation from, Arminianism could still be established.125 Indeed, those sometimes charged with being hard, harsh and obstinate on this point could sometimes prove to be most

Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661) on God's Love and Hate

2011-09-19T02:50:00.003-05:00

"2. Our Divines say God loveth the persons of the Elect, but hateth their sins, M. Denne offendeth at this, and so doth the Arminians with the same reason, if God hate the works of iniquity he cannot but hate the persons, and workers of iniquity also: Its true, the Lord hateth so the persons of the Elect for their sins; as he taketh vengeance of their sins on their Surety Christ, but this

Isaac Ambrose (1604-1664) on Christ's Affectionate Invitations

2011-09-11T16:22:00.009-05:00

"Use 1. I have been long in the Proof: But a Word of Use, and I have done. What? Is Christ most willing to receive Sinners? O then be exhorted! Who would not come to Jesus Christ? Me thinks, now all Sinners of all Sorts should say, Though I have been a Drunkard, a Swearer, an unclean Person, yet now I hear Christ is willing to receive Sinners, and therefore I will go to Jesus Christ. This is my

Anthony Burgess (d. 1644) on Ezekiel 33:11

2011-09-05T18:52:00.014-05:00

This Westminster Divine wrote:"I shall now in the next place, consider the work of Grace, under the notion of Conversion, or Turning unto God, which is one of the most frequent words in the Scripture to denote that duty. For the better opening of the words upon which I intend to build this discourse, we may observe God himself, inditing a Sermon for Ezekiel the Prophet to Preach, wherein there is

R. B. Kuiper on Common Grace

2011-09-05T11:10:00.004-05:00

"The term common grace is used in different senses in different theologians. Wesleyan Arminianism teaches that, although man is by nature totally depraved, God bestows on every individual at birth sufficient grace to receive Christ in faith of his free volition. Because such grace is said to be bestowed on all, it is denominated "common." It is further contended that he who exercises that grace

Venema on Bullinger and God's Will (Updated)

2011-08-30T05:47:00.021-05:00

First, Iain Murray has the following note in his book: "C. P. Venema writing on 'Heinrich Bullinger's Correspondence on Calvin's Doctrine of Predestination, 1551-1553,' says that while Bullinger rejected Melanchthon's synergism, he taught: (1) that the apostles 'understood God to desire well of all men,' wanting all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth; (2) that 'those who perish

Carson on God's Love and Hate

2011-07-14T18:22:00.003-05:00

"One evangelical cliché has it that God hates the sin but loves the sinner. There is a small element of truth in these words: God has nothing but hate for the sin, but it would be wrong to conclude that God has nothing but hate for the sinner. A difference must be maintained between God’s view of sin and his view of the sinner. Nevertheless the cliché (God hates the sin but loves the sinner) is

Tom Ascol on John Gill and Hyper-Calvinism

2011-06-19T15:54:00.005-05:00

"Nettles has demonstrated that statements can be found within Gill that seem blatantly to distinguish the Horslydown pastor's views from those who specifically deny duty-faith.[4] It must be admitted that Gill is not completely consistent on this point (see pp. 118-23 above). The few concessions to duty-faith which are found in his writings, however, should be regarded as exceptions to his

A Sample of William Carey's (1761–1834) Gospel Message

2011-06-12T09:04:00.003-05:00

"{Carey and Bro. Brunsdon went to the villages about 3 or 4 miles from town and encountered an old Brahman. Carey had asked if anyone knew how sins could be pardoned. The people referred him to an old Brahman who was wise. He replied that "profound meditation and acts of Holiness would answer the purpose." Carey shared the Gospel. Here is a sample of the great missionary in action.}You and I, and

Tom Ascol on Gill's Federalism and Its Problems

2011-05-30T12:54:00.006-05:00

"Gill employs the retooled structure of English Federalism in his exposition of the works of God ad intra. All of the internal works of the Trinitarian persons take the form of covenant.[21] The decrees of God must, therefore, be expounded along the lines of the federal construct. Since Gill radiates his soteriology from decretal ideas, the covenant becomes an essential principle in the

Increase Mather (1639–1723) on the Means and Motive of Christ's Knocking

2011-05-17T05:58:00.008-05:00

"Quest. 2. How or by what means is it that Christ doth knock and call at the door of the hearts of men?Answ. 1. Christ knocketh at the hearts of men by his Word; by his Epistle he knocked at the Laodicea's door: Hence in the Text Christ's voice is spoken of. When Christ's voice, his Word is heard, then is he knocking at the hearts of men; therefore the Word is compared to an Hammer, Jer. 23:29.

De Jong on an Obscuration in the Free Offer Debate

2011-05-07T10:18:00.008-05:00

"Hoeksema's doctrine of reprobation renders the reliability of God's unsimulated call to salvation disputable. He objects to the truth of a well-meant gospel offer because it implies that God wants all sinners to be saved in the way of repentance. He says,en let er wel op, der leer [concerning the gospel offer as well-meant] is niet, dat het Evangelie door den prediker aan alle menschen moet

Augustine on Loving the Man but Hating the Vice

2011-05-07T09:04:00.005-05:00

"Wherefore the man who lives according to God, and not according to man, ought to be a lover of good, and therefore a hater of evil. And since no one is evil by nature, but whoever is evil is evil by vice, he who lives according to God ought to cherish towards evil men a perfect hatred, so that he shall neither hate the man because of his vice, nor love the vice because of the man, but hate the

Francis Rous (1579–1659) on Christ's Sufficient Ransom for All

2011-04-03T15:38:00.009-05:00

"But the same men that are so hard against the Saints, yet they are very kinde to the Reprobates, and they that will not allow a particular grace to give unto the Saints a sure salvation, will allow a general grace to give unto all, (Reprobates and all) an uncertaine salvation; Yea, to speake the truth under the shew of a generall salvation, they give no salvation at all. For man fallen will not

George Petter (d. 1661) on Christ's Love for the Rich Young Ruler

2011-04-03T03:20:00.008-05:00

"Quest. How could Christ love him [the rich young ruler in Mark 10:21], seeing he was a close hypocrite, and addicted to couvetousnesse, as he afterward shewed himself to be, by going away sorrowful, &c.Answ. 1. It is not to be understood simply of love to his person; but of his love, liking, and approbation of those good things which he saw to be in him: as, his care to seek after eternal life,

Increase Mather (1639–1723) on the Nature of Sinning Against the Gospel

2011-04-01T14:46:00.005-05:00

"The light of Nature is but a dark glimmering light, and the light of the Law was dark, compared with that of the Gospel; but now the Gospel is the most Clear, Divine, Spiritual, Glorious Light that ever shone into the hearts of men. Hence if men despise it, their sin, guilt and danger is most fearful; yea, and such persons do not only sin against the clearest Light, but against the highest Love

Augustine and John Mayer (1583–1664) on Loving the Person and Hating the Sin

2011-03-31T02:45:00.009-05:00

Mayer cites Augustine as follows:"Text 31. Vers. 43. Yee have heard, that it hath beene said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.August. These last words are not to be taken, as the words of one commanding a just man, but tollerating a weake one. And herein the law is not against the Gospel, for Paul saith, that some men are hatefull unto God, and therefore may be hated of us; but

John Mayer (1583–1664) on 1 Tim. 2:4-6

2011-03-28T09:55:00.013-05:00

"Vers. 4. Who would that all men should bee saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one Mediator betwixt God and man, &c.A great question here offereth it selfe how it can be said that God would that all men should be saved, when as it is certaine that most men shall be damned? for God is omnipotent and how then should it happen unto any otherwise that God willeth

John Mayer (1583–1664) on 2 Peter 3:9

2011-03-26T23:47:00.005-05:00

"Note againe, that though the Lord damneth many to hell, yet he is not willing so to doe, his desire is rather, that all should repent and be saved, as he declareth by sending the meanes amongst them."John Mayer, A Commentary Upon the New Testament, vol 3. (London: Printed by John Hauiland, for John Grismond, and are to be sold at his shop in Iuie Lane, at the signe of the Gun, 1631) 167–168.Bio:

Donald W. Sinnema on Calvin and Lapsarianism

2011-03-23T03:28:00.010-05:00

Though scholars have differed on whether Calvin was supralapsarian or infralapsarian,[17] it is incorrect to define his position as such, since this issue did not become formulated in terms of these alternatives until Theodore Beza, the first to present a clear supralapsarian position.[18] While Calvin could speak of God predestinating man before he was created or fallen,[19] in other passages he

David Silversides on Matthew 23:37

2011-03-15T03:55:00.005-05:00

Matthew 23:37'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!' (cf. Luke 13:34).In this verse, Jerusalem evidently refers to the people of that city. It may have the leaders (denounced in the previous verses) especially

Herman Bavinck (1854–1921) on the External Call and Gospel Offer

2011-02-13T09:30:00.010-06:00

"3. The offer of salvation on the part of God, therefore, is seriously and sincerely meant. For in that offer he does not say what he himself will do--whether or not he will bestow that faith. He has kept that to himself. He only tells us what he wants us to do: that we humble ourselves and seek our salvation in Christ alone. If it be objected that God nevertheless offers salvation to those to

Andrew Fuller (1754–1815) on Moral Inability

2011-02-01T15:37:00.003-06:00

MORAL INABILITY.First, You inquire "whether any person by nature possesses that honest heart which constitutes the ability to comply with the invitations of the gospel?" I believe the heart of man to be by nature the direct opposite of honest. I am not aware, however, that I have any where represented an honest heart as constituting our ability to comply with gospel invitations, unless as the

Benjamin Grosvenor (1675–1758) on the Good-Will of God

2011-01-28T07:30:00.005-06:00

"I. What this Good Will of God is [in Deut. 33:16]?And it signifies not only that Benevolence of God, whereby he wills Good to all his Creatures, not willing that any should perish, but should come to the Knowledge of the Truth, and be saved: Not only his common Beneficence, whereby he does good to all, and his tender Mercies are over all his Works; causing his Sun to shine and his Rain to fall

William Williams (1685–1741) on the Nature of the Faith Which Justifies

2011-01-28T03:24:00.003-06:00

"That Faith which justifies a sinner is not merely an assent to a Proposition, but is an act of the will, as well as of the understanding, whereby a sensible and law-condemned sinner, convinced of the truth of the Gospel, and of the sufficiency of Christ to answer the necessities of his Soul, accepts the offer of him that God makes, consents to take him as a complete Saviour, entirely depends and

William Williams (1685–1741) on the Nature of God's Gospel Offer

2011-01-25T08:03:00.006-06:00

"God in the Gospel not only declares that there is Salvation to be had, that it is a thing attainable, but he invites one and another to put in for a share: in a feeling sense of their misery, to accept the remedy that is offered: under the sense of their Soul Sickness and Distempers to apply themselves to a Soul Physician. It shews that it is not presumption for them but their duty to do so: yea

Jonathan Warne on the Revealed Will of God

2010-12-29T13:24:00.006-06:00

"Thirdly, when God doeth offer Grace to Men, he doth not immediately infuse his Grace into their Hearts, but he works it in them by the Use of Means: Now Reprobates, when as God tenders Grace unto them, do always slight, neglect, and vilify the outward Means by which he offers, and conveys his Grace; so that if they miss of Grace, as they always do, they cannot lay the Fault on God; or say, that

Lloyd-Jones on John Wesley and Doctrinal Regeneration

2010-12-28T10:41:00.007-06:00

"I would sum up this section like this. One of the greatest proofs of the truth of the doctrines emphasized by Calvin, what is known as 'Calvinism' - though I have already said I do not like these terms - is John Wesley. He was a man who was saved in spite of his muddled and erroneous thinking. The grace of God saved him in spite of himself. That is Calvinism! If you say, as a Calvinist, that a

Nathaniel Vincent (1638–1697) on the Possible Salvation of the Reprobate Drawn from the Son's Incarnation

2010-12-25T07:58:00.004-06:00

"Thus you have the Properties of the Day of Grace. In the fourth place I am to lay down the Reasons, why such a Day of Grace is granted. Several reasons of this may be assigned.1. One shall be drawn from the Son's Incarnation, and taking our nature on him. Hence it comes to pass, that unto Man such kindness is expressed. The Apostle says, Verily, he took not on him the nature of Angels, but he

Nathaniel Vincent (1638–1697) on 1 Peter 3:18-20

2010-12-24T08:38:00.003-06:00

As I search through Puritan literature for material related to the revealed will of God, I am trying to collect their opinions on this text as well, so here is Vincent's opinion that concurs with Pearse, Howe, Flavel and Burroughs:"This place [1 Pet. 3:18-20] is wrested, and may seem difficult, but the meaning is plainly this, That Christ was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Ghost,

Nathaniel Vincent (1638–1697) on Christ's Four-Fold Compassion on Them that Perish

2010-12-24T06:58:00.006-06:00

"Doct. I. The first Doctrine is this, That Jesus Christ is exceeding full of pity and compassion. The tears which he shed prove this; and if tears will not satisfie, a little after you may behold him shedding of his blood. This compassion of Christ extends it self to them that perish, as well as unto those he saves.To them that perish, his compassion is seen in four things.1. In causing the Light

Richard Sibbes (1577-1635) on Christ's Treatment of His Enemies

2010-12-05T22:33:00.005-06:00

"(3.) What was he to his enemies? Did he call for fire from heaven when they wronged him? Was he all on a heat? When his poor disciples, being more flesh than spirit, would have fire from heaven, 'You know not what spirit you are of,' saith he, Luke ix. 55. He shed tears for those that shed his blood, 'Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem,' &c., Mat. xxiii. 37, that afterward crucified him. And upon the cross

J. A. Alexander on Matthew 5:45

2010-12-05T22:12:00.006-06:00

"The true law of benevolence having been laid down in all its length and breadth and in contrast with the narrow Pharisaic rule and practice, is now shown to be reasonable from analogy. The appeal is a twofold example, that of God and man. The demonstrative power of the first rests not merely on the general principle of God's perfection and authority as the standard and exemplar of all excellence

Tom Ascol on John Gill

2010-11-20T14:49:00.008-06:00

"So well documented is Gill's conviction against offering Christ to the unconverted that one is tempted simply to conclude, on the basis of many witnesses, that Gill recognizes no universal obligation to believe in Christ.[53] Such a perspective, though easily supported by various passages in Gill, does not adequately appreciate the presence of a genuine tension within him (at least at the

Aquinas on Simultaneous Love and Hate

2010-11-11T07:08:00.007-06:00

This idea of loving and hating a person at the same time but in different respects is very old in church history, at least going back to Augustine. Here's the same idea in Aquinas:"It is our duty to hate, in the sinner, his being a sinner, and to love in him, his being a man capable of bliss. And this is to love him truly, out of charity, for God's sake." ~ Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, II-II

Richard Sedgwick (1574–1643) on the Grace of God

2010-11-07T05:18:00.003-06:00

"Quest. What things belong to his Kingly Office?Answ. First, the appointing and instituting of outward meanes for the service of God, and salvation of the elect, Mat. 28.18,19,20. and ministries fitted thereunto, Ephes. 4.11.Secondly, the bestowing of the graces of the Spirit, both common to elect and reprobate, by which men are qualified to the outward fellowship and service of the Visible

Truth and Poetic Language

2010-10-27T12:38:00.002-05:00

"Truth does not consist in minute accuracy of detail, but in conveying a right impression; and there are vague ways of speaking that are truer than strict facts would be. When the Psalmist said, "Rivers of water run down mine eyes, because men keep not thy law," he did not state the fact, but he stated a truth deeper than fact, a truer." ~ Henry Alford

Edward Polhill's (1622–1694) Essay on the Extent of Christ's Death

2010-10-20T00:40:00.012-05:00

The Internet Archive now has a free copy of Edward Polhill's Essay on the Extent of Christ's Death (an extract from his work on The Divine Will Considered in its Eternal Decrees) available in pdf format (click).Update:David has now posted excellent material by Robert Balmer, who wrote the preface to this Polhill essay. Balmer's lectures can be obtained here (click), and biographical data here (

Thomas Tuke (1580/81–1657) on the Love of God

2010-10-19T03:39:00.004-05:00

"There is no man living, which, as a creature, is not loved of God the great Creator; which appeareth in that He is said to be the Saviour of All, and to cause the Sun to shine, and the rain to fall, even on the wicked. He loveth Humanity, but hateth impiety; the Man-head is beloved, but malice in it is detested: He likes well of the Nature, but dislikes the sin: That, which is His, He loves, but

Andrew Kingsmill (1538–1569) on Christ's Question to Judas

2010-10-18T01:04:00.010-05:00

"Even as that lamentable question [imposteth? sp.], Judas, betrayest thou the sonne of man with a kiss? Which was to say, thou whom I have chose of many a thousand, one of my twelve familiars, thou upon whom I have bestowed so many good turns, to whom I have given freely so many good lessons, upon whom I have wasted so many words, thou that eatest bread with me, thou that dippest in one dish with

A Recent Series by Curt Daniel on the Five Points

2010-10-03T20:54:00.010-05:00