If youve heard and believed that God predestinated some to eternal life and hardened Pharaohs heart, youve been misled! Biblical predestination doctrine is the opposite of theological writings on the subject. After studying this book, you will no longer accept Augustinian-Lutheran-Calvinist theology passing for doctrine. Predestination The Pharaoh Account of Grace, is a biblical treatment of predestination doctrine. Part One refutes the theological arguments as un-Scriptural and opens up understanding of predestination doctrine with detailed explanation of the call, justification, and glorification available to man. It avoids the pitfall of equating Gods foreknowledge with omniscience and the consequent conclusion that God predestinated only those he knew from eternity would become believers. Part Two clarifies the Exodus account which has negatively impacted Gods character and showcases his spontaneous and patient outpouring of grace upon Pharaoh. From initially foretelling the end from the beginning, God graciously repairs Pharaohs heart ten times as he, in turn, frustrates the grace. Predestination The Pharaoh Account of Grace exposes the controversy stirred up concerning predestination since the fourth century as a work of the devil which must be destroyed. Undoubtedly, this definitive work on the subject will be of tremendous benefit to clergy, lay leaders, academia, and through them, the body of Christ.
All my books can be read online for free at wayneodonnell.com. Mt. 10:8, “Freely you have received, freely give.” The Bible says we’re predestined to glory, but it doesn’t say we’re predestined to faith, as Calvinism teaches. The differences between the language of the Bible and the language of Calvinism indicate the doctrinal errors of Calvinism. All Reformed theologians teach predestination to faith, which includes faith in a sequence the Bible doesn’t include it in. The ‘Golden Chain’ of Romans 8:28-30 includes 1) foreknowledge, 2) predestination, 3) calling, 4) justification, and 5) glorification. Paul intentionally omits faith from this sequence because predestination is to glorification and sanctification, not to faith. Paying attention to this detail alters Calvinism’s TULIP. T (Total Depravity) doesn’t include an inability to believe the gospel. Election is not U (Unconditional), since God elects all whom he has known forever in the eternal Messiah, who entered into union with him through justification by unpredestined faith. I (Irresistible Grace) is after justification, for sanctification and glorification. L (Limited Atonement) is unbiblical. And, P (Perseverance of the Saints) is confirmed in the strongest possible way, to the extent it’s synonymous with eternal security and the certainty of glorification. Most other anti-Calvinist books deal heavily with the moral and philosophical travesties of Calvinism. For example, I highly recommend What Love Is This, by Dave Hunt. But this book tries to provide better expositions of the passages that lead good, godly men to accept Calvinism in the first place, like Romans 8, Romans 9, John 6, and Ephesians 1, by paying attention to the small, under-appreciated detail, that the Bible says predestination is to sanctification and glory, not to faith. If I felt this task was already accomplished, I wouldn’t have written this book, but would have promoted the books that already did it. White (Calvinist), "There is no meaningful non-Reformed exegesis of [John 6:37-45] available. As numerous as the attempts of Arminian exegetes to find some way around the testimony of these verses has been, not even a plausible solution has been offered that does not require the complete dismantling of the text, redefinition of words, or the insertion of utterly foreign concepts." Flowers (Non-Calvinist), "Would anyone dare adopt or seek to defend this most troubling doctrine [of reprobation] if not for the perceived defense offered by the apostle in Romans 9?" I rejoice in biblical, non-Calvinistic predestination, to glory, not to faith! Biblical predestination is about the certainty of God’s completion of our salvation through sanctification and glorification. Predestination shouldn’t be a word that conjures up images of Calvinistic horrors of reprobation in the minds of those who haven’t been indoctrinated to focus on the good fortunes of the elect. Instead, predestination should be a word that gives great joy, because it underlies the Biblical doctrine of the certainty of our future glorification! Rom. 5:3, “Having been justified by faith, we ... rejoice in [the sure and certain] hope of [sharing in] the glory of God!” My hope is that this book won’t only be a defense against Calvinism and its harms, and rescue some born-again Calvinists from Calvinism; but also that this consideration of the topic of predestination will give all readers a better understanding of the justification, sanctification, and glorification that comprise our gracious salvation, and this knowledge will also make us more fruitful. Jn. 15:7-8, “If ... my words abide in you, ... herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit.”
Predestination has been the subject of perennial controversy among Christians, although in recent years theologians have shied away from it as a divisive and unedifying topic. In this book Matthew Levering argues that Christian theological reflection needs to continue to return to the topic of predestination, for two reasons: Firstly, predestinarian doctrine is taught in the New Testament. Reflecting the importance of the topic in many strands of Second Temple Judaism, the New Testament authors teach predestination in a manner that explains why Christian theologians continually recur to this topic. Secondly, the doctrine of predestination provides a way for Christian theologians to reflect upon two fundamental affirmations of biblical revelation. The first is God's love, without any deficiency or crimp, for each and every rational creature; the second is that God from eternity brings about the purpose for which he created us, and that he permits some rational creatures freely and permanently to rebel against his love. When theologians reflect on these two key biblical affirmations, they generally try to unite them in a logical synthesis. Instead, Levering argues, it is necessary to allow for the truth of each side of the mystery, without trying to blend the two affirmations into one. Levering pairs his discussion of Scripture with ecumenically oriented discussion of the doctrine of predestination in through the ages through the figures of Origen, Augustine, Boethius, John of Damascus, Eriugena, Aquinas, Ockham, Catherine of Siena, Calvin, Molina, Francis de Sales, Leibniz, Bulgakov, Barth, Maritain, and Balthasar. He concludes with a constructive chapter regarding the future of the doctrine.
Of special focus in this reflective overview of Wesley's theological convictions is highlighting the practical-theological dynamics of Wesley's work and suggesting possible implications for contemporary attempts to recover theology as a practical discipline. Another distinctive focus of this work is a systematic consideration of the integration of theological emphases traditionally divergent in Eastern and Western Christianity. The author also closely examines the consistency of Wesley's thought throughout his career.
Most evangelical Christians believe that those people who are not saved before they die will be punished in hell forever. But is this what the Bible truly teaches? Do Christians need to rethink their understanding of hell? In the late twentieth century, a growing number of evangelical theologians, biblical scholars, and philosophers began to reject the traditional doctrine of eternal conscious torment in hell in favor of a minority theological perspective called conditional immortality. This view contends that the unsaved are resurrected to face divine judgment, just as Christians have always believed, but due to the fact that immortality is only given to those who are in Christ, the unsaved do not exist forever in hell. Instead, they face the punishment of the "second death"--an end to their conscious existence. This volume brings together excerpts from a variety of well-respected evangelical thinkers, including John Stott, John Wenham, and E. Earl Ellis, as they articulate the biblical, theological, and philosophical arguments for conditionalism. These readings will give thoughtful Christians strong evidence that there are indeed compelling reasons for rethinking hell.
"In whom we also have been chosen to an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of the One working all things according to the counsel of His will" (Ephesians 1:11) Zanchius (1516-1590) created his age-enduring classic in response to the challenges of those who persisted in charging God with being the Author of sin because He says in the Scriptures that He predestinated all things that come to pass. His answer is irrefutable. The first forty-two pages describes God as He is revealed in His holy Word. He is all-wise and all-powerful. He is perfect and unchangeable. He, being by Himself alone in eternity, determined to create a universe, and to people that universe with being of His own choice. He saw in His mind the entire course of events, and the persons who would act out these events, and having all things completely settled in His mind beforehand, He decreed all things that were to occur. The distinctions thus having been established in His own mind, He at one time, in one act of His will, predestinated all things "according to the counsel of His will." The author then takes up the subject of predestination. The word means to 'deliberate beforehand with ones' self how one shall act; and in consequence of such deliberation to constitute, fore-ordain, and predetermine where and when, how and by whom anything shall be done, and to what end it shall be done. Who else but God is able to both conceive and order all the happenings in time and eternity? This book is not only closely reasoned, but it is backed and proven by Scripture throughout. It is made abundantly clear that men may not absolve themselves of evil because of God=s eternal predestination of allthings. God leaves all men with a freedom to will, but in their total depravity all choose to will only what is evil in the eyes of God. For, "God is not tempted by evils, and He tempts no one. But each one is tempted by his own lusts, having been drawn out and havin
TULIP is a popular acronym for the five points of Calvinism--total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints. In this book, these five points are not only concisely explained in the light of the Bible but are also helpfully contrasted to the corresponding five points of Arminianism. The differences between Calvanistic and Arminian beliefs are also summarized at the end of the book for quick reference. Anyone looking for an accessible explanation of this somewhat difficult and controversial doctrine, or looking for help in explaining it to others, will find this an invaluable resource. TULIP has had steady sales since its original Baker publication in 1979, and there is now nearly 55,000 copies in print.
One of the 20th-century's most reasoned explanations of the sovereignty of God and the Reformed interpretation of salvation. "Whoever really wants to know what Calvinism teaches cannot do better than to read this book from cover to cover".--United Presbyterian magazine.
Tracing the gradual crystallisation of Augustine’s doctrine on grace in the individual periods of his thinking, this book also shows the unacceptable consequences of Augustine’s teaching as criticised by his Pelagian opponents.
