Articles

Calvinism: The Perseverance of the Saints

Sep 4, 2006 | Calvinism

The elect are not only redeemed by Christ and renewed by the Spirit, but also kept in faith by the almighty power of God. The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints does not maintain that all who profess the Christian faith are certain of heaven.  It is saints – those who are set apart by the Spirit – who persevere to the end. Isaiah 43:1-3; 54:10; Jeremiah 32:40; Matthew 18:12-14; John 3:16, 36; John 5:24; 6:34-35, 47; 10:27-30; 17:11-12, 15; Romans 5:8-10; 8:1, 29-30, 35-39; 1 Cor 1:7-9; 10:13; 2 Cor 4:14, 17; Ephesians 1:5, 13-14; 4:30; Col 3:3-4; 1 Thess 5:23-24; 2 Tim 4:18; Heb 9:12, 15; 10:14; 12:28; 1 Pe 1:3-5; 1 John 2:19, 25; 1 John 5:4, 11-13, 20; Jude 1; 24,... read more

Calvinism: Irresistible Grace

Sep 4, 2006 | Calvinism

So, I’m trying to finish a number of backlogged projects – here’s one:  my continuation of summarizing the salient points in Steele, Thomas and Quinn’s book, The Five Points of Calvinism.  These are merely quotations from the book and not my own thoughts.  I am recording them to have them on file.  The other articles can be found by clicking on the “Calvinism” category. THE EFFICACIOUS CALL OF THE SPIRIT OR IRRESISTIBLE GRACE Simply stated, this doctrine asserts that the Holy Spirit never fails to bring to salvation those sinners whom He personally calls to Christ.  He inevitably applies salvation to every sinner whom He intends to save, and it is His intention to save all the elect. Through this special call, the Holy Spirit performs a work of grace within the sinner, which inevitably brings him to faith in Christ. His will is renewed through this process, so that the sinner spontaneously comes to Christ of his own free choice.  Because he is given a new nature so that he loves righteousness, and because his mind is enlightened so that he understands and believes the biblical gospel, he renewed sinner freely and willingly turns to Christ as Lord and Savior.  Thus, the once dead sinner is drawn to Christ by the inward, supernatural call of the Spirit, who through regeneration makes him alive and creates faith and repentance within him. Notable aspects of this doctrine: The Spirit Saves:  Romans 8:14; 1 Cor 2:10-13; 6:11; 12:3; 2 Corinthians 3:6, 17-18; 1 Peter 1:1-2. The Spirit Gives New Birth: 1.  Sinners through regeneration, are brought into God’s Kingdom and are... read more

Croc Hunter Killed

Sep 4, 2006 | Miscellaneous

Stingray kills ‘Crocodile Hunter’ Irwin – Yahoo! News You just knew this was going to happen. I enjoyed watching Steve Irwin. I didn’t think anything could get this... read more

Getting Organized for Free

Sep 4, 2006 | Time/Life Management

Over 160 Free Personal Information Managers – lifehack.org Well, now isn’t this an amazing list of free information management tools.  You could really waste some time checking all 160 of them out.  Don’t ask me how I... read more

I Should Frame This Quote

Sep 4, 2006 | Reading

Pyromaniacs: Bring the Books I’m not sure my wife (who does love to read) would appreciate all of this if applied more radically to my life. I hear in my mind conversations about budget issues. But I’ll probably test the waters. More books! We must have more... read more

Few Ministries As Generous

Sep 2, 2006 | General Theology, Preaching

New Web Resources: Desiring God The preaching ministry of John Piper is one of the most open and generous of the “big name” men out in the major-evangelical personality-land. Not $3.00 or more for an mp3 download – not $6.00 or more to listen or watch John Piper preach – free. FREE! 25 years of preaching available 24/7. This is a great gift to the church and to those who need Christ. I very much appreciate and value their approach to... read more

Five Years Ago

Sep 2, 2006 | Personal

Yesterday was Kelly and my five year wedding anniversary. Tonight we strolled down memory lane, having dinner at the restaurant where I proposed to her and then headed to downtown Los Angeles and enjoyed the revolving lounge at the Westin Bonaventure, the hotel where we spent our first day after being married. I love seeing all of downtown L.A. at night – a beautiful scene. I have a wonderful wife. She is a constant source of encouragement to me. She loves Christ, she loves the Word of God and she loves serving Christ’s people. She loves being deeply involved in the work of the ministry. She is the perfect complement to me personally and in the ministry in which we enjoy serving Christ. We talked again of the providential way God brought us together through a prying seminary professor of mine and plotting friends of hers. Our meeting and marriage was at the perfect time and in the perfect way. I can never say enough of how thankful I am for God giving me such a gift as He has in my wife. Tomorrow we plan to worship at Grace Community Church and then head to The Reagan Library for a look-see at the new Air Force One display. You can bet there will be pics coming of that one. Monday we head home and back to the ministry we so enjoy investing... read more

On Vacation

Aug 29, 2006 | Personal

At the moment, I sitting at a great little coffee shop in Lake Arrowhead, drinking a cappuccino, making use of the wireless internet at DeLago’s coffee shop, and otherwise doing virtually nothing of any real significance. Planned laziness. How’s that for disciplined productivity! Since it’s been a few days that THE CAPRANICA has had seen a fresh post, I’ll catch us up on the past week. Last Wednesday through Saturday, I spent some time with a half dozen men on a retreat at Lake Mojave. We had a great time talking about ordering our lives around biblical priorities. We enjoyed great fellowship with one another. Hitting 70 mph on the SeaDo’s was awesome. Though I missed the all night fishing trip (I see sleep as a biblical priority), the 42 lb. Striper Seth and boys caught was an incredible site. We were also thrilled to see one of the men give his life to Christ while on the trip. Many thanks to Jaron for his great generosity with the house and boat. Great thanks for Jason for bringing along the SeaDo and trusting me not to destroy them. Kel and I are enjoying a week of vacation. We’ll be in Arrowhead for a few days, Palm Springs for a few and then Santa Clarita. I intend to make my pilgrimage to The Reagan Library at the end of the week. Assuming I can find internet access, I’ll post a... read more

The Evils of PowerPoint!

Aug 22, 2006 | Education, Pastoral Ministry, Preaching

Jesus Creed » PowerPointing in Class: Not! Can Scot McKnight be respected?  He refuses to use Power Point and even thinks it is detrimental?  Has he lost his mind?  How can anyone take this guy seriously now. I loved reading this.  I would much rather waste my time with technology in blogging than putting together PP presentations.  Then again, I’m sure I will never be effective in reaching this generation or the next with merely the spoken word from a lone individual standing behind a podium.  Preach... read more

Woman “Sacked” From Sunday School Position! Booyah!

Aug 21, 2006 | Culture, Ecclesiology, Pastoral Ministry

Preacher defends belief women can’t teach men – Yahoo! News http://www.nnyinfo.com/firstbaptist An American Baptist Church in New York relieved an 81 year old woman from her Sunday School teaching position – and it has garnered a national response.  Scripture versus culture once again. If there is any wonder where most north eastern American Baptist churches stand, an executive of the ABC said not many would affirm the pastor’s position but rather are more aggressive in putting women into greater leadership roles. I highly recommend reading the pastor’s statement – as always there is a bit more to the story than the Reuters reporter reports.  The woman seems to have been a member of a troublemaking group that has already been a thorn in the side of the church.  She wasn’t purged purely for 2 Timothy 2:11-15 reasons.  Or perhaps she was.  Perhaps 2 Tim 2 has more wisdom than Reuters and the rest of the world want to admit. What is even more interesting to read is the statement from the diaconate.  According to the statement, 55% of the deacon board is comprised of women.  87% of the Sunday School teachers in the church are women.  This is no “fun-DAM-mental-ist” church. “Sacked” is the term Reuters used to describe the woman’s dismissal, as if she was a paid Sunday School teacher.  Maybe she was, but that seems unlikely.  “Booyah!”  is the term I use for a church willing to take an unpleasant stand to uphold what the Bible... read more

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C.J., Lig, Al, Mark, et. al. Mark Dever and Company John Piper John MacArthur Phil Johnson and Friends the same says it all.