In this short clip Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III shares some thoughts on the present resurgence of interest in Calvinism. He makes some very good observations, and his exhortation to the “Young and Restless” movement to adopt the Bible as their authority for their ecclesiology is very helpful. Personally, I see the greatest hole in the present interest in Calvinism is its reduction to “five points” and its focus on primarily soteriology.
Is the Reformation over? There have been several observations rendered on this subject by those I would call “erstwhile evangelicals.” One of them wrote, “Luther was right in the sixteenth century, but the question of justification is not an issue now.” A second self-confessed evangelical made a comment in a press conference I attended that “the sixteenth-century Reformation debate over justification by faith alone was a tempest in a teapot.” Still another noted European theologian has argued in print that the doctrine of justification by faith alone is no longer a significant issue in the church. We are faced with a host of people who are defined as Protestants but who have evidently forgotten altogether what it is they are protesting.
The question, “what must I do to be saved?” is still a critical question for any person who is exposed to the wrath of God.
Contrary to some of these contemporary assessments of the importance of the doctrine of justification by faith alone, we recall a different perspective by the sixteenth-century magisterial Reformers. Luther made his famous comment that the doctrine of justification by faith alone is the article upon which the church stands or falls. John Calvin added a different metaphor, saying that justification is the hinge upon which everything turns. In the twentieth century, J.I. Packer used a metaphor indicating that justification by faith alone is the “Atlas upon whose shoulder every other doctrine stands.” Later Packer moved away from that strong metaphor and retreated to a much weaker one, saying that justification by faith alone is “the fine print of the gospel.” READ MORE
Leonard Ravenhill’s legendary sermon “The Judgment Seat of Christ” is not a paltry call to mediocrity but a heart-piercing roar for complete and total abandonment to Jesus. May eternity be stamped upon your eyeballs as you listen.
I recently traded emails with a brother and the question about Jude 3 came up and what exactly is the “common salvation”. Well I am not as well read in Jude as I should be, but I had my Johnny Mac with me and I wrote out his commentary. Not wanting that to go to waste, I thought I would post it here, in the hope it would be available for you down the road….Enjoy!
Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. Jude 3
beloved. compare to v. Jude 17, and Jude 20. I found it necessary. compare to 1 Cor 9:16. This verse implies that Jude had intended to write a letter on salvation as the common blessing enjoyed by all believers, perhaps to emphasize unity and fellowship among believers, and remind them that God is no respecter of persons. But he was compelled, instead, to write a call to battle for the truth in light o the arrival of apostate teachers. contend earnestly. While the salvation of those to whom he wrote as not in jeopardy, false teachers preaching and living out a counterfeit gospel were misleading those who needed to hear the true gospel. Jude wrote this urgent imperative for Christians to wage war against error in all forms and fight strenuously for the truth, like a soldier who has been entrusted with a sacred task of guarding a holy treasure (compare 1 Tim. 6:12; 2 Tim. 4:7). The faith. This is the whole body of revealed salvation truth contained in the Scriptures (compare Gal. 1:23, Eph. 4:5, 13; Phil. 1:27; 1 Tim. 4:1) see also Jude 20. Here is a call to know sound doctrine (Eph. 4:14; Col. 3:16; 1 Pet. 2:2; 1 John 2:12-14) to be discerning in sorting out truth from error (1 Thess. 5:20-22), and to be willing to confront and attack error.
once for all delivered….saints. God’s revelation was delivered once as a unit, at the completion of the Scripture, and is not to be edited by either deletion or addition (compare Deut. 4:2; Deut. 12:32; Prov. 30:6; Rev. 22:18-19). Scripture is complete, sufficient and finished; Therefore it is fixed for all time. Nothing is to be added to the body of the inspired Word because nothing else is needed. It is the responsibility of believers now to study the Word (2 Tim. 2:15), preach the Word (2 Tim. 4:2) and fight for its preservation.
saints. Believers are identified as holy, since they are set apart from sin to God.
Ah, the Jeep. Specifically a 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. At 170,000 miles, running on its original transmission, engine and drive-train, the thing is a beast and probably deserves a spot in the Jeep hall of fame. But any small part, trinket, bearing or vacuum line that can and will break…has and most likely will. [...]
The day has come to close the comment section on the GTY blog. We are truly sorry to disappoint, but some recent staff changes have made this necessary—just not enough people to monitor and interact. This will be the last post where we’ll allow comments, but stay with us, we’ve got some great posts from John coming very soon... […]
Some commenters lately seem to have typecast Grace to You as a bunch of cranky old men, fearful of a changing world that threatens their long-held positions of power. If that’s what you or someone you know believes about John MacArthur and Grace to You, allow me to make a couple of clarifications. First, a word about the nature of this ministry... […]
Technology continues to advance at a pace that renders every new smartphone, tablet computer, gadget, gizmo, and doohickey obsolete almost upon purchase. And for every successful product—one that actually makes it on the shelf and turns a profit—there have to be ___ failed attempts. That’s why we take a bit of a “wait and see” approach to innovation here at […]
Matthew’s explanation of the significance of the virgin birth came within the revelatory dream God gave to Joseph. Such extraordinary, direct communication evidently occurred while Joseph slept. Matthew does not record any detail of Joseph’s immediate reaction, except to say that he woke up and obeyed the angel’s instructions: “Then Joseph, being aroused fro […]
At the time of Mary’s pregnancy, the idea of a virgin birth was not completely foreign to the Jews’ understanding of their Scripture. Although they misinterpreted it, many of the rabbis exegeted Jeremiah 31:22 (“a woman shall encompass a man”) in a way that suggested the Messiah would have an unusual birth. Their fanciful explanation of that verse (“Messiah […]
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