Podcast appearances and mentions of Benjamin B Warfield

In this episode, Caleb is joined by Richard Phillips (DDiv, Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary) senior minister of Second Presbyterian Church in Greenville, SC to discuss lapsarian views. Together they discuss how theologians seek to understand the mind of God as revealed in Scripture with respect to the logical or conceptual relationships between God's eternal decrees.Resources Lapsarian Views by Richard Phillips Theological Primer: Supralapsarianism and Infralapsarianism by Kevin DeYoung Francis Turretin, Institutes of Elenctic Theology, 3 vols., trans. George Musgrave Giger (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1992), 1:417. Benjamin B. Warfield, The Plan of Salvation (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1955), 23. Robert L. Reymond, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1998), 476. Geerhardus Vos, Reformed Dogmatics, 4 vols., trans. Richard B. Gaffin, Jr. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014), 1:154. Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, 4 vols., trans. John Vriend (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2004), 2:391.

     Total depravity is the biblical doctrine that sin permeates all aspects of our being—mind, will, and sensibilities, and renders us helpless to save ourselves. It does not mean we are as bad as we can be, for there are many moral unbelievers in the world. Being contaminated by sin means whatever morality we produce can never measure up to the perfect righteousness God expects. Is there any person who can say, “I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin?” (Prov 20:9). The answer is an emphatic No! The human heart is corrupt, for “the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick” (Jer 17:9). And “Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins” (Eccl 7:20), and “There is none righteous; not even one. There is none who understands; there is none who seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become useless. There is none who does good, there is not even one” (Rom 3:10-12; cf. Rom 8:8). Some might argue that we can perform good works and help to save ourselves. This is wrong. Scripture states, “your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God” (Isa 59:2), “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away” (Isa 64:6). Salvation does not come by human works; rather, we are “justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Rom 3:28), and salvation comes “to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly” (Rom 4:5), and we are “not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified” (Gal 2:16), “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9), and God “has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Tim 1:9), and “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” (Tit 3:5). By human standards, even the worst person can do some good. But human estimation is lower than God's estimation and it is God's standards that define what is truly good. According to Charles Ryrie, “Total depravity must always be measured against God's holiness. Relative goodness exists in people. They can do good works, which are appreciated by others. But nothing that anyone can do will gain salvational merit or favor in the sight of a holy God.”[1] Calvinist View of Total Depravity      For Calvinists, total depravity means total inability. They regard people as totally unable to respond to the things of God; like a physical corpse. Notable scholars such as B. B. Warfield, R. C. Sproul, John Piper, Wayne Grudem, John Frame, John MacArthur, and J. I. Packer hold this view. B. B. Warfield wrote, “nothing is more fundamental in the doctrine of the Reformers than the complete inability of man and his absolute need of divine grace.”[2] John Frame states, “We can never come to God out of our own resources. We are helpless to do anything to save ourselves. This condition is sometimes called total inability” (italics his).[3] J. I. Packer states, “Total depravity entails total inability, that is, the state of not having it in oneself to respond to God and his Word in a sincere and wholehearted way (John 6:44; Rom 8:7–8).”[4] That is, lost sinners cannot respond to God at all, as they are spiritually unable (dead) to respond apart from God's granting life and the ability to believe. This leads Calvinists to conclude two things. First, God sovereignly acts by Himself to regenerate the spiritually dead and make them spiritually alive. Second, God gives the newly regenerate a special kind of faith whereby they can and will trust in Christ as Savior. According to Wayne Grudem, regeneration is “the act of God awakening spiritual life within us, bringing us from spiritual death to spiritual life. On this definition, it is natural to understand that regeneration comes before saving faith. It is in fact this work of God that gives us the spiritual ability to respond to God in faith.”[5] According to John MacArthur, “Our response in salvation is faith, but even that is not of ourselves [but is] the gift of God. Faith is nothing that we do in our own power or by our own resources...Paul intends to emphasize that even faith is not from us apart from God's giving it.”[6] The result of these divine actions in God's elect means they will produce good works and will persevere in those works throughout their lives until they die. John MacArthur states, “The same power that created us in Christ Jesus empowers us to do the good works for which He has redeemed us. These are the verifiers of true salvation.”[7] Thus, good works from regeneration to the end of one's life are the proof of salvation. Failure to produce ongoing good works until the end of one's life is offered as proof he was never saved (Matt 7:21). The Biblical View of Total Depravity      The correct biblical view is that total depravity means total unworthiness, not total inability to respond in faith to God's offer of salvation. Despite the profound impact of sin on human nature, the Bible does not portray people as entirely incapacitated. Yes, all mankind is “dead” in their sins (Eph 2:1); but death does not mean total inability, but total separation from God, for even those who were dead still “walked according to the course of this world” (Eph 2:2). Mankind is totally depraved in the sense that sin corrupts every part of our being, intellect, will, and sensibility. However, it does not mean that fallen people are unable to respond in faith to the gospel of grace.      The first example of spiritual death in the Bible is found in the Garden of Eden. God had warned Adam and Eve, saying, “from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die” (Gen 2:17). The warning was that if they disobeyed God, on that very day, they would die (and death means separation, not cessation). Adam and Eve experienced spiritual death at the moment they disobeyed God. Yet, immediately after the fall, in their state of spiritual death, they could sense God's presence in the Garden, as they “heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden” (Gen 3:8). Furthermore, Adam heard God's voice when He “called to the man” (Gen 3:9), and Adam responded to Him, saying, “I heard the sound of You in the garden” (Gen 3:10a). Though they could not undo their newly fallen sinful state, it did not render them totally unable to perceive God or to respond to Him when He called out to them. And they did respond positively to the Lord when He promised to provide a descendant, a Seed of the woman, who would crush the head of the serpent (Gen 3:15). They also responded positively by accepting God's provision of clothing after He killed an animal, took its skin, and covered their nakedness (Gen 3:21).      Furthermore, God made mankind in His image, as Scripture states, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Gen 1:27). Even after the historic fall of Adam and Eve, all people are said to be “in the image of God” (Gen 9:6), and “in the likeness of God” (Jam 3:9). Despite the fall of humanity into sin, the image of God in humanity remains intact, implying that humans still retain some moral capacity, which includes the ability to accept God's offer of salvation by faith. Though people are deeply affected by sin, they still possess some capacity for moral choice and responsibility, thus arguing against the notion of total depravity meaning total inability.      Regeneration is entirely the work of God in saving lost sinners who cannot save themselves (Rom 5:6-10). The sinner brings nothing of worth to salvation, but receives all that God has to offer by grace. John Walvoord states, “Regeneration is wholly of God. No possible human effort however noble can supply eternal life.”[8] Paul Enns states, “Succinctly stated, to regenerate means ‘to impart life.' Regeneration is the act whereby God imparts life to the one who believes.”[9] Regeneration occurs in the one who believes in Christ as Savior. According to Charles Ryrie, “Salvation is always through faith, not because of faith (Eph 2:8). Faith is the channel through which we receive God's gift of eternal life; it is not the cause. This is so man can never boast, even of his faith. But faith is the necessary and only channel (John 5:24; 17:3).”[10] The Bible teaches there is only one kind of faith, and that only those who place their faith in Christ will be saved. Faith does not save. Christ saves. The Strict-Calvinist believes there are two kinds of faith, one that is common to all, and another that is special and imparted only to God's elect. Believe to Receive Eternal Life      There are numerous passages in the Bible that place faith as the necessary prerequisite to regeneration. It is written, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16), and Jesus said, “This is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life” (John 6:40), and “he who believes has eternal life” (John 6:47). Paul wrote to Timothy about “those who would believe in Him for eternal life” (1 Tim 1:16). In these and other instances, “eternal life” is given after we believe in Jesus as our Savior. Furthermore, people are condemned, not because God has not made a way for them to be saved, but because of their unwillingness to come to Christ as Savior. The issue is individual choice, not inability. The apostle John said, “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). Jesus, speaking to unsaved persons, said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life” (John 5:39-40). Jesus said the Holy Spirit convicts everyone of sin (John 16:8), particularly the sin of unbelief, “because they do not believe in Me” (John 16:9). There is only one sin that keeps a person out of heaven, and that is the sin of unbelief; of rejecting Jesus as the only Savior. Apparently unbelievers may resist the Holy Spirit, as Stephen said in his sermon, “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit” (Acts 7:51a).      Scripture reveals that “God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent” (Acts 17:30). This means they must not trust in themselves or any system of good works to save, but must trust in Christ, and Christ alone to save. Faith does not save. Christ saves. Faith is the non-meritorious instrument by which we receive eternal life. The Strict-Calvinist believes Christ died only for the elect (Matt 1:21; John 10:15), and only the elect are savable. The Bible teaches that Christ died for everyone (John 3:16; Heb 2:9; 1 John 2:2); therefore, everyone is savable. Paul said, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men” (Tit 2:11), and that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). Peter stated, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). Anyone can be saved by believing the gospel message “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4). Jesus is Free from Sin      Concerning total depravity and the transmission of original sin, Jesus is the sole exception, for Mary's virgin conception (Isa 7:14; Luke 1:30-35) meant Jesus was not born with the taint of original sin. Being free from original sin, Jesus also had no sin nature. Furthermore, Jesus lived His entire life and committed no personal sin. Scripture reveals Jesus “knew no sin” (2 Cor 5:21), was “without sin” (Heb 4:15), “committed no sin” (1 Pet 2:22), and in whom “there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). His sinless life qualified Him to die a substitutionary death in our place, “the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18). Jesus died for everyone and paid the penalty for our sin (John 3:16; Heb 2:9; 1 John 2:2). Though His death is sufficient for all to be saved (unlimited atonement), the benefits of the cross are applied only to those who believe in Him, which includes forgiveness of sins (Acts 10:43; Eph 1:7), the gift of righteousness (Rom 5:17; Phil 3:9), and eternal life (John 10:28). Dr. Steven R. Cook   [1] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology, 253. [2] Benjamin B. Warfield, The Plan of Salvation: Five Lectures (Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1915), 44. [3] John M. Frame, Salvation Belongs to the Lord: An Introduction to Systematic Theology (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2006), 112. [4] J. I. Packer, Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1993), 84. [5] Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 702. [6] John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary on Ephesians (Chicago, Ill. Moody Press, 1986), 98. [7] Ibid., 101. [8] John F. Walvoord, The Holy Spirit (Grand Rapids, Mich. Zondervan Publishing, 1977), 132. [9] Paul P. Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1989), 338. [10] Charles C. Ryrie, Basic Theology (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1999), 377.

     Total depravity is the biblical doctrine that sin permeates all aspects of our being—mind, will, and sensibilities, and renders us helpless to save ourselves. It does not mean we are as bad as we can be, for there are many moral unbelievers in the world. Being contaminated by sin means whatever morality we produce can never measure up to the perfect righteousness God expects. Is there any person who can say, “I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin?” (Prov 20:9). The answer is an emphatic No! The human heart is corrupt, for “the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick” (Jer 17:9). And “Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins” (Eccl 7:20), and “There is none righteous; not even one. There is none who understands; there is none who seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become useless. There is none who does good, there is not even one” (Rom 3:10-12; cf. Rom 8:8). Some might argue that we can perform good works and help to save ourselves. This is wrong. Scripture states, “your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God” (Isa 59:2), “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away” (Isa 64:6). Salvation does not come by human works; rather, we are “justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Rom 3:28), and salvation comes “to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly” (Rom 4:5), and we are “not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified” (Gal 2:16), “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9), and God “has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Tim 1:9), and “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” (Tit 3:5). By human standards, even the worst person can do some good. But human estimation is lower than God's estimation and it is God's standards that define what is truly good. According to Charles Ryrie, “Total depravity must always be measured against God's holiness. Relative goodness exists in people. They can do good works, which are appreciated by others. But nothing that anyone can do will gain salvational merit or favor in the sight of a holy God.”[1] Calvinist View of Total Depravity      For Calvinists, total depravity means total inability. They regard people as totally unable to respond to the things of God; like a physical corpse. Notable scholars such as B. B. Warfield, R. C. Sproul, John Piper, Wayne Grudem, John Frame, John MacArthur, and J. I. Packer hold this view. B. B. Warfield wrote, “nothing is more fundamental in the doctrine of the Reformers than the complete inability of man and his absolute need of divine grace.”[2] John Frame states, “We can never come to God out of our own resources. We are helpless to do anything to save ourselves. This condition is sometimes called total inability” (italics his).[3] J. I. Packer states, “Total depravity entails total inability, that is, the state of not having it in oneself to respond to God and his Word in a sincere and wholehearted way (John 6:44; Rom 8:7–8).”[4] That is, lost sinners cannot respond to God at all, as they are spiritually unable (dead) to respond apart from God's granting life and the ability to believe. This leads Calvinists to conclude two things. First, God sovereignly acts by Himself to regenerate the spiritually dead and make them spiritually alive. Second, God gives the newly regenerate a special kind of faith whereby they can and will trust in Christ as Savior. According to Wayne Grudem, regeneration is “the act of God awakening spiritual life within us, bringing us from spiritual death to spiritual life. On this definition, it is natural to understand that regeneration comes before saving faith. It is in fact this work of God that gives us the spiritual ability to respond to God in faith.”[5] According to John MacArthur, “Our response in salvation is faith, but even that is not of ourselves [but is] the gift of God. Faith is nothing that we do in our own power or by our own resources...Paul intends to emphasize that even faith is not from us apart from God's giving it.”[6] The result of these divine actions in God's elect means they will produce good works and will persevere in those works throughout their lives until they die. John MacArthur states, “The same power that created us in Christ Jesus empowers us to do the good works for which He has redeemed us. These are the verifiers of true salvation.”[7] Thus, good works from regeneration to the end of one's life are the proof of salvation. Failure to produce ongoing good works until the end of one's life is offered as proof he was never saved (Matt 7:21). The Biblical View of Total Depravity      The correct biblical view is that total depravity means total unworthiness, not total inability to respond in faith to God's offer of salvation. Despite the profound impact of sin on human nature, the Bible does not portray people as entirely incapacitated. Yes, all mankind is “dead” in their sins (Eph 2:1); but death does not mean total inability, but total separation from God, for even those who were dead still “walked according to the course of this world” (Eph 2:2). Mankind is totally depraved in the sense that sin corrupts every part of our being, intellect, will, and sensibility. However, it does not mean that fallen people are unable to respond in faith to the gospel of grace.      The first example of spiritual death in the Bible is found in the Garden of Eden. God had warned Adam and Eve, saying, “from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die” (Gen 2:17). The warning was that if they disobeyed God, on that very day, they would die (and death means separation, not cessation). Adam and Eve experienced spiritual death at the moment they disobeyed God. Yet, immediately after the fall, in their state of spiritual death, they could sense God's presence in the Garden, as they “heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden” (Gen 3:8). Furthermore, Adam heard God's voice when He “called to the man” (Gen 3:9), and Adam responded to Him, saying, “I heard the sound of You in the garden” (Gen 3:10a). Though they could not undo their newly fallen sinful state, it did not render them totally unable to perceive God or to respond to Him when He called out to them. And they did respond positively to the Lord when He promised to provide a descendant, a Seed of the woman, who would crush the head of the serpent (Gen 3:15). They also responded positively by accepting God's provision of clothing after He killed an animal, took its skin, and covered their nakedness (Gen 3:21).      Furthermore, God made mankind in His image, as Scripture states, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Gen 1:27). Even after the historic fall of Adam and Eve, all people are said to be “in the image of God” (Gen 9:6), and “in the likeness of God” (Jam 3:9). Despite the fall of humanity into sin, the image of God in humanity remains intact, implying that humans still retain some moral capacity, which includes the ability to accept God's offer of salvation by faith. Though people are deeply affected by sin, they still possess some capacity for moral choice and responsibility, thus arguing against the notion of total depravity meaning total inability.      Regeneration is entirely the work of God in saving lost sinners who cannot save themselves (Rom 5:6-10). The sinner brings nothing of worth to salvation, but receives all that God has to offer by grace. John Walvoord states, “Regeneration is wholly of God. No possible human effort however noble can supply eternal life.”[8] Paul Enns states, “Succinctly stated, to regenerate means ‘to impart life.' Regeneration is the act whereby God imparts life to the one who believes.”[9] Regeneration occurs in the one who believes in Christ as Savior. According to Charles Ryrie, “Salvation is always through faith, not because of faith (Eph 2:8). Faith is the channel through which we receive God's gift of eternal life; it is not the cause. This is so man can never boast, even of his faith. But faith is the necessary and only channel (John 5:24; 17:3).”[10] The Bible teaches there is only one kind of faith, and that only those who place their faith in Christ will be saved. Faith does not save. Christ saves. The Strict-Calvinist believes there are two kinds of faith, one that is common to all, and another that is special and imparted only to God's elect. Believe to Receive Eternal Life      There are numerous passages in the Bible that place faith as the necessary prerequisite to regeneration. It is written, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16), and Jesus said, “This is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life” (John 6:40), and “he who believes has eternal life” (John 6:47). Paul wrote to Timothy about “those who would believe in Him for eternal life” (1 Tim 1:16). In these and other instances, “eternal life” is given after we believe in Jesus as our Savior. Furthermore, people are condemned, not because God has not made a way for them to be saved, but because of their unwillingness to come to Christ as Savior. The issue is individual choice, not inability. The apostle John said, “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). Jesus, speaking to unsaved persons, said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life” (John 5:39-40). Jesus said the Holy Spirit convicts everyone of sin (John 16:8), particularly the sin of unbelief, “because they do not believe in Me” (John 16:9). There is only one sin that keeps a person out of heaven, and that is the sin of unbelief; of rejecting Jesus as the only Savior. Apparently unbelievers may resist the Holy Spirit, as Stephen said in his sermon, “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit” (Acts 7:51a).      Scripture reveals that “God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent” (Acts 17:30). This means they must not trust in themselves or any system of good works to save, but must trust in Christ, and Christ alone to save. Faith does not save. Christ saves. Faith is the non-meritorious instrument by which we receive eternal life. The Strict-Calvinist believes Christ died only for the elect (Matt 1:21; John 10:15), and only the elect are savable. The Bible teaches that Christ died for everyone (John 3:16; Heb 2:9; 1 John 2:2); therefore, everyone is savable. Paul said, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men” (Tit 2:11), and that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). Peter stated, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). Anyone can be saved by believing the gospel message “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4). Jesus is Free from Sin      Concerning total depravity and the transmission of original sin, Jesus is the sole exception, for Mary's virgin conception (Isa 7:14; Luke 1:30-35) meant Jesus was not born with the taint of original sin. Being free from original sin, Jesus also had no sin nature. Furthermore, Jesus lived His entire life and committed no personal sin. Scripture reveals Jesus “knew no sin” (2 Cor 5:21), was “without sin” (Heb 4:15), “committed no sin” (1 Pet 2:22), and in whom “there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). His sinless life qualified Him to die a substitutionary death in our place, “the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18). Jesus died for everyone and paid the penalty for our sin (John 3:16; Heb 2:9; 1 John 2:2). Though His death is sufficient for all to be saved (unlimited atonement), the benefits of the cross are applied only to those who believe in Him, which includes forgiveness of sins (Acts 10:43; Eph 1:7), the gift of righteousness (Rom 5:17; Phil 3:9), and eternal life (John 10:28). Dr. Steven R. Cook   [1] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology, 253. [2] Benjamin B. Warfield, The Plan of Salvation: Five Lectures (Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1915), 44. [3] John M. Frame, Salvation Belongs to the Lord: An Introduction to Systematic Theology (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2006), 112. [4] J. I. Packer, Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1993), 84. [5] Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 702. [6] John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary on Ephesians (Chicago, Ill. Moody Press, 1986), 98. [7] Ibid., 101. [8] John F. Walvoord, The Holy Spirit (Grand Rapids, Mich. Zondervan Publishing, 1977), 132. [9] Paul P. Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1989), 338. [10]

The Gospel of the Incarnation by Benjamin B. Warfield audiobook. Two sermons preached in the chapel of Princeton Theological Seminary, October 9, 1892 and January 8, 1893 to the students of Princeton Seminary, for whom they were prepared, to whom they were preached, and on whose request they are now printed, these sermons in their printed form are affectionately dedicated. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The B. B. Warfield Collection, Volume 5 by Benjamin B. Warfield audiobook. This volume of the B.B. Warfield collection has a particular focus on articles on humanity, emotional terminology in the Bible and book reviews Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this short book, originally delivered as an oral address in 1911, Princeton theologian and professor Benjamin B. Warfield addresses his seminarians in anticipation of their upcoming theological studies He stresses to them the importance of not divorcing theological study from functional, religious (or what we might call "spiritual") experience.

May 8. Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield. Warfield was one of the greatest American theologians of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. His education spanned two continents, and he could have chosen to teach and travel extensively across the US and throughout Europe, but he chose instead to remain close to home to care for his invalid wife. […] The post Benjamin B. Warfield, US, Theologian first appeared on 365 Christian Men.

Revelation 20:4-6 Series: Just Conquer #55 # Introduction The study of the end times is not just a study of prophecies but of *promises*. The result of such study is not just (hopefully) a more detailed accuracy about what is going to happen but a *deepened hope* in what God is going to cause to happen. He is a God of promises, a God of hope, and He is always faithful to His Word. From the beginning of our study in the book of Revelation I have maintained that the major "problem" with Revelation, if it really should be called a problem, is that all the things John saw and wrote about have not happened exactly the way that John saw and wrote about. All of the approaches to the Apocalypse wrestle with this fact and propose different ways of handling it. But this is a larger problem than the descriptions and promises found in the last book of the Bible. There were many promises in the Old Testament that were fulfilled when Christ came, but not all of them. Jesus Himself taught about some things that have not happened yet, and this is a *feature* not a bug in the Bible. In this dispensation we live by *faith* not by sight. However much God's Word provides understanding, the point is that we should believe whatever God says. Learn the lessons He teaches, including the lesson of leaning on Him and not our own understanding. He is faithful. God has given a lot of revelation about His reign on earth. He is sovereign by nature, cannot be anything but sovereign, and this is more certain than a triangle having three sides. God rules, has ruled, and will rule. Before He ascended Jesus said that all authority had been given to Him by the Father (Matthew 28:18), and He sits at the Father's right hand (Hebrews 12:2). This God who rules is the God who reveals the His rule will be embodied on earth, and “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). God *promised* such a kingdom to Abram (Genesis 17:1-8), that would come through Judah (Genesis 49:8-10), as a son of David (2 Samuel 7:12-16). There would be a King to rule over all the earth from His throne in Jerusalem. This has not happened yet. That reality has been variously explained, and there are two broad categories of explanation. It *is* happening, but in a spiritual sense, or it *will* happen more than in this spiritual sense. If we are going to give ourselves to serve this God, if we are going to follow the commands of Christ, if we are not going to be ashamed of Him and His words, if we are going to refuse compromise with the world, if we are going to suffer as those who believe in Him without seeing Him, we ought to give full attention to what He says about what He's going to do. It is not an overstatement to call His promises an issue of life or death. Last Lord's Day we considered John's vision about the binding of the devil for a thousand years (Revelation 20:1-3). While it is supernatural, it is not fanciful or fictional. The purpose and duration of Satan's time in the pit relates to this next paragraph (20:4-6) which views the thousand years without the devil's deceiving work among the nations. There are significant interpretive questions about these three verses. There is significant disagreement, with downstream implications, about the interpretation of these verses. Let's reread them and see what promises there are to be celebrated. > Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also, I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4-6) Three times the phrase **for a thousand years** qualifies the duration. It was used twice in the previous paragraph for the binding-time of Satan, it will be used once more in verse 7 as a summary marker, "when the thousand years are ended." As I said last week, this is the Millennium (from the Latin word *mille* meaning “thousand”). The reason why we refer to the Millennial *Kingdom* is because two of the three uses of **for a thousand years** in verses 4-6 speak about *reigning with Christ*, the Messiah, the Anointed King. This is a period of Christ's reign, and of some group with Him. It is tempting to leave the paragraph and bring in other theological categories, or even other Scripture passages, both of which are worthwhile in their place, but neither of which are required just yet. Let's look at the text in front of us first. Along with the reigning Christ, who else do we meet here? An angel and Satan, as affecting the nations, were the main characters in the previous section. Here John sees 1) those seated on thrones, 2) those who share the first resurrection, and 3) those who are resurrected but *not* in the first resurrection. *Both* of the first two groups have authority to judge and reign with Christ and cannot be affected by the second death, the last group is resurrected for sake of the second death. Two related questions arise. What type of resurrections are these? And where is the judging and reigning (by the resurrected) taking place? We can work from what we know. The **second death** is eternal death, which means that the *first* death, not explicitly referenced here, but by implication, is *physical* death. Anyone whose name is not found in the book of life experiences the second death (20:15), but before that, the (physically) dead are "raised" and brought before the "great white throne" (20:11). This raising is what verse 5 describes: **the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended**. So *everyone* is raised physically, those who are part of the group called **the rest** are raised to face the second death. What is the **first resurrection**? The ones who experience the first resurrection *were* **souls** who **came to life**. They are those who *cannot* be affected by the second death, and they come to life at a different time than **the rest** who are affected by the second death. They are also the ones who reign with Christ for a thousand years. Every clue in the passage itself points to a *physical resurrection* and therefore a *physical reign*. This is the promise for those who would not submit themselves to the beast while living on earth. This is the promise for those who actually were willing to give up their physical lives. The promise is not simply that their faithfulness on earth, which caused them their life on earth to end, would result in their reward of reigning with Christ in heaven. This is not merely a spiritualized reward. It is a common interpretation to say that the first resurrection refers to Christian regeneration, that is, to *spiritual* resurrection (Augustine seems to have been the first to promote this view). As we'll see in a moment, what that allows is for a *spiritual* reigning as well as making the thousand years a symbolic reference. But not only does this make the vision about two different kinds of resurrections, the first spiritual and the second physical, it makes the promise for living without compromise a promise of *salvation*. Yet it is those who are saved, as in, already spiritually resurrected in Christ, who resist the beast. The first resurrection occurs *after* the beheadings/martyrdom, so if the first resurrection is spiritual, then the martyrdom results in spiritual life. In other words, they died for Christ before becoming spiritually alive. That misses the entire point of this promise. When **the souls...came to life**, these are already spiritually saved souls who get their new physical bodies. Which also means that when they **came to life and reigned with Christ**, this reigning must be more than spiritual as well. If the thousand years is happening *now*, between Christ's comings (as Douglas Wilson and many others maintain) then the reigning *must* be spiritual. That perspective creates more problems. John saw **thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed**. We are not told the explicit identity of the ones sitting on these thrones, but the movement of this part of the end times points to their authority being *on earth* (contra Wilson). Christ defeated His enemies on earth (19:17-21), Satan is bound away from the earth (21:1-3), so why would the thousand years of reigning, as opposed to the reign of the beast, not also be on earth? Whereas John had previously seen elders sitting on thrones in heaven (4:4), these thrones represent authority *on earth*. Because the ones on the thrones are distinguished from the ones who had been **beheaded for the testimony of Jesus...who had not worshipped the beast or its image**, we have reason to think that the ones with authority are the same group as those who were in the army of the Rider on the white horse (19:14). Based on promises given earlier in the book of Revelation, these are the saints who lived and died before the tribulation, and the **beheaded** were those who lived and died during the tribulation. > The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. (Revelation 3:21) It is not only the martyrs, both groups are *blessed*. **Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection**. They receive their resurrected bodies and are certain not to succumb to the power of the second death, and **they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.** Such a reign of Christ on earth with His resurrected saints fulfills prophecy after prophecy (see for example Exodus 19:6,; Isaiah 61:6; Zechariah 14:9), beginning in the Old Testament and affirmed in the New Testament. While it has always been true that God is King over all the earth, God established a covenant with David that David's son would sit on a throne in Jerusalem and rule the nations (2 Samuel 7:16). So many Psalms anticipate not just the recognition of the Anointed one's spiritual worth and spiritual authority, but of the Anointed one's coming and defeat of enemies and blessing of His people. > Rise up, O judge of the earth. Understand O stupid people! (Psalm 94:2, 8) But not everyone agrees with this. > The mention of the saints' resurrection in 20:4–5 probably is a reference to their share in Christ's own resurrection, which gives them power to rule spiritually over the devil. (Beale) > Having entered into glory, they continued to live on, and they participated in the reign of Christ over all the nations of men. (Wilson) > Rushdoony takes the view of many amillennialists that the first resurrection is a figurative way of referring to the regeneration of the believer, whereas Benjamin B. Warfield held the view, also found among some amillennialists, that the first resurrection is the entrance into heavenly joys and that these verses present a picture of the souls of the redeemed safe in heaven. (_4 Views_) Such interpretations just don't fit. I cannot comprehend what Abraham Kuyper thinks would be so boring about such a future kingdom. Due to what's seen in verses 7-10, when Satan is released for a short time and we find that some are on earth who are still capable of being deceived into rejecting the good reign of King Jesus, there is plenty of plot to work with. If we're going to play that game, how many Christians have been bored thinking about their eternal rest, strumming harps on the sidewalks next to streets of gold? It's possible to make anything "uninteresting" if we try, but God's plan, and *the fulfillment of His promises* down to the jot and tittle, is definitely not going to upset us. # Conclusion We are not *in* this kingdom, we are before it, and Christ will come before it, which is what it means to be a Premillennialist. The judging and reigning is *not ecclesiastical* or spiritual but civil and historical, just as the war was at the end of chapter 19 was on earth, and even as the dragon could no longer deceive the nations. I plan to preach a part two of this paragraph next week, with a brief breakdown of the attempts to square it with eschatology perspectives. I mean, I haven't even shown one chart yet. We are still praying as the Lord taught us, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). And God has promised: The LORD will come and all the holy ones with Him (Zechariah 14:5), > And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. (Zechariah 14:9) ---------- ## Charge We make promises because God makes promises. We keep promises because God keeps promises. We imitate Him by giving our word and we imitate Him by following through on our word. But this is not only parallel behavior, as in a mirror. His faithfulness doesn't just show us how, His faithfulness *blesses* our how. His promises don't just give us ideas, His promises and His faithfulness and His joy make us strong. ## Benediction: > Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:23–25, ESV)

April 20, 2018 | Princeton Theological Seminary Library Lecture: “‘A Man of God is in this Town’ (1 Sam 9:6): Princeton Years of the Ethiopian Patriarch Abuna Paulos (1936–2012)” Lecturer: Dr. Karlfried Froehlich, Benjamin B. Warfield Professor of Ecclesiastical History Emeritus, Princeton Theological Seminary

Jeff Stivason joins us to speak about his article, "Benjamin B. Warfield and True Church Unity," published in the Westminster Theological Journal 79 (2017): 327–43. He argues that Warfield developed a theology that requires the existence of denomination

This week on Theology on the Go, our host, Dr. Jonathan Master is joined by Dr. Jeffrey Stivason.  Dr. Stivason has been serving the Lord as a minister of the Gospel since 1995.  During that time, he has planted two churches, the most recent one being Grace Reformed Presbyterian Church. He is an adjunct professor for the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary and the online program for Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.  He has published articles and reviews in the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, The Westminster Theological Journal, The Presbyterion, The Confessional Presbyterian and others. Dr. Stivason has authored, From Inscrutability to Concursus, published by  P&R Publishing.  He is also a Managing Editor for the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. Today Dr. Master will talk with Dr. Stivason about Benjamin B. Warfield and his understanding of the mode of Biblical inspiration.   Over the last several years the doctrine of inspiration and its constituent parts has come under fire.  If you are looking for a safe place to enter this minefield of a discussion, then the writings of B. B. Warfield are a good place to start.  So, grab that cup of coffee and meet us at the table!  Just for listening, the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals would like to give you a free resource. If you would like to win a copy of From Inscrutability to Concursus: Benjamin B. Warfield's Theological Construction of Revelation's Mode from 1880 to 1915 go to ReformedResources.org!

We begin a new reading today with part 1 of Benjamin B. Warfield’s essay, “Calvin’s Doctrine of the Knowledge of God.” The essay comes from Calvin and the Reformation: Four Studies, published by Fleming H. Revell Company in 1909. Would you like to request a specific book, sermon, or other Christian text? Please e-mail us at churchhistorypodcast@gmail.com or tweet us @OralHistoryPod. Let us know how we’re doing, or what you’d like to hear more of! Reader: Adam Christman Created by: Jonathan McCormick and Adam Christman Produced and edited by: Adam Christman

Part 5 of Bavinck's "Calvin and Common Grace" concludes this essay.  Come back next week for our new series of readings from Benjamin B. Warfield. It's an essay entitled, "Calvin's Doctrine of the Knowledge of God."  Would you like to request a specific book, sermon, or other Christian text? Please e-mail us at churchhistorypodcast@gmail.com or tweet us @OralHistoryPod. Let us know how we’re doing, or what you’d like to hear more of! Reader: Jonathan McCormick Created by: Jonathan McCormick and Adam Christman Produced and edited by: Adam Christman

This week the Theology on the Go podcast is going to be a little different.  Today, instead of asking the questions, our host Dr. Jonathan Master, will be in the hot seat as Dr. Jeffrey Stivason joins him to talk about the important topic of inerrancy.  Dr. Master is dean of the school of divinity and professor of theology at Cairn University. In addition, he is executive editor of the online magazine Place for Truth and is host (Usually!) of the podcast Theology on the Go.  He is the author of A Question of Consensus, and editor of a new volume, entitled, The God We Worship. Just for listening, the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals would like to give you a free resource. An MP3 of Francis Shaeffer's message, "What Difference Does Inerrancy Make?" is yours free as our gift to you.  Go to ReformedResources.org to download your free MPS!     http://www.reformedresources.org/icbi/what-difference-does-inerrancy-mak... Suggested Books from the Podcast: Dr. James Montgomery Boice, Foundations of the Christian Faith, can be obtained at ReformedResources.org and it is on sale for $32 through March 31, 2016.  - http://www.reformedresources.org/james-boice-books/foundations-of-the-christian-faith/ Sinclair Ferguson, From the Mouth of God, is published by the Banner of Truth Trust. Benjamin B. Warfield, The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible is published by Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing J. C. Ryle, Is All Scripture Inspired? Is published by the Banner of Truth Trust. Norman Geisler, Inerrancy is published by Zondervan J. I. Packer, Fundamentalism and the Word of God is published by Eerdmans

This week on Theology on the Go, Dr. Jonathan Master is joined by Dr. Paul K. Helseth, Professor of Christian Thought at the University of Northwestern in St. Paul Minnesota.  Dr. Helseth has contributed articles and reviews to scholarly journals and he regularly participates in academic conferences.  He is the author of Right Reason and the Princeton Mind: An Unorthodox Proposal published by P&R.  Today Dr. Master will be talking to Dr. Helselth about Old Princeton Professor Benjamin B. Warfield. Over the next several weeks, Theology on the Go will focus on Old Princeton and the theologians that made her great.  In order to make this series even more special, The Banner of Truth Trust has graciously donated several books on old Princeton to be given away throughout the series! The winners of Benjamin B. Warfield's book Faith and Life are: Steven M., Walton, NY James G., Machesney Park, IL