Podcast appearances and mentions of John Frame

In this episode, Eli talks about the importance of having a consistently Christian philosophical outlook. As a basis for this dicussion, Eli draws a bit from chapter 1 of John Frame' book “The History of Western Philosophy & Theology.”

Today we discuss the answer to the third important question in our Essentials of Christianity segments: How do I know that the Bible is true?Wendy's Resources: Taking God at His Word by Kevin DeYoungKnowing Scripture by RC SproulThe Doctrine of the Word of God in John Frame's Systematic TheologyReach out at:unshakenpsalm622@gmail.comChrist the Word Sermonshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/christ-the-word-church-sermons/id1515599033Christ the Word Truth and Lifehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/christ-the-word-church-sunday-classes/id1699277705Fellow Heirs Podcasthttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fellow-heirs/id171490

Jeremy walks through an open theist's video defining his theology, answering it point-by-point. Visit RBP for 10% off + free shipping through Feb 28, 2025 with promo code DOTHEOLOGY https://regularbaptistpress.org/dotheology Jeremy's debate with Will Duffy: https://www.youtube.com/live/igzWZnXpDsQ?si=ECOmmIrgUJb5cbiY James White's debate with Bob Enyart: https://youtu.be/isRksh30ZUI?si=cXD01-p5S4_Qg3-i Bob Enyart's radio program responding to Jeremy's debate with Will Duffy: https://kgov.com/bel/20210310 Book links: John Frame's "No Other God": https://www.amazon.com/dp/0875521851 Canon Press's "Bound Only Once": https://a.co/d/0QLUh6s Crossway's "Beyond the Bounds": https://a.co/d/5TUKxSO   0:00 Introduction 1:06 Initial Thoughts on Open Theism 6:38 Recommended Reading 8:59 Dominic Enyart Video Intro 14:33 "God Is Living" 35:30 "God Is Eternally Free" 1:02:51 "God Is Infinitely Creative" 1:05:59 "God Experiences Time" 1:19:45 Ignatius and Outro

Send us a textDoes your personality influence your calling? You know, those personality tests everyone's taking… can they tell us anything about how God might use us in His kingdom?This isn't just about Myers-Briggs letters or Strengthsfinder results. It's about understanding how God uniquely crafted you AND how He calls you. We've seen plenty of ministry books trying to crack this code, but what does Scripture actually say about it?We're breaking down: • God's blueprint for our calling • When natural wiring meets divine purpose • Biblical keys for discerning your calling • Why getting this right changes everything • Real talk about personality tests in the churchWe'll dive into the modern psychological application of the Munus Triplex—as seen in the works of theologians like John Frame and Vern Poythress and also the APEST model popularized by Allen Hirsh.Whether you roll your eyes at personality tests or you've got your MBTI in your social media bio, this episode will challenge you to think biblically about God's calling on your life. Join us as we navigate this intersection of personality and purpose - no personality quiz required!

One theme that bubbles up today: “Worship is a time to care for one another, to build up the unity of our fellowship in Christ.” ~John Frame

Sermon Series: The Good Law and The Good Life Sermon Text: Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16 Sermon Title: “Neighborly Love Begins in the Family” Sermon Slides: SLIDE 1 – Sermon Title Slide SLIDE 2 – Today's Big Idea: Christianity is Not Only a Love for God … But a Love for Neighbor. And Neighborly Love … Begins in the Family. SLIDE 3 – Matthew 22:36-40 – “‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?' And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and firstcommandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.'” SLIDE 4 – James Durham (1622-58) – “It was a great mistake of the Pharisees that they placed the main part of religion in the external performance … of the first part of the Law; whereas the Lord Jesus … purposely puts these together … and what God has joined together, let no man pull apart.” SLIDE 5 – Victor Hamilton (1941-Present) – “What the reader of the Bible might have expected is ‘Obey your father and mother.' It is, however, easier to obey than to honor. One can hate but obey. One cannot both hate and honor.” SLIDE 6 – Point 1: Our Duty to Honor in the Family … DemonstratesNeighborly Love (20:12a) SLIDE 7 – Genesis 1:28 – “And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'” SLIDE 8 – Proverbs 22:6 – “Train up a child in the way he should go;even when he is old he will not depart from it” SLIDE 9 – Ephesians 6:4 – “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” SLIDE 10 – Insert Copy of Point #1 of Sermon SLIDE 11 – Point 2: God's Blessing for Honor in the Family … Results from Neighborly Love (20:12b) SLIDE 12 – Five Uses of This Sermon for Our Church and Lives SLIDE 13 – The 5th Command Represents God's Pattern of Authority and Care on Earth. SLIDE 14 – Parents, are we Training Up? … Children, are we Growing Up? SLIDE 15 – John Frame (1939-Present) – “God wants to spread His kingdom, even today, not only through mission work, but throughchildbearing and nurture. He wants to raise up godly families to glorify Him.” SLIDE 16 – Ultimately, God Calls Us to Take Care of Our Own … SLIDE 17 – 1 Timothy 5:8 – “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” SLIDE 18 – Sovereignly, God Always Takes Care of His Own. SLIDE 19 – Neighborly Love Begins in the Family … But Doesn't End There.

Pastor Garrison GreeneTEXT: Ephesians 5:18-19BIG IDEA: We're to be Spirit-filled Christians, producing a singing congregation.OUTLINE:1. Be Spirit-Filled Christians a. A Command b. A Present-Continuous Command c. A Command in the Passive Voice d. A Command for Us All2. Be A Singing Congregation a. Our Audiences b. Our Anthems c. Our AimRESOURCES: ESV Study Bible; Reformed Expository Commentary: Ephesians by Bryan Chapell; The Message of Ephesians by John Stott; The Lectio Continua: Ephesians by Ian Hamilton; Rediscovering the Holy Spirit: God's Perfecting Presence in Creation, Redemption, & Everyday Life by Michael Horton; Joy Unspeakable: Power & Renewal in the Holy Spirit by Martyn Lloyd-Jones; Corporate Worship: How The Church Gathers As God's People by Matt Merker; Rhythms of Grace: How the Church's Worship Tells the Story of the Gospel by Mike Cosper; Worship In Spirit & Truth: A Refreshing Study of the Principles & Practices of Biblical Worship by John Frame; New Testament Christological Hymns: Exploring Texts, Contexts, and Significance by Matthew Gordley

Clark, Evans, & Frame Want Us All To Get Along Finishing up our historical look at the Integrative approach to apologetics we look at David K. Clark, C. Stephan Evans, & John Frame. Their approaches might seem rooted in majorly one camp more than the others but they do encourage all apologists to get along and by combining efforts we may have the best tools available to us to encourage the church and draw people to Jesus Christ. Timeline: 00:00 - Introduction 01:47 - David K. Clark - Dialogical Apologetics 04:14 - C. Stephen Evans 05:26 - Evans As A Evidentialist Apologist 06:38 - Evans As A Reformed Apologist 07:47 - Evans As A Fideist Apologist 12:51 - Evans As An Integration Apologist 18:10 - John Frame 19:10 - Frame As A Reformed Apologist 23:18 - Frame As A Classical Apologist 26:48 - Frame As A Evidentialist Apologist 28:09 - Frame As A Fideist Apologist 29:32 - Frame As An Integration Apologist 30:37 - Conclusion Links: 19:08 - Apologetics by John Frame Series BOOK LINKS: Faith Has Its Reasons By Kenneth Boa & Robert M. Bowman Jr. Kindle Paperback Logos     Apologetics In The New Age by David K. Clark Why Believe by C. Stephen Evans

Introduction (Full Notes Here)      The debate over James 2:14-26 revolves around how to reconcile faith and works in the context of salvation.[1] Catholics and Arminians traditionally see faith and works as both essential for eternal salvation. Reformed theologians see James as setting forth a litmus test for authentic faith, contending that true saving faith is evidenced by a life of obedience and good works. In other words, while salvation is by grace through faith, genuine faith results in a transformed life marked by obedience to Christ as Lord. According to John Frame, “James 2:24, which speaks of justification by works, tells us that a faith without works is not saving faith, not true faith. So, works are evidence of a true, saving faith.”[2] John MacArthur adds, “Good works are inevitable in the life of one who truly believes. These works have no part in bringing about salvation (Eph 2:9; Rom 3:20, 24; 4:5; Tit 3:5), but they show that salvation is indeed present (Eph 2:10; 5:9; 1 John 2:5).”[3] R. C. Sproul states, “every true believer bears some fruit. If he does not, he's not a believer.”[4] Even some of my favorite Bible teachers hold this view. For example, Arnold Fruchtenbaum says, “Is a faith that produces no work whatsoever really a saving faith? The obvious answer is, ‘No.' The issue here is saving faith.”[5] And Charles Ryrie states, “Can a nonworking, dead, spurious faith save a person? James is not saying that we are saved by works but that a faith that does not produce good works is a dead faith…Genuine faith cannot be ‘dead' to morality or barren to works.”[6] According to Warren Wiersbe, “Any declaration of faith that does not result in a changed life and good works is a false declaration. That kind of faith is dead faith…Dead faith is not saving faith. Dead faith is counterfeit faith and lulls the person into a false confidence of eternal life.”[7] William MacDonald states, “works are not the root of salvation but the fruit; they are not the cause but the effect. Calvin put it tersely: ‘We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone.'”[8]      Many proponents of this view assert that merely professing faith without a corresponding life of obedience can lead to self-deception and a false sense of security regarding one's salvation. One of the flaws of this view is that Christians spend much of their time looking at themselves and wondering if their works are genuine, or if they've done enough to prove their eternal salvation. Because sin continues in the lives of all Christians, and this to varying degrees, it leaves the believer in a state of uncertainty about their eternal destiny because they never know if their works represent a genuine saving faith.      In James 2:14-26; James is not distinguishing genuine from false faith; but rather, a useful faith that works to bless others, versus a useless faith that cannot save the Christian from divine discipline and loss of reward at the bema seat of Christ. For James, a dead faith is a useless faith that benefits no one, and his reference to salvation is from divine discipline, not the lake of fire. It's noteworthy that James 2:14-26 is sandwiched between two sections concerning divine judgement (Jam 2:12-13; 3:1). Biblically, disobedient Christians face God's judgment in this life as they are subject to divine discipline (Heb 12:6), which can eventuate in physical death (1 Cor 11:30; Jam 1:15, 21; 5:19-20; 1 John 5:16), as well as future judgment before the bema seat of Christ in heaven (Rom 14:10-12; 2 Cor 5:10). At the judgment seat of Christ, all Christians will stand before the Lord Jesus, not to determine if they have eternal life, for that is already secure for them (John 5:24; 10:28; 1 John 5:13), but to be evaluated on how they lived and rewards given for obedience to Him (1 Cor 3:10-15). This is important to understand, for when James poses the question, “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?” (Jam 2:14), he's talking about a useful faith that benefits others and saves the Christian from divine discipline in this life, which can eventuate in physical death, and loss of reward at the bema seat of Christ. The Usefulness of Faith      For James, faith must be put into use to be beneficial to others. In one sentence, James said, “faith, if it has no works, is dead” (Jam 2:17), and in another sentence, said, “faith without works is useless” (Jam 2:20). A dead faith is a useless faith. It is useless to God and others, being of no benefit to the needy. We use similar language when we talk about a “dead battery,” we're talking about a battery that is useless. And when we talk about Latin being a “dead language,” we mean it's no longer in use. Likewise, a dead faith is a useless faith. However, unlike a dead battery or a dead language, we have volition and the ability to put our faith into practice, making it useful to others. Which is why James previously wrote, “prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves” (Jam 1:22).      The teaching of Scripture is that sinners are saved totally apart from works. Paul wrote, “For we maintain that a man is 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). 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). God “has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works” (2 Tim 1:9a), and “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness” (Tit 3:5a). Good works do not save us eternally. They never have and never will.      James is not contradicting Paul. They are addressing two different matters. Paul addresses justification before God, which is based entirely on the work of Christ at the cross and the imputed righteousness that comes to the one who trusts in Christ alone for salvation (Rom 5:17; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9). James addresses justification in the sight of others, what we might call vindication. God does not need to see our faith. He knows it's there. But others cannot see our faith, so good works help them to see what we claim to be true. Once saved, we are called to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7). God said, “My righteous one shall live by faith” (Heb 10:38), for “without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Heb 11:6). And we know that “whatever is not from faith is sin” (Rom 14:23). Furthermore, Christians are commanded to love others (John 13:34; Gal 5:13; 1 Th 4:9). This love is to be actionable and tangible (Jam 2:15-16; 1 John 3:17-18). Also, we are directed to do good works, which glorify God and edify others. Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt 5:16; cf. Eph 2:10). God's Word directs us to “do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Gal 6:10), “to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share” (1 Tim 6:18), to be “zealous for good deeds” (Tit 2:14b), to “learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs” (Tit 3:14a), “to stimulate one another to love and good deeds” (Heb 10:24). Failure of Christians to put their faith into action means they are disobedient to the Lord and subject to divine discipline. Scripture reveals, “those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and chastises every son whom He receives” (Heb 12:6). Jesus said, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline” (Rev 3:19a). Paul wrote, “But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world” (1 Cor 11:32).[9] With these doctrines in mind, let's look at James 2:14-26. Dr. Steven R. Cook   [1] James clearly wrote to saved persons, Jewish believers, whom he called “brethren” (Jam 1:2, 16, 19; 2:1, 5, 14; 3:1, 10, 12; 4:11; 5:7, 9-10, 12, 19), confirmed they were born from above (Jam 1:17-18), and said they had “faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ” (Jam 2:1). He said the Holy Spirit dwelled in them (Jam 4:5), which proved they were Christians, for “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him” (Rom 8:9). The main purpose of James' letter was to exhort Christians to spiritual maturity (Jam 1:4), which manifests itself in practical righteousness. James in no way contradicts Paul. Paul wrote about justification in the sight of God (Rom 3:28; 4:1-5; Gal 2:16), whereas James wrote about being justified in the sight of others (Jam 2:18, 24). [2] John M. Frame, Salvation Belongs to the Lord: An Introduction to Systematic Theology (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2006), 205. [3] John F. Macarthur, Jr., “Faith According To The Apostle James” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Vol 33/1: March 1990, 18. [4] R. C. Sproul, Can I Be Sure I'm Saved?, vol. 7, The Crucial Questions Series (Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2010), 15. [5] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Messianic Jewish Epistles: Hebrews, James, First Peter, Second Peter, Jude, 1st ed., (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 2005), 253 [6] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, Expanded ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1995, 1970), 1970. [7] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 354. [8] William MacDonald, Believer's Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 2229. [9] He gave to us It is never the will of God that we sin (1 John 2:1), but all saints commit sin, and there is no such thing as a sinless saint. David wrote, “my sins have overtaken me…they are more numerous than the hairs of my head” (Psa 40:12), and “I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me” (Psa 51:3). Paul said of himself, “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want…I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good” (Rom 7:19, 21). And the John wrote, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us…If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:8, 10). James said, “we all stumble in many ways” (Jam 3:2a). Though forgiven all our sins (Acts 10:43; Eph 1:7), and saved (Eph 2:8), Christians continue to possess a sin nature (Rom 6:6; 7:14-25; 13:14; Col 3:9; Gal 5:16-17, 19-22; 1 John 1:8), and commit personal acts of sin (Eccl 7:20; 1 John 1:10; 2:1). Though the power of the sin nature is broken (Rom 6:11-14), the presence of the sin nature is never removed from us until God takes us from this world and gives us a new body like the body of Jesus (Phil 3:20-21; 1 John 3:2, 5). It is possible for saints to commit any sin an unbeliever can commit, to the same degree, and for the same duration of time. That's not what God wants from us. He wants righteousness. It's possible for Christians to live sinfully, though not without consequences. Living sinfully does not mean loss of eternal salvation, for that is not possible. Jesus said, the one who believes in Him “has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24), and “I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28). Paul wrote, “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). But if Christians choose to operate by the sinful flesh (1 Cor 3:1-3), love the world (1 John 2:15-16), and live sinfully, like the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-24), they open the door to divine discipline and great suffering (Heb 12:5-11), which can eventuate in physical death (1 Cor 11:30; Jam 1:15, 21; 5:19-20; 1 John 5:16), and the loss of eternal rewards (1 Cor 3:10-15; 2 John 1:8).  

Join us as we sit down with Scott Hatch and discuss his new book "Van Til and the Foundation of Christian Ethics: A God-Centered Approach to Moral Philosophy." Unveiling the often-overlooked significance of Cornelius Van Til in the realm of Reformed ethics, this work draws light upon his unique moral philosophy. Grounded in the covenantal epistemology and metaphysics typically employed for apologetics, Van Til masterfully harmonized his insights with those of Geerhardus Vos' biblical theology. In contrast to many ethicists who concentrate on formulating and applying principles, Van Til focused his attention on the Christian's greatest good (summum bonum), which is God himself. His dedication to exploring the ethical implications of this divine starting point produced a standard of God-centeredness in moral philosophy that remains distinctive among Reformed thinkers, setting him apart even from his students, such as Greg Bahnsen, John Frame, and Meredith Kline, who have also contributed substantially to Reformed ethics. Amidst the rise of moral relativism in the mid-twentieth century, Van Til's stance was steadfast. This book, which includes a new critical edition of Van Til's Christian Theistic Ethics, reveals how, against the backdrop of this challenging era, he not only successfully defended Christian ethical foundations but also holistically integrated ethics with the rest of Christian theology, reinforcing its relevance and import.

Exodus 20:15; Ephesians 4:28 | Help from John Frame and J. Douma | Pentecost Sunday, 19 May 2024

The Seventh Commandment | Help from John Frame | 5 May 2024

     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]

     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.

In an article written by John Frame for The Gospel Coalition, Frame writes: “The sovereignty of God is the same as the lordship of God, for God is the sovereign over all of creation. The major components of God's lordship are his control, authority, and covenantal presence.” In today's episode about God's attributes, we're talking about His sovereignty. Join the podcast over on Instagram @SheDisciplesPodcast Verse: Isaiah 45:5-12 (ESV) You can check out the article I referenced by John Frame HERE

Clay talks with Dave Jenkins about his book, The Word Matters: Defending Biblical Authority Against the Spirit of the Age. Resources Mentioned: Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy The Unimaginable Becomes Reality: When a Drag Queen Becomes the Latest Candidate for Ministry in Your Church, You've Completely Abandoned the Christian Tradition by Albert Mohler God, Revelation, and Authority (6 volumes) by Carl F.H. Henry ⁠American Worldview Inventory 2023⁠ by the Barna Group Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible by B.B. Warfield The Doctrine of the Word of God by John Frame

In this episode, Eli is joined by the host of the Cave to the Cross YouTube channel Patrick Studebaker, to talk about the unique form of presuppositionalism held by John Frame. #presup #apologetics #frame

Cody Connor is fighting for his trans daughter in the face of Virginia Governor Glen Youngkin's “model policies” for schools. Writer/director Emile Gaudreault's 2003 comedy remains a cross-cultural favorite (interviewed by John Frame in Brisbane). Plus, can exorcism save Illinois from marriage equality? And in NewsWrap: The Thai Cabinet approves an amendment to the Civil Code to open marriage to gay and lesbian couples, Nepal finally registers its first same-gender couple since the Supreme Court order in July, Russia's Supreme Court outlaws the non-existent “international public LGBT movement,” Florida's Republican lawmakers are bent on expanding “Don't Say Gay” to clamp down on queer advocacy, Iowa's book ban faces two separate lawsuits, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Ava Davis and John Dyer V (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the December 4, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.Genesis 1:1 (1st verse of the Bible)I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.The Apostle's Creed (1st Confession of historical Christianity)Dr. John Frame"A comprehensive, biblical worldview must start at the start. The only antidote to collapsing standards of truth and morality in both the wider culture and the church, is a right apprehension of our Creator God—and of His providential purposes in the whole of creation."Christians can recover a comprehensive Christianity by building a biblical worldview upon the 3 great transcendent themes of scripture: Creation-Fall-Redemption. The order is important.We cannot neglect the Creation account in Genesis and expect to understand the rest of the Bible any more than we can miss the beginning of a movie and expect to understand the rest of the story. And it's not too late to turn things around!We hope you enjoy Part 3 of Pastor Ray's instructional teaching on "How To Build A Biblical Worldview"....Join us for a new message each week with Ray McCollum, recorded live from Celebration Church in Nashville, USA.Share the link and invite a friend to join this service.Subscribe to receive our latest content: https://tr.ee/2b6XuDKlaSTo support the ministry of Celebration Church and invest in the lives of others through giving click here: https://subsplash.com/celebrationchur......FOLLOW US►► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwmccollum/►► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rwmccollum/►► Twitter: https://twitter.com/rwmccollum#celebrationchurchnashville #online #jesus #celebrationchurch #church #onlinechurch #sermon #nashville

Skott Freedman's 2003 anthology “Bi the People” boosted the audibility of bisexual musicians, including Jill Sobule and Leigh Fischer (interviewed by JD Doyle). Irish folksinger Brian Kennedy turned being outed into an opportunity to be a model of transparency (interviewed by John Frame). And in NewsWrap: Uganda's “Kill the Gays” law sparks vigilante violence, cross-dressing Iraqi social media star Noor BM is shot dead, the U.S. Congress ignores Boebert's pointless anti-trans bile, Trump's desperate Republican rivals play anti-trans cards, an appeals court unblocks Kentucky and Tennessee pediatric gender-affirming healthcare bans, a Florida school district won't let students “read gay,” and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Allan Tijamo and Elena Botkin-Levy (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the October 2, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

In this conversation with Chris Bolt, we discuss his work on presuppositionalism in the academy and the church. We explore various figures in the debate and take a look at the merits of natural theology. We also discuss his absence and reappearance on Twitter/X. Support the show!! - https://www.patreon.com/chasedavis“The World in His Hands: A Christian Account of Scientific Law and its Antithetical Competitors” - https://amzn.to/3ZToTRLGreg Bahnsen and R.C. Sproul - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbHkZ7SXm7kChris Bolt Dissertation - https://repository.sbts.edu/bitstream/handle/10392/5171/Bolt_sbts_0207D_10325.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=yCraig Carter and Chris Bolt - https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-7guy5-1229a90Chris Bolt Twitter - https://twitter.com/clboltVillage Church RVA - https://villagechurchrva.com/https://youtu.be/e02aF_4F9VoSupport the showSign up for the Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/chasedavisFollow Full Proof Theology on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/fullprooftheology/Follow Full Proof Theology on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/fullprooftheology/

# Front Matter Today Lance takes a look at the question: Why did God Create Humans to be sent to hell? He unpacks three answers to this question and explores the ramifications of the metaphysics of the will. ## This is a serious Topic - the reality is that this question touches on aspect of our worldview that inform us on the very nature of God's goodness. The question of the nature of the will, though central to this issue, is nevertheless used by us to understand God's relationship to the problems of evil. And it can be an upsetting experience to have these assumption challenged. ## This Topic is surrounded by Mystery from every view point. - We have to walk a line here that puts us between two extremes when we talk about this topic: the "complete" answer, that leaves nothing to mystery, and the mysterious answer, that leaves it all to mystery. The bible is somewhere in between these two extremes. - But every approach to this question claims some sort of mystery at one point or another. This is not bad on the face of it but it is a dangerous place to be: to claim mystery where the Word of God has spoken or to claim revelation where the Word of God has not Spoken are two errors that we must avoid. # Three Approaches to this question ## 1) He didn't. He took a chance that we would go to hell by giving us [[Libertarian Free Will]] and discovered after we chose where we were headed. (Open Theism) - This is the most logically complete and consistent viewpoint in terms of faithfulness to LFW. Given LFW as a presupposed non negotiable this is the conclusion that one must come to in order to be truly faithful to LFW. - John Frame has a good quote on this in his Systematic Theology: > As with open theists Pinnock and Rice, libertarians tend to make their view of free will a nonnegotiable, central truth, with which all other theological statements must be made consistent. Libertarian freedom then takes on a kind of paradigmatic or presuppositional status. But as we have seen, libertarianism is unscriptural. It would be bad enough merely to assert libertarianism contrary to the Bible. But making it a central truth or governing perspective is very dangerous indeed. An incidental error can be corrected without much trouble. But when such an error becomes a major principle, a grid through which all other doctrinal statements are filtered, then a theological system is in grave danger of shipwreck. ### Why is this view wrong? - This view is simply wrong for several reasons. - First: It is simply miles away from *quite* a few basic biblical doctrines such as the sovereignty of God, the omniscience of God, and the nature of time itself regarding God. - Second: This view relies and assumes that LFW is an nonnegotiable central truth. But this is untenable considering the Bibles take on the nature of the will. Not only does the Bible never affirm LFW in a few spots it explicitly denies core aspect of LFW. And the other doctrines conflict with LFW on a deep level. ## 2) He didn't. While He knew how we would choose he nevertheless did not choose for us and gave us Libertarian Free Will. How that works in light of God's Sovereignty is a mystery but we have perfect freedom to choose either hell or heaven. (Classical Arminianism) - This is the most common view of faithful Christians' that nevertheless cannot get on board with the conclusions of the Calvinist. - This is also the view that can be follow throughout history all the way back to the early church fathers. - It must be noted that even though this view, married as it is to LFW, can be found in the early Christian writers it would be a an error to declare LFW to be true based on that fact. If that were true then it would prove too much. Read Justine Martyr, Origin, and many others to a smaller degree and you will find beliefs that are simply counter to the scriptures. - Further, and the reason we find error in the early Christians,

# Front MatterToday Lance takes a look at the question: Why did God Create Humans to be sent to hell?He unpacks three answers to this question and explores the ramifications of the metaphysics of the will.## This is a serious Topic- the reality is that this question touches on aspect of our worldview that inform us on the very nature of God's goodness. The question of the nature of the will, though central to this issue, is nevertheless used by us to understand God's relationship to the problems of evil. And it can be an upsetting experience to have these assumption challenged. ## This Topic is surrounded by Mystery from every view point.- We have to walk a line here that puts us between two extremes when we talk about this topic: the "complete" answer, that leaves nothing to mystery, and the mysterious answer, that leaves it all to mystery. The bible is somewhere in between these two extremes.- But every approach to this question claims some sort of mystery at one point or another. This is not bad on the face of it but it is a dangerous place to be: to claim mystery where the Word of God has spoken or to claim revelation where the Word of God has not Spoken are two errors that we must avoid.# Three Approaches to this question## 1) He didn't. He took a chance that we would go to hell by giving us [[Libertarian Free Will]] and discovered after we chose where we were headed. (Open Theism)- This is the most logically complete and consistent viewpoint in terms of faithfulness to LFW. Given LFW as a presupposed non negotiable this is the conclusion that one must come to in order to be truly faithful to LFW. - John Frame has a good quote on this in his Systematic Theology:> As with open theists Pinnock and Rice, libertarians tend to make their view of free will a nonnegotiable, central truth, with which all other theological statements must be made consistent. Libertarian freedom then takes on a kind of paradigmatic or presuppositional status. But as we have seen, libertarianism is unscriptural. It would be bad enough merely to assert libertarianism contrary to the Bible. But making it a central truth or governing perspective is very dangerous indeed. An incidental error can be corrected without much trouble. But when such an error becomes a major principle, a grid through which all other doctrinal statements are filtered, then a theological system is in grave danger of shipwreck.### Why is this view wrong?- This view is simply wrong for several reasons. - First: It is simply miles away from *quite* a few basic biblical doctrines such as the sovereignty of God, the omniscience of God, and the nature of time itself regarding God. - Second: This view relies and assumes that LFW is an nonnegotiable central truth. But this is untenable considering the Bibles take on the nature of the will. Not only does the Bible never affirm LFW in a few spots it explicitly denies core aspect of LFW. And the other doctrines conflict with LFW on a deep level.## 2) He didn't. While He knew how we would choose he nevertheless did not choose for us and gave us Libertarian Free Will. How that works in light of God's Sovereignty is a mystery but we have perfect freedom to choose either hell or heaven. (Classical Arminianism)- This is the most common view of faithful Christians' that nevertheless cannot get on board with the conclusions of the Calvinist. - This is also the view that can be follow throughout history all the way back to the early church fathers. - It must be noted that even though this view, married as it is to LFW, can be found in the early Christian writers it would be a an error to declare LFW to be true based on that fact. If that were true then it would prove too much. Read Justine Martyr, Origin, and many others to a smaller degree and you will find beliefs that are simply counter to the scriptures. - Further, and the reason we find error in the early Christians, the assumption is commonly (in keeping with the Roman tradition) to see them as more pure believers in their worldview assumption. But if we read them with an eye on worldview we see that they were heavily influenced but the cultures that they were in. LFW was a common pagan philosophical belief in that day that the early believers used as a crutch even though it was not found in the scriptures.### Why is this view wrong?- For much the same reason as the Open theists. But, thankfully, this view seeks to be faithful to the scriptures overall. There are distortions on secondary issues but it is no where near as bad.## 3) He did so for his Glory. We might have Free Agency but God ordained nevertheless that there would be some created that would freely choose to reject him and some that would freely choose to accept him. He created some as examples of his grace and some as examples of his wrath. (Soft Deterministic Calvinism)- This view is difficult for many to accept on the face of it as it does not allow for LFW which is commonly used in the worldviews of today to alleviate most issues pertaining to the problems of evil. So, removing that possible explanation, and especially replacing it with the Glory of the Lord being the only visible purpose for this terrifying reality, causes most people to chafe and reject this out of hand.- Yet there are issues with rejecting this view point: - The Bible is shot through with examples and references to God's complete Sovereignty. - This view, when worded this way, is a literal word for word quotation of Romans 9. Further, given the meaning of the words here and the contextual meaning of the same words in Romans 9, the Bible makes this same statement. And to add insult to injury Romans 9 itself directly invalidates LFW, the cornerstone of Open Theism and the crutch of Arminianism.- To demand that LFW must be the solution to the problem's of evil also faces some deep issue: - Such a demand reveals a heart that does not value the glory of God as much as it values the glory of man. - How can I make such an assertion? - When someone asks this question it is common to use LFW to settle their heart on this matter. And so I have seen quite a few people draw comfort from LFW. But assume that you used God's glory as the sole reason and the idea that was supposed to bring comfort to the heart. Would it? Not for most. It would bring consternations and indignation. But this is a *major* problem in and of itself and reveals that we value our own LFW over God's glory. What are the stakes here? People going to hell. This is terrifying. But when LFW is used to justify God and hell people are calmed. This means the reality of hell is acceptable *as long as* we also get LFW. But if LFW was not true and the sole reason for hell was God's glory this would be an outrage. So here we have it: mans heart wants its own power and cares not for the glory of the Lord.

Make a one-time or recurring donation on our ⁠Donor Box profile here⁠. Join us in the mission of introducing Reformed Theology across the world! Interested in further study of the Bible? Join us at ⁠⁠⁠Logos Bible Software⁠⁠⁠. Are you interested in a rigorous and Reformed seminary education? Call Westminster Seminary California at 888-480-8474 or visit ⁠⁠www.wscal.edu⁠⁠! Please help support the show on our ⁠⁠⁠Patreon Page⁠⁠⁠!   SEASON 6 EPISODE 13 Join Nick and Peter of the Guilt Grace Gratitude Podcast as they continue Season 6, Introduction to Reformed Theology. This week they discuss Sanctification with Dr. Peter Lee! Peter Lee (PhD., The Catholic University of America) is a church planter, pastor, and expert in Ancient Near Eastern languages. Peter teaches Hebrew I, Hebrew II, Hebrew Exegesis, Genesis to Joshua and Judges to Esther at Reformed Theological Seminary. He graduated from Westminster Theological Seminary, California with an MDiv where he studied under Dr. Mark Futato, Dr. John Frame and Dr. Meredith Kline. He received the PhD in Semitic and Egyptian Languages and Literature from The Catholic University of America. Known for his easy-going, pastoral approach to teaching, Peter makes learning Hebrew and the Old Testament a joy. He resides in Columbia, Maryland with his wife and six children. This season is dedicated to ⁠Westminster Seminary California⁠. Interested in applying? Go ⁠here⁠.    Have Feedback or Questions? Email us at: guiltgracepod@gmail.com Find us on Instagram: ⁠⁠@guiltgracepod⁠⁠ Follow us on Twitter: ⁠⁠@guiltgracepod⁠⁠ Find us on YouTube: ⁠⁠Guilt Grace Gratitude Podcast⁠⁠ Please rate and subscribe to the podcast on whatever platform you use! Looking for a Reformed Church? ⁠⁠North American Presbyterian & Reformed Churches --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gggpodcast/support

It is so comforting that God cares for the next generation, and they are in His mighty hands. Even when we fail, God is faithful to His covenant promises. But that doesn't mean we don't have a lot of work to do. Judges 2:10 recounts a sad story when "there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel." How could this happen? How could they forget about creation, Adam and Eve, Abraham, and the Exodus event? But it did happen. As yearly statistics warn of the religious decline in the next generation, Judges 2:10 becomes a stark warning. In this episode, Pastor Brandon discusses how to equip the next generation.  For Pastor Brandon's favorite Apologetics books, see:  8th Grade - Know Why You Believe by K. Scott Oliphint  9th Grade - Why Should I Believe Christianity? by James Anderson  10th Grade - The Ultimate Proof of Creation by Jason Lisle  11th Grade - Covenantal Apologetics: Principles and Practice in Defense of Our Faith by K. Scott Oliphint & Redeeming Science: A God-Centered Approach by Vern Poythress (chapters 1-3, 11-23) 12th Grade - Christian Apologetics by Cornelius Van Til & Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books by Michael Kruger  Also: from 8th grade to 12th grade read this book with your child to help him or her to navigate and critique other forms of thought: A History of Western Philosophy and Theology by John Frame. This book will help them understand the aforementioned books and will go along nicely with them.   

In this episode, Caleb discusses the importance of systematic theology for the life of the church and the people of God with Todd Miles (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) Professor of Theology at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. Together Caleb and Todd answer questions like, what is systematic theology and why should the average Christian care to study it? How does it relate to other theological disciplines? What are its historical roots and why was/is it necessary? How do we apply Christian doctrine to life? How can churches better teach theology from the pulpit, in their classes, or small groups? And more. Resources Beginners Salvation Belongs to the Lord: An Introduction to Systematic Theology by John Frame https://a.co/d/8uIJhmt 50 Core Truths of the Christian Faith: A Guide to Understanding and Teaching Theology by Gregg Allison https://a.co/d/6WEuST3 Bible Doctrine, Second Edition: Essential Teachings of the Christian Faith by Wayne Grudem https://a.co/d/1Z3rOIg Christian Theology: The Biblical Story and Our Faith by Christopher Morgan https://a.co/d/cJOdcjC Intermediate Christian Theology by Millard Erickson https://a.co/d/5eajuEk The Wonderful Works of God by Herman Bavinck https://a.co/d/8VXP8Fc Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin https://a.co/d/cwtjixy

The Apologetics Of The Noetic Effects We close Frame's book for the last time with the conclusion of one of the appendices – a look at the critique Ligonier has about Van Til and his apologetics. We look at the similarities and differences the apologetics of the noetic effects of sin has for each model. [...] The post The Apologetics Of The Noetic Effects – Ep.236 – Apologetics By John Frame – Appendix – Part 2 first appeared on Cave To The Cross Apologetics. The post The Apologetics Of The Noetic Effects – Ep.236 – Apologetics By John Frame – Appendix – Part 2 appeared first on Cave To The Cross Apologetics.

Ligonier Vs. Van Til It's the fight of the century! The boys from Florida against the Dutch Bomber himself! It is Ligonier Vs. Van Til with special guest referee John Frame! Frame responds to the need for defining terms at the start of this debate and shows that conflatating “start with” allows one to begin [...] The post Ligonier Vs. Van Til – Ep.235 – Apologetics By John Frame – Appendix – Part 1 first appeared on Cave To The Cross Apologetics. The post Ligonier Vs. Van Til – Ep.235 – Apologetics By John Frame – Appendix – Part 1 appeared first on Cave To The Cross Apologetics.

Atheism And Idolatry John Frame closes his apologetics as offense chapter by looking at the two avenues of non-Christian belief – atheism and idolatry. Both parts are interconnected and share common traits. However, atheism tends to remove objective values and relies on the need for evolution to be true. Frame provides some strategies in answering [...] The post Atheism And Idolatry – Ep.234 – Apologetics By John Frame – Apologetics As Offense – Part 2 first appeared on Cave To The Cross Apologetics. The post Atheism And Idolatry – Ep.234 – Apologetics By John Frame – Apologetics As Offense – Part 2 appeared first on Cave To The Cross Apologetics.

The Irrationalist Rationalist Blue 42! Blue 42! Plato! Set – Hike! John Frame takes apologetics on the offense in this chapter leading up to the end of the book. Many parts of this chapter refer back to previous chapters and we likewise suggest checking out our previous episodes in the series. Here, Frame wants us [...] The post The Irrationalist Rationalist – Ep.233 – Apologetics By John Frame – Apologetics As Offense – Part 1 first appeared on Cave To The Cross Apologetics. The post The Irrationalist Rationalist – Ep.233 – Apologetics By John Frame – Apologetics As Offense – Part 1 appeared first on Cave To The Cross Apologetics.

John Frame's Explanation For Evil Now we come to John Frame's explanation for evil. He wants to derive the answer not from a faceless god but from the God of The Bible. He doesn't want just a philosophical answer for evil but one derived from The Bible. Frame wants to not just look at an [...] The post John Frame's Explanation For Evil – Ep.232 – Apologetics By John Frame – The Problem Of Evil A Biblical Response – Part 2 first appeared on Cave To The Cross Apologetics. The post John Frame's Explanation For Evil – Ep.232 – Apologetics By John Frame – The Problem Of Evil A Biblical Response – Part 2 appeared first on Cave To The Cross Apologetics.

No Obligation To Answer For Evil We see John Frame call again for us to turn to Scripture to see what he believes is The Bible's explanation for the problem of evil. Frame surveys many parts of Scripture, both OT & NT, and finds that in the number of places where man asks God why [...] The post No Obligation To Answer For Evil – Ep.231 – Apologetics By John Frame – The Problem Of Evil A Biblical Response – Part 1 first appeared on Cave To The Cross Apologetics. The post No Obligation To Answer For Evil – Ep.231 – Apologetics By John Frame – The Problem Of Evil A Biblical Response – Part 1 appeared first on Cave To The Cross Apologetics.

Lacking Explanations For Evil Rounding out this chapter, Frame covers six different theodicies he says are lacking explanations for evil. Frame critiques process theologians, open theists, and even some in his Reformed camp. Timeline: 00:00 – Introduction 01:20 – Character Building Theodicy Issues 05:18 – Stable Environment Theodicy Issues 07:28 – Divine Weakness Theodicy Issues [...] The post Lacking Explanations For Evil – Ep.230 – Apologetics By John Frame – The Problem Of Evil What The Bible Does Not Say – Part 3 appeared first on Cave To The Cross Apologetics.

Free Will To Do Evil? One of the most subscribed to answers to theodicy is that as humans we have free will to do evil. It is all our fault and God has nothing to do with it but can work with us in our fallen state to bring about His will. And that's all [...] The post Free Will To Do Evil? – Ep.229 – Apologetics By John Frame – The Problem Of Evil What The Bible Does Not Say – Part 2 appeared first on Cave To The Cross Apologetics.

What The Bible Does Not Say About Evil While this may seem like familiar territory to friends of the show, it will be interesting to see the similarities and differences presented by John Frame on the problem of evil. Starting out at looking at what The Bible say or more so, does not say about [...] The post What The Bible Does Not Say About Evil – Ep.228 – Apologetics By John Frame – The Problem Of Evil 1 – Part 1 appeared first on Cave To The Cross Apologetics.

The Bible's Rationale For The Gospel Continuing With John Frame's proof of the Gospel (and therefore Scripture) we turn now to The Bible's rationale for the Gospel. Here we see that there is a rational basis for belief in the trust that Christians have and then we look at particular claims such as fulfilled prophecy [...] The post The Bible's Rationale For The Gospel – Ep.227 – Apologetics By John Frame – Proving The Gospel – Part 2 appeared first on Cave To The Cross Apologetics.

The Bible's Rationale For Itself We now move onto an important apologetic concept for John Frame and that is what The Bible's rationale for itself is. A defense of the Gospel – the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ resides in the defense of the Scriptures. Frame's take is presuppositional in nature and also [...] The post The Bible's Rationale For Itself – Ep.226 – Apologetics By John Frame – Proving The Gospel – Part 1 appeared first on Cave To The Cross Apologetics.

Cosmological And Ontological Arguments Cosmological And Ontological Arguments are classic theistic arguments. They are some of the most well-known and oldest in the philosophy field. Frame's approach puts a presuppositional spin to both kinds that bolsters each point better by providing a foundation for the argument. Here, we cover the impossibility of uncaused causes in [...] The post Cosmological And Ontological Arguments – Ep.225 – Apologetics By John Frame – Theistic Argument – Part 4 appeared first on Cave To The Cross Apologetics.

Knowledge And Design Moving from the moral argument for God to one of knowledge and design takes us further into the traditional theistic arguments. Here, Frame presents the epistemological nature of a source that is personal and allows us to know things. The alternative explanation does not give us any reason to justify knowledge or [...] The post Knowledge And Design – Ep.224 – Apologetics By John Frame – Theistic Argument – Part 3 appeared first on Cave To The Cross Apologetics.

When you think of God's law, do you think of blessing? Joy? Listen to Dr. John Frame teach how and why God's law is for our joy.

When you think of God's law, do you think of blessing? Joy? Listen to Dr. John Frame teach how and why God's law is for our joy.

Have you ever heard the term "existential revelation?" Dr. John Frame discusses general, special and existential revelation.

Have you ever heard the term "existential revelation?" Dr. John Frame discusses general, special and existential revelation.

Is the law contrary to the Gospel? In what ways, if any, are Christians 'under' the law? Listen as Dr. John Frame unpacks these questions.

Is the law contrary to the Gospel? In what ways, if any, are Christians 'under' the law? Listen as Dr. John Frame unpacks these questions.

Can non-Christians do good works? In this video, Dr. John Frame discussing the nuanced answer to this complex ethical issue.

Can Non-Christians Do Good Works? In this video, Dr. John Frame discussing the nuanced answer to this complex ethical issue.

What is the relationship between God's sovereignty and human responsibility? Listen as Dr. John Frame unpacks this question in this brief video!

What is the relationship between God's sovereignty and human responsibility? Listen as Dr. John Frame unpacks this question in this brief video!

There can be a lot of misunderstanding (and harm done) in regard to the Bible & our emotions, especially when it comes to making biblical decisions. Listen to Dr. John Frame describe the role of emotions in applying God's word in our modern lives.