Common Grace – The Solution to God’s Sovereignty Over Sin and Human Responsibility

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By Mark W. Christy, PhD According to Scripture, all people since the fall of Adam and Eve are conceived in sin (Ps 51:5), born into a state of spiritual deadness (Eph 2:1), utterly hopeless in and of themselves as they are born into a state without God (Eph 2:12), “alienated and hostile in mind” (Col. 1:21), lovers of inequity (Jer 14:10; cf. Col 1:21), enemies of God (Rom. 5:10), hostile to God (Rom 8:7), completely incapable of pleasing God (Rom 8:8), “darkened in their understanding, excl...
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Why is God Sorry in Genesis 6:5-6?

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By Mark W. Christy, PhD In Genesis 6:5-6, the writer (Moses) says that God was “sorry” when He “saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”[i] Given that God was sovereignly aware of the fall of humanity and even His divine plan of redemption through the blood of Christ (Acts 2:23; 4:28; Rom 8:29-30; 11:2; 1 Cor 2:7; Eph 1:5, 11; 1 Pet 1:1-2), one wonders how God could be sorry for any events that unfol...
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Identifying the “Sons of God” in Genesis 6:1-4

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Throughout Christian history, one of the more debated passages has been Genesis 6:1-4. In these verses, scholars wrangle over whether or not “sons of God” refers to angels or humans, and whether or not their progeny resulted from unjust relations between angels and humans. Though multiple views exist and each has its own variations among scholars, this article will briefly discuss the two primary views and consider the supporting evidence for each. The most ancient of sources suggest the ang...
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Fallacies that Inhibit Sound Exegesis

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By Mark W. Christy, PhD When it comes to understanding and applying the Bible, sound thinking is absolutely critical, but such thinking can become quickly obscured by many exegetical fallacies including word-study, grammatical, logical, and presuppositional and historical fallacies. In this article, an overview of the fallacies within each of these categories will be examined. The first group, word-study fallacies, incorporates a host of fallacies which are commonly committed by interpret...
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The Use of Symbols and True Worship

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By Mark W. Christy In Roman Catholicism, prayers to the Virgin Mary, saints, and even angels are often lifted up on behalf of the worshipper. Frequently, icons or images are employed whereby worshippers will bow to these images, light candles to them, and even burn incense to them. In response, many protestants since the time of Luther’s Reformation have charged Catholics as being idolatrous. In response to this charge, many Catholics would argue that the image is not God, even while admi...
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The Effect of Arminianism and Calvinism on Evangelism

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By mark W. Christy, PhD In the Bible, God is clearly revealed as being sovereign over all creation. In this role of King, He can and does enforce His will upon all that is, including the actions of people, in such a way that His divine decisions always become manifest (Gen 45:8; 50:20; Prov 16:9;21:1; Matt 10:29; Acts 4:27f; Rom 8:20f; Eph 1:11). While He reigns as King, He also serves as Judge, and this is where the theological conundrum between the Arminians and Calvinists begins. As Judge...
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The Church Membership’s Role in Admonishing the Unruly

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By Mark W. Christy In 1 Thessalonians 5:14, Paul says to the church, “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly.”[i] This directive is given not just to the leadership but to the church as a whole. The Greek word translated as “urge” demonstrates that this was of paramount importance to Paul. This is hardly surprising given Paul’s frequent overtures to churches concerning their unity and spiritual health. In this portion of the verse, he specifically addresses the unruly or wayward and c...
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