Upon What Rock Does Christ Build His Church: Peter, the Faith Confession, or Both

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By Mark W. Christy In Matthew 16:16-18, the following exchange between Peter and Jesus is recorded: “Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.””[i] Among Roman Catholics, these verses are viewed as cl...
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The Double-Speak Between Arminians and Calvinists in the SBC

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By Mark W. Christy In general, most Calvinists and Arminians agree, at least on the surface, that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. For this reason, some evangelical denominations, like the Southern Baptist Convention, have historically allowed both theological camps to coexist alongside one another. Despite the apparent comradery between Calvinists and Arminians, the theological fissure separating the two is now leading to increasing levels of upheaval within ...
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The Similarity between Arminians and Catholics in Regard to Their Commonly Held Understanding of the Doctrine of Justification

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By Mark W. Christy, PhD Today, most evangelicals believe that both Calvinism and Arminianism both arise from a common bulwark of the Reformation. This bulwark, the doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone, is indeed heralded, at least linguistically, by both sides. Even so, many scholars over the centuries have accused Arminians of being more in league with the Roman Catholics on this doctrinal issue. In this article, the writings of Arminius and Luther will be weighed ag...
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A Hermeneutical Study of Ephesians 2:8-9

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By Mark W. Christy In the theological divide that separates Arminians and Calvinists, Ephesians 2:8 serves as a major battleground. In this verse, Paul writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”[i] Since both sides tend to agree that Paul is discussing the role of grace and faith in relation to salvation, this article will focus on whether saving faith, as mentioned in this verse, is solely a gift of God or simply some form of...
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A Hermeneutical Study of Romans 9:13 in Support of Unconditional Election

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By Mark W. Christy, PhD While Scripture is replete with many passages that uphold the essential tenets of Calvinism, the bastion for those who align with this theology can be found in Romans 9. To successfully storm this well-fortified theological exposition of individual predestination and God’s sovereign choice in election, Arminians attempt all manner of assaults so as to further entrench themselves in their position upholding the freewill response to God’s elective efforts. One of their ...
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The Contextual Meaning of Cosmos in 1 John 2:2

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By Mark W. Christy, PhD Classical Arminians affirm an unlimited view of the atonement which teaches that Christ died for the sins of all people and thereby apportioned His prevenient (saving) grace to all people such that all people have now become empowered to make a freewill choice in regards to the gospel. In the ongoing debate with Calvinists who affirm a limited view of the atonement whereby Jesus died only for the sins of the elect, Arminians strongly favor 1 John 2:2: “[Jesus] is the ...
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Christ’s Pre-Incarnational Appearances as the Angel of the Lord: An Examination of the Biblical Evidence

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By Mark W. Christy, PhD In his Dialogue with Trypho, Justin Martyr (100 A.D. – 165 A.D.) attempts to argue for preincarnate appearances, known as Christophanies, of Jesus Christ so as to win over Jewish people to the faith.[i] In his discussion, he references the angel of the Lord (also called the angel of God) who appears to Jacob and Moses (cf. Gen 31:10-13; 32:24-30; Ex 3:2-4). To determine whether or not the contention of this ancient ambassador for the faith is correct, this article wil...
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The Freewill Choice in the Garden and Its Incompatibility with Arminianism

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By Mark W. Christy, PhD (Note: Before reading, please be aware that no one save God is like God in the ultimate sense. Nevertheless, the Bible does call upon humanity to be like God (and like Christ) in terms of their character. This article will therefore use ‘like God’ in this manner.) Classical Arminians agree with Calvinists concerning the bondage of the human will due to the original sin of Adam. Nevertheless, they disagree upon whether or not God’s prevenient (saving) grace was dist...
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The Affirmation and Unwinding of Total Depravity within Classical Arminianism

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By Mark W. Christy, PhD Despite popular misconceptions, classical Arminians (a group that may exclude many professed Arminians in the contemporary era) have always held tightly to the doctrine of total depravity, just as all faithful Calvinists do. Both believe that the human will was placed into bondage by the sin of Adam. The issue, therefore, between these two groups is not free will; rather, it arises from the Arminian understanding of the distribution of prevenient grace (coming before ...
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Fear Induced by the Bully Has No Hold on the Faithful in Christ

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By Mark W. Christy While the Bible teaches that faith is a gift of God to those who believe (cf. Acts 3:16; Eph 2:8-9; Phil 1;29; 2 Pet 1:1), such faith displays itself within the decisions one makes. Irrespective of emotions and any other influence, whether they arise from within or without, God expects His people to live by faith and thereby make decisions in line with His Word. Unfortunately, this fallen world has many subversive means to attract God’s people away from the righteous path ...
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