Rescuing Scripture, Theology, & Church from the Shackles of Religion
What does it mean to be dead in sin? This post looks at what the Bible teaches on this and how we can still believe in Jesus for eternal life. Those who are dead in sin cannot do anything to merit or earn eternal life, but they can believe in Jesus, which is the exact opposite of meritorious works, and which enables God to raise the person up so that they are no longer dead in sin, but alive in Jesus Christ.
As I continue my series on Calvinism, it is important to state what I believe about free will. Here is my best attempt at explaining my beliefs on this controversial and difficult subject. What are your beliefs about free will? Does it exist? Is it a myth? What do you think, and why?
1 John 5:1 is one text used to defend the idea that regeneration precedes faith. It seems to say that faith is a result of being born again. But when studied in context, 1 John 5:1 is not teaching that regeneration precedes the faith that results in eternal life.
Calvinists often use 1 John 5:19 to teach that the world is controlled by the devil, and is therefore totally depraved and unable to believe in Jesus. In this post we consider 1 John 5:19 in context and see that John is calling on all people to choose whom they will serve – God or wickedness. 1 John 5:19 does not teach total inability, but its opposite.
In Titus 1:15, Paul is saying that if the Judaizers are right in teaching that impurity makes everything it touches impure, then the fact that they are Cretans and all Cretans are liars, evil, and lazy, means that according to the theology of these Judaizers, even their mind and conscience are defiled.
