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The Terrified Mind

By on in Theology

In Augustine’s treatise De Spiritu et Littera (“On the Spirit and the Letter”), he addresses the critical theological issues of grace, human will, and the law. He confronts the ideas propagated by Pelagianism, a doctrine that downplays original sin and emphasizes human free will. Written around 412 AD, this work is part of Augustine’s broader effort to clarify the nature of divine grace and its necessity in human salvation. Moreover, his writing responds to the Pelagian controversy, in which Pelagius and his followers argued that humans could achieve righteousness through their efforts without divine aid. Augustine counters this by stressing that human nature, tainted by original sin, is incapable of achieving true righteousness without God’s grace. He asserts that the law, given through Moses, reveals sin but cannot save humanity from its consequences.

Law and Grace

Rest on the Flight into Egypt. Rembrandt.

Central to Augustine’s argument in De Spiritu et Littera is the distinction between the law (the letter) and grace (the spirit). The law, according to Augustine, serves to convict humans of their sins and demonstrates their need for divine intervention. However, it lacks the power to enable obedience. Only the Holy Spirit can transform the human heart, instilling the love and ability to fulfill God’s commandments. Thus, the law reveals the standard of righteousness, while grace empowers one to live according to that standard.

Augustine emphasizes the presence and work of the Holy Spirit in renewing the human will and enabling genuine righteousness. He argues that human efforts are doomed to fail without the Spirit’s intervention. The Holy Spirit writes God’s law on believers’ hearts, enabling them to act out of love rather than fear. This internal transformation contrasts with the external observance of the law, which Pelagius and his followers emphasized.

Faith and Grace

A key theme in De Spiritu et Littera is the nature of faith and its relationship to grace. Augustine argues that faith itself is a gift from God, not a product of human effort. This faith, bestowed by grace, consoles and encourages the terrified mind, as opposed to the mere knowledge possessed by the ungodly. Augustine insists that this faith is transformative, leading to a confident trust in God’s promises and the assurance of salvation.

This brings up the question: What written work did Augustine admonish his readers concerning the word “faith” to teach them that the term “faith” is accepted in the Scriptures, not for knowledge such as is in the ungodly but for confidence which consoles and encourages the terrified mind (Augsburg Confession, Article 20 [26])?

In Chapter 11 of “On the Spirit and the Letter,” Augustine discusses the nature of faith and its role in the life of a believer. He contrasts the mere intellectual assent, which even the ungodly can possess, with the deeper, comforting confidence that true faith provides. This confidence (con-fide is Latin for “with faith”) is a gift of the Holy Spirit, which brings consolation and encouragement to the believer, especially in times of fear and distress.

Here is an excerpt that captures Augustine’s teaching on this matter:

“For to believe is nothing other than to think with assent… And thus they distinguish faith from that knowledge which is possessed even by the devils, for whom it is not conducive to salvation.”

So Augustine emphasizes that true faith involves a trusting confidence in God’s promises and the work of Christ rather than mere knowledge or intellectual assent. This faith is transformative, bringing peace and assurance to the believer’s heart. He further argues against the Pelagian view that human effort alone, without divine grace, is sufficient for salvation. He emphasizes the necessity of divine grace for true faith and righteousness.

Significance

Augustine’s clarification of the nature of faith as both trust and confidence, rather than mere knowledge, has had a lasting impact on reformed theology centered upon biblical doctrine. It highlights the experiential and relational aspects of faith, which involve a deep reliance on God’s grace and a personal relationship with Him. By addressing this in On the Spirit and the Letter, Augustine provides a fuller understanding of faith that distinguishes it from mere intellectual belief to cement its purpose in the believer’s spiritual life and assurance.

He further calls for a humble recognition of human limitations and a deep reliance on God’s grace. This theological perspective fosters a life of prayer, seeking continual renewal by the Holy Spirit. To include insights that encourage believers to view their moral efforts as responses to divine grace rather than attempts to earn favor with God. Particularly in understanding the dynamics of law, grace, and human will. Augustine is adamant about the total inability of humans to achieve righteousness on their own. He illustrates that even the desire to do good originates from God’s grace. By emphasizing human dependency on divine presence, Augustine highlights the futility of Pelagianism, which wrongly asserts human sufficiency.

This doctrine of dependence makes clear the necessity of grace for any truly good action. His articulation of the necessity of grace for true righteousness and the transformative work of the Holy Spirit continues to resonate in theological discussions. Augustine’s work not only countered Pelagianism in his time but also laid foundational principles for future theological developments, stressing the indispensable role of divine grace in the life of every believer.

All of Grace

By on in Literary

In “All of Grace,” Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the renowned 19th-century Baptist preacher, offers a timeless exploration into the heart of Christian theology: the doctrine of grace. Not merely a theoretical exposition for academic theologians, this book aims to reach the ordinary person, the doubting soul, and the skeptical mind. It offers not just theological insight, but also spiritual nourishment and existential hope. Its pages unfold as a grand narrative that tells the story of God’s unmerited favor towards humanity—His grace—and its implications for faith, repentance, and eternal life.

Introduction

Spurgeon opens this book with a dual aim. First, he seeks to explicate the doctrine of grace in a way that is accessible, relatable, and deeply rooted in Scripture. Second, he wishes to guide the reader toward a personal experience of that grace. The heart of his message is simple yet profound: Salvation is a free gift from God, extended to all, regardless of their moral, social, or spiritual status. It’s a gift that can be accepted or rejected, but one that requires no prerequisites other than a sincere and humble heart.

As one of the most influential Christian preachers in history, Spurgeon was deeply concerned with the tendency in his time (and arguably in ours) to misconstrue grace as something to be earned or purchased. His message was radical in its time and remains so today: that all human attempts to earn God’s favor are futile. Salvation cannot be obtained through good deeds, moral uprightness, or religious rituals. It is a gift of God, freely given and freely received.

In “All of Grace,” Spurgeon sets out to dispel misunderstandings, counter legalism, and offer a clear path to understanding what it means to be saved by grace through faith. The book is a sequence of carefully crafted chapters that consider the different facets of grace. Starting from its general conception and delving into its specific applications—such as the role of faith, the importance of repentance, and the assurance of salvation—Spurgeon makes a compelling case for the transformative power of divine grace. Each chapter serves as a spiritual waypoint, guiding the reader closer to the heart of God.

This work is not merely theological; it is deeply pastoral. It is as if Spurgeon is extending his pulpit beyond the walls of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, reaching out to each reader individually. The tone is conversational but earnest, akin to a heart-to-heart talk between a wise pastor and a curious, perhaps troubled, parishioner. Spurgeon addresses the questions, fears, and doubts that often plague those who grapple with the issues of sin, salvation, and eternal destiny. He does so with the clarity, empathy, and wisdom of someone who himself has experienced the transforming power of God’s grace.

The book also serves as a guide for those who are either on the fence about Christianity or have perhaps backslidden in their faith. It’s a clarion call to return to the simplicity and purity of the Gospel message. For those who are already believers, it offers deep theological insights that fortify faith and provoke thoughtful reflection. It reaffirms the core belief that at the heart of Christianity is a God of love who offers grace abundantly and unconditionally.

So, as you embark on this spiritual journey through the pages of “All of Grace,” prepare for both an intellectual and emotional odyssey. This isn’t just a book; it’s an invitation—an invitation to examine your beliefs, confront your fears, and ultimately, to experience the boundless grace of God. Whether you are a skeptic looking for answers, a believer seeking to deepen your understanding, or a seeker on the threshold of faith, this book has something for you. By its conclusion, you are likely to find that you’ve not merely gained information but have encountered grace itself—an encounter that could well change your life for eternity.

Part One

Charles Spurgeon’s classic work, “All of Grace,” begins with a chapter that serves as a compelling invitation into the world of Christian faith, setting the foundational tone for the entire book. In this opening chapter, Spurgeon aims to reach those who feel distant from God, estranged by their own failures and imperfections, or intimidated by the complexities of religious doctrine. He wastes no time in getting to the heart of the Christian message: grace.

The section can be seen as an elaborate tapestry, woven with threads of theology, personal invitation, and profound empathy. Spurgeon acknowledges that many people view God as a harsh judge, keeping score of human shortcomings. But he counters this image with the biblical understanding of God as a loving, compassionate Father who offers salvation freely through His grace. He argues that grace is not something that can be earned; it’s a free gift from God. It is, in essence, unmerited favor, offered to all who would receive it.

Spurgeon crafts his words to be as inclusive as possible. He wants the reader to understand that grace is available to everyone, not just a select few who have attained some level of spiritual or moral excellence. In doing so, he breaks down complex theological constructs into simple, relatable terms. The point is clear: if you think you’re unworthy of God’s love, then you’re precisely the person God wants to extend His grace to.

The chapter serves as a rebuttal to the notion that we can earn our way into heaven through good deeds or moral living. Spurgeon points out the futility of such efforts. Even if one were to live a relatively righteous life, it would still fall short of God’s perfect standard. Thus, the only pathway to salvation and a reconciled relationship with God is through accepting His grace, which was made possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. God’s offer is simple and straightforward; it’s humans who often make it complicated. Therefore, he encourages the reader to come with a humble, open heart and to receive the gift that God offers freely.

Spurgeon achieves a rare balance between theological depth and accessible simplicity. He invites the reader into a relationship with God that is both deeply spiritual and intensely practical. He reframes our understanding of God from a stern taskmaster to a loving Father, eager to extend His grace to all, regardless of their past or present circumstances.

“All of Grace” serves as both an invitation and a foundation. It invites the reader to step into a relationship with God based entirely on His grace, not on human merit. And it lays the theological groundwork for the rest of the book, where Spurgeon explores the many facets of this grace that is so central to the Christian faith. It’s a chapter designed not just to inform, but to transform, steering the reader away from legalism and moralism, and directing them toward the open arms of a gracious God.

Part Two

“All of Grace” deepens the conversation initiated in the opening chapter, moving from the broad concept of grace to the specifics of faith. Spurgeon is acutely aware that the notion of grace alone, without human merit, is not just theologically complex but also emotionally charged. Many people struggle with the idea that something so monumental as eternal salvation could be given freely, without conditions. Spurgeon addresses this by elaborating on the critical role of faith in the process of receiving God’s grace.

Spurgeon begins the chapter by reiterating the urgency of the subject matter. He reminds the reader that the stakes are incredibly high: we are talking about eternal life or eternal death. Yet, the crux of his message is reassuring. Salvation, he insists, comes by faith, and faith is not a work; it is not something we do but rather something we receive.

Spurgeon goes on to deconstruct misunderstandings about faith. Faith is not, he explains, a complicated theological concept that requires intellectual gymnastics to understand. Neither is it a quality that only a select few can muster. Faith is simple trust in the promises of God and the work of Jesus Christ. Spurgeon argues that just as a drowning man would grasp a lifebuoy thrown toward him, so too does faith grasp the salvation offered by God. The key, he points out, is not the strength of one’s grip but the effectiveness of the lifebuoy itself. In the same way, the efficacy of faith lies not in our ability to believe strongly but in the object of our faith: Jesus Christ.

Throughout the chapter, Spurgeon employs vivid metaphors and analogies to make his point. He likens faith to the open hand that receives a gift or the open mouth that consumes nourishment. Faith, he says, is as natural and essential as breathing, yet people often complicate it by conflating it with works or making it a pre-condition for God’s grace.

Spurgeon also directly addresses the skeptic and the self-doubting individual. To those who say they cannot muster faith, Spurgeon posits that the very recognition of one’s inability is the beginning of faith. The realization that one cannot save oneself and needs a Savior is the first step in receiving grace through faith. He assures readers that faith is not an enormous task; it is not scaling the heights but merely looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of faith. Moreover, Spurgeon reiterates that faith and grace are inextricably linked. Faith is the mechanism by which we receive the grace that God has freely given. It is both the simplest and the most profound act, stripping away human pretensions of merit and acknowledging total dependence on God for salvation. It is a humble act, but it leads to the unimaginable glory of eternal life.

“All of Grace” serves as a comprehensive treatise on the nature and role of faith in the Christian doctrine of salvation. It removes the barriers and misunderstandings that often make faith seem complicated or elusive, presenting it instead as a simple yet profound act of trust in the promises of God and the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Spurgeon guides the reader from the abyss of human inadequacy to the pinnacle of divine grace, making it clear that while the meaning of faith may be a mystery, it is not an impossibility. It’s an invitation to rest in the assurance that salvation is, indeed, all of grace.

Part Three

Charles Spurgeon continues to build on the themes of grace and faith, delving into the transformative power of repentance. While the initial sections focus on the simplicity and accessibility of God’s grace, this section examines the role of repentance as a pivotal moment that bridges the human soul with divine grace. Spurgeon argues that repentance is not a meritorious act that earns God’s favor but is itself a grace-infused experience leading to a transformed life.

Spurgeon opens the section by acknowledging a common misconception: that repentance is a sorrowful, almost punishing act, rooted in guilt and shame. He reframes it as not merely a feeling but an action—a turning away from sin and a turning toward God. It’s a profound change of mind, a reorientation of the soul, catalyzed and sustained by God’s grace. Repentance is not merely feeling bad about one’s sins, but decisively moving away from them and toward God. He emphasizes that repentance is not an isolated event but a journey, an ongoing process that continues throughout the Christian life. Yet, the genesis of repentance often comes in a moment of deep conviction, where the sinner realizes their separation from God and the destructiveness of their ways. This conviction, Spurgeon clarifies, is not human-generated; it is a work of the Holy Spirit who convicts of sin in the life of a believer.

The section also addresses those who might feel they’re too sinful to repent or who fear their repentance is insincere. Spurgeon reassures them that the very desire to repent is evidence of God’s grace working in their hearts. One cannot even wish to repent without the prompting of the Spirit, he argues. Therefore, any inclination toward repentance should be seen as an invitation from God to come closer, to enter into a life-transforming relationship with Him.

One of the most poignant aspects of this section is how Spurgeon connects repentance to faith. He argues that the two are like two sides of the same coin; you cannot have faith without repentance and vice versa. To believe in Jesus as the Savior implicitly requires turning away from one’s sins. Repentance and faith are not sequential but simultaneous experiences that occur in the heart touched by grace. Repentance, then, is not merely negative (turning away from sin) but also positive (turning toward God in faith).

As Spurgeon winds up this section, he reiterates that repentance is not something to be dreaded but to be desired. It’s not a one-time act but a perpetual orientation of the soul toward God. It’s not a human work but a divine gift, infused with grace from start to finish. Spurgeon writes of a rich, nuanced understanding of repentance. He dispels myths, addresses fears, and invites the reader into a fuller, grace-filled experience of turning from sin and turning to God. He continues his overarching theme that every aspect of salvation, including the repentance that often confuses or scares people, is entirely a work of God’s overwhelming grace. Thus, even repentance, often misunderstood as a work we perform, becomes yet another manifestation of God’s grace in the believer’s life.

Conclusion

The concluding narrative of “All of Grace,” covers a range of insights from illuminating the nature of grace to exploring the complexities and simplicities of faith and repentance. Spurgeon has offered a theological and spiritual journey designed to bring the reader into a deep relationship with God. Furthermore, Spurgeon’s conclusion serves as a spiritual crescendo, pulling together all the themes discussed into a harmonious and poignant call to meet him in heaven. He reiterates the central point that salvation is not earned, bought, or achieved through human merit, but is a free gift from God that anyone can receive through faith and repentance. This gift is offered universally, transcending barriers of class, race, and social standing, and it provides not only eternal life but a present reality of peace, hope, and transformation.

As he wraps up the work, Spurgeon addresses the skeptic, the seeker, and the believer alike. To the skeptic, he offers the reasonable argument that the weight of eternity should at least warrant a sincere investigation into the claims of grace. To the seeker, he extends a heartfelt invitation to respond to the God who is already reaching out in love and mercy. And to the believer, he provides encouragement and admonition to continue in the journey of faith, abiding in grace while also extending it to others.

Spurgeon also tackles some final concerns that a reader might have: What if I don’t feel worthy? What if my faith is weak? What if I falter and fall? His answer is consistent with the message that runs through the entire book—look to Jesus, the author, and finisher of our faith. God’s grace is sufficient for all our weaknesses, doubts, and fears.

Moreover, he stresses the immediacy of the decision. The grace of God is available now, at this very moment. It is not a distant theological concept but a present reality that demands a response. And this grace is transformative; it changes lives, breaks chains of sin, and liberates the soul.

In a final appeal, Spurgeon calls upon the reader to take that step of faith, to reach out and accept the freely offered grace of God. He likens rejecting this gift to turning away from a feast set before a starving man. The tragedy of rejecting grace is eternal, but the joy of accepting it is also everlasting.

Spurgeon’s “All of Grace” thus comes full circle, ending as it began—with a powerful, compassionate, and urgent invitation to enter into the life of grace. He leaves the reader not with an ending but a beginning, the beginning of a life lived in the rich, transforming grace of God. Through a blend of sound theology, practical wisdom, and heartfelt narrative, Spurgeon offers not just a book but a spiritual experience that has the potential to change lives for eternity.

So as the last words are read, the overarching message reverberates in the heart: Come, taste, and see that the Lord is good. All is indeed of grace, and that grace is sufficient for you, for me, and for all who will believe.

Prayers through James

By on in Theology

Over the past several weeks, I made my way through the Letter of James in the New Testament. While doing so, the various passages accompanied a personal prayer. In response to each message of James (the biological brother of Jesus), I wrote a prayer that corresponds to each. This was an effort to internalize his letter to the Diaspora of the first century, but for us today as well. The text is King James to include the entire letter.

James 1:1
“JAMES, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.”

Holy Father, just as your servant James loved and honored You, let my worship, prayers, devotion, and witness of You be eternally pleasing. Let my prayers of adoration be as the flickering flame of an everlasting candle that gives a light of remembrance before You.

James 1:2-4
“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience (endurance). But let patience (endurance) have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

LORD, my heart is often full and overflowing by your Holy Spirit. Yet, it is too often withdrawn by anxiety and fears that overwhelm me. With the pressures of this world, I become encumbered, but you are my joy and my peace. You are my high tower and my deliverer, and I trust You even while my thoughts and actions are not always as You would have them when I face hardships.

James 1:5-8
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

Lord, you have my heart, and I fully rely on you for this course of life. I will do what you want me to do and go where you want me to go. Let me not get in the way of your interests with the decisions and initiatives I pursue. It is my highest desire first to honor You and what you would want for your glory and your kingdom.

James 1:9-11
“Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also, shall the rich man fade away in his ways.”

Lord, if or when life conditions change, please let the abundance and blessings you have given to me pass toward those you love and want to use for your purposes. I have earned and achieved nothing if not from You. When life conditions change, let my deepest joy remain in You as You are my lasting hope and peace.

James 1:12-15
“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.’

Lord, I beg you for a heart of repentance all my days. I am a sinful man in thoughts, words, and behaviors. They are my fault, and I am sorry when sin is conceived within me against You. I am responsible as I have wronged You and others, and I desperately need Your mercy, cleansing, and renewal so I would not repeat that which causes alienation and death. After everything You’ve done, it is unacceptable that there would ever be any wickedness in me, and You are worthy of my full surrender.

James 1:16-18
“Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

Lord, You are abundantly good, and I delight in worshiping You because of who You are. The witness and presence of Your Holy Spirit make clear how good You are and the good gifts You provide. You have my love, devotion, and affection; please let me see your glory in the good that You do and the good gifts You pour out.

James 1:19-20
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

Holy Father, by Your Spirit, let the fruits You desire become evident by what I think and speak. You are my hope, You are my strength, and You are my anchor, so over my inclinations, set aside my critical spirit and set within me an ability to better listen to You and others. Let all resentment and sources of anger dissipate within before they settle and take root. Let Your peace and joy within me abundantly overflow to insulate me from what harm I perceive.

James 1:21-25
“Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

Lord, I want to memorize Your imperatives. I want to hide Your Word within me. The worship that pleases You is my heart’s desire. The messages that are rooted in Your word are what I want to retain. Anything I hear or see that brings me close to You is what I want to remember and act upon. Let the men and women you place in my life be a meaningful and lasting source of sanctification as I desire to be permanently holy before You.”

James 1:26-27
“If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

Lord, this is an area that brings me a lot of concern. I’m not doing enough for You and Your kingdom. I have given a lot of money in offerings, I have discipled people You love, I have given to missions, and I have served You in various ways, but You are far more worthy than the limits of my being. In exchange for all shortcomings, I would gladly exchange any crown or reward for your continued and eternal presence within. Just let me remain with You. I love You no matter what.

James 2:1-13
“My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.”

Lord, I don’t just want to be good at the right things to say. Or to steer ideas, conversations, or preferences that are in the way and do not glorify you or edify others. Please develop within me the desire and mindset to readily encourage people. Help me empty my natural mindset and live out the Spirit within to bear the fruit You desire.

James 2:1-4
“My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?”

Father, You have given me a heart for the homeless, and by Your Spirit, You’ve enabled me to help them in various ways. By Your grace, and leading, please bring new opportunities to further help through my church and by the opportunity of personal effort. It seems there have been less access and opportunity in recent months and I need your guidance about what and where I could be of a continued blessing to those in need in this way.

James 2:5-13
“Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.”

Lord Jesus, the abundance of Your Spirit within is what is needed to offer the spiritual service of worship that pleases You. The neglected, socially unfavored, weak, and undesired at church is who I want to love through You in a tangible, lasting, and meaningful way. Give me the eyes to see where I could better love and serve those that you honor.

James 2:14-19
“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.”

My King, that Your brother would form these words is such an abundant act of mercy that my heart is full by reading them to living them out. Your instructions through Your brother are a blessing that brings gravity to the truth and value of your work. Living out your Word is my desire. All that I am and all that I have, are willingly transferred to all that You are.

James 2:20-26
“But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

Lord, it isn’t sufficient to be passive in my expression of love for You, Your Word, and who You are. I desire to have an active life full of the fruit of the Spirit. To live out the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control that translates to interpersonal conduct among people I meet to help where needed. Please let your Spirit dwell richly within me to work the faith and grace You have given to me.”

James 3:1-2
“My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.”

Lord, it is so apparent that the overflow of my heart and mind becomes present by what I say and write. It is my desire to be pleasing and holy in this way. Defilement by what is said is displeasing to you, and it’s my heart’s desire to keep my words in check. By Your Spirit, reform my heart and mind so that I would not sin against you or others by intentional or unintentional words spoken or written.

James 3:3-12
“Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.”

Lord, it is not enough to abstain from coarse talk. Rather, it is my desire to be completely surrendered to what is best according to your will. Let not my passions prevail over your Spirit, so that I would walk according to Your Word and that your Word would be on my lips.

James 1:14-15, 3:3-4, 11-12, 18, Matt 7:17, Ps 19:14
“Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts. And see if there be no wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. Oh Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, You who are my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.”

Lord, I feel at times that I’ve gone too far and that my words are too many. Form within my heart and mind an attitude of discretion. I desire to become slower to speak and more graceful in what I write. This is my continued plea as I trust in You to walk according to Your word and by the fruit of the Spirit.

James 3:13-18
“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

Lord, there is so much error and trouble in this world, it at times is tough to hold my tongue and set aside thoughts that are just unfruitful. The influences and pressures of this world weigh heavy, and I need your Spirit and instruction from Your Word to light my path. Your wisdom is what I desire, but so often I get in the way. Please be merciful to me Your neglectful servant.

James 4:1-6
“From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

Lord, Your Word pierces through to me on this because of my military and work background. This is a real sore spot, as You know, and I just ask for a softened heart and a mindset that my struggle with people is spiritual and not physical. Father, I really need help with this because I can’t manage it on my own. I surrender to your Spirit and trust in Your way and Your grace to strengthen me to live as You want.

James 4:7-10
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”

Lord, Your Word through Your servant James tells me that this is an effort on me. It is my responsibility and effort to draw near to you. You know that is what I do each day. Your Word says you will draw near to me by doing so. I’m counting on You to make certain and effective the sanctifying work of Your Holy Spirit. Even while my efforts are hit-and-miss, I trust in you for ever-increasing consistency in thought, word, and deed.

James 4:11-12
“Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?”

Lord, I don’t want even the appearance of slander to be named of me. Both directly or indirectly, it is my desire to be blameless before you and others in this way. Knowing intentional or unintentional verbal harm toward others is displeasing even in the slightest way, I want to be ever-sensitive out of a spirit of love and honor. Amen.

James 4:13-17
“Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

Lord, it at times is alarming that I run my own course as a matter of urgency and expectations for desired outcomes. In this regard, I am an overachiever, but I confess not enough toward your kingdom. Only because I do love You and You know my affections for You. Who You are and Your presence is more valuable than anything to me, and I don’t want to squander our relationship from my own misguided pursuits.

James 5:1-6
“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.”

Lord, You know my view that everything that You’ve given belongs to You. What You’ve given as mine is Yours because my heart is Yours. Everything that I have been entrusted to keep is a blessing as belongings and a source of safety, livelihood, and well-being. Let my tithes, offerings, and giving be an acceptable form of worship where You are glorified, and Your Church is well-formed.

James 5:7-11
“Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.”

Lord, I delight in the cry of Your saints, Maranatha! The hope of Your return brings joy to my heart and a lasting source of refreshment to my soul. How abundant are Your mercies and promises and that we should be named Your servants and friends brings within me an overwhelming gratitude for what you’re going to do.

James 5:12
“But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.”

Lord, may I not even reserve in the minds of others profane thoughts by what I imply. Purity in thought and verbal expression is my desire so that I might be a more effective witness to you. Either among your people, while in fellowship, or with people who don’t know you, it is my desire to speak in love and in confidence in an assertive way. Without passivity or abrasive speech, but gentle yet at times firm when necessary. Amen.

James 5:13-18
“Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.”

Lord, it is my heart’s desire that the church would feel safe for people who attend. For everyone, either planted or those who attend, both seasoned and new where Your love and Spirit are apparent throughout members and attendees at various levels. We need Your grace, and may it never be that I am a source of undue friction. Let what I say and think in the presence of others be edifying and encouraging to those who are seeking You.

James 5:16-18
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.”

Lord, I ask that You hear my prayers as I go about my day and as I appear before you on my knees. Let not my sinful ways inhibit your hearing of my worship, praise, gratitude, confessions, and petitions. Let my prayers be heard as they are given voice from Your Word and from others’ needs that come before You. Amen.

James 5:19-20
“Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.”

Lord, it is my prayer that You would restore to You those who are close to me. Family, friends, and co-workers who have become distant from You need Your grace and mercy. As You are the source of life and well-being, may Your peace return to those who have sought You in the past. If there is any way in which I can be an instrument for that purpose, I am available and willing to serve in this way.

The Locus of Triangulation

By on in Theology

This post attempts to collect in one place various belief systems, traditions, and theologies by name and description. As an open-ended post, it will be edited over time to add, delete, change, and format changes as they come about. The purpose is to set in place a personal record of who’s who of given theological and eschatological protestant beliefs. Individuals listed appear among the various systems are notable and historically of some significant contribution or influence to the widely distributed perspectives that are less than obvious.

This post is simply a component among others to map how individuals, churches, agencies, and institutions organize around historical interpretations of faith and a more coherent understanding of humanity’s existence and relationship with God and His creation. The numerous individuals listed as having a personal alignment are a matter of historical record. Within context to understand what systems and theologies fit together among persons with other adjacent beliefs and commitments that have a bearing on worldview, credibility, and truth or error.

Belief Systems

TitleDescriptionPersonal Alignment
Arminianism [4]A theological system based on the teachings of Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius and his early followers, the Remonstrants. After Arminius’s death, the Remonstrants issued five articles summarizing their beliefs in opposition to Calvinists, who countered with the Canons of Dort, much later summarized by TULIP. While originally condemned as heretics by the Synod of Dort, the Remonstrants later obtained legal toleration in Holland, and many Protestants still adhere to Arminianism today. While it has many doctrines in common with Reformed theology, it differs significantly in its teaching on predestination, free will and atonement. The system follows Arminius’s original teachings that God’s election is conditional on his foreknowledge of human free choice, that God provides prevenient grace to everyone in order to enable people to choose faith in Jesus, and that believers are able to lose their salvation since they always have the free will to accept or reject Christ. Contemporary Arminianism includes a wide variety of viewpoints on key issues, like whether the governmental or penal-substitutionary atonement is more accurate. Arminians today also differ at times with Arminius’s own views, such as his support of infant baptism, which is now opposed by most Arminians.Abraham, William J.
Andrews, Herbert T.
Basinger, David
Basinger, Randall G.
Carter, Charles W.
Cottrell, Jack W.
Craig, William L.
Earle, Ralph
Evans, C. Stephen
Findlay, George G.
Finney, Charles
Forester, Roger T.
Fritz, Guy
Graham, Billy
Headlan, Arthur
Lewis, C. S.
MacDonald, William G.
Mantey, Julius R.
Marshall, I. Howard
Marston, V. Paul
Melanchthan, Philip
Miethe, Terry L.
Miley, John
Montgomery, John Warwick
Osborne, Grant R.
Pinnock, Clark
Reichenbach, Bruce R.
Rice, Richard
Sanday, William
Sanders, John E.
Shank, Robert L.
Simpson, Albert B.
Taylor, Vincent
Turner, George Allen
Walls, Jerry L.
Wesley, John
Wiley, H. Orton
Calvinism [4]As a synonym for the Reformed tradition, this term highlights the influence of John Calvin and his work in Geneva in shaping the movement. While Calvin did wield considerable influence, Calvinism is a complex tradition shaped in its early stages by many leaders, including Ulrich Zwingli, William Farel, Heinrich Bullinger, Martin Bucer, and John Knox. Calvin himself was interested in reconciling with Lutheranism, which shared similar concerns for sola scriptura, justification by faith, rejection of a corrupt and theologically errant papacy, and the marks of the true church. By the mid-sixteenth century, however, differences had solidified, and the Reformed or Calvinist perspective was demarcated by a commitment to the comprehensive sovereignty of God, a view of the Lord’s Supper distinct from Lutheranism, an emphasis on the positive third use of the law and a distinct practice of church polity. It is difficult to generalize, however, because as the theology and cultural system of Calvinism spread from Switzerland to France, the Netherlands, Scotland, Ireland, England, Hungary, and eventually North America, it continued to develop and adapt to particular localities, controversies, and personalities. The Canons of Dort were a benchmark for distinguishing the movement from Arminianism, although numerous confessions of faith had previously outlined Calvinist belief and practice. Consequently, while some identify TULIP as an accurate summary of the five points of Calvinism, these doctrines alone actually limit, and in some cases even caricature and misrepresent, the complexity and breadth of the tradition.
Adams, Jay Edward
Alexander, J. A. St.
Augustine
Bavinck, Herman
Beeke, Joel
Berkhof, Hendrikus
Bloesch, Donald
Boetner, Loraine
Boice, James
Bridges, Jerry
Buswell, J. O.
Calvin, John
Carson, Donald A.
Dabney, Robert L.
Dever, Mark
Duncan, J. Ligon
Edwards, Jonathan
Ferguson, Sinclair
Filson, Floyd Vivian
Frame, John
Hacket, Horacia
Haldane, Robert
Haykin, Michel
Hendricksen, William
Hodge, A. A.
Hodge, Charles
Horton, Michael
Hughes, Philip
Johnson, Phil
Keller, Timothy
Kik, Jaboc Marcellus
Lawson, Steve
Lecerf, Auguste
Luther, Martin
MacArthur, John
Malone, Fred
Marcel, Pierre
Martin, Albert
Mohler, Albert
Moore, Thomas V.
Moule, H.C.G.
Murray, Andrew
Murray, John
Nicole, Roger
Orr, James
Packer, J. I.
Pieters, Albertus
Pipa, Joseph A.
Piper, John
Robertson, O. Palmer
Rushdooney, R. J.
Ryken, Philip Graham
Ryle, J. C.
Schaeffer, Francis
Sproul, R. C.
Steele, David N.
Storms, C. Samuel
Strombeck, J. F
Strong, A. H.
Thiessen, Henry Clarence
Thomas, Curtis C.
Van Til, Cornelius
Ware, Bruce
Warfield, B. B.
Watson, Thomas
Well, David
White, James
Whitney, Donald
Wilson, Jeffrey B.
Molinism [5]Molinism is a view of the relation between God’s grace and human free will, emanating from the Spanish Jesuit theologian Luis de Molina (1535–1600). Molina asserted that God has a special kind of foreknowledge of human free acts, which are the basis of God’s gracious gift of salvation. Molinism was widely adopted by Jesuits and opposed by Dominicans. After examination by a special congregation in Rome (1598–1607), both views were allowed in Catholic schools.

According to Molinism, God has three kinds of knowledge: natural, middle, and free.
1.) Natural knowledge is God’s knowledge of all possible worlds. This knowledge is essential to God. It is concerned with the necessary and the possible.
2.) Free knowledge is God’s knowledge of this actual world. After a free act of his will, God knows these things absolutely, but such knowledge is not essential to God.
3.) Middle knowledge or scientia media is distinctive of Molinism. God cannot know future free acts in the way he knows other things. God knows some things absolutely, but future free acts are known only contingently. “God, from a most profound and inscrutable comprehension of every free will in His essence, has intuited what each, according to its innate liberty, would do if placed in this or that condition” (Garrigou-Lagrange, The One God, 460; see FREE WILL). Unlike natural knowledge, this middle or intermediate knowledge is in some sense dependent on what free creatures choose to do. God’s omniscience “waits” to see what a free creature does “before” he selects those who will be saved. Since God is eternal, the sequence is only logical, not chronological.
Craig, W.L.
Molina, Luis de

Primary Theologies

Title Description Personal Alignment
Covenant Theology [6]Also known as federal theology, this form of biblical theology focuses on the way God relates to his creatures through covenants—binding relationships between God and humanity involving mutual promises and responsibilities. In Reformed theology, this perspective traces back to Zwingli’s emphasis on God’s covenant with Abraham, which he used in defense of infant baptism. Bullinger wrote the first full Protestant treatise defending a unified biblical covenant, although Calvin similarly stressed the unity of God’s covenant of grace and continuities of law and gospel in both Testaments. The covenant theology of Johannes Cocceius, who built on the work of Calvin, Zacharias Ursinus, Caspar Olevianus and others, is important because of the distinctions he developed between an eternal covenant of redemption between Father and Son and two basic redemptive-historical covenants: the covenant of works and the covenant of grace. God established the covenant of works with Adam and Eve, promising life conditional on obedience, but after Adam and Eve’s disobedience, God established the covenant of grace as a promise to bring victory over the devil (Gen 3:15). This covenant is reiterated in various forms throughout redemptive history and culminates in the new covenant of Christ. Cocceius’s perspective was widely received by Reformed theologians and found expression in the Westminster Standards. Covenant theology continued to be a prominent theme in Reformed theology in contrast to dispensationalism, although significant debate emerged regarding the distinction between a covenant of works and a covenant of grace, which was rejected by Karl Barth and John Murray but accepted by others in the tradition.
Allis, O. T.
Bass, Clarence B.
Bear, James
Berkof, Louis
Carson, Herbert
Cotton, John
Fuller, Daniel Paxton
Gerstner, John
Goodwin, Thomas
Hendricksen, William
Hodge, A. A.
Hodge, Charles
Ladd, George Eldon
Lincoln, C. Fred
Mauro, Philip
Murray, John
Orr, James
Owen, john
Payne, J. Barton
Poythress, Vern
Robertson, O. Palmer
Sproul, R. C.
Van Gemeren, Willem
Van Til, Cornelius
Dispensational Theology [7]Dispensationalism, a periodization of human history into distinct time periods, or dispensations, during which God relates to humans in unique ways, was popularized in Darby’s frequent trips to America and contributed to the rise of fundamentalism.

A theological system dividing the history of redemption into separate periods (dispensations) in which God relates to his people in unique ways, first developed by Englishman John Nelson Darby (1800–1882) and primarily popularized in the United States through the Scofield Reference Bible. Dispensationalism differs from covenant theology by identifying two separate peoples—Israel and the church—to whom God relates in distinct ways, thus introducing greater discontinuity into the biblical story than normally affirmed in the Reformed tradition. Given its wide-ranging influence, however, dispensationalism has been affirmed by some Reformed theologians, particularly in North America.
Barnhouse, Donald Grey
Brooks, James H.
Chafer, Lewis Sperry
Darby, John Nelson
English, E. Schuyler
Feinberg, Charles L.
Gaebelein, Arno C.
Gaebelein, Frank
Graves, J. R.
Hoyt, Herman
Ironside, H. A.
Kelly, William
MacArthur, John
Mackintosh, C. H.
Mason, Clarence E.
Mayhue, Richard
McClain, Alva J.
Pache, Rene
Pentecost, J. Dwight
Pettingill, William
Ryrie, Charles
Sauer, Erich
Scofield, C. I.
Scroggie, W. Graham
Walvoord, John F.
Ultra-Dispensational Theology [8]
(Church began with Paul, not at Pentecost)		In modern times, the term dispensationalism is most often associated with nineteenth-century theologian John Nelson Darby, who was associated with the Plymouth Brethren Church in England. Darby’s key work, Synopsis, clearly delineated human history into well-defined time periods called dispensations. In each dispensation, God demands different expressions of faith from believers. In the dispensation of law, for example, the faithful were obedient to the Mosaic code, but this no longer applied after the death of Christ, when the dispensation of grace began. Later teachers, such as C. I. Scofield (1843–1921), expanded the number of dispensations to seven periods. Each dispensation ended in judgment, and only a few, a remnant, survive that testing to begin the next dispensation. Important to this view is the idea that Israel is distinct from the church and the promises and covenants made to Israel do not necessarily apply to modern-day believers.
Baker, Charles F.
Berean Bible Society
Bullinger, Ethelbert W.
Gelesnoff, Vladimir
Knoch, A.E.
McGee, J. Vernon
O’Hair, J.C.
Sellers, Otis Q.
Stam, Cornelius R.
Welch, Charles H.

Secondary Theologies

Title Description Personal Alignment
Antinomianism [9]A form of spiritual anarchy, which rejects the law as having any place in the Christian life, whether as instructor or as assessor. Paul’s teaching that Christians are free from the law is sometimes misunderstood as antinomian. But Paul reveres God’s law, and teaches believers, who are free from the law as a system of salvation, to keep it out of gratitude for salvation freely given, and because holiness, as defined by the law, is the Christian calling.
Agricola, Johannes
Brearley, Roger
Crisp, Tobias
Eaton, John
Hutchinson, Anne
Saltmarsh, John,
Traske, John
Towne, Robert
Black Theology [10]Derived from both traditional African-American religion and the historical process of liberation, Black Theology focuses on God in Christ as deliverer of oppressed people, and blackness as the key to understanding that deliverance.
Cleage, Jr., Albert B.
Cone, James
Roberts, Deotis
Charismatic Renewal [11]
(Generally Arminian)		Neo-Pentecostalism – The classical Pentecostal movement usually traces its origin to New Year’s Day, 1901, when Agnes Ozman first spoke in tongues in Charles F. Parham’s Bible school in Topeka, Kansas. The movement that ensued was ridiculed by many outsiders as the religion of the economically deprived, the socially disinherited, the psychologically abnormal and the theologically aberrant. However, by the 1960s many sociological, psychological and theological theories had given way under the increasing evidence that Pentecostals were becoming middle class and educated. At the same time, their characteristic teachings were gaining acceptance among Christians within mainline Protestant denominations, as well as the Catholic Church. As the national media publicized this new movement, American Christians began to grapple with a phenomenon that would come to be known as the charismatic, or neo-Pentecostal, movement.
Benett, Dennis
Braham, William
Bredesen, Harald
Christensen, Larry
Coe, Jack
duPlessis, David
Harper, Michael C.
Irwin, David
Osborne, Tommy Lee
Roberts, Oral
Smith, Chuck (Calvary Chapel)
Wilkerson, David
Creation Spirituality [12]New Age Movement (NAM) – The NAM is both eclectic and syncretistic, drawing on sources as diverse as Vedantic Hinduism, assorted varieties of spiritism and avant garde theories in quantum physics. It is best viewed not as a unified denomination, sect, cult or conspiracy—although these factors are not lacking—but rather as a world view shifting away from both monotheism and atheistic materialism, and toward the “ancient wisdom” or “perennial philosophy” (A. Huxley) of various Eastern religions (e.g., Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, etc.), pre-Christian Western religions (e.g., Druidism), Christian heresies (Gnosticism, heterodox mysticism) and the occult (e.g., divination, magic, spiritism).

In the 1980s the Dominican priest Matthew Fox was teaching what he called “Creation Spirituality” in books such as The Coming of the Cosmic Christ (1988) and through his Institute in Culture and Creation Spirituality. Clearly a proponent of the New Age perspective, in October 1988 Fox was ordered silenced by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Matthew Fox (Catholic)
Feminist Theology [13]Feminist theology has an unmistakable ideological slant (Colin Grant, “Feminist Theology Is Middle Class). It is patently tied to the women’s revolution in society, which insists on equal pay for equivalent work and presses for the liberation of women from male domination. God becomes the Empowering Matrix (Rosemary Ruether) that enables both men and women to realize their full potential as sons and daughters of a new age in which sexual differences are no longer a barrier to economic and political advancement as well as to spiritual leadership. The immanentalistic bent of feminist theology is tied to its reconception of God as the vital force within nature rather than as Sovereign King or Lord (Cf. Dorothee Sölle: “God is our capacity to love … the spark that animates our love.”). Feminist theology converges with process theology at many points, for both mirror the new wave of democratic egalitarianism that seeks to eradicate all hierarchy in human relationships.
Bilezikian, Gilbert
Frymer-Kensky, Tikva
Gundry, Patricia
Hardesty, Nancy
Jewett, Paul
Mollenkott, Virginia
Myers, Carol
Ogden Bellis, Alice
Scanzoni, Letha
Spencer, Aida Bensancon
Trible, Phyllis
Williams, Dan
Liberation Theology [14]The term “liberation theology” is attributed to the Latin American theologian Gustavo Gutierrez. In 1970, Gutierrez published A Theology of Liberation, in which he offers a theological perspective “from the underside of history” (Huebner, Introduction, 466).

According to Thiselton, a liberation hermeneutic shares these common themes with feminist and womanist hermeneutics (Thiselton, New Horizons, 410):

1.) They critique frameworks of interpretation.
2. ) They offer alternative reinterpretations.
3.) They unmask the ways in which interpretations are used to serve the interests of those in power.

Liberation theologies and hermeneutics find expression in critical scholarship, but more so among theologians in active, missional movements that derive their theology from an “ecclesial location,” such as Gutierrez who is known for theological reflections located in stories from his life among the poor (Gutierrez and Muller, On the Side). Juan Luis Segundo, a Uruguayan liberation theologian, suggests that the key to a “this-worldly” hermeneutic (and not an “other-worldly” one, meaning one that is practicable now) is the kingdom—preached, lived, and initiated by Jesus (Segundo, Grace, 73). Liberation theology and hermeneutics attempt to inform a kingdom of justice, which is often described as a spirituality that holds in tension divine transcendence and human action, gift and initiation (Segundo, Grace, 73).
Boff, Leonardo
Gutierrez, Gustavo
Miguez-Bonino, Jose
Lutheranism [15]The theological and ecclesiastical tradition based on the teachings of Martin Luther (1483–1546), who is credited with launching the Reformation in Germany. Luther’s “tower experience” convinced him that the essence of the gospel is that justification comes only by the gift of God’s grace appropriated by faith (see sola gratia; sola fide). According to Luther, God declares the sinner righteous through Jesus’ death rather than through human merit or works. Faith entails trust in and acceptance of God’s gift of salvation through the “merits” of Christ.Althaus, Paul
Bornkamm, Heinrich
Chemnitz, Martin
Forde, Gerhard O.
Gerhard, Johann
Jensen, Robert
Kolb, Robert
Lohse, Bernhard
Luther, Martin
Maier, Paul L.
Melanchthon, Philip
Montgomery, John W.
Pieper, Franz
Preus, Robert
Sasse, Hermann
Veith, Gene Edward
Walter, C. F. W.
Wengert, Timothy
Mercersburg Theology [16]Mercersburg Theology was a German-American theological movement that began in the mid-19th century. It draws its name from Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, home of Marshall College from 1836 until its merger with Franklin College (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) in 1853, and also home to the seminary of the Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS) from 1837 until its relocation to Lancaster in 1871.

A significant aspect of the Mercersburg Theology is the view of history and theology found in Philip Schaff’s Principle of Protestantism. In this work, Schaff takes a Hegelian model of history and applies it to the history of theology. Theology must come to one final synthesis, as Schaff expressed in his remark that “the Reformation must be regarded as still incomplete. It needs yet its concluding act to unite what has fallen asunder, to bring the subjective to a reconciliation with the objective.”[4] By this, he proposes a reunion of the subjective doctrines of Protestantism with the objective character of the Roman Catholic Church. Thus, an outworking of this belief is a generous ecumenism extended toward all, especially toward Roman Catholics.

The Mercersburg Society was founded in 1983 to maintain the sacramental and ecclesial approach of the theology. 
Nevin, John Williamson
Schaff, Philip
Liberal Theology [17]
(Neo-Liberalism)
(Existential Theology, Existentialism)		American liberal theologians in the early twentieth century emphasized Scripture as experience. Standing in the tradition of Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834), Albrecht Ritschl (1822–1889) and Adolf von Harnack (1851–1930), these theologians sought to reconstruct traditional orthodoxy to meet the challenges of the modern world. They viewed the Bible as an ancient document written by fallible, human writers who were “religious geniuses.” These inspiring writers produced a literature that conveys religious experience to its readers as it brings them into contact with the great questions of human existence. Thus the liberal pulpiteer Harry Emerson Fosdick spoke of the Bible as presenting “abiding experiences and changing categories.” This means the basic human experiences of which the Bible speaks will be the same in any age, though expressed in various concepts and frameworks at different periods of history. Theologians must search out the abiding experiences that underlie biblical categories and express them in ways appropriate to the present times. For liberal theology, God is revealed in the events of history and especially in Jesus Christ. Humans may open themselves to this revelation and find the ring of truth in Scripture as biblical experiences coincide with their own religious experiences.
Bultmann, Rudolf (existential)
Coffin, Henry S.
Gilkey, Langdon
Van Dusen, H.P
Schleiermacher, Fredrich
Fosdick, Harry E.
Kierkegaard, Søren (existential)
Ogden, Schuber
Niebuhr, Reinhold (“post-liberal”)
Tielhard de Chardin, Pierre
Tillich, Paul (existential)
Tracy, David (Catholic)
Neo-Orthodoxy [18]The Swiss theologians Karl Barth and Emil Brunner are associated with neo-orthodox theology, a movement which characteristically speaks of Scripture as witness. Barth, reacting strongly to the liberal theology in which he was schooled, developed a dialectical theology that in its early stages stressed the great contrast and distance between the transcendent, holy God and finite, sinful humanity. In Jesus Christ, this gulf was bridged. Christ is God’s self-revelation so that to say revelation is to say the Word made flesh. Barth spoke of the threefold Word of God as the Word revealed (Jesus Christ), the Word written (Scripture) and the Word proclaimed (preaching). Scripture “becomes” God’s Word when, through its proclamation, it witnesses or points to the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. The inspired writers of Scripture were witnesses to God’s revelation. Barth could speak of “verbal inspiration” in the sense that the witnesses to God’s revelation recorded their witness in words. But these were fallible words of humans, having “the capacity for errors,” yet nevertheless used by God to accomplish his own purposes. Scripture gains authority insofar as the Holy Spirit takes human witnesses and through their witness creates faith and obedience to Jesus Christ.
Barth, Karl
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich
Bunner, Emil

New Covenant Theology [19]A position teaching that the person and work of Jesus Christ is the central focus of the Bible. One distinctive assertion of this school of thought is that Old Testament Laws have been abrogated or cancelled with Jesus’ crucifixion, and replaced with the Law of Christ of the New Covenant. It shares similarities with, and yet is distinct from, dispensationalism and Covenant theology.
Wells, Tom
Zaspel, Fred
Lehrer, Steve
Reisinger, John
Pentecostalism [20]Pentecostalism is a movement that began in the early twentieth century that emphasizes a post-conversion “baptism in the Holy Spirit” for all believers, with glossolalia (speaking in tongues) as the initial evidence of such baptism. Historically, Pentecostals have been missionary-minded people, due in part to the fact that the first Pentecostals taught that one central purpose of baptism in the Spirit was to endow the believer with power for evangelism.
Hayford, Jack
Mason, Charles H.
McPherson, Amy Semple
Pietism [21]Pietism as it is now widely understood has its roots both in the magisterial and radical phases of the Reformation, as well as in the emphasis on “godliness” of many Puritans. It gradually comes into view in what is sometimes referred to as “precisianism” in the Reformed churches of the Netherlands. Among the Dutch Reformed it was represented by men like Willem Teellinck (1579–1629); the scholarly Gysbertus Voetius (1509–1676); Jadocus van Lodensteyn (1620–1677); as well as the Brakels—Theodor Gerardi (1608–1669) and his son Willem (1635–1711). Among separatists with a Dutch Reformed background, mention should be made of the former Jesuit Jean de Labadie (1610–1674) and his gifted disciple Anna Maria van Schurmann (1607–1678).
Arndt, Johann
Francke, August Hermann
Spener, Philipp Jakob
Zinzerdorf, Count Von
Process Theology [22]
(Panentheism)		Panentheism is not to be confused with pantheism. Pantheism literally means all (“pan”) is God (“theism”), but panentheism means “all in God.” It is also called process theology (since it views God as a changing Being), bipolar theism (since it believes God has two poles), organicism (since it views all that actually is as a gigantic organism), and neoclassical theism (because it believes God is finite and temporal, in contrast to classical theism).
Cobb, John B.
Hartshorne, Charles
Peters, Eugene H.
Whitehead, Alfred North
Prosperity Theology [23]Prosperity theology (sometimes referred to as the prosperity gospel, the health and wealth gospel, the gospel of success, or seed faith) is a religious belief among some Protestant Christians that financial blessing and physical well-being are always the will of God for them, and that faith, positive speech, and donations to religious causes will increase one’s material wealth.

Prosperity theology views the Bible as a contract between God and humans: if humans have faith in God, he will deliver security and prosperity. The doctrine emphasizes the importance of personal empowerment, proposing that it is God’s will for his people to be blessed. The atonement (reconciliation with God) is interpreted to include the alleviation of sickness and poverty, which are viewed as curses to be broken by faith. This is believed to be achieved through donations of money, visualization, and positive confession.
Capps, Charles
Cho, Paul
Copeland, Kenneth
Hayes, Narvelle
Hagin, Kenneth
Kenyon, Essek William
Osteen, John
Price, Frederick K. C.
Savelle, Jerry
Puritanism [24]A reform movement heavily influenced by Calvinism but initially part of the Church of England that had its zenith in the seventeenth century in England and North America. The stereotype of a Puritan as someone who is prudish and legalistic is quite misleading; Puritans enjoyed their beer and knew how to laugh. They were agents of cultural renewal in spheres as diverse as poetry and political philosophy, and they left a lasting imprint through the colonies founded in New England.
Ames, William
Baxter, Richard
Bolton, Robert
Bridge, William,
Brooks, Thomas
Burroughes, Jeremiah
Bunyan, John
Charnock, Stephen
Clarkson, David
Cotton, John
Flavel, John
Goodwin, Thomas
Gouge, William
Hooker, Thomas
Manton, Thomas
Owen, John
Perkins, William
Rutherford, Samuel
Shepard, Thomas
Sibbes, Richard
Swinnock, George
Ussher, James
Watson, Thomas
Scholasticism [25]Through their intense study of the Bible and their preservation of ancient manuscripts, the monks did much to keep the spirit of learning alive during the Dark Ages. The cathedral and monastic schools were centers of study that served as seed beds for the later universities. Scholasticism refers both to the revival of learning that occurred during the Middle Ages and the method of study by which it occurred—the process of careful, rational scrutiny, logical deduction, and the systematic ordering of truth.
Abelard, Peter
Anselm
Aquinas, Thomas
Bonaventure
Ockham, William of
Secular Theology [26]
(“God is Dead”)		Secular theology rejects the substance dualism of modern religion, the belief in two forms of reality required by the belief in heaven, hell, and the afterlife. Secular theology can accommodate a belief in God—as many nature religions do—but as residing in this world and not separately from it.

Historians such as Charles Freeman hold that the AD 325 Council of Nicaea did much to establish dualism in Christian thought. Dualism has greatly influenced not only religion but science as well. By desacralizing the natural world, dualism has left it vulnerable to exploitation and damage.

The field of secular theology, a subfield of liberal theology advocated by Anglican bishop John A. T. Robinson somewhat paradoxically combines secularism and theology. Recognized in the 1960s, it was influenced both by neo-orthodoxy, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Harvey Cox, and the existentialism of Søren Kierkegaard and Paul Tillich. Secular theology digested modern movements like the Death of God Theology propagated by Thomas J. J. Altizer or the philosophical existentialism of Paul Tillich and eased the introduction of such ideas into the theological mainstream and made constructive evaluations, as well as contributions, to them.

Altizer, Thomas
Cox, Harvey
Hamilton, William
Robinson, John A. T.
Rubenstein, Richard L. (Jewish Rabbi)
Vahanian, Gabriel
Social Gospel [27]
(Liberal Theology, Liberalism)		The Social Gospel was a social movement within Protestantism that applied Christian ethics to social problems, especially issues of social justice such as economic inequality, poverty, alcoholism, crime, racial tensions, slums, unclean environment, child labor, lack of unionization, poor schools, and the dangers of war. It was most prominent in the early-20th-century United States and Canada. Theologically, the Social Gospelers sought to put into practice the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:10): “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. They typically were postmillennialist; that is, they believed the Second Coming could not happen until humankind rid itself of social evils by human effort. The Social Gospel was more popular among clergy than laity. Its leaders were predominantly associated with the liberal wing of the progressive movement, and most were theologically liberal, although a few were also conservative when it came to their views on social issues. Important leaders included Richard T. Ely, Josiah Strong, Washington Gladden, and Walter Rauschenbusch.
Ely, Richard T.
Gladden, Washington
Rauschenbusch, Walter
Third Wave Movement [28]Although Wagner has been influential in the wider evangelical world, his extensive research into and writing on the Pentecostal and charismatic movements have given him particular expertise in these areas. Through his longtime association with the charismatic leader John Wimber, leader of the Vineyard Movement, and their joint teaching of a controversial course on charismatic ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary entitled, ‘MC 510 Signs and Wonders’ (1984), he became identified with the charismatic movement. He is credited with originating the term ‘third wave’, to designate the increased openness among other evangelicals to the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit and joint ministry with Pentecostals and charismatics.
Wagner, C. Peter
Wimber, John
Wesleyan Theology
{Wesleyan Quadrilateral)		The various groups and churches associated with, spawned by, or that look for their genesis in John Wesley (the founder of Methodism) and his theology. These include the various Methodist churches, the Holiness Movement and Pentecostalism. Wesley’s theology attempted to balance the doctrine of justification by faith with an emphasis on the Spirit’s ongoing process of sanctification in the life of the believer. Wesleyans are often known for certain doctrines, including entire sanctification and the second blessing. Wesleyans tend to be Arminian as opposed to Calvinist in their understanding of the dynamic of personal salvation.

The four “sources” on which Wesleyan theology is often constructed and defended: Scripture, reason, tradition and experience. There is some debate today as to whether the Wesleyan quadrilateral actually dates to Wesley himself, although there is general agreement that it does represent Wesley’s own theological approach.
Allen, Richard
Asbury, Francis
Coke, Albert C.
Varick, James
Wesley, Charles
Wesley, John

Eschatological Systems

Derived from the combination of the Greek eschatos, meaning “last,” and logos, meaning “word” or “significance.” Refers to the biblical doctrine of last things. The doctrine of last things normally focuses on a discussion of the return of Christ at the end of the age, the coming judgments, various expressions of the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God, the nature of the glorified body, and the prospects for eternal destiny. Generally, eschatology sets itself apart as a theology of the future and in juxtaposition to both history and the present age.[1]

Millennialism

This expression, taken from Latin words, means 1,000 years. The Bible passage that mentions the “thousand years” is Rev. 20:1–7, where the word appears six times. The Latin Vulgate uses mille anni and its variant renderings to translate the Greek chilia ete. Various theological proposals have been offered to explain this passage from Rev. 20 as well as various other Scriptures that might be taken to speak to the same issue. One’s view on this text will be determined by one’s approach to interpreting predictive prophecy and by one’s view on symbolic and apocalyptic language.[1]

Title Description Typical AssociationPersonal Alignment
Amillennialism [2]The belief that the thousand years mentioned in Revelation 20 do not represent a specific period of time between Christ’s first and second comings. Many amillennialists believe instead that the millennium refers to the heavenly reign of Christ and the departed saints during the Church Age. Amillennialists usually understand Revelation 20 to mean that the return of Christ will occur at the end of history and that the church presently lives in the final era of history.

Amillennials usually commit to Covenant theologyAdams, Jay Edward
Allis, Oswald T.
Augustine
Bass, Clarence B.
Beckwith, Isbon T.
Bennett, T. Miles
Berkof, Louis
Berkouwer, G. C.
Bowman, John Wick
Brown, David
Calvin, John
Charles, Robert H.
Colclasure, Chuck
Ellison, Henry L.
Farrar, Fredric W.
Ferguson, Sinclair
Foster, Richard J.
Gerstner, John
Gifford, Edwin H.
Hamilton, Floyd E.
Hendricksen, William
Hoekema, Anthony A.
Hoeksema, Herman
Kik, Jacob Marcellus
Laetsch, Theodore F. K.
Lenski, Richard
Leopold, Herbert C.
Luther, Martin
Machen, John Gresham
Mauro, Philip
Morgan, George Campbell
Morris, Leon
Pink, A. W.
Pusey, Edward B.
Ridderbos, Herman
Riddlebarger, Kim
Sproul, R.C.
Summers, Ray
Swete, Hanry Barclay
Van Til, Cornelius
Vos, Gerhardus
Waltke, Bruce
Warfield, B. B.
Young, Edward J
Premillennialism [2] The view that the millennium follows the return of Christ, which therefore makes his return “premillennial.” In the teaching of some premillennialists, the millennium will begin supernaturally and cataclysmically, preceded by signs of apostasy, worldwide preaching of the gospel, war, famine, earthquakes, the coming of the antichrist, and the great tribulation. Jesus will then return and rule on the earth with his saints for one thousand years, during which time peace will reign, the natural world will no longer be cursed and evil will be suppressed. After a final rebellion, God will crush evil forever; judge the resurrected, nonbelieving dead; and establish heaven and hell.Historic premillennialists usually commit to Covenant Theology, with post-tribulation eschatology.

Dispensational premillennial is generally pre-tribulation.		Alford, Henry
Amerding, C. A.
Anderson, Robert
Beasley-Murray, G. R.
Bengel, _
Blackstone, William E.
Bonar, A.A.
Bowman, John (Historic)
Chafer, Lewis Sperry
Culver, Robert D.
Darby, John Nelson
DeHaan, Martin R.
Ellicott, C.J.
English, Eugene Schuyler
Erickson, Millard (Historic)
Fausset, A. R.
Feinberg, Charles L.
Fuller, Daniel Payton (Historic)
Gaebelein, A. C.
Gill, John
Goodwin, Thomas
Grudem, Wayne
Hiebert, Davis Edmond
Hoyt, Herman A. (Disp.)
Ironside, H. A.
Jennins, Frederick C.
Jeremiah, David
Keach, Benjamin
Kromminga, D. H.
Ladd, George E. (Historic)
Lange, John
Lightfoot, J.B.
Lillie, (John?)
Luck, G. Coleman
MacArthur, John
MacIntosh, C.H.
Mauro, Philip (Historic)
Mayhue, Richard
McClain, Alva (Disp.)
Meyer, F.B.
Morgan, George Campbel
Mounce, Robert
Newell, William Reed
Ottman, Ford C.
Payne, J. Barton (Historic)
Piper, John
Ross, James Robert (Historic)
Ryle, J.C.
Ryrie, Charles (Disp.)
Seiss, Joseph A.
Smith, Jacob B.
Smith, Wilbur M.
Steir. _
Stevens, W. C.
Stifler, James M.
Strombeck, J. F.
Tatford, Frederick A.
Tenney, Merrill C.
Tregelles, Samuel P.
Unger, Merril
Walvoord, John (Disp.)
Westcott, B.F.
Wiley, H. Orton

Postmillennialism [2] The view that Christ’s second coming will follow the millennium; that is, his return is postmillennial. Postmillennialists assert that the millennium will come by the spiritual and moral influence of Christian preaching and teaching in the world. This will result in increased conversions, a more important role of the church in the world, earthly prosperity, the resolution of social ills and a general adoption of Christian values. Evil will diminish until the time of Christ’s second coming, which will mark as well the resurrection of the dead and the last judgment.
Alexander, Archibald
Alexander, Joseph A.
Barnes, Albert
Boettner, Loraine
Brown, David
Dabney, R. L.
Dabney, Robert T.
Edward, Jonathan
Fairbairn, Patrick
Hodge, A. A.
Hodge, Charles
Marcellus, K. K. J.
Murray, John
North, Gary
Shedd, W. G. T.
Snowden, James H.
Strong, Augustus H.
Warfield, Benjamin B

Rapture

God’s taking the church out of the world instantaneously. The Latin term rapio, which means to “snatch away” or “carry off,” is the source of the English word. While there are differing views of the millennium (Rev. 20:2–7) in relation to Christ’s second coming (e.g., premillennial, postmillennial, and amillennial), nevertheless, all evangelicals affirm a literal return of Christ to the earth preceding the eternal state. In premillennialism, however, the distinct event of the rapture is often emphasized.

The main biblical passage for the rapture (Gk. harpazo) of the church is 1 Thess. 4:15–17. Other texts often used to support the doctrine of the rapture are John 14:1–3 and 1 Cor. 15:51–52. There are three main approaches to understanding the rapture in premillennialism:

Title Description Personal Alignment
Pre-Tribulational [3] In the pretribulational view, Christ raptures the church before any part of the seven-year tribulation begins (Dan. 9:24–27; Matt. 24:3–28; Rev. 11:2; 12:14). Upon Christ’s coming in the air, which is distinct from and that precedes His coming to the earth, believers will be “caught up together … in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:17). In this view, believers are delivered “from the coming wrath” (1 Thess. 1:10; Rev. 3:10) by being taken out of the world.
Harrison, Norman B.
Hogg, Charles F.
Stanton, Gerald B.
Theissen, Henry C.
Vine, Howard Frederick
Mid-Tribulational [3] A midtribulational view also sees the rapture as a distinct event that precedes Christ’s second coming and delivers believers from the last half of the seven-year period, the “great tribulation” (Matt. 24:15–28; Rev. 16–18).
Peters, George N. H.

Post-Tribulational [3] A posttribulational view holds that the rapture and the second coming occur at the same time. Therefore, the church remains on earth during “the time of Jacob’s distress” (Jer. 30:7 NASB). Unlike the world, however, believers who go through the tribulation will be protected from the devastating outpouring of God’s wrath and judgment (1 Thess. 5:9).
Erickson, Millard
Ladd, G. E.
Lang, George H.
Tenney, Merrill C.

Citations

[1] Doros Zachariades, “Millennium,” ed. Chad Brand et al., Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1127.
[2] Stanley Grenz, David Guretzki, and Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 8–9.
[3] Pete Schemm, “Rapture,” ed. Chad Brand et al., Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1366.
[4] Kelly M. Kapic and Wesley Vander Lugt, Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed Tradition, The IVP Pocket Reference Series (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2013), 29–30.
[5] Norman L. Geisler, “Molinism,” Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, Baker Reference Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999), 493.
[6] Kelly M. Kapic and Wesley Vander Lugt, Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed Tradition, The IVP Pocket Reference Series (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2013), 38–39.
[7] Ibid, 41.
[8] Nathan P. Feldmeth, Pocket Dictionary of Church History: Over 300 Terms Clearly and Concisely Defined, The IVP Pocket Reference Series (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008), 52–53.
[9] Martin H. Manser, Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies (London: Martin Manser, 2009).
[10] Daniel G. Reid et al., Dictionary of Christianity in America (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1990).
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Donald G. Bloesch, Freedom for Obedience: Evangelical Ethics in Contemporary Times (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2002), 266–267.
[14] Carrie Sinclair Wolcott, “Liberation Theologies and Hermeneutics,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).
[15] Stanley Grenz, David Guretzki, and Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 74.
[16] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercersburg_theology
[17] Daniel G. Reid et al., Dictionary of Christianity in America (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1990).
[18] Ibid.
[19] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Covenant_theology
[20] Stanley Grenz, David Guretzki, and Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 90.
[21] Daniel G. Reid et al., Dictionary of Christianity in America (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1990).
[22] Norman L. Geisler, “Panentheism,” Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, Baker Reference Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999), 576.
[23] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosperity_theology
[24] C. Stephen Evans, Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), 98.
[25] David S. Dockery, ed., Holman Bible Handbook (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 1992), 865.
[26] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_theology
[27] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Gospel
[28] D. Hedges, “Wagner, Charles Peter,” ed. Timothy Larsen et al., Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 691.
[29] Stanley Grenz, David Guretzki, and Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 120–121.

The Faith That Counts

By on in Theology

It was YHWH Himself, who said, “the righteous shall live by faith (Hab 2:4).” While speaking to the prophet Habakkuk, the context of this piercing message was about Judah’s injustices and how God appointed the Chaldeans (Babylon) to bring them to enslavement, disaster, and destruction. The bitter and hasty nation of Chaldea having a reputation of ruthless violence will overpower Jerusalem and Judah because they rejected YHWH. They chose to live their way apart from God, who gave them their land, prosperity, and protection. They were unwilling to reciprocate the love He had so entirely given to them throughout the centuries among their predecessors.

That YHWH would say to the prophet “the righteous shall live by faith” carries with it meaning that extends well beyond ink on paper, or even far above the unmistakable message this phrase conveys. These are six words that freeze in place the hearer and melt the heart of those who would seek YHWH to learn of Him and have some semblance of hope to love Him. Despite their continued failures and the iniquity that places them at a distance from God. Because they know what it is and what it would be to remain in a fully intimate relationship with God to know Him and live out an intense love, that is the best way to live.

The prophet wrote out these words of YHWH’s and placed them before us to convey a meaning that gives us hope in the face of perpetual failure. That those who are moral or righteous in action or conduct are they who live by trust in YHWH their God. In fact, they live in such a way that their faith is the cause of justification. Present throughout their lifestyle of faith are they who are becoming sanctified. It is by faith that justification and sanctification through perseverance before YHWH we are at our fullest way to God and His interests. To know Him fully and be one with Him because of who He is.

The Apostle Paul wrote about these words that YHWH spoke to the prophet Habakkuk (Rom 1:17). He cites Habakkuk 2:4 to inform his readers that the righteous shall live by faith. Said another way, the one who by faith is righteous shall live. As the object of a person’s faith, or trust, is in YHWH while that person is made righteous. For example, of this truth from the inspired words of YHWH (2 Tim 3:16), we look back to what He said to Moses about Abram. That as Abram believed the LORD, YHWH counted him as righteous. Yes, his belief in YHWH was reckoned to him as righteousness. This is what we continue to read about from Romans 4:1-8. Paul zeroes in on the principle of justification through faith where the sin of the ungodly is not counted against him or her.

As it is by grace we are saved through faith (Eph 2:8-9), we are even more made righteous through Christ as we are made new in Him. It is written, in Christ, we become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21). Just as it is fully revealed and orchestrated for our redemption, it is this good news of the gospel that our being is captivated and made completely His.

Point of No Return

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“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.

If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Dt 30:15–20). 

Set before you is life and good, death and evil.

Seat of Osmosis

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There are times at random when in passing I will just pick up my bible off the desk, hold it to my chest and breathe it in with my eyes closed. There is a unique and centering sense about it. That the totality in the meaning of its words brings certainty about truth, life, assurance, and renewal. The cool of the pages and the holiness of its words reach through to take the heat, confusion, and distress off. To soothe the uneasiness for another stretch of the day. Until back again inside for what it brings. Even better sometimes is my head down at my desk supported by His Holy book. I belong at home in those words.

Cleansing Peace & Well Being

Words to Live By

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In the past week or so, I have still had this lasting appetite to pour daily into Ezekiel. Not in a visceral sense, but as a sheep that nurses to get its energy. Something happens to lighten the heart and spirit by bringing those words into view by holding the pages close and dwelling upon their meaning. Honestly, when Jesus said that we would live on more than bread, but on the word of God, I didn’t take it in the literal sense. I was wrong. It is, in fact, in the literal sense. Once you have a taste, there isn’t a way to live without having those words as a source of wisdom, guidance, comfort, and faith.

“And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”

But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” – Matt. 4:4

Better to Give

By on in Theology

Here’s a profile of our newly sponsored child. Destine Hanamaria has made it through one of the most vulnerable times in life for a human living in poverty. She made it past her first birthday because of generous givers like you. At this age, having someone to love and take care of her can still mean the difference between life and death. That’s why your sponsorship provides for a trained Survival Specialist from her local church to visit her every month at home.

Destine Hanamaria
Birthday: July 09, 2015
Gender: Female
Location: Indonesia (Asia)
Child ID: XXXXXXXXXXXX

• Age: 2
• Birthday: July 9, 2015
• Gender: Female
• Location: Indonesia
• Center: Evangelical Church in Minahasa “Trifena” Karegesan
• Child ID: XXXXXXXXXXXX
• Waiting: 215 days for a sponsor. Urgent need for a sponsor.

Overview

Destine Hanamaria has made it through one of the most vulnerable times in life for a human living in poverty. She made it past her first birthday because of generous givers like you. At this age, having someone to love and take care of her can still mean the difference between life and death. That’s why your sponsorship provides for a trained Survival Specialist from her local church to visit her every month at home.

These specialists provide access to much-needed immunizations and medical care, as well as food and water to meet critical physical needs. They also lend emotional and spiritual support to family members committed to caring for her. Your sponsorship allows Destine Hanamaria a strong, healthy start, early in life when it can have the biggest impact.

Please remember Destine Hanamaria in your prayers. Your love and support will help her to receive the assistance she needs to grow and develop.

Community

Project: ID-119, Trifena Student Center
Location: Karegesan, 25 km southwest of Bitung, Indonesia

Destine lives on the plains of Karegesan, home to approximately 20,000 residents. Typical houses are constructed of cement floors, wood walls, and corrugated iron roofs. The primary ethnic group is Minahasa.

The regional diet consists of fish, plantains, and rice. A common health problem in this area is coughs. Most adults in Karegesan work as day laborers and earn the equivalent of $89 per month. This community has electricity but needs vocational training and scholastic materials

Your sponsorship allows the staff of Trifena Student Center to provide Destine with Bible studies, leadership training, medical checkups, nutritious food, sports, community service opportunities, tuition, scholastic materials, tutoring, and vocational training. The center staff will also provide meetings and seminars on economic empowerment for the parents or guardians of Destine.

Indonesia consists of 17,000 islands along the equator between Australia and Asia. The larger islands have central mountain ranges and fertile plains and lowlands. The climate is tropical with a rainy season from October to April.

The country squeezes a population nearly the size of the United States into a landmass roughly triple the size of Texas; it has the fourth largest population in the world. Indonesia is also a diverse nation with many resources. More than 700 languages are spoken but the most common is Bahasa Indonesia. Islam claims 90 percent of Indonesians; however, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and animism are also practiced.

When Columbus sailed from Spain in 1492, he sought a new route to the Spice Islands of Indonesia. The Portuguese arrived in the sixteenth century but in 1602 the Dutch began slowly gaining control of the islands. Following Japanese occupation during World War II, the country, led by Sukarno, proclaimed independence in 1945. Suharto ousted Sukarno in 1968 and held the presidency of the military-controlled republic until 1998 when a collapsing economy fueled riots and demands for reforms. In 2001, the country elected a female leader, President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Abiding Truth

By on in Theology

Continuing along in my reading of John Piper’s book, “What Jesus Demands from the World”, I just finished the section entitled “Abide in Me.” Numbered as demand #7 with references Jn 15:4, Jn 15:9, and Jn 8:31-32.

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” -Jn 8:31-32

That dwelling, continuing, and remaining with Jesus comes from believing in him and his love daily. By being in daily prayer and abiding in His word, He will produce fruit within us and from us. And I would also add that worship is a crucial practice to glorify God in us in order that we are most satisfied in Him.

Powers That Be

By on in Theology

“Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” – Rev 1:19-20

Several weeks ago, I began the gradual re-introduction to the KJV. Not to abandon the NASB, but to run concurrently with the archaic and beautiful language in the KJV.

My spirit is still deep into daily reading and study of my NASB, but along with that, I am tracing back all of the same/common written words in this earlier KJV version. Usually a few chapters a day for months now, plus random sections here and there.

There is something deeper and meaningful about repeating the same material with written notes and illustrations side by side. My eyes see the words differently in full absorption of this early translation.

Way of Escape

By on in Theology

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ” -Eph 2:8-9

Obedience must accompany faith. As evidence of authentic faith made real by grace as given by God.

Sola Gratia (Grace Alone)
Solus Christus (Christ Alone)
Sola Fide (Faith Alone)
Soli Deo Gloria (To the Glory of God Alone)
Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone)

These are five principles that give us hope that we could live. And that God could be eternally 100% for us rather than against us and objects of his wrath (Ep 2:3). Principles recognized, understood, and followed to spiritually become made alive in Christ. This is what it is to be made alive in Christ. God sets His love and grace upon His elect for authentic repentance to obey the Son. We are otherwise dead spiritually and completely unable to believe and obey.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Eph 2:8–9). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.