Part 1 the New Covenant and Christian Liberty
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The Five Points of Calvinism
• TULIP The Five Points of Calvinism instructor’s guide Bethlehem College & Seminary 720 13th Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55415 612.455.3420 [email protected] | bcsmn.edu Copyright © 2007, 2012, 2017 by Bethlehem College & Seminary All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, modified, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright © 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. • TULIP The Five Points of Calvinism instructor’s guide Table of Contents Instructor’s Introduction Course Syllabus 1 Introduction from John Piper 3 Lesson 1 Introduction to the Doctrines of Grace 5 Lesson 2 Total Depravity 27 Lesson 3 Irresistible Grace 57 Lesson 4 Limited Atonement 85 Lesson 5 Unconditional Election 115 Lesson 6 Perseverance of the Saints 141 Appendices Appendix A Historical Information 173 Appendix B Testimonies from Church History 175 Appendix C Ten Effects of Believing in the Five Points of Calvinism 183 Instructor’s Introduction It is our hope and prayer that God would be pleased to use this curriculum for his glory. Thus, the intention of this curriculum is to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ. This curriculum is guided by the vision and values of Bethlehem College & Seminary which are more fully explained at bcsmn.edu. At the Bethlehem College & Semianry website, you will find the God-centered philosophy that undergirds and motivates everything we do. -
Pat-Abendroth-Dissertation.Pdf
A Pastoral Note About My Doctoral Project I am glad you are interested in reading my dissertation. Given that it took a fair amount of effort and my passion for the subject matter, I am happy to share it with church members and friends. Please allow me to introduce you to the project by saying just a few things. If you ask someone what Covenant Theology is and if it is a good or bad thing, you will likely hear lots of different answers. It is fairly common for evangelicals to respond by either saying they do not know what Covenant Theology is or by describing it as something unbiblical and relating to a particular view regarding millennialism, baptism, or Israel. There are three major problems with such responses. First, classic Covenant Theology is essentially concerned with matters of sin and salvation, not something else. Second, the biblical support for such things as the federal headship of Adam and Jesus is strong (federal being from the Latin foedus meaning covenant). Third, when Covenant Theology is rejected, justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone is at best in serious jeopardy. My dissertation is a promotion and defense of classic Covenant Theology. I have written out of a pastoral passion to help people understand human history federally/covenantally just as the Apostle Paul did as he wrote inspired Scripture (see Romans 5:12-21). Likewise, I have written in order to demonstrate the vital connection between Covenant Theology and justification by faith alone, the doctrine that is so commonly compromised by rejecters of the federal perspective. -
A Plea for Hebrew Study- Especially for Pastors and Teachers
Hebrew for Christians www.hebrew4christians.com Plea for Hebrew Study A Plea for Hebrew Study- Especially for Pastors and Teachers Introduction. In this short article, John Piper attempts to cajole his fellow pastors to take their duty to study the original languages of the Scriptures seriously. I would qualify Dr. Piper’s comments, however, by insisting that the study of Hebrew must take priority over the study of the Greek text (though of course both are important). After all, the Greek text of the New Testament derives its authority and veracity from the Jewish Scriptures, and not the other way around. In other words, while it's possible that the Hebrew Scriptures are true and the Greek Scriptures are not, it's impossible for the Greek Scriptures to be true if the Hebrew Scriptures are not. Too many Christian theologians go at this backwards, reading the Greek New Testament as the interpretative filter for the study of the Hebrew text. The hermeneutical primacy of the Hebrew text should be evident to all who study the Scriptures seriously. Indeed, I would go well beyond Dr. Piper’s modest proposal and implore pastors and teachers to study the Hebraic mindset of the Scriptures and to become fluent with Jewish ways of reading and understanding the Scriptures. It is nothing short of folly for the Christian Church to disregard the wealth of insights afforded by the Jewish sages over the millennia. Moreover, the Jewish moedim (holidays) are all clearly prophetic and offer tremendous insights regarding redemption, social concerns, and eschatology. It is imperative to always remember that God chose to reveal Himself to the world as a Jewish man who was born, who lived, and who died within a Jewish culture and context. -
Exploring the Contours of Paul's New Covenant
What is So New About the New Covenant? Exploring the Contours of Paul’s New Covenant Theology in 2 Corinthians 3 Matthew Barrett Matthew Barrett is Tutor of Systematic Theology and Church History at Oak Hill Theological College in London, England. He earned his Ph.D. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Systematic Theology. Dr. Barrett is the executive editor of Credo Magazine, as well as the author and editor of several books, including Salvation by Grace (P&R, 2013), Four Views on the Historical Adam (Zondervan, 2013 with A. B. Caneday), Owen on the Christian Life (Crossway, 2015 with Michael Haykin), and editor of the The 5 Solas Series (Zondervan, 2015-2017). Second Corinthians 3 is a hotly debated and difficult text. For example, Thomas Schreiner says 2 Corinthians 3 is “one of the most controverted texts in the Pauline corpus,”1 and is “full of exegetical difficulties and knotty problems.”2 David Garland believes the passage is “notoriously obscure”3 and Anthony Hanson says it is the “mount Everest of Pauline texts as far as difficulty is concerned—or should we rather call it the sphinx among texts, since its difficulty lies in its enigmatic quality rather than its com- plexity?”4 The result has been a hermeneutical maze of literature almost impossible to navigate.5 Nevertheless, the complexity and difficulty in translating and interpreting 2 Corinthians 3 is matched by its biblical-theological depth and insight.6 As the growing literature demonstrates, this one chapter leaves readers with a host of themes central to developing a Pauline theology (e.g., law, ministry, SBJT 19.3 (2015): 61-96 61 The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 19.3 (2015) Spirit, glory, covenant). -
Five-Points.Pdf
9781781912522- Five Points.indd 1 13/08/2013 09:52:15 9781781912522- Five Points.indd 2 13/08/2013 09:52:28 9781781912522- Five Points.indd 3 13/08/2013 09:52:29 Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2007. © The Desiring God Foundation 2013 paperback ISBN 978-1-78191-252-2 epub ISBN 978-1-78191-284-3 Mobi ISBN 978-1-78191-285-0 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Published in 2013 by Christian Focus Publications Ltd., Geanies House, Fearn, Ross-shire, IV20 1TW, Scotland, Great Britain www.christianfocus.com www.desiringGod.org Cover design by DUFI-ART.com Printed and bound in the USA All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmit- ted, in any form, by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying. In the U.K. such licences are issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London, EC1 8TS www. cla.co.uk 9781781912522- Five Points.indd 4 13/08/2013 09:52:29 CONTENTS 1. Preface ............................................................................7 2. Historical Roots ............................................................11 3. Total Depravity .............................................................17 4. Irresistible Grace ...........................................................25 5. Limited Atonement .......................................................37 6. Unconditional Election .................................................53 7. Perseverance of the Saints ............................................63 8. What the Five Points Have Meant for Me: A Personal Testimony ..................................................77 9. -
CORONAVIRUS and CHRIST Other Books by John Piper
CORONAVIRUS AND CHRIST Other books by John Piper The Dangerous Duty of Delight Desiring God Don’t Waste Your Life Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die God Is the Gospel A Hunger for God Let the Nations Be Glad! The Pleasures of God Reading the Bible Supernaturally Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ Spectacular Sins A Sweet and Bitter Providence What Jesus Demands from the World When I Don’t Desire God Why I Love the Apostle Paul CORONAVIRUS AND CHRIST John Piper ® WHEATON, ILLINOIS Coronavirus and Christ Copyright © 2020 by Desiring God Foundation Published by Crossway 1300 Crescent Street Wheaton, Illinois 60187 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. Crossway® is a registered trademark in the United States of America. Cover design: Jordan Singer First printing 2020 Printed in the United States of America Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, En glish Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the author. Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-7359-0 ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-7362-0 PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-7360-6 Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-7361-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2020936307 Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. -
The Legacy of Sovereign
LegacySovereignJoy.48134.int.qxd 9/21/07 10:01 AM Page 1 T HE L EGACY OF S OVEREIGN J OY LegacySovereignJoy.48134.int.qxd 9/21/07 10:01 AM Page 2 OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR The Justification of God: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Romans 9:1–23 2nd Edition (Baker Book House, 1993, orig. 1983) The Supremacy of God in Preaching (Baker Book House, 1990) The Pleasures of God: Meditations on God’s Delight in Being God (Multnomah Press, 1991) Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism (edited with Wayne Grudem, Crossway Books, 1991) What’s the Difference? Manhood and Womanhood Defined According to the Bible (Crossway Books, 1991) Let the Nations Be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions (Baker Book House, 1993) The Purifying Power of Living by Faith in Future Grace (Multnomah Press, 1995) Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist (Multnomah Press, revised 1996) A Hunger for God: Desiring God through Fasting and Prayer (Crossway Books, 1997) A Godward Life: Savoring the Supremacy of God in All of Life (Multnomah Press, 1997) God’s Passion for His Glory: Living the Vision of Jonathan Edwards (Crossway Books, 1998) The Innkeeper (Crossway Books, 1998) A Godward Life, Book Two: Savoring the Supremacy of God in All of Life (Multnomah Press, 1999) LegacySovereignJoy.48134.int.qxd 9/21/07 10:01 AM Page 3 s a r e n a n o t w s s i l e e n h t t BOOK ONE LegTHEacy of Sovereign Joy God’s Triumphant Grace in the Lives of Augustine, Luther, and Calvin J OHN P IPER CROSSWAY BOOKS A PUBLISHING MINISTRY OF GOOD NEWS PUBLISHERS WHEAT O N , ILLINO IS LegacySovereignJoy.48134.int.qxd 9/21/07 10:01 AM Page 4 The Legacy of Sovereign Joy Copyright © 2000 by John Piper Published by Crossway Books a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers 1300 Crescent Street Wheaton, Illinois 60187 All rights reserved. -
1 “How the Gospel Impacts Our Ecclesiology” (Insights from The
1 “How The Gospel Impacts Our Ecclesiology” (Insights From The Epistle of Ephesians) Introduction: Begin with 8 introductory remarks followed by 6 theological foundations and concluding with 10 practical responses: 1) I approach my assignment as a biblical theologian. 2) Who we are determines what we believe/do. (Faith seeking understanding/Faith moving into action) 3) You must know who you are and what you believe before you know what to do. 4) Principles for church planting and church renewal often overlap, especially at the foundational level. However, wherever we are, our goal is to establish “bench heads” for the gospel. 5) The indicative of the Gospel flows naturally into the imperatives of the Gospel. 6) A basic gospel definition: “The gospel is the good news that King Jesus died and paid the full penalty of sin as our penal substitute, rose from the dead and saves completely all who repent of sin and trust only in Him.” (The word “gospel” occurs almost 100 times in the New Testament; 5 times in Ephesians 1:13; 3:6, 7; 6:15, 19). 7) “Gospel-centered description” of the Church (Gospel Coalition). The Gospel should: produce churches filled with winsome but theologically substantial preaching, dynamic evangelism and apologetics, and church growth. They [will] emphasize repentance, personal renewal and holiness of life. At the same time, and in the same congregations, there [will] be great stress on cultural engagement in art, business, scholarship, and government, and on justice for the poor. There [will] be calls for radical Christian community in which all members share wealth and resources and make room for the 2 marginalized. -
PROGRESSIVE COVENANTALISTS AS REFORMED BAPTISTS Daniel Scheiderer
WTJ 82 (2020): 137–52 PROGRESSIVE COVENANTALISTS AS REFORMED BAPTISTS Daniel Scheiderer At least three new systems of covenant theology have arisen in Calvinistic Baptist circles in recent decades: new covenant theology, progressive covenantalism, and 1689 Federalism (Reformed Baptists). Each group has its own proponents and its own circles of influence, but churches impacted by each proposal are generally familiar to one another. Because progressive covenantalists initially described themselves as a subset of new covenant theology, arguments against new covenant theology were often simply co-opted for use against progressive covenantalists. This article aims to demonstrate that progressive covenantalists have significant points of continuity with their Reformed Baptist brothers that facilitate mutual benefit between the two camps. To demonstrate this continuity, the cov- enants of works and grace and the new covenant are examined in the two systems alongside their Particular Baptist forefathers to show that all three groups operate with a basically continuous infrastructure. The benefit of such a study is that it distinguishes the progressive covenantal proposal from the proposal of new covenant theology while avoiding simplistic read- ings that deny the real differences between progressive covenantalists and Reformed Baptists. The study does not deny the real tension that exists in progressive covenantalists’ reinterpretation of the fourth commandment, but it sets aside that debate so that points of clear commonalities may be seen for what they are. Too often conversations about covenant theology have passed one another, and so this article aims to initiate a conversation between two groups that ought to be the nearest allies. “ rogressive covenantalism” broke onto the scene in 2012 with Peter Gentry and Stephen Wellum’s book Kingdom through Covenant. -
New Covenant Theology and Futuristic Premillennialism
TMSJ 18/1 (Fall 2007) 221-232 NEW COVENANT THEOLOGY AND FUTURISTIC PREMILLENNIALISM Richard L. Mayhue Senior Vice President and Dean Professor of Pastoral Ministries and Theology New Covenant Theology (NCT) advocates have correctly abandoned the non-biblical covenants of Covenant Theology (CT). However, with few exceptions, they have inconsistently maintained CT’s eschatologies, which usually reject a future premillennial kingdom on earth, ruled over by Christ for 1,000 years in fulfillment of OT unconditional promises made to Abraham and David. After surveying the current theological landscape among prominent NCT writers, seven compelling reasons for embracing Futuristic Premillennialism (FP) are discussed: (1) Hermeneutics Is a Presupposition, Not a Theology, (2) Careful Exegesis Is Required, Not a Presupposed Theology, (3) Unconfused and Separate Identities for Israel and the Church, (4) Preservation of the Jewish Race and Israel, (5) Unconditional Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants, (6) Proper Order of Christ’s Return and Christ’s Reign, and (7) Promises of an Irreversible Restoration for the Nation. Because of these seven determinative, biblical facts, the only eschatology which would be consistent with NCT’s denial of the non-existent covenants espoused by CT would be FP. ***** This essay builds upon the four previous articles in this issue of TMSJ, dealing with New Covenant Theology (NCT): A Critique. If you have not yet read Dr. Barrick on how NCT relates to OT covenants and Dr. Vlach on how NCT relates to Covenant Theology (CT), please do so before proceeding here. NCT is to be commended for having recognized the absolute lack of biblical evidence for the three covenantal mainstays of CT, i.e., Covenant of Grace, Covenant of Redemption, and Covenant of Works. -
New Covenant Theology
… It is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace … Hebrews 13:9 Issue 204 February 2014 Christ, Our New Covenant King #3 In This Issue Christ, Our New Covenant King John G. Reisinger #3 1 John G. Reisinger This is the third study on “Christ Our New Covenant King.” Some of the Law, Wisdom and Christ, A Study material in this article should have been given in the first of these studies. in Biblical Theology, Part 3, Christ 1 Nearly everyone agrees with most of what we said about Christ as our Prophet Stan F. Vaninger and Priest, but there is great disagreement concerning Christ in the role of King. The primary reason for the disagreement centers on Dispensationalism’s Shepherding the New Covenant Flock: Part 3 of 6 3 position on the establishing of a future earthly kingdom with one of David’s Shepherding Imagery in the OT: sons sitting on the throne of that kingdom as king. This is referred to as “the The Lord is my Shepherd Davidic kingdom.” Steve West Scripture is quite clear in 2 Samuel 7:1-17 and 1 Chronicles 17:1-15 that God New Covenant Theology— Questions Answered 5 promised David that he, God, would establish a future kingdom and raise up one of David’s sons to sit as king on a throne in that kingdom. No one disputes the A. Blake White fact of that covenant; however, all do not agree on either the nature of the promised kingdom to David or the time of the promise being fulfilled. -
John Piper: the Making of a Christian Hedonist
Copyright © 2015 Justin Gerald Taylor All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction. JOHN PIPER: THE MAKING OF A CHRISTIAN HEDONIST A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Justin Gerald Taylor March 2015 APPROVAL SHEET JOHN PIPER: THE MAKING OF A CHRISTIAN HEDONIST Justin Gerald Taylor Read and Approved by: __________________________________________ Michael A. G. Haykin (Chair) __________________________________________ Donald S. Whitney __________________________________________ Nathan A. Finn Date______________________________ I dedicate this dissertation to my family: my parents, Gerald and Diane Taylor; my siblings, Jeremy Taylor and Janelle Staff; and especially my wife, Lea, and our children, Claira, Malachi, and Cecily. Each of you is a gift from God in my life, and I do not take for granted his grace and kindness through you. Thank you for your patience, your love, and your support. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................ vii LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................viii PREFACE .....................................................................................................................