Pulpit magazine took a hiatus back in November, but has returned with a bang. One of the highlights of the return has been a series on Calvinism by Phil Johnson.
so far there have been five parts, but none of them have been very long. take some time this weekend to peruse them in their entirety.
here are the pages:
part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4
part 5
and here is a bit from part 5 for a tease, but you should go read all five parts in their entirety.
At the end of the previous post, I described how even in my Arminian days, I affirmed an awful lot of truth about the sovereignty of God: I would have affirmed with no reservation whatsoever that God is God; that He does all His good pleasure; that no one can make Him do otherwise; that He is in control and in charge no matter how much noise evildoers try to make; and not only is He in charge, He is working all things out for my good and His glory. As a matter of fact, my confidence in the promise of Romans 8:28 was what motivated my prayer life.
That’s Calvinism. If you believe those things, you have affirmed the heart of Calvinism, even if you call yourself an Arminian. Those are the basic truths of Calvinism, and if you already believe those things, you are functioning with Calvinist presuppositions.
In fact, the truths of Calvinism so much permeate the heart of the gospel message, that even if you think you are a committed and consistent proponent of Arminianism, if you truly affirm the gospel you have already conceded the principle points of Calvinism anyway.