Cottrell’s Continuing Assurance
In his book, His Truth: Scripture Truths About Basic Doctrines, Jack Cottrell, an Arminian theologian, wrote on the subject of assurance. He did not give a name for the view he defended. I think it would be appropriate to call it the “I hope I keep believing” view. On Cottrell’s view, salvation is by faith […]
How Can We Activate Saving Faith?
Take a look at this moving email I just received: I have believed I was saved for a long time. But it was not until last year that I finally heard a proper presentation of the gospel of free grace. The evangelical world is crazy mixed up out there. I was brought to a Reformed […]
Jack Cottrell Hopes He Will Keep Believing
Jack Cottrell is an Arminian theologian. If you want to read a serious Arminian, start with him. Cottrell wrote a summary of his beliefs—a short systematic theology—called His Truth: Scriptural Truths About Basic Doctrines. The last chapter is on assurance. At the beginning of the chapter, he identified two prominent errors regarding assurance. The first […]
Greg Laurie’s Take on Repentance and Salvation
On May 18 of this year, Greg Laurie posted a blog entitled “Close, But Not Close Enough.” You can read his blog here. A reader of our blog asked what I thought of Laurie’s blog. Laurie cites three passages in his article. The main passage he cites is 2 Cor 7:9-10: “Now I rejoice, not […]
Jack Cottrell Confuses Eternal Security and Perseverance
Jack Cottrell is an Arminian writer and theologian. He writes from within the Stone-Campbell tradition. If you’d like to read an Arminian who believes in inerrancy and tries to be a Biblical theologian, I recommend his work (though, not all his conclusions!). His Truth: Scriptural Truths About Basic Doctrines is Cottrell’s short (116 pages) summary […]
Give Paige Patterson a Fair Hearing
Paige Patterson was recently demoted, then fired, as President of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. There was intense one-sided coverage, followed by a quick decision by SWBTS. Personally, I’m always suspicious when “justice” is mostly tried in Social Media. I’m especially suspicious when only one side is covered. And frankly, I’m also on guard when a […]
We All Stumble — James 2:10; 3:2; 4:17
The idea that James teaches the necessity of good works to be eternally saved comes up against a very strong objection: James says that absolutely no one is qualified to be saved on the basis of their works. On the one hand, James emphasizes that we all sin. For we all stumble in many ways […]
Does Hebrews 11:13-16 Contradict the New Earth?
I received this email question: I have been going through the book, The Ten Most Misunderstood Words in the Bible, with my pastor and we have both enjoyed it and have been challenged by it. I have learned much about heaven from it and am excited to live again on the new earth for eternity, […]
Hell? Yes!
By Dix Winston* Speaking to journalist and friend, Eugenio Scafari, the Pope reportedly said of those dying without Christ (or according to Roman Catholic Theology in a state of mortal sin): “They are not punished. Those who repent obtain God’s forgiveness and take their place among the ranks of those who contemplate him, but those […]
Universalism and 1 Corinthians 15:22
First Corinthians 15:22 is a favorite verse for univeralists: For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive (1 Cor 15:22). Universalists say that “all” in Adam is co-extensive with the “all” in Christ. Hence, since all of humanity died in Adam, so, too, all of humanity will be […]