You Don’t Need to be a Monk to Follow Jesus

It's self-evident that pastors are holier than "regular" people, right? It's obvious that those who leave their home country to take the gospel around the world are better Christians than those who stay and work ordinary jobs, right? Wrong! And the reason why those sentiments are wrong is the Protestant Reformation. The Protestant Reformation was … Continue reading You Don’t Need to be a Monk to Follow Jesus

Blogging the Institutes | 2.1.7 | Free Will is Prone to Misunderstanding

We can define free will this way: free will is not the ability to freely choose good or evil, but rather the fact that people can voluntarily and not under compulsion. Such a definition seems almost self-evident. Why should such a small matter be given such a profound title? This is an admirable freedom that … Continue reading Blogging the Institutes | 2.1.7 | Free Will is Prone to Misunderstanding

Blogging the Institutes | 2.1.6 | More Views on Free Will Considered

All Christian theologians will admit that free will does not enable people to do good works unless they are assisted by God's grace, specifically, the grace which the elect receive through regeneration. Do not even consider the views of those who say that grace is offered equally and lavishly to all (Lomb. lib. 2 Dist. … Continue reading Blogging the Institutes | 2.1.6 | More Views on Free Will Considered

Blogging the Institutes | 2.1.5 | Different Kinds of Free Will According to Some Christians

In general, most Christian theologians who believe in free will do not believe that people can save themselves. They believe that truly righteous living must come from God's grace and spiritual regeneration. For example, the author of the work, On the Calling of the Gentiles, describes the will as threefold: sensitive, animal, and spiritual. The … Continue reading Blogging the Institutes | 2.1.5 | Different Kinds of Free Will According to Some Christians

Blogging the Institutes | 2.1.4 | Early Christian Views on Free Will

Through church history, all Christian theologians have acknowledged that human reason was seriously injured by sin. Moreover, they also taught that the human will was entangled by evil desires. Unfortunately, too many of them took the same approach as the non-Christian philosophers. Some of the ancient Christian writers appear to me to have exalted human … Continue reading Blogging the Institutes | 2.1.4 | Early Christian Views on Free Will