FIRST - I am NOT entering the fray of Matt and Phil.
The topic I am introducing has been bugging me since I came out of Arminianism. As a Baptist I believe I deal with this controversy more than most Presbyterians (although I may be wrong).
I post on a Baptist board with the hopes of bringing the truth of the doctrines of sovereign grace to my fellow Baptists. As you can imagine, it is a tough road to hoe. I made the following post this morning with a person with whom I go toe-to-toe with regularly:
This is the view I currently hold to. There are many believers out there who are still neophytes. Their knowledge of theology is limited. They have bought into the foreknowledge view since that is what they are exposed to in their churches. But is the foreknowledge view alone enough to prove their confession of faith false? I don't believe so. I have come to appreciate the opinions of many in here so I turn it you, my brothers in Christ for your prayerful responses.
[Edited on 4-18-2006 by BaptistInCrisis]
The topic I am introducing has been bugging me since I came out of Arminianism. As a Baptist I believe I deal with this controversy more than most Presbyterians (although I may be wrong).
I post on a Baptist board with the hopes of bringing the truth of the doctrines of sovereign grace to my fellow Baptists. As you can imagine, it is a tough road to hoe. I made the following post this morning with a person with whom I go toe-to-toe with regularly:
For the record, I do not hold to the view that one must be a Calvinist in order to be saved. When a person comes to faith in Jesus Christ their knowledge of theology is limited. Most only know their sin and that Jesus Christ is able to forgive their sins if they repent and place their faith solely in Christ. As they grow in respect to salvation their theology will often times tell whether their faith was accurate. For instance, if a person claims faith in Christ and then goes on to proclaim that Jesus is not God then their faith was in vain because they have denied an essential truth. They were never saved to begin with. As far as the doctrines of sovereign grace, it depends on how deep they progress into the free will side. I do not believe the foreknowledge view alone will prove their salvation false. But there are depths to the free will view that I believe do prove their salvation false. I suppose that is for another thread.
This is the view I currently hold to. There are many believers out there who are still neophytes. Their knowledge of theology is limited. They have bought into the foreknowledge view since that is what they are exposed to in their churches. But is the foreknowledge view alone enough to prove their confession of faith false? I don't believe so. I have come to appreciate the opinions of many in here so I turn it you, my brothers in Christ for your prayerful responses.
[Edited on 4-18-2006 by BaptistInCrisis]