Reformed Blogging

Critics of eternal security and Antinomians tend to misinterpret the verse. One interpretation is of loss of salvation. Another interpretation is that it means that a person simply loses rewards. 1 Corinthians 3:15 says there's saved by fire or loss of rewards. However, the way John 15:6 writes it is not about a loss of reward. Rather, it's all about fake converts or those who are considered Judas Iscariot branches. It's pretty much an acid test of true conversion against a false conversion . John 15:1-11 is the whole context of the verse. Let's try and study the verses to see the context of this verse: I am the true vine, and My Father is the Husbandman. 2 Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit . 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no m...

While reading through John 3 side by side with the ESV and the KJV, one could notice the variations of John 3:36. The whole chapter is devoted to the need to be born again or born from above. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. (KJV) Meanwhile, other translations use "obey" over "believe" such as: Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (ESV) Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not have life , but will remain under God's punishment. (GNT) He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him. (RSV) This is one of the criticisms done by the KJV Only crowd. Again, I used to be in the KJV crowd though I feel something is wrong with it. Charles H. Spurg...

Ezekiel 3 has verses that are used by conditional security proponents to believe that you can lose your salvation. The verses in Ezekiel 3 are as follows: 18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. 20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling-block before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 21 Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, bec...

The footnote that I've decided to write about in the KJV Study Bible today is found in Jeremiah 31:31. It's called the doctrine of the New Covenant. The doctrine of the New Covenant is defined as follows by the KJV Study Bible: New Covenant: In this prophecy Jeremiah foresees the new covenant ("testament") that God will make with mankind by extending His grace to the Gentiles. Under this new covenant, God will call out a people for Himself from all the nations of the Earth to form the bride of Christ (Revelation 21:1-9). This new and unconditional covenant is better than the old covenant because it rests on the efficacy of Christ's atonement for the sins of mankind (Heb. 8:10-12). (First Reference: Jer. 31:31; Primary Reference, Luke 22:12-20, cf. Eph. 1:10) As document of prophetic promise, like the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants, the new convenant is unconditional. In form, it corresponds to the Royal Grant Treaties of the ancient Near East. As subject to compa...

Solomon is a guy who gets into the argument of for or against eternal security. I had my thoughts on Solomon with this stand that in the end - he still made to Heaven and was a regenerate man. I remembered the pastor joked and said, "If you see Solomon in Heaven - you can ask why he backslid so horribly by having many wives." Solomon's story in 1st Kings 1-11 can be seen with the theme from revival to ruin . Why revival to ruin? Solomon started off as a young king who was but 20 when his father David died at 70. Solomon's parents David and Bathsheba had a very huge age gap. David was already old enough to be Solomon's grandfather because Bathsheba is that young. How Bathsheba died - the Scripture is silent.  I was thinking about Dan Corner's foolishness. Corner is a malicious man who just takes Scriptures out of context. I can agree with him that Antinomianism is indeed a dangerous Hell-bound doctrine. Yet, Corner also wrote an entire page where he tried to re...

I remembered the time I thought lordship salvation equals works salvation when it isn't. J. Vernon McGee warned about lordship salvation while he actually taught it. CARM.org also got it wrong on lordship salvation in its article " What is lordship salvation? ". Some people think they're against lordship salvation even when they agree to its distinctions. I thought of myself as an opponent of lordship salvation until early 2011. I was stuck in the controversy until I decided to read John F. MacArthur's article " An Introduction to Lordship Salvation " which placed me on the acid test. Something about it just struck me when I thought about the distinctions which I would agree on.  The distinctions as written by MacArthur are as follows: First, Scripture teaches that the gospel calls sinners to faith joined in oneness with repentance (Acts 2:38; 17:30; 20:21; 2 Peter 3:9). Repentance is a turning from sin (Acts 3:19; Luke 24:47) that consists not of a huma...

The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is no doubt always getting grossly misrepresented by both Ariminians and Antinomians. The cartoon above is from Dan Corner's deplorable site Evangelical Outreach to which he continues his battle against eternal security. Corner is partly right about Antinomianism but he sure is wrong about eternal security. Then you've got Antinomians (directly or indirectly) such as Jacksmack77 and David Tutty Fleming who say that you can get saved and remain the same - which is also not biblical.  Theopedia defines the perseverance of the saints in the following way: Perseverance of the saints is the Calvinist doctrine that those who are truly saved will persevere to the end and cannot lose their salvation . It doesn't mean that a person who is truly saved will never lose faith or backslide at any time. But that they will ultimately persevere in faith (inspite of failures) such as not to lose their salvation.   The doctrine of perseverance ...

I've begun my study on Jude and I thought about other Greek words revealed from "Thru the Bible Commentary". Now, it's time to do another study on a verse that would warn about false teachings. Jude who calls himself the brother of James (I believe this is the earthly maternal half-brother of Jesus) had written his short epistle. James wrote a longer one than Jude. However, we can't dismiss Jude at all! Jude 1:4  For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. (KJV)  For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. (ESV)  For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among...