-
John Collet Ryland (1723-1792) And The Restructuring Of Baptist History
A number of modern writers who preach common-grace and duty-faith as redemptive means in evangelisation, view John Collet Ryland as a Hyper-Calvinist. Such a person, a recent BOT article tells us, does not appeal to sinners, “directly encouraging them to trust him (Christ), and appealing to them to do so now.” Obviously, given such criteria, Ryland’s critics know nothing of his extensive gospel ministry or are deliberately introducing a new conception of what ‘directly encouraging sinners’ means. Most of their ‘encouragement’ is found in their slogan ‘God’s provisions and man’s agency’ which stresses the need for man to use all his supposed natural abilities and duties to grasp out and take God’s provisions in Christ. Ryland affirmed that salvation was all of grace. Only then…
-
15 Bible Doctrine – What Is The Framework Of Sovereign Grace?
A Transcript Of The Video Study The Framework Of Sovereign Grace is a diagram I drew up many years ago in an attempt to illustrate God’s masterplan for the ages. It has actually become the backdrop for my entire teaching ministry, as it broadly outlines the basic parameters of Bible doctrine. In fact, it is within the context of this framework that all fields of knowledge, or departments of academic disciplines, may be understood from a biblical perspective, and therefore this framework serves as the basic construct around which one may develop his/her worldview. For this study, I would like to explain how the Framework of Sovereign Grace was formed. The diagram is based upon a single analogy, used by the Apostle Paul, in Romans…
-
Antinomianism And The Righteousness Of The Law
Most readers are familiar with the Calvinist-Arminian controversy of the 18th century in which free-grace, championed by Whitefield, Toplady and Romaine was set against free-will, maintained by Fletcher, Sellon and Wesley. The controversy dealt with whether salvation was made possible by Christ, depending on man’s acceptance of it, or whether Christ secured His Church’s salvation by His atoning death. At the same time, a similar controversy was raging on a closely related topic. “Is the Mosaic Law God’s eternal standard or has it become irrelevant to unbeliever and believer alike as a Covenant of Works and as a yardstick of sanctification?” The leading contestants in the Calvinistic-Arminian controversy were mainly Oxford and Cambridge dons and men of a first class education. The opposite was the…
-
The One Minute Gospel Proclamation
Those who follow my teaching ministry will know that I am not a fan of Gospel Tracts, such as the Romans Road to Salvation or the Sinner’s Bridge of Salvation. First, these tracts misrepresent the gospel and the sinner’s duty towards God; Second, these tracts are designed to serve as proselyting tools, rather than evangelistic helps; Third, these tracts are used as crutches by those who do not have the knowledge or confidence to speak the truth in their own words. I have been asked on occasion (in various ways), “If you do not believe Gospel Tracts should be used for evangelism, then how would you present the simplicity of the gospel, during a five minute visit at the hospital, to an unregenerate sinner on…
-
Part 1 – (4) Deuteronomy 8:2
“And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.”—Deuteronomy 8:2 It is said,[1] that it is evident from this and other passages of Scripture, that the state of man in this world, is a state of trial or probation. It will be proper therefore to make the following inquiries: I. What this state of probation is, or what is meant by it. 1. This state of trial is not of men's graces, as faith, patience, etc., by afflictive dispensations of Providence; for men in general are not in such a state, since…
-
Duty Faith Denounced
