I found a book that was kind of worn, But to my surprise, not a page was torn; It had a title that I could not read, “Red-Letter Edition” was all I could see.
I’m a guitar-playin’ fool who is a sucker for big brown eyes (and my wife knows it–since she has the biggest, most beautiful brown eyes on the planet).
I have an MA in theology and spend a lot of time reading (retirement and not watching TV afford me that luxury).
While I am not an “expert” in anything, I try to present well-reasoned and researched, Biblically-sound arguments for the positions I take here.
I hope you find these thought provoking and insightful.
davestheology 
Dave (or whoever), I have read several of your blogs and found them to be well thought out and well written. Thank you for them. I will return. Just curious however, who are you? God bless you in your endeavors. A fellow Dispensationalist.
Thomas,
My actual name is David [or Dave to my friends]. I live in the Midwest USA. I’m a retired baby boomer with an MA in theology from a small seminary in Illinois which, while not encouraging such doctrines as dispensationalism or inerrancy, did not discourage them either. Unfortunately, they failed to realize that teaching seminarians to accept the Bible at face value and interpret it according to normal rules of language can only lead to such conclusions. Thank you for your kind words….
Hope your ok since I have not seen any new posts since 2015. I have followed you for some time and have read most of your posts. I do miss your thoughtful insight on the Bible.
Thank you for your concern. I am doing well–just have some other irons in the fire requiring my attention. I have some blogs being written which I hope to be posting within the next few weeks.
Thanks for the update. I’m glad everything is ok!
Dave, having read your blogs I believe you have a firm grasp on Biblical truths so I’d like your take on Hebrews 6:4-6, 10:26-31 and the unpardonable sin. Is there unequivocal evidence that one has been reprobated as these verses seem to suggest? Can a person desire to reconcile with God fervently and yet be rejected?
Christopher,
You raise very good questions.
Usually the first is asked in debates over the nature of salvation and election. Is God’s sovereign election of whomever He chooses the crucial factor in salvation as the Calvinists affirm? Or is election contingent and secondary to man’s “free will” as the Arminians affirm?
The Arminians claim that if salvation is dependent solely on God’s election of individuals based on His good pleasure, then, according to them, that means someone could desire to be reconciled to God fervently and be rejected because that person was not one of God’s elect.
Without being too wordy in this response, I would simply point you to the Gospel of John, Chapter 6.
In John 6:37, Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”
In John 6:44, Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father [first] draws [enables] him….”
Herein lies the key differences between Arminianism and Calvinism. Arminians do not believe that the fall totally corrupted man or that the natural man is inherently evil. Consequently, they believe that man is naturally disposed to seek the things of God–and because of this, in their theological scheme, one must first develop within him [or her] self the capacity for faith, express that faith, and they are then regenerated spiritually and are reconciled to God. Their belief is contrary to what is stated in Scripture according to Romans 3:10-11; 3:23; 8:5-8 about the nature of man. Flawed premises always lead to flawed conclusions.
Conversely, based on the words of Jesus I cited above and the teaching of Paul in Romans 5-8, Calvinists believe that God the Father draws us to the Gospel by first regenerating us, giving us the gift of faith and repentance, which we then express by acknowledging Jesus as Lord. [See also 1 Corinthians 12:3 and Romans 10:9-10].
Basically, then, my answer, based on Scripture, is that no one who fervently desires to be reconciled with God will be rejected because if they were not being regenerated and renewed by the Holy Spirit, they would have no real desire to be reconciled with God.
Is there unequivocal evidence that someone may be given over to a state of reprobacy–which by definition means that a person can be so given to evil that God will not impart more than common grace to that person? Paul indicated there was in Romans 1:18-32. Verses 28-32 are given as a checklist of the types of attitudes and behaviors which mark such people–the key distinction being that not only do such people practice the things which God has condemned and prohibited in His word–but actively seek to have others join them in their sins.
But when such people have reached that point, they have no desire to be reconciled with God. As a corollary to that, when one who claims to be a Christian is actively engaging in sinful behavior and, instead of repenting from that behavior, seeks to encourage others in that behavior, it is a pretty good indication that they are not really of the elect.
…can a born again Christian walk away from God, reconsider then return to God? What is the unpardonable sin? It seems to correlate with Hebrews 6:1-8 and seems to refer to Christians..
Christopher, you raise a question which has been hotly debated since the synod of Dordt almost 400 years ago. Hebrews 6:1-8 makes it clear that IF one who has truly been regenerated can fall so far from grace as to lose his/her salvation–then such a person will never return to God. The writer says it is impossible to renew them to repentance. The Greek word rendered “fall away” is “parapipto” and indicates a deliberate rejection of the faith.
The other key word in the passage is that rendered “impossible.” In the Greek, the word is “adynatos,” and indicates something which has simply cannot take place under any circumstance. The same word is used in Hebrews 11:6 where the writer declares that it is impossible to please God without faith. So one could just as easily say if it is possible for one to utterly reject God after claiming to be a Christian, and be restored, then it is just as possible for one to be saved without any demonstration of faith.
Many commentators see Hebrews 6:1-8 as a reductio ad absurdum argument, because some were arguing that that they could abandon their Christian confession, return to Judaism, and then return to their confession when circumstances were more advantageous. The writer is basically telling them that if they really believe that, then they aren’t really Christians because they want to recrucify Christ–a palpably absurd concept since Christ has risen from the dead and cannot die again.
A more basic question is, why would someone want to tempt the Lord in this fashion? If one has truly been regenerated, and been given the Holy Spirit to indwell and empower him/her to live a godly life, why would that person then seek physical and spiritual death?
What is the unpardonable sin? On the face of it, it is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit according to Matthew 12:31-32. But Jesus was not speaking of merely the outward appearance of sin, but the motives and desires which prompt the outward manifestation. In the Pharisees’ case, it was their hard-headed refusal to accept Christ’s claims and the Holy Spirit’s witness to those claims.
In today’s society, that hardness of heart is seen in many people’s refusal to repent of their sin and even seeking to twist Scripture to justify their sins and make them seem good. [Romans 1:18-32 speaks to this.]
Good evening,
I just read your study Bible reviews and am curious which one you are using now.
Thanks!
Ken
Ken,
Thanks for your question. My primary study Bible is a NKJV edition of the MacArthur Study Bible. While my main preference is for “The Believer’s Study Bible” [aka “Holy Bible: Baptist Study Edition”], edited by the late W.A. Criswell, it has not been in print for several years and my copy is almost 25 years old–so it gets used mainly when I wish to access its notes.
I also use the Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible in the NKJV for word studies in conjunction with Mounce’s and Renn’s expository dictionaries of Bible words.
While I have a Thompson Chain Reference Bible, I find their topical chains to be somewhat confusing. I also have found the editing, layout, and printing of the NKJV edition of the Thompson to be sloppy and amateurish. I much prefer the topical chains in the Scofield III as they are better organized and less confusing. The plus of the Scofield topical chains is that a person can start anywhere in the chain and work backwards or forwards through the chain, while the chains in the Thompson only point in one direction.
Thanks for the quick response! I am currently using the MacArthur NKJV as well. I really like it and wish it was verse instead of paragraph in its layout. I also think your site is well done and a tremendous help for all of us seeking encouragement and wisdom.. blessings to you
Good morning,
Hope you are doing well.
Just a wanted to let you know that there is a new NKJV study Bible on the market that I think you might like or at least add to your reviews. It is the Evangelical Study Bible from Thomas Nelson. It is very similar to the Believer’s Study Bible.
Blessings!
I’ve seen it on CBD, but haven’t purchased a copy yet. I keep trying to get review copies from Thomas Nelson but they claim this blog doesn’t attract enough interest to justify sending me review copies. I’d also like to know a bit more about who was involved in the project. Al Mohler’s name was mentioned as general editor.
Dave,
Dr. Ed Hindson was the main editor for this Study Bible. The contributors are from Liberty University. It is the NKJV version of the KJV Study Bible by Nelson. Dr. Hindson made it available in the NKJV at Nelson’s request. Very conservative and similar to the Believer’s Study Bible (Criswell College) as I mention above. Hope that helps..