Restitutio

Are you looking for a Christian blog to encourage you in your faith?  In this short interview Kirk Walden shares about his new website, 1stfaith.com, and the work he and his team are doing to live out 1st century Christianity in the 21st century.  First Faith aims to simplify and strengthen your faith so you can take the next step in your journey with God.

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Kirk Walden has been advocating for the lives of the unborn since 1991 when he became the director of a small pregnancy help center in Auburn, Alabama.  Over the last 17 years, he’s focused on fundraising for Heartbeat International, which supports pregnancy centers, adoption agencies, and maternity homes.  In this interview I ask him about how he talks to both Christians and non-Christians about this sensitive and emotionally explosive issue.  He lays out his case using biblical and scientific reasoning, but what really comes through strongest is his incredible sense of compassion for those who find themselves in this situation.

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This is part 6 of the Calvinism Debate

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This is part 5 of the Calvinism Debate

When God calls you, can you say, “No?” According to Calvinism, God’s grace is irresistible, meaning when he determines to save someone, he always achieves his goal. In other words, his call is always effectual.  On the other side, Arminianism teaches that God offers grace, but people can freely choose to accept it or reject it.  His call is general and people respond differently.

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This is part 4 of the Calvinism Debate

Did Jesus die to make it possible for anyone to be saved or did he only die for the elect? In this discussion between Blake Cortright and Jacob Rohrer, they discuss this important issue and how it relates to evangelism. Blake affirms limited atonement while Jacob argues that Jesus died for sinners in general.

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This is part 3 of the Calvinism Debate

Does God predestine everyone who will ever be saved before they’re even born?  Blake affirms that not only does God choose whom he will save in eternity past, but he did so without regard to any conditions or qualities of what these people will do.  Jacob denies, arguing that everyone has free will to choose God or reject him.  God does predestine, but in a general rather than specific way.

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This is part 2 of the Calvinism Debate

Just how fallen are we? What does it mean to be dead in trespasses and sins? Are we so depraved and mired in sin that we cannot even have faith in God? Blake Cortright says answers, “Yes.” Unless God quickens us through his spirit, we are innately unable and unwilling to reach up to him in faith. Jacob Rohrer says, “No.” Though we are fallen, we are still capable of responding to God’s call.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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This is part 1 of the Calvinism Debate

Today we begin an extended series on Calvinism and Arminianism.  For those of you not familiar, Calvinism, named after John Calvin (d. 1564), holds that God sovereignly chooses and effectually saves all whom he decides to save based on his predestined will whereas Arminianism, named for Jacobus Arminius (d. 1609), asserts that people freely choose to accept or reject the gospel message that God graciously offers to all.  Traditionally, Calvinism breaks into five major points, summarized by the acronym, TULIP, which stands for the following:

In this episode we begin by laying down the framework for future discussions.  Subsequent episodes will each take up one of these five points of Calvinism.

Jacob Rohrer

Holding the Arminian position is Jacob Rohrer, a graduate of the Atlanta Bible College. At the time of this recording he served as the Lead Worship Pastor of Living Hope Community Church in Latham, New York. Now he serves as the Assistant Pastor and Worship Leader at Lawrenceville Church of God in Springfield, Ohio.

Blake Cortright

On the Calvinist side, Blake Cortright graduated from Regent University in Virginia. He serves in missions work to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and leads worship at Living Hope Community Church in Latham, New York. Cortright also wrote and directed The 46ers, a documentary about the high peaks in the Adirondacks of New York State.

Sean Finnegan is the moderator.  He serves as the Associate Pastor at Living Hope Community Church and has degrees in theology (B.A., Atlanta Bible College) and church history (M.T.S., Boston University). You can find out more about Sean here.

Our aim in this initial episode is to briefly discuss the origins of Calvinism and Arminianism, as well as their predecessors.  Additionally we urge listeners to have an open mind going forward, regardless of which side of the issue you are approaching it from.  Don’t confuse the value of an idea with the person’s name associated with it (the genetic fallacy).  Instead measure the theology against scripture, logic, and life experience.  Pray and ask God to help you understand his book.

Here is proof that discussing deep theology and leading worship are not mutually exclusive. In this shot, Jacob is on the drums and Blake is playing guitar at Living Hope Community Church.

Subsequent episodes will be audio only and appear here each Thursday at 8pm EST, starting on May 31, 2018 and following.

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Last time, Jerry Wierwille explained the concept of covenantal nomism–the idea that rather than seeking to earn their salvation through perfect obedience, Jews at the time of Christ looked at the Law as a covenant God graciously entered into with his people.  They enter that covenant by birth and then need to remain faithful to it through obedience to Torah.  This time he shows how this new perspective on Paul affects how we read his epistles.  Looking at the first few chapters of Galatians, Wierwille deciphers what Paul was saying about the Law for Christians both Jewish and Gentile.

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How did Jews at the time of Jesus understand their relationship to the Law?  Did they believe in “works righteousness”–the idea that only by obeying the commandments of Torah could they earn salvation?  Did they believe in grace?  Jerry Wierwille leads us through this important issue so that we contextualize the epistles of Paul within their own thought-world.  Drawing on the work of Krister Stendahl, E. P. Sanders, and James D. G. Dunn, Wierwille presents the view known as covenantal nomism, often associated with the new perspective on Paul.

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