Doctrinal Studies
It is sometimes hard, even for assiduous Bible students, to accede that tongues have ceased if they have come from a Charismatic background. This catechism seeks to reduce earlier papers to a more concise form to help those seeking information.
Catechisms have always been an important aspect of training disciples until the modern age. This lack today is the reason why so many Christians are weak, uninformed and lack faith and conviction. While there is much benefit in the old catechisms, there is always a need in every age for a revision to meet the requirements of that age. For this reason I felt the Lord's constraint to write a new catechism to help modern people.
This is a diagram that contains the different interpretations of Rev 20:1-8, which mentions a 1,000-year (millennium) reign of saints with Christ before the end of all things.
Since there is still much confusion in the church about God's law, this is a very simple paper to explain it concisely. I have written on this many times but this is the simplest presentation I can manage.
A paper on the matter of both Reformed and Charismatic Dominionism. This is a growing problem, which in the US is now dominating the presidential candidates. It is something to be very wary of. The extreme Charismatic form is nothing but blasphemy and rebellion under the cover of supposedly seeking God's glory. In reality it is giving glory to men. These issues are serious - be warned.
A paper that does what it says. It gives a simple explanation of Biblical eschatology and a summary of the various views. I trust it will be helpful.
Do Christians follow the Law of Moses or the Law of Christ?
Salvation comes through grace to those who do not deserve it. God also gives rewards to those who do not deserve it. It is the overwhelming teaching of scripture. This is an explanation on the matter from a different angle as concise as possible compared to a detailed paper called "Rewards in Biblical Theology" on the same subject.
A paper on a fundamental and vital subject, and yet one which is almost universally misunderstood. Worse still, even systematic theologies are incomplete or mistaken in their treatment of it. Unless we understand this doctrine properly we will fail to grow in grace; that is how important a matter it is. In my view, unless we understand the correlation between the tenses of sanctification and the nature of man we will fail to grasp this doctrine. This paper explains that connection.
This is a very concise paper explaining God's law. This is much misunderstood by people on both sides of the fence, antinomians and legalists. I trust this helps you to understand the truth.
This is a paper encouraging the Christian to consider biblical texts that give us a very simple and clear understanding of the end, and instructions how we should behave. There is no need to make it more complicated. All other obscure passages on the end must comply with clear teaching.
The only sane way to interpret scripture is to start with a clear understanding of the Biblical doctrine of salvation, and then interpret the difficult verses in their context and in the light of sound theology.
Some believe that anger is always sinful, that it is never right to be angry. These tend to be the same people who do not believe that God is ever angry. However, there is a righteous anger which Christians should hold.
This is a detailed examination of data regarding when the tribulation begins. It is my contention that it is well underway but the most extreme aspects have not yet begun. This is important in understanding how certain Bible passages affect us. It is possible to completely misconstrue texts due to misunderstanding where we are in history.
Basics in terms of Doctrine of God's attributes
Despite many books on this subject this work is very different, looking at many aspects of the issue and at the repercussions of the Biblical doctrine (not the Charismatic perversion of it).
This paper is a complete, basic discipling course. I have tried to succinctly cover all the things I would like to have understood when I was a young convert. I am appalled at how little Christians understand even after many years. This covers the Gospel, Bible study, devotions, essential doctrine, practical issues, heresies, sects and a summary of church history. Thus it is useful for mature believers as an aide memoire, as well as a manual to work through with young converts.
This simple paper explains the important truth that it is knowledge of God and his decree that is crucial for bearing fruit; not some mystical experience or work of the flesh. There is also a useful summary of good doctrinal books to help students.
This paper seeks to show the balance between a Biblical submission to the sovereignty of God and the need for activity in doing God’s will and resistance to satanic temptation.
This is a disputed subject which many conservatives get completely wrong. We need spiritual gifts, but not the Charismatic variety.
This paper exposes the error of churches that use Heb 6 as a basis for discipling courses, common in Charismatic churches. The list here does not refer to New Covenant foundational principles but to the Old Covenant. The Greek text proves this, which I analyse. Yet another Charismatic mistake.
To achieve the work of redemption the Son became a man in time and, therefore, had two natures in one person. There is no confusion or admixture in these.
The Son subsisted in human nature as truly as he did in the divine nature. Christ thought, willed and purposed as God and as man. This is a second paper seeking to oppose the heresy that Christ did not have a genuine human nature.
A final paper break down in combating the errors which denies that Christ has two natures and which claims that the flesh of Christ was not a normal human nature.
This is excerpted from the paper ‘A simple critique of Dominionism’.
A very simple summary of the main positions of the doctrine of the last things.
This is a condensation of a larger paper ‘What about Tongue Speaking’ to aid those with less time to study detailed arguments.
A paper on the doctrines such as individual eschatology, death, the intermediate state, punishment of sin, the resurrection of the dead, the final judgment and the final state. Theologians differ markedly in some of these subjects but the important object is to determine what is the most Biblical explanation of these matters which affect us all crucially.
There is no indication in scripture of a double will in God.
This is patently unbiblical. God will not act outside his character. This concept is obviously preposterous and untrue.
Is the Lord's Supper a full meal to constantly remind God to bring about the Messianic wedding banquet?
The controlling power in a man's salvation is not man himself but God alone.
This long paper is really a small book. It is a dictionary of errors found in Reformed thinking today. This is a series of evaluations of the current heresies found amongst people claiming to be Calvinists. These are quite short summaries with simple bullet points. It will help readers understand the various 'isms' that they will come across every day. If you do not know about these errors, you may well fall for them. Knowing what the error is forms a vital defence against tripping up. Countless thousands have already fallen for these errors and many lives have been ruined by them. Despite this, I know of no other work that seeks to evaluate them in a small compass which enables easy cross-referencing. I believe this work to be very useful indeed. I wish I had known something like this decades ago.
The theological errors that came out of Saumur have given rise to many misconceptions currently in modern evangelicalism.
If ever there was a person whose life screamed of God's absolute, sovereign choice it is Esau. This is why the apostles focussed critical arguments on him.
A diagram containing biblical texts about the end.
A table summarising the different expressions of the Gospel being preached. Only one is biblical.
A simple, one-page paper expressing Biblical teaching on this matter.
A paper that goes against the grain of popular thinking (what a shock). It regards the proportion of the elect to the reprobate. This has many ramifications.
This is one of the key passages used by Arminians to teach the old lie that God merely chooses in eternity the men who will believe the Gospel at some point in time; i.e. that there is no sovereign predestination to faith.
A paper on the law. This is a massively confused subject which nearly everybody gets wrong, some on one side, some on the opposite side. Here is a short paper (shorter than my 102 page book on the subject) which seeks to get to the heart of the matter and to centre everyone's attention on Christ and not something else.
This is a paper that does not simply expound the doctrine of God's attribute of love but explains why a concentration upon this attribute above all others is a big mistake. It fails to appreciate what God's word says his chief attribute actually is. Worse, a focus upon love has led to multiple errors of doctrine and practice and has caused Arminianism to overtake Calvinism in the last 100 years.
This paper is a necessary affirmation of God's complete sovereignty, including over all sickness. God is Lord.
This is a paper that explains the vital foundation of election in the attributes of God and the expression of salvation. God does not love everyone and does not have mercy on everyone. His grace only extends to his people, the elect. This, however, must be distinguished from God's providence which is to the whole earth of necessity in preserving the elect.
This proves that divine punishment is eternal.
This is a historical paper showing the developments of Pelagianism and Semi-Pelagianism. Not many people understand this but it is vital in order to know the roots of what is happening today. You will be hard pressed to find such an amount of information in a concise format. Hopefully it will help you understand difficult subjects that get reviewed very rarely. Over and over again we see that Semi-Pelagianism (e.g. Arminianism) leads into further errors, such as denial of the Trinity, denial of the atonement and denial of Scripture. This is why many previously Arminian modern groups are now becoming more liberal. We must understand history or we repeat its mistakes.
This is a very important theological paper. It deals with the basics of salvation and how the work of Christ deals with those issues.
This is the 5th in the Law series found under the Questions section of this website as well. The good news of salvation is worked out first as promise in the Old Covenant, then as fulfilment in the New. The cross is a clear dividing line between these. Reformed theology concludes that all covenants are merely the outworking of the single Covenant of Grace. We disagree.
This is the 4th in the Law series found under the Questions section of this website as well. Law is holy, but does not save. Salvation is in Christ, therefore man cannot be justified by keeping the law outside of Christ.
This paper helps the believer see that Calvinism exalts God and Arminianism exalts man. Calvinism honours the Bible, Arminianism fails to do justice to the tenor of scripture and many clear texts.
An important doctrine for which early Christians gave their lives to the service of the gospel.
The historical argument between Arminians and Calvinists chiefly rests upon certain Bible verses that appear to state contradictory things about God.