The Judaizers: Know the Heretics
The Rise of the Judaizers A problem arose in the early church when the apostles took the gospel of Jesus to Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles. When Gentiles responded to the […]
Sabellius: Know the Heretics
The Historical Background Sabellius, a third-century theologian and priest, was a proponent of modalism. Modalism is a non-Trinitarian heresy claiming that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are simply different […]
Apollinarius: Know the Heretics
Historical Background In the years following the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., the church was wrestling with many questions about the person and work of Christ. At Nicaea, […]
Arius: Know the Heretics
Historical Background Arius (256-336 A.D.) is the most famous heretic of Christian theology. He was born in Libya and died in Constantinople. Arius held a prominent position as a […]
Pelagius: Know the Heretics
Historical Background In the early 5th century a debate arose between Pelagius, a British monk, and Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo in North Africa. They disagreed over the relationship […]
Calvin on Faith: Assurance and Knowledge
Faith Rests on Knowledge According to Calvin, in conversion the mind is renewed to appreciate the message of the Incarnation and to apprehend the gratuitous promise by Spirit-given faith, and […]
Calvin on Faith: Grace and Repentance
Legal vs. Evangelical Repentance Immediately after developing his robust definition of faith in InstitutesIII.2.ii, Calvin discusses repentance and grace in III.2.iii. He makes a distinction between “legal repentance” and “evangelical […]
Calvin on Faith: Illumination by the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit’s Work Calvin’s defines faith not in terms of a book accredited by the Spirit; rather, faith has Christ as its object and is enabled by the Spirit’s […]
Calvin on Faith: The Gratuitous Promise
Christ as the Object of Faith According to Calvin, the content of the knowledge of faith is very narrow and specific, not broad and vague: “For the apprehension of faith […]
Calvin on Faith: Christ and His Gospel
Christian Faith: Not What You Thought It Was What does “faith” mean? For centuries it was associated with specific knowledge or a set of beliefs, but recently the understanding of […]