John Calvin wielded a great influence in the religious community on the subject of grace. His ideas are circulated in several denominations, and, tragically, have found their way into the thinking of many people.

A preacher or teacher must accept the heavy responsibility the Scriptures lay upon that role. His audience also has a responsibility—to test his message, whether or not it is from God.

Exactly what is “baptismal regeneration”? Is this doctrine scriptural?

Recently we argued that God does not speak directly to people today; rather, he communicates his saving will through the Scriptures. A kind reader thinks that Paul’s experience on the Damascus road negates our conclusion. Jason Jackson responds.

The word “propitiation” is a strange and interesting word. It is worthy of our study and attention.

Does this passage teach that our salvation is strictly a matter of God’s arbitrary election before the world was made, irrespective of any choice that we might exercise in the matter?

Every spiritual blessing that God the Father gives, he gives to those who are in Christ. Paul identifies in Ephesians 1:3-14 that Christ is the sphere in which God the Father blesses. How important it is to understand how one enters the redemptive relationship with Christ.

Peter affirmed that God “made no distinction” between Jews and Gentiles with reference to the matter of salvation. In other words, both Jews and Gentiles were to be redeemed in precisely the same fashion.

Ministers frequently tell lost people that they need to “pray the sinner’s prayer.” Exactly what is this “sinner’s prayer”? Is this prayer biblically based? If not, what is its origin?

What will be the ultimate fate of those who never have a chance to hear the gospel of Christ? This is a question with which every sensitive soul struggles.

Does the church need more preaching on baptism? How does one determine balance in gospel preaching? Jason Jackson addresses this issue in this week’s Penpoints.

Throughout God’s word, the responsibility of mankind to make a choice between serving God and Satan is clearly set forth.

The term “sanctification” is used rather loosely in the community of “Christendom.” What does the Bible really teach about this important theme?

While it is certainly true that grace is a thrilling element in the divine scheme of things, it is not true that it is unconditionally dispensed, or that it is obtained merely by believing. Study this issue with us.

There is a terrible conflict between Christ’s “Great Commission” and the Calvinistic dogma of predestination. It has not been unnoticed even by the disciples of the Swiss reformer.

On October 31, 1999 in Augsburg, Germany, representatives of Roman Catholicism and Lutheranism met to sign a “peace treaty” of sorts.

It is commonly alleged that Jesus, in John 6:37, endorsed the idea of “predestination” as popularized by John Calvin in the 16th century. Did he? Study this question with us.

Because of who God is, what He has done, and what He continues to do, we can walk in the light, being confident as Christians and sure of salvation. This is part 1 of a two-part study on John’s first epistle.

Benedict XVI, the current “pope” of the Roman Catholic Church, recently ignited a firestorm of controversy by reaffirming the oft-made church claim that salvation is found exclusively in the Roman Church.

Faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love are all qualities the apostle Peter identifies as qualifying one’s salvation.