All Articles
Each doctrine begins with its cornerstone study, followed by focused passage studies and essays. The complete recommended order is available without JavaScript; the controls below narrow or reorder what is already on the page.
40 studies shown
Total Depravity
Does Scripture teach that fallen humanity is incapable of any positive response to God, or does spiritual death describe alienation, corruption, and condemnation rather than the complete destruction of the ability to hear and respond to God's gracious call?
-
Genesis 3:10–13: Fall, Hiding, Responsibility, and Divine Initiative
Genesis 3:10–13 portrays fallen humanity hiding, fearing, blaming, and answering God’s questions. -
Luke 15:24: Death-and-Life Imagery in the Prodigal-Son Narrative
Luke 15:24 uses death-and-life language for the lost son: he was dead and is alive again, lost and found. -
John 5:24–25: Hearing, Believing, Life, and Spiritual Death
John 5:24–25 places hearing, believing, eternal life, escape from judgment, and passage from death to life in one tightly connected promise. -
Romans 10:9–17: Faith, Hearing, Proclamation, and Salvation
Romans 10:9–17 places confession, heart-belief, righteousness, salvation, the universal Lordship of Christ, proclamation, hearing, and the word about Christ in one missionary argument. -
James 1:18: Does New Birth Through the Word Require Faith Before Regeneration?
James 1:18 reads: "Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." The verse is compact but theologically rich. -
Genesis 6:5: Does “Every Intention Was Evil” Prove Total Inability?
Genesis 6:5 gives one of Scripture’s darkest descriptions of human sin: the Lord saw that the wickedness of humanity was great and that every intention of the thoughts of the heart was only evil continually. -
Romans 3:10–18: Does “No One Seeks God” Prove Total Inability?
Romans 3:10–18 gathers Old Testament texts to declare the universality of sin: none is righteous, none understands, none seeks God. -
2 Timothy 2:25–26: Does God Grant Repentance Only to the Elect?
Second Timothy 2:25–26 tells the Lord’s servant to correct opponents with gentleness, “if God perhaps will grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.” -
1 John 5:19: Does the Whole World Under the Evil One Prove Total Inability?
First John 5:19 draws a stark contrast: believers are from God, while the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. -
Calvinism and the Problem of Evil: Divine Sovereignty, Sin, and Responsibility
The problem of evil is one of the most serious questions raised by Calvinist theology.
Unconditional Election
Is election individual and unconditional — God choosing specific persons — or is it corporate, with God choosing a people "in Christ" and individuals participating through faith?
-
1 Peter 1:1–2: Election and Foreknowledge
First Peter 1:1–2 addresses scattered Christians as elect according to the Father’s foreknowledge, in the Spirit’s sanctification, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling with his blood. -
Romans 8:29: What Does It Mean That God Foreknew?
Romans 8:29–30 is one of the most discussed passages in the debate over divine election. -
Are Faith and Good Works the Fruits of Election? A Response to Loraine Boettner
Boettner treats faith and good works as results of unconditional election; the article tests whether the cited passages require that order. -
Deuteronomy 7:7–8: Does God’s Choice of Israel Prove Individual Unconditional Election?
Deuteronomy 7:7–8 explains why the Lord set His love on Israel: not because they were more numerous than other peoples — they were the fewest — but because the Lord loved them and kept the oath He swore to their fathers. -
Psalm 65:4: Does God Choose Individuals and Cause Them to Come?
Psalm 65:4 pronounces blessing on the one God chooses and brings near to dwell in His courts. -
John 15:16: Chosen for Salvation, Apostleship, or Fruitful Mission?
John 15:16 is frequently quoted in debates over election: “You did not choose me, but I chose you.” -
Acts 13:48: Were Those Appointed to Eternal Life Predestined to Believe?
Acts 13:48 says that “as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.” It is one of the briefest and most contested texts in the election debate. -
Ephesians 1:4–13: Were Individuals Chosen to Believe or Were Believers Chosen in Christ?
Ephesians 1:4–13 is central to the election debate because it says believers were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world and predestined for adoption. -
Unconditional Election: Is Predestination Compatible with a Loving God?
Does unconditional election mean God chose particular people before creation and then caused only those people to believe?
Limited Atonement
Did Christ die for the sins of all humanity, or did He bear the punishment due for the sins of the elect alone? Does universal provision entail universal salvation?
-
John 3:16–17: Divine Love, the World, Provision, Purpose, and Application
John 3:16–17 places God’s love, the giving of the Son, the world, believing, life, and judgment within one saving announcement. -
2 Corinthians 5:14–21: Did Christ Die for All and Reconcile the World?
Paul joins Christ’s representative death for all, God’s world-directed reconciliation, and the appeal to receive that reconciliation in Christ. -
1 Timothy 2:6: What Does "Ransom for All" Mean?
Paul joins prayer for all people, God’s saving desire, one mediator, and Christ’s ransom for all in a single argument. -
2 Peter 2:1: Did Christ Buy the False Teachers?
Peter describes condemned false teachers as denying the Master who bought them, raising a focused question about purchase, covenant ownership, and atonement. -
Numbers 21: Does the Bronze Serpent Point to a Provision for Everyone?
When Israel rebels in the wilderness, venomous serpents bring death. God tells Moses to raise a bronze serpent, and everyone who is bitten may look at it and live. -
Matthew 1:21: Does “He Will Save His People” Limit the Atonement?
Matthew 1:21 explains Jesus’ name and mission: He will save His people from their sins. -
Hebrews 2:9: Did Jesus Taste Death for Everyone?
Hebrews 2:9 says Jesus tasted death "for everyone." Supporters of unlimited atonement see this as one of Scripture's clearest statements that Christ died for every person. -
1 John 2:2: Who Is "the Whole World"?
First John 2:2 is one of the clearest statements used to support unlimited atonement.
Irresistible Grace
Does God give selected individuals an inward saving call that necessarily changes their desires and infallibly produces faith, or does God graciously call, reveal, convict, and enable people in a manner they may still resist?
-
Luke 7:30: What Does It Mean to Reject God’s Purpose?
Luke 7:30 says that the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves by refusing John’s baptism. -
John 12:32–40: Drawing, Unbelief, and Judicial Hardening
John 12:32–40 joins Jesus’ drawing of all people with persistent unbelief and Isaiah’s language of judicial hardening. -
Ezekiel 36:26–27: What Does God Promise in the New Heart Passage?
Ezekiel 36:26–27 is one of the most powerful Old Testament promises of divine renewal. -
Philippians 2:12–13 and Monergism: What Does It Mean to Work Out Salvation?
Philippians 2:12–13 is one of the most frequently cited passages in debates about divine sovereignty and human responsibility. -
Matthew 23:37: Did Jesus Want to Gather People Who Refused Him?
Matthew 23:37 records Jesus lamenting over Jerusalem: He often wanted to gather her children as a hen gathers chicks under her wings, but they were not willing.
Perseverance of the Saints
Does Scripture teach that God guarantees every genuine believer will continue in faith to the end, or do its warning passages describe a real possibility of final apostasy? Does assurance rest on Christ alone, or must it include evidence of perseverance?
-
Romans 8:28–39: Foreknowledge, Predestination, Preservation, and Assurance
Romans 8:28–39 gives suffering believers one of Scripture’s strongest assurances: God’s purpose in Christ will reach its appointed end, no accusation can overturn Christ’s saving work, and no created power can separate believers from God’s love. -
2 Peter 1:10: How Do Believers Make Their Calling and Election Sure?
Peter joins God’s gifts with a command to pursue virtue and confirm calling and election. The debate concerns evidence, condition, and perseverance. -
Hebrews 3:6, 14: Evidence or Condition?
Hebrews calls believers to hold fast while linking perseverance with the present reality of sharing in Christ. -
John 10:27–29: What Security Does Jesus Promise His Sheep?
John 10:27–29 is one of Scripture’s strongest statements of Christ’s protection: His sheep hear His voice, He knows them, they follow Him, He gives them eternal life, and no one will snatch them from His hand. -
Romans 11:17–22: Can Branches Standing by Faith Be Cut Off?
Romans 11:17–22 uses the olive tree image to warn Gentile believers not to become arrogant. -
Philippians 1:6: Does God Guarantee Every Believer Will Persevere?
Philippians 1:6 is one of the most comforting verses in the New Testament. -
Hebrews 10:26–39: Can Someone Sanctified by the Covenant Blood Fall Away?
Short answer: Hebrews 10:26–39 does not teach that every serious sin after conversion destroys salvation. -
2 Peter 2:20–22: Did They Truly Escape Through Knowing Christ?
Second Peter 2:20–22 describes people who escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, then became entangled again and were overcome.
Terminology
How should contested Calvinism terms and labels be used with enough precision to avoid caricature?