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The Staunch Calvinist

"Absolute sovereignty is what I love to ascribe to God." - Jonathan Edwards

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Review of Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology
Simon Wartanian | 19,557 views | 1,938 words | 0:010:06 hours | 19 July 2015 19:18
Wayne Grudem Systematic Theology Book Review Calvinism Baptist Continuationist Premillennialism
...er in which he cites and explains the passages that is encouraging. He always explains the contexts and I cannot think of a citation that is out of context. He lays out the context, explains what the passages means in context and it’s relevance to the present topic.

I love those fruitful footnotes. I would often skip footnotes thinking that they only refer to works cited, but that’s not the only thing that Dr. Grudem does in his footnotes. He often explains things more technical, makes a particular case for something, refers to a relevant topic in his Systematic Theology or engages with the other side. 

His handling of the Holy Scriptures is truly aspiring. I pray that God would given me the same love for the Scriptures, that Dr. Grudem has. He does not simply assume things, he proves them biblically. That should be every Christian’s desire.

The two biggest reasons why it’s a great text is because, first it is thoroughly biblical. What I most loved is the fact that he produced the passages and not merely referenced them. He backs up every major statement he makes upon a doctrine.

Second, it is accessible and not only for “theologians.”[1] It is easy to understand, he tries his best to explain things plainly, though there are obviously difficult doctrines which are not that easy to explain.

If you don’t have this great Systematic Theology, get it now.

Major Doctrines

Here I want to say a couple of things about Grudem’s major influence on my doctrine.

The Holy Scriptures

Dr Grudem is unashamed about his belief in God’s absolute and holy Word.

The Bible is God’s sole authoritative Word, His very speech (2Tim 3:16). God used holy men as His instruments and spoke through them, not ignoring or overriding their vocabularies and use of language (2Pet 1:20-21).

It is incapable of being wrong, because it comes from the God who is the Truth (Jn 14:6) and who cannot lie (Heb 6:18). The Word of God reflects the character and its integrity is based upon the character of God.

The Bible, which is the collection of 39 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books is the very and certain Word of God.

See my commentary on the first chapter (Of The Holy Scriptures) of the 1689 Baptist London Confession.

Trinity

Dr Grudem excellently shows the basis of the doctrine of the Trinity from the Scripture and not from creeds as is often alleged by unbelievers. I have often gone back to chapter 14 (God in Three Persons: The Trinity) to get more insight into this great doctrine and the biblical support.

Dr Grudem goes on to prove the doctrine of the Trinity by using three statements that summarize the doctrine:

  1. God is three persons.
  2. Each person is fully God.
  3. There is one God.

From there on he goes into the Scriptures to prove just that!

See my case for the doctrine of the Trinity in my commentary on the 1689 Baptist London Confession.

God’s Providence

This is the first chapter that I read from Grudem. Chapter 16: God’s Providence. And man...I was in for something. It was excellent and it was fully biblical. I loved it.

He defines God’s Providence as follows:

God is continually involved with all created things in such a way that he (1) keeps them existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them; (2) cooperates with created things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do; and (3) directs them to fulfill his purposes.[2...

1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 10: Of Effectual Calling - Commentary
Simon Wartanian | 22,467 views | 14,049 words | 1:13:47 hours | 04 March 2015 21:42
The 1689 Second Baptist Confession Of Faith Confession Commentary Reformed Baptist Chapter 10 Chapter Ten Effectual Calling Irresistible Grace Regeneration Reformed Theology Calvinism Infant Salvation
...o that they may, at the present, behold the glory of God and in the future, in our flesh see God (Job 19:26-27). God reveals Himself to His children through His Spirit and infallible Word.

The natural person does not understand the things of God, but the one who is spiritual, i.e., led by the Spirit, is made able to understand the things of God (1 Cor. 2:9-16). We have received the mind of Christ in His Word and Spirit to understand the things of God. This is not given to everyone but only to those who are led by the Spirit of Christ and who are called according to His purpose. The apostle calls us to continually strive to live according to God’s will, which is revealed in the Holy Scriptures. We are not to be conformed to the pattern of this world, rather we are to “be transformed by the renewal of [our] mind[s]” so that we would know what God’s will is for us (Rom. 12:2). We are commanded to continually walk according to the light given to us in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Renewal of Nature

We are renewed. A completely new nature is given to us at the new birth. Paul says that when we are in Christ, we become a new creation. The old passes away, but now the new has come (2 Cor. 5:17). There is a change in nature through which we are now willing to come to the Lord Jesus. This is the promise that I love about the New Covenant:

Ezek. 36:25-27 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 

The heart is the center of one’s being. It is where their will and nature is. This is what the Lord promises to do, He will change our nature. He will change the most fundamental aspect of our being, which has been corrupted by lawlessness and sin. The cold, dead heart of stone will be exchanged for a living heart of flesh. It is a heart that will be made willing and able by the Spirit Who will be given to us to obey God and His Law. The new heart will be able and willing to love God because it is no longer a heart of stone and dead in sins. A similar promise is in Jeremiah 31:31-34. He makes us alive from the state of “dead in our trespasses” (Eph. 2:5-6). This is nothing less than a spiritual resurrection (John 5:25-26) by which we are brought to life with God. We are made new creations, indeed (2 Cor. 5:17).

Effectual Drawing

The Confession speaks of God drawing those who were called effectually to Jesus Christ. The foremost passage upon God drawing people must be John 6:44. We have discussed this passage in chapter 3 on divine election, but let’s take a quick look at it again here.

John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 

It is pretty simple actually and the words are not difficult nor ambiguous. No one has the power, desire or ability to come to the Lord Jesus. All are unable and unwilling to come to the Lord Jesus because they have no desire to come to Him. They are unable because they are unwilling. That would mean that no one can get saved. But thanks be to God for the “unless” in the passage. No one can come unless the Father draws them. No one has the willingness or ability unless drawn by God. It is Go...

1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 21: Of Christian Liberty and Liberty of Conscience - Commentary
Simon Wartanian | 14,673 views | 6,372 words | 0:32:47 hours | 06 March 2015 19:19
The 1689 Second Baptist Confession Of Faith Confession Commentary Confession Study Reformed Baptist Chapter 21 Christian Freedom Liberty Liberty Of Conscience Antinomianism
...commentary" /

As God is the Lawgiver, so likewise He is the only One who has the authority to bind or loose the consciences of His moral creatures (Isa. 33:22; Jas. 4:12). He is the One who gives the “you shall” and “you shall not’s.” Therefore, He alone has authority over our conscience concerning obedience and how we should conduct ourselves and what we should believe. This paragraph was written without a doubt with the Roman Catholic Church in mind, which binds the consciences of its members to a host of unbiblical doctrines concerning Mary, Purgatory, the Mass and so on. These doctrines are based upon the traditions of men and they have no basis in the Holy Scriptures, but spring forth either from misinterpretations of Scripture or plainly from outside the Bible. You can search all you want concerning prayer to the dead or a prayer addressed to anyone other than God, you will find nothing in Scripture. Yet the faithful Roman Catholic regularly prays to Mary and to other saints, not to mention they pray likewise for the dead. What about the doctrine of Purgatory which has no basis in Scripture, yet it is used to trouble the consciences of men and it could not be defended from the Holy Scriptures? What about the doctrine which claims that the Pope is the head of the Church and that the Roman Catholic church is the one true church and we could go on and on. See Matt Slick, A list of false teachings in the Roman Catholic Church.

All these doctrines have no divine warrant in the Holy Scriptures, are extra-biblical and some are even anti-biblical. Not only do they come from outside the Bible, but they contradict things within the Bible. Therefore, to require people believing these things is to bind their consciences by things which are not from God, Who is alone the Lord of the conscience and thereby destroying Christian liberty. Robert Shaw writes:

No person on earth can have authority to dictate to conscience; for this would be to assume a prerogative which belongs to none but the supreme Lord and Legislator. “There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy.”–James iv. 12. Such a power was prohibited by Jesus Christ among his followers: “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, but ye shall not be so.”–Luke xxii. 25. It was disclaimed by the inspired apostles: “Not that we have dominion over your faith,” said the Apostle of the Gentiles, “but are helpers of your joy.”–2 Cor. i. 24.[2]

Basically, these doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church and any other denomination, institution or religion which is contrary to the Word of God and could not be found in it (whether explicitly or implicitly), are to be rejected or else we will destroy our Christian liberty. The Lord Jesus, quoting Isaiah 29:13, accuses the Pharisees, saying:

Matt. 15:8-9 “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

They teach the commandments of men as if they were the commandments of God. These included ritual washings, the corban rule, a multitude of Sabbath regulations and so on. Matthew Henry comments:

This is an instance of their hypocrisy, that they teach for doctrines the commandments of men. The Jews then, as the papists since, paid the same respect to oral tradition that they did to the word of God, receiving it pari pietatis affectu ac reverentiâ--with the same pious affection and reverence. Conc. Trident. Sess...

1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 20: Of the Gospel, and of the Extent of the Grace Thereof - Commentary
Simon Wartanian | 13,394 views | 3,261 words | 0:17:00 hours | 05 March 2015 19:57
The 1689 Second Baptist Confession Of Faith Confession Commentary Reformed Baptist Chapter 20 General Revelation Special Revelation The Necessity Of The Gospel The Work Of The Holy Spirit
...ns in Joh 17:3, and in which we are to glory, as Jeremiah teaches us, Jer 9:24[3]

General revelation is sufficient to condemn, but not to save. That is why the Confession stresses the need for the special revelation of the gospel for salvation. Men cannot be saved merely by general revelation, they need special revelation. General revelation is not able to save not because it is bad or unclear, but because that was never its purpose and it could also be distorted by sinful man. Furthermore, Christ is not revealed by general revelation, but by special revelation in the Holy Scriptures. It is true that history may tell us about Him. His ministry, His crucifixion even that some had reported that He had risen, but history cannot give us the theological explanations which we need for our salvation. 

§3 The Revelation of the Gospel unto Sinners, Made in Divers Times and by Sundry Parts

  1. The revelation of the gospel unto sinners, made in divers times and by sundry parts, with the addition of promises and precepts for the obedience required therein, as to the nations and persons to whom it is granted, is merely of the sovereign will and good pleasure of God; 1 not being annexed by virtue of any promise to the due improvement of men’s natural abilities, by virtue of common light received without it, which none ever did make, or can do so; 2 and therefore in all ages, the preaching of the gospel has been granted unto persons and nations, as to the extent or straitening of it, in great variety, according to the counsel of the will of God.
    1. Ps. 147:20; Acts 16:7; Matt. 11:20; Rom 1:18-32
    2. Rom. 3:10-12; 8:7-8

The revelation of the gospel unto sinners, in divers times and by sundry parts, is dependent upon the sovereign will and good pleasure of God (e.g. Acts 16:7​). It is He Who determines to Whom He grants it and how far He extends and sends it. The revelation of the gospel does not depend upon any promise to the due improvement of men’s natural abilities, i.e., God has not promised to reveal the gospel to those who work hard and try the best with their natural abilities to live a good life by virtue of the common light which they have received. The revelation of the gospel unto sinners is independent of such a thought. Therefore, the revelation of the gospel rests merely in the counsel of the will of God. It is He alone Who determines the extent or straitening (i.e., restricting the scope, confining) of it.

The gospel, in the period before the New Covenant, was progressively revealed to Israel until the full consummation came with Christ’s establishment of the New Covenant in His blood (Heb. 8:6). God is always free to do as He wills. There isn’t any obligation on His side to save any wicked sinners, but He, through Christ the Savior, has saved countless rebels and turned them into beloved children of His. This paragraph asserts the freedom of God in giving the gospel to any whom He pleases. No one in the world deserves to hear the gospel, much less be saved by believing it, therefore, God granting sinners faith and repentance is a great display of His love and grace toward man. No one deserves to be saved. If God had only saved one person and sent the rest to hell, He would have been perfectly just because that is what our sins deserve. Therefore, the giving of the gospel and the graces thereof is merely a display of God’s grace and love and is dependent on His will and good pleasure alone. It is not owed to us. It is u...

1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 18: Of the Assurance of Grace and Salvation - Commentary
Simon Wartanian | 14,641 views | 7,284 words | 0:38:12 hours | 05 March 2015 19:23
The 1689 Second Baptist Confession Of Faith Confession Commentary Reformed Baptist Assurance Of Grace And Salvation Assurance Of Salvation Eternal Security Perseverance Of The Saints Assurance Of Heaven
...nowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 

1. It is God, and God by His divine power, Who has granted us everything necessary for our salvation and sanctification. He has given us by grace everything that is necessary for us to live godly lives in Jesus Christ including His Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures (2Tim. 3:16-17). The way that God did this was through giving us His knowledge. God did this when He saved us, when we received the knowledge of truth in sincerity and faith. Furthermore, God is described as the One Who effectually called (see chapter 10) and summoned the believer to “his own glory and excellence”. God summoned the believer to partake of the divine nature, to share in His joy and life. God, Who in eternity past existed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; ever-glorious, ever-joyful and ever-excellent, has promised those who deserve nothing but His wrath to share in Himself and His joy. It is God Who called us and His call is irrevocable (Rom. 11:29). It is God Who has granted us His knowledge through which we were saved and were granted all that we need for life and godliness. It is all the work of God.

2. The purpose for the “precious and very great promises” of God is that we “become partakers of the divine nature.” Does that mean that we become God? No. The apostle “intended to say that when divested of all the vices of the flesh, we shall be partakers of divine and blessed immortality and glory, so as to be as it were one with God as far as our capacities will allow.”[3] John Gill comments on this:

that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature; not essentially, or of the essence of God, so as to be deified, this is impossible, for the nature, perfections, and glory of God, are incommunicable to creatures; nor, hypostatically and personally, so as the human nature of Christ, in union with the Son of God, is a partaker of the divine nature in him; but by way of resemblance and likeness, the new man or principle of grace, being formed in the heart in regeneration, after the image of God, and bearing a likeness to the image of his Son, and this is styled, Christ formed in the heart, into which image and likeness the saints are more and more changed, from glory to glory, through the application of the Gospel, and the promises of it, by which they have such sights of Christ as do transform them, and assimilate them to him; and which resemblance will be perfected hereafter, when they shall be entirely like him, and see him as he is:[4]

Matthew Poole notes on this passage:

That by these ye might be partakers of the Divine nature: we are said to be partakers of the Divine nature, not by any communication of the Divine essence to us, but by God’s impressing upon us, and infusing into us, those divine qualities and dispositions (knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness) which do express and resemble the perfections of God, and are called his image, Eph 4:24; Col 3:10. And we are said to be made partakers of this Divine nature by the promises of the gospel, because they are the effectual means of our regeneration, (in which that Divine nature is communicated to us), by reason of that quickening Spirit which accompanieth them, 2Co...

Review of Dean Davis' The High King of Heaven on Amillennialism
Simon Wartanian | 13,930 views | 8,095 words | 0:42:03 hours | 13 April 2015 23:31
Review Book Review Dean Davis The High King Of Heaven Amillennialism Eschatology Reformed Eschatology

Dean Davis - The High King of Heaven:

Discovering the Master Key to the Great End Time Debate

The subtitle indeed is a bold claim, saying that in this book we will discover “the master key” to the End Time debate. I believe we indeed do discover the master key to the End Time debate.

This book is nothing like the others that I’ve read on Amillennialism (Kingdom Come, The Bible and the Future, The Case for Amillennialism), it dares to go and try to interpret the difficult texts in support of premillennialism. It is anti-premillennial as well as, but in lesser tone against Postmillennialism. This is all done in a tone of brotherly love. I enjoyed that aspect of the interaction.

Amillennialism

This book lays out the classic view of Amillennialism which is Dean Davis[1] believes (as others also do) is the classic eschatology of Church History and the Reformation.

The word amillennialism means no millennium. However, amillennarians do not deny the existence of a millennium, only that it begins after the Parousia and that it will last for a literal thousand years. Instead, they teach that the thousand years of Revelation 20 symbolize the present Era of Proclamation, during which time Christ reigns with (the departed spirits of) his saints in heaven. Amillennarians are, then, “present-millennarians.” Pages 23-24

Basically, Amillennialism teaches that the Millennium of Revelation 20 started from the cross and will end at the Second Coming of our Lord, spanning over 2 millennia up till now and is thus to be interpreted symbolically, rather than literally. The Millennium is the Gospel Era, or as Dean likes to call it, the Era of Proclamation.

This is a simple chart laying out the Amillennial vision of Salvation History.

The Kingdom of God

One of the very ups of this book was the extensive study of the Kingdom of God in the New and Old Testaments. My understanding of the Kingdom of God was really expanded.

A Definition of the Kingdom of God

Dean Davis defines the Kingdom of God as:

In essence, the Kingdom of God is the direct reign of God the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit, over his redeemed creatures; creatures who have been rescued from every spiritual and physical enemy, and restored to every spiritual and physical friend that God planned for them in the beginning. Also, the Kingdom is the blessed realm that this redemptive reign creates, and over which it forever rules. Page 65.

This he does not merely assume, but ably goes to prove it from the Bible, here is a summary of his five points:

  1. The Kingdom is the direct reign of God the Father (Mt 6:10)
  2. The Kingdom is a sphere of wholeness and blessing (Mt 9:35; 10:7-8; 12:28)
  3. The Kingdom is mediated by the Son of God (John 5:19, 30; 6:38;  8:28; 12:49; 14:10)
  4. The Kingdom is effected by the Spirit of God (Mt 12:28; Acts 1:4-8)
  5. The Kingdom is a realm beneath a reign (Mt 13:41-42; Rev 11:15)

Thereby is indeed the definition that he gives is justified and satisfactory.

The Two-Staged Kingdom

Amillennarians see the Kingdom of God coming in two stages, separated by the Parousia of our Lord:

  1. The Kingdom of the Son (already, the present Era of Proclamation)
  2. The Kingdom of the Father (not yet, the future World/Age to Come)

Now, the terminology used here is not meant to give the idea that the Son has no share in the second stage of the Kingdom or that the Father has no share in the first, but rather is ...

Welcome To The Staunch Calvinist
Simon Wartanian | 15,681 views | 547 words | 0:02:57 hours | 08 March 2014 16:57
Calvinism Absolute Sovereignty Of God Reformed Theology Reformed Baptist 1689 Baptist Confession Calvinist Baptist
...hich are taken from the document above. In the general section, you will find some book reviews and the resources from which I mainly drew the content of the “God’s Absolute Sovereignty” document.

As a Reformed Baptist, I started the 1689 Confession section wherein I seek to explain the chapters and make a biblical case for what is said on a particular subject. As of 18/09/2016, the commentary is complete:

  1. Of the Holy Scriptures
  2. Of God and the Holy Trinity (the attributes of God and a case for the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity)
  3. Of God’s Decree (I make a case for predestination, election, reprobation and absolute sovereignty even over evil and sin)
  4. Of Creation
  5. Of Divine Providence
  6. Of the Fall of Man, Of Sin, And of the Punishment Thereof (Total Depravity)
  7. Of God’s Covenant (1689 Federalism)
  8. Of Christ the Mediator (including a case for the Substitutionary Atonement, Active and Passive Obedience of Christ, Definite Atonement and answers to passages used against the doctrine)
  9. Of Free Will (with the help of Jonathan Edwards, the consistency of moral agency being found in carrying one’s desires, the inconsistencies of libertarian free will, explanation of necessity and inability)
  10. Of Effectual Calling (with a case for infant salvation)
  11. Of Justification (faith is a gift and regeneration precedes faith)
  12. Of Adoption
  13. Of Sanctification
  14. Of Saving Faith
  15. Of Repentance Unto Life and Salvation
  16. Of Good Works
  17. Of The Perseverance Of The Saints (A positive case for the Reformed doctrine and responses to passages such as Hebrews 6 and the like)
  18. Of The Assurance Of Grace And Salvation
  19. Of The Law Of God (Threefold Division of the Law, the Decalogue before Moses, a brief exposition of the Decalogue, ceremonial and civil laws, the abiding moral law under the New Covenant in the OT prophecy and the NT, Threefold Uses of the Law, The Law and the Gospel)
  20. Of The Gospel, And Of The Extent Of The Grace Thereof
  21. Of Christian Liberty And Liberty of Conscience
  22. Of Religious Worship And the Sabbath Day (A case for the Regulative Principle of Worship and the Christian Sabbath)
  23. Of Lawful Oaths And Vows
  24. Of The Civil Magistrate
  25. Of Marriage
  26. Of The Church
  27. Of the Communion of Saints
  28. Of Baptism And The Lord’s Supper
  29. Of Baptism
  30. Of The Lord’s Supper
  31. Of The State Of Man After Death And Of The Resurrection Of The Dead (Intermediate State Hades, Sheol, Heaven; A Case for Amillennial Eschatology; critique of Premillennialism)
  32. Of The Last Judgment (Endless punishment in Hell contra Annihilationism)
...
A Short Review of Beckwith's & Stott's This Is The Day
Simon Wartanian | 3,976 views | 614 words | 0:03:08 hours | 08 January 2017 23:25
Sunday The Lord's Day Christian Sabbath Fourth Commandment Church History Historical Theology Book Review Roger Beckwith Wilfrid Stott
... href="https://earlychurch.org.uk/book_sabbath_beckwith-stott.php">here. 

...