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Contemporary Reformed authors on John 3:16: Joel Beeke

I've been posting some classic Calvinistic authors' renderings of KOSMOS in John 3:16. Thus far, we've considered:

John Gill vs. Jesus Christ on the World of John 3:16

Thus far, we've compared three strict Calvinists--John Owen, Arthur W. Pink, and Francis Turretin--and presumably their understanding of John 3:16 (especially, the term translated "world") with the clear words of the Lord Jesus Himself. Let's offer another popular strict Calvinist theologian and author--John Gill (1697-1771). Below are Jesus' words followed by my inference of John Gill's rendition of Jesus' words.¹

Francis Turretin vs. Jesus Christ on the World of John 3:16

Thus far, we've looked at John Owen and Arthur W. Pink's rendition of the word "world" in John 3:16. While some have logged on either denying it matters what the biblical text actually says (see here), others have falsely but desperately and incredibly claimed I'm putting words in the author's mouth (e.g see here, here). What no one has demonstrated thus far is, how either Owen or Pink's rendition of KOSMOS ("world" in John 3:16) as the world of "believers only" (or world of the "elect") is deduced from the biblical text itself and not inferred from preconceived theological notions imposed upon the biblical text.

Arthur W. Pink vs. Jesus Christ on the World of John 3:16

Here's our Lord Jesus in John 3:16:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (NASB)

Here's Arthur W. Pink, strict Calvinist¹ and famed Reformed Baptist author, in his rendition of John 3:16:

“For God so loved believers, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life”²

 Do you think Pink has a point in substituting "believers" for "world" in John 3:16?

 

¹Note: some Calvinist scholars refer to Pink as more than a strict Calvinist; they refer to him as a Hyper-Calvinist (e.g. Dr. Curt Daniel)

²The term “believers” is substituted based on an inference from what Pink wrote pertaining to the term “world” in John 3:16. He explained: ‘“Kosmos” is used of believers only: John 1:29; 3:16, 17; 6:33; 12; 47; 1 Cor. 4:9; 2 Cor. 5:19. We leave our readers to turn to these passages, asking them to note, carefully, exactly what is said and predicated of “the world” in each place’ (Arthur Walkington Pink, The Arthur Pink Anthology, Chapter 44). 

See also

John Owen vs. Jesus Christ on the World of John 3:16

John Owen vs. Jesus Christ on the World of John 3:16

Here's our Lord Jesus in John 3:16:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (ESV)

Here's John Owen, the theological darling of many contemporary Baptist Calvinists, in his rendition of what Jesus said in John 3:16:

"God so loved his elect throughout the world, that he gave his Son with this intention, that by him believers might be saved" (The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, p.214)

For some reason, there seems to be a lot of unnecessary theological baggage Owen drags onto the words of Jesus. What do you think?

See Also:

Arthur W. Pink vs. Jesus Christ on the World of John 3:16

 

An Open Invitation to James White: My Response by Peter Lumpkins

I’m ashamed to admit it, but I must keep James White up at night. Surely, no Southern Baptist blogger gets under the old boy’s skin like I do. Alas, I hold that to be no real accomplishment. I’m a peace-loving guy. I ‘m actually not internally wired for conflict. But when conflict comes to my door, begging to come in, neither do I slam the door in conflict’s face. This is especially true when it comes to bullies. And believe me when I say this, James White is perceived within a broad circle of identifiable casualties, composed of believers and unbelievers alike, as a veritable bully who reckons to strong-arm his opponents in submitting to his particular way of looking at things.

More verbal abuse and implications of "heresy" by Baptist Calvinists

UPDATE: one of James White's supporters, Micah Burke, put up a post in response to my piece below. Entitled "Peter Lumpkins doesn't know who he's responding to," Burke suggests my critical commentary below is misdirected toward James White. Instead he claims my criticism presumably should have been directed toward Al Mohler since "Nearly 99% of the quote [the quote below I transcribed from White's broadband broadcast] is actually Al Mohler's own words" (italics and link original). What a rip-roaring revelation! I'd never thought of that! Of course, Burke (he apparently is a volunteer employee for White's ministry) completely ignored the two references to Pelagius that White employed in the context of speaking about Harwood which contains much of the substance driving my concern below, two references White could not have quoted from Mohler because Mohler didn't mention either Pelagius or Pelagianism in his piece. Hence, White went well beyond Mohler in theologically implicating Harwood by identifying him not with semi-Pelagianism but identifying Harwood with Pelagius himself. These are the kinds of vacuous defenses offered by James White advocates...

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I've already mentioned the verbal assaults some aggressive Southern Baptist Calvinists levelled toward the presenters and participants of the 2013 John 3:16 Conference (here and here). One may now add to their literary hubris the voice of Reformed Baptist, James White. On his latest "Radio Free Geneva" internet broadcast White especially deals with presenters Adam Harwood, Eric Hankins, Emir Caner, and Steve Gaines.¹ 

A helpful visual image demonstrating the influence of a single man in the Southern Baptist Convention

Thanks to Dr. Adam Harwood, the helpful visual below shows how powerfully influential one man can be in a convention of churches like Southern Baptists. In itself, the image is neutral. That is, the visual only depicts what is without necessarily suggesting what ought to be. Hence, while my inference from the visual might produce alarming concern, a concern the reality of which I see inevitably leading to top-down, centralized authority going against the grain of free church tradition, another's inference might suggest an appreciation--or even inspiration--about how God uses certain people. Indeed, it's quite possible it might produce both of the above or neither of the above while yet producing another inference.

David Allen: Regeneration can hardly precede faith...at least not according to Scripture...

SBC Today posts a great summary of Dr. David Allen's presentation and The 2013 John 3:16 Conference. Of Ephesians 2:1-10, Allen says,

“Part of what is driving the ‘regeneration precedes faith’ issue is a flawed anthropology drawn partly from Ephesians 2. With respect to Ephesians 2:1-10, when Paul speaks of the unregenerate as being ‘dead in sins’ there is no question that ‘dead’ is being used metaphorically. In Scripture, ‘death’ is often used metaphorically to express alienation from God and ‘life’ is used to express union with God via salvation (See Aquinas and O’Brien in Ephesians, [Pillar Commentary]). This death is ‘on account of’ or ‘with respect to’ our sins (notice the nouns are in the dative and there is no preposition in the Greek text). Many Calvinists suggest that this passage either 1) overtly teaches human inability (usually moral inability) in the sense of ‘one cannot because they will not,’ affirming the Edwardsian distinction between natural and moral inability of sinners to respond to the gospel; or 2) implies human inability to respond to the gospel (John Eadie, Ephesians, 121, argued that ‘dead’ implies inability.). There are other biblical figures of speech used to connote depravity which do not indicate or imply total inability. Calvinists assume their definition of spiritual death is correct and then superimpose it on the word ‘dead’ in Ephesians 2. Notice in the broader context the separation motif in Ephesians (2:12, 13, 19, 4:18). Notice also the parallel passage in Colossians 2:12-13, where Paul affirms that even though people are spiritually dead, they can still exercise faith in God.”

Allen always comes through in disassembling Calvinistic propositions since he bases his conclusions not on theological interpretation of Scripture but on exegetical analysis of Scripture. For him, while regeneration does not precede faith, exegesis does precede theology.

Dr. David Allen @ the John 3:16 Conference

The 2013 John 3:16 Conference, Criticism, and the Calvinist Controversy in Louisiana: Part II

In Part I, I recorded the first of two examples indicative of unhelpful criticism--and in some cases, irresponsible and even slanderous criticism--some of the more rigorous Calvinists lobbed toward The 2013 John 3:16 Conference. Montana pastor, J.D. Hall, claimed Truett-McConnell College was "theologically raping" the students, while indicating one of its professors, Adam Harwood, was much to blame. And, while Hall at first defended his words when some of his Twitter followers protested, he nonetheless offered a clear word of regret and publicly apologized for his "harsh" language, conceding Trevin Wax's "rebuke was appropriate. Apologies, to everyone."

Free Church Press Online Store Available

screen capture of new site for Free Church Press

The new Free Church Press site is up, including the store. I realize it still needs some cosmetic work but the tests I put it through seem to indicate it's functionally accurate. A note about the shopping cart. Presently, one may checkout by either Paypal or Amazon. I've applied for an onsite secure cart which should be up in a couple days. This is a new phase for Free Church Press, and an expensive one as well. Even so, I remain convinced that Free Church Press will eventually become a catalyst for keeping the light shining on the free church tradition.

www.freechurchpress.net    

www.freechurchpress.com

Why all the buzz? Further thoughts on the present Calvinism conversation by Earl Blackburn

Below is the final of four entries on the purported Calvinism issue posted on March 12, 2013 in The Message, Louisiana Baptists' state paper. Editor Kelly Boggs generously sent all four articles to me so non-subscribers could access the important articles dealing with the unfortunate situation developing at Louisiana College. The three prior articles are linked at the end.

"Vines left speechless by book in his honor" says a Southwestern seminary news release

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary posted a news release entitled "Vines left speechless by book in his honor." The article states:

New Online Store coming for Free Church Press

capture of the old Free Church Press site

While I had a webpage @ www.freechurchpress.com where people could check out and purchase the new products being produced by Free Church Press, it woefully lacked what needed to be present on a webstore. So, I'm in the process now of setting up an entirely new website and store for Free Church Press. I hope to have it up and running by early next week. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

 

Truett-McConnell professor interviewed by Christian Index

Dr. Adam Harwood, Assistant Professor of Christian Studies at Truett-McConnell in Cleveland, Georgia was interviewed recently by The Christian Index. The interview appears in the latest edition. Below are answers to some of the questions¹: