Training Our Minds

What is one thing being pushed today about the canon that people now just accept as fact? The theological winners of the time were suppressing some books of the Bible while accepting others, changing the Bible so that what we have today is not what they had then. How do we know what authority to trust?

Continuation of our review of keeping our hearts with all vigilance.

We want to finish the year where we started, keeping the heart with all vigilance.

What do you remember from the last five lectures?T - Total DepravityU - Unconditional ElectionL - Limited AtonementI - Irresistible GraceP - Perseverance of the Saints

In this sixth and final lecture on the sovereignty of God in justification, Pastor Ben teaches on the perseverance of the saints, which we can also think of as the preservation of the saints. There are two perspectives on this. Calvinists believe you cannot lose your salvation because God preserves his elect, Arminians believe you can lose your salvation.

There are two major positions in Ordo Salutis (the Order of Salvation). One is the Reformed view, in which regeneration precedes faith. The other is the Arminian view in which faith comes first.

The issue that is raised in regard to Christ's atonement is who it was made for. There are three possibilities about who Christ died:1. Jesus died for every person who ever lived.2. Jesus died for the elect only and secured their salvation.3. Everyone is saved and going to heaven.Which is it?

The doctrine of predestination is broken down into two categories: Election, which results in God saving His elect; and reprobation, which results in God passing over the non-elect, leaving them to continue in their own hatred and rebellion against God. Predestination’s only foundation is the absolutely sovereign will of God. He owes no one anything and can justly condemn all humans.

The doctrine of Total Depravity is a very serious and difficult doctrine to hear. It is a difficult thing for believers and unbelievers alike to come to terms with and accept the reality of their sinful condition. In this class, Ben Bessett walks us through what Total Depravity is and is not and verses that demonstrate this.

If we don't understand that no one is righteous, there is no one who does good, and there is no one who seeks God, we don't understand our need for grace.

There are two “wills” of God. The decretive will, which is called the “secret” will, and the prescriptive will, which is the moral will. God desires and commands all people everywhere to repent. Yet His prescriptive will can be broken.

Bertrand Russell was once asked, if he were to come before God, what would he say to God? Russell replied, “Not enough evidence, God, not enough evidence.”Does the external evidence determine that God has spoken in Scripture? Or does God speaking hold authority on its own?

In 1 Samuel 21, David comes to Ahimelech the priest and asks for bread for himself and his men. However, in Mark 2, Jesus recounts the same details of the story, but states the time of Abiathar the high priest, not Ahimelech. This creates an unreconcilable contradiction in the Gospel narratives, either on the part of Mark in recording his Gospel or with Jesus in citing the incorrect priest from 1 Samuel 21.

Matthew 7:1-6 says "Do not judge, so that you will not be judged." Does that mean we shouldn't judge?What do you do with John 9:39 "For judgment I came into this world." Is this a contradiction?

It is a proven scientific fact that the sun does not move around the earth. Rather, the Earth rotates around the Sun. But it is the Bible that teaches the Sun moves. It's faith vs. science and the Bible is unscientific.How do we approach this argument?

Christ is the God-man, the foundation by which all Scripture is to be understood and interpreted.

Why has there been a sudden increase in philosophical and biblical interpretations over the modern era? How should we interpret Scripture correctly in the midst of these completely different movements? The answer is easier than you might think.

"He who has God and everything else has no more than he who has God alone." ~ C.S. Lewis

"We suffer more in our imagination than we do in reality." ~ SenecaHow many times do we worry about things that will never happen to us? How do we use false generalization, false extremes, or false filters to distort our judgment of real events?

Problem of Evil (part 2) | Lecture 7

If God is all powerful and all loving, then why does evil exist?

This lecture is about talking to people about the Gospel who are convinced God isn't for them.

The Dilemma of Islam | Episode 28

Circular Reasoning | Episode 27

Summary of General Revelation

Are You an Expert in Science? | 21st Century Evangelism | Episode 25

Reasoning to the Necessity of God | 21st Century Evangelism | Episode 24

Uno Reverse Card | 21st Century Evangelism | Episode 23

What is Faith?

Putting Together Abstract Parameters | Episode 21

Reasoning to the Biblical God | 21st Century Evangelism | Episode 20

Existence | 21st century evangelism | Episode 19

Review

Effectual Calling | Westminster Confession | Episode 17

Sin | Westminster Confession | Episode 16

On Creation

God's Eternal Decree (Part 1)

Trinity (Part 3)

Classical Theism

Maybe you've heard about the Westminster Confession, and maybe you've read it in the original. But have you read the Westminster Confession in actual modern English, and do we as Christians know what it means and how it applies? This is part 3 of Ben unpacking the Holy Scripture

Maybe you've heard about the Westminster Confession, and maybe you've read it in the original KJV style it was written in! (Okay not really) But anyway, have you actually read the Westminster Confession in actual modern English, and do we as Christians actually know what it means and how it applies? This is part 1 of Ben unpacking the canon.

Maybe you've heard about the Westminster Confession, and maybe you've read it in the original KJV style it was written in! (Okay not really) But anyway, have you actually read the Westminster Confession in actual modern English, and do we as Christians actually know what it means and how it applies? This is part 2 of Ben unpacking the Holy Scripture.

Our culture is driven so far from reason, so far from the first principles of logic. To understand reason and logic, we need to go back and understand our essence and the first principles of logic.

Where does information come from? Can atheist scientists account for it?

Often the philosophy of Scientism holds that all things consist of matter. How does Scientism account for the mind?

Often when we evangelize we don't know exactly how we go about it. But Van Til offers a three-step approach.

When imperialist and secular scientists run their experiments and write their conclusions, they make claims from their own presuppositions. But what are their starting points?

As complex as Scientism may appear, refuting it is a rather simple task. The Achilles heel for Scientism is that it is a philosophy that cannot be verified empirically. Therefore, it fails to meet its own standard.

What is scientism?

Ben Besset begins his fall project at Seventh Reformed Church with a look into how do we know something, and how well do we know it?