Do you verbally affirm public prayers by saying ‘Amen’ at the end as the Bible teaches?

Saying ‘Amen’ After Prayers in Worship

Andrew Fuller (1754-1815 ) grew up in hyper-calvinist circles where it was denied that man has any ability to do what God says, in any sense of the word.  The practical effects of such error is extremely detrimental.  But by God’s grace, Fuller saw the error, came to grips with it, and since has spoken more to the issue than just about anyone else in church history.

Andrew Fuller on Natural Ability

Richard Rogers’ (1551-1618) famed reply to the scoffer, ‘I serve a precise God’, gave the occasion for the puritans to be called ‘precisionists’.  These two very experientially rich sermons on conversion lay the entrance to God’s kingdom sweetly low: to any that thirst for it.  Rogers, with a discerning and soft hand, reproves worldly minded persons who do not desire the best things (even their own salvation), shows that the way to be saved is to thirst for it (for those that desire what God offers), and assures those that do thirst that God will surely make good his end of the deal.  It is in thirsting that the Christian continues in this life to receive the best spiritual graces from God for everything that he or she needs. 

Two Sermons on Conversion from Isa. 55:1-2, 1612, 29 pages, including a Publisher’s Introduction and a Preface by Rogers

Louis Berkhof and William Shedd, both reformed theologians, distinguish the difference very clearly.

The Difference Between Reformed Common Grace and Arminian Common Grace

Some of the modifications to the original Westminster Confession continue to fly under the radar for many reformed Christians in America.  R.A. Finlayson points out one of them.  He was a professor of the Free Church of Scotland in the mid-1900’s.  This is from his Reformed Theological Writings of R.A. Finlayson, 1996, Christian Focus Publications, p. 268

“Similar action [of modifying the Westminster Confession] was resorted to among the Presbyterian Churches of America, by which, among other changes, ‘wholly inclined to all evil’ was changed to ‘wholly inclined to evil’ on the presumption that no individual transgressor can be committed to ‘all evil’.  It is forgotten, however, that the Confession puts the emphasis on the ‘inclination’, and its statement is merely an affirmation that the roots of every kind of sin are in the heart of fallen mankind.”

The quote has been added to this page:

The Interpretation and Defense of the Original Westminster Confession

In this day and age of internet hyper-calvinism, sometimes the obvious must be stated:

You Must Choose Christ to be Saved

While man is passive in being born again, he, receiving a new nature that inclines to that which is spiritually good, is 100% active in turning from sin to Christ.  Thomas Manton, the puritan exhorts us to choose Christ, and William Cunningham the 1800’s Free Church of Scotland professor lays out the theology behind it.

Herman Bavinck and William Cunningham are quoted on the origin and history of the term ‘Irresistible Grace’, that it was never meant to deny resistible grace.

On the Compatibility of Resistible and Irresistible Grace

Nettleton (1783-1844) was a Calvinist pastor from Connecticut who was influential in America’s Second Great Awakening.  His writings are very rich, fervent and are highly recommended.  Quotes from him on striving with the Spirit, the Fatherhood of God, and Natural vs. Moral Inability have been added to their respective pages.  Enjoy:

Historic Reformed Quotes on the Fatherhood of God

Gardiner Spring (d. 1873), also a Calvinist pastor from New England involved in the Second Great Awakening, has been added on Fatherhood as well.

The Common Operations of the Spirit

Nettleton on Natural vs. Moral Inability

The puritans Thomas Manton, Stephen Charnock, William Gurnall, Jeremiah Burroughs, William Greenhill, and the later Thomas Boston have been excerpted on unbelievers (including the reprobate) striving against the Holy Spirit that would draw them to Christ.

These quotes demonstrate, along with the dozens of others, that God’s Revealed Will has purpose in it, namely to draw men at large to Christ, contra the hypercalvinist claims that God’s Revealed Will is static and purposeless and that God does not sincerely desire the salvation of those that He passes over in decree of Election and consequent irresistible grace.  The quotes have been added here:

The Common Operations of the Spirit

Do Enjoy.

Jeremiah Burroughs, a Westminster divine, interprets John 3:16 as God’s benevolent love to mankind in the sincere free offer of the gospel, not willing that any of them perish.  His comments have been added to this page:

Historic Reformed Quotes on the Sincere Free Offer Interpretation of John 3:16

Robert Rollock was a fountainhead in late 1500’s Scotland for the theology that would follow for the next century.  Charnock was an influential English puritan.  Here are both of them on the natural vs. moral ability distinction: 

Robert Rollock on the the Unregenerate’s Remote Power to do Good

Stephen Charnock on the Unregenerate’s Natural Ability

Thomas Peck (†1893), a little known (though significant) Southern Presbyterian has a ten page article arguing against the baptism of the children of adherents (an adherent is a church member who does not take the Lord’s Supper for any variety of reasons).  It has been added here:

The Baptism of the Children of Adherents

Samuel Davies (an important 1700’s American Calvinist), Thomas Houston (an 1800’s Irish Reformed Presbyterian, who wrote a very important treatise on Adoption) and Thomas Peck (a lesser known, though significant 1800’s Southern Presbyterian) have been added to the Fatherhood of God page, they deriving from scripture that God is a Father to all mankind by creation (though such unbelievers need to be reborn and legally adopted by faith in Christ to receive the full benefits of his Fatherhood and dwell with Him forever).

Historic Reformed Quotes on the Fatherhood of God Over All People

We have added John Brown of Edinburgh and Alfred Edersheim quotes to the Natural vs. Moral Ability page.  Brown was an excellent early-mid-1800’s professor, exegete and commentator, and Edersheim was a converted Orthodox Jew who came into the Free Church of Scotland and served as a professor later in the Anglican Church.  Their thoughts are very perceptive.

Natural vs. Moral Ability

In loving memory of Rev. William Young of the Presbyterian Reformed Church, who went to be with the Savior earlier this month, we have collected all of his writings together that are online:

William Young

The two pages on differing levels of rewards and punishments in heaven and hell have been significantly updated with more Bible verses, the Westminster Standards, and the best and most comprehensive article on the subject to date that is easily accessible.  Enjoy.

Rewards in Heaven

Degrees of Punishment in Hell

Reformed Christianity has historically distinguished three aspects of the love of God.  He loves (1) all creation because it is his creation, (2) all people, because they are made in his image, and (3) the elect who He superlatively loves with a full complacency.  11 quotes by: Turretin, Leigh, Collinges, a Brakel, Jenkyn, Ussher, Gill, Hodge and Berkhof, Rutherford and Pictet.

The Three-Fold Love of God

The Biblical, Westminster and historic, reformed answer is no.  See here for more on why:

Offering is Not an Element of Public Worship

Thomas Ford on Natural vs. Moral Ability, 1668

William Bates (1625-1699) was an English presbyterian puritan

William Bates on Natural vs. Moral Ability