Tag Archives: Faith Once for All

Eternal Hell and “Immortal” Soul: How Are They Related?

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Eternal Hell and “Immortal” Soul: How Are They Related? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Friday, July 15, 2011 at 10:23am QUESTION: Do you know Edward Fudge’s book, The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment, now in its third edition (Cascade Books, 2011, 420 pp.; first ed., 1982)? What do you think of it? ANSWER: Yes, but I confess that I read this book only in its first edition (1982). Like another Restoration Movement author, Russell Boatman, in his book Beyond Death: What the Bible Says about the Hereafter (author, 1980), Fudge denies … Continue reading →

Once Saved, Always Saved — AGAIN! and AGAIN! and AGAIN!

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Once Saved, Always Saved — AGAIN! and AGAIN! and AGAIN! by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at 9:47am The fifth point of the “five points of Calvinism”— the P in TULIP— is the Perseverance (or Preservation) of the saints, more commonly known as “once saved, always saved” (“OSAS”). This doctrine originated with Augustine (died A.D. 430) and is currently believed by millions of both Calvinists and non-Calvinists. On the other hand, those who reject OSAS as a false doctrine call attention to many Biblical texts that seem to teach or imply that believers can lose their faith … Continue reading →

THE PARADOX OF PRAYER

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THE PARADOX OF PRAYER by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Monday, June 13, 2011 at 1:17pm THE PARADOX OF PRAYER:  JAMES 5:13-18  (A SERMON PREACHED 5/29/11)   THE PARADOX:  If God can do whatever He chooses, and if He really loves us, why doesn’t He answer all of our prayers?  Here I will comment on James 5:13-18, and will use this text to help resolve the paradox of prayer.   PART ONE:  COMMENTS ON THE TEXT.   Verse13 – “Suffering” means any time things are going bad for you in any way. “Cheerful” means any time things are looking good for … Continue reading →

WHEN DID CALVINISM BEGIN?

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WHEN DID CALVINISM BEGIN? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, June 8, 2011 at 8:59am QUESTION: I have a question about the historical nature of Calvinism. One of my points with my Calvinist friends has been that you really don’t see the doctrines of T-U-L-I-P until Augustine. To me that is compelling stuff. If Paul meant total depravity and all that the way Calvinists believe it, then you would think you would find that in the early church fathers. Do you find that argument compelling? I recently read a blog that basically said the ideas of Calvinism are all throughout … Continue reading →

IMPUTED VS. IMPARTED RIGHTEOUSNESS

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IMPUTED VS. IMPARTED RIGHTEOUSNESS by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Friday, June 3, 2011 at 10:05am QUESTION: Can you explain “imparted righteousness”? ANSWER: The real issue here is the distinction between imparted and imputed righteousness, and their relation to salvation, especially as this relates to the definition of justification. This is important because the Bible pictures sinners as being saved by “the righteousness of God” (Rom. 1:17; 3:21-22; 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:9). I.e., God saves us by transferring his own righteousness to us in some way—by imparting it, or imputing it, or both. What is “righteousness” as such? Most fundamentally, … Continue reading →

THE “PIOUS UNIMMERSED”

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THE “PIOUS UNIMMERSED” by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, June 2, 2011 at 12:23pm QUESTION:  What is the salvation status of the “Pious Unimmersed”?   ANSWER:  The question of the salvation status of the pious unimmersed has been a mind-boggling and heart-wrenching issue in the Restoration Movement since its beginning.  The reason this question arose was that most of Protestantism since the days of the Reformation had abandoned the Biblical view of baptism as a salvation event and had adopted Huldreich Zwingli’s newly-minted concept of baptism as a visible sign of a salvation status already received.  The early Restoration leaders, … Continue reading →

BAPTISM FOR SALVATION: ITS BIBLICAL BASIS

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BAPTISM FOR SALVATION: ITS BIBLICAL BASIS by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Friday, May 27, 2011 at 9:16am QUESTION: Not long ago I had your course on “The Doctrine of Grace,” in which you discuss the issue of baptism. Personally, I accepted Christ as my Savior as an adult, but was not immersed until some years later. What was my spiritual status during that interim between my acceptance of Christ and my immersion? ANSWER: The subject of baptism comes up in several places in my course on grace, but in that course I do not attempt to “set forth the Biblical … Continue reading →

INERRANCY OF SCRIPTURE, PART FOUR: AN APPEAL

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INERRANCY OF SCRIPTURE, PART FOUR: AN APPEAL by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 4:05pm THE INERRANCY OF SCRIPTURE: DOES IT STILL MATTER? JACK COTTRELL – CINCINNATI CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY – APRIL 2011 PART IV. AN APPEAL. I have always been a part of the fellowship called “the Restoration Movement,” and I am still committed to its basic principles. For 43 years I have taught theology at Cincinnati Christian University (which began as The Cincinnati Bible Seminary). Today it is my earnest desire that every one of our students, and this school as such, and the Movement of … Continue reading →

INERRANCY OF SCRIPTURE, PART TWO: WHAT IS AT STAKE?

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INERRANCY OF SCRIPTURE, PART TWO: WHAT IS AT STAKE? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 4:01pm THE INERRANCY OF SCRIPTURE: DOES IT STILL MATTER? JACK COTTRELL – CINCINNATI CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY – APRIL 2011 PART II. WHAT IS AT STAKE IN THIS MATTER OF INERRANCY? Does the inerrancy of Scripture still matter? The answer is yes. But what exactly is at stake here? We need to say, first of all, that the issue is not necessarily salvation. One can have saving faith in Jesus without accepting inerrancy, even though there is some inconsistency involved when this happens. … Continue reading →

INERRANCY OF SCRIPTURE, PART ONE: HISTORICAL DATA

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INERRANCY OF SCRIPTURE, PART ONE: HISTORICAL DATA by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 3:59pm THE INERRANCY OF SCRIPTURE: DOES IT STILL MATTER? JACK COTTRELL – CINCINNATI CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY – APRIL 2011 PART I. SOME HISTORICAL DATA Let’s begin with some history. Inerrancy was the general belief of Christendom from its beginning. In the early second century Clement of Rome (ch. 45) said, “Look carefully into the Scriptures, which are the true utterances of the Holy Spirit. Observe that nothing of an unjust or counterfeit character is written in them.” In the mid-second century Justin Martyr (“Dialogue … Continue reading →