Tag Archives: Sanctification

Thomas Campbell’s Declaration & Address

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Thomas Campbell’s Declaration & Address by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 9:33am ANOTHER RECENT QUERY: What is your opinion of the relevance or validity of Proposition 6 in Thomas Campbell’s “Declaration and Address,” which reads thus: 6. That although inferences and deductions from Scripture premises, when fairly inferred, may be truly called the doctrine of God’s holy word, yet are they not formally binding upon the consciences of Christians farther than they perceive the connection, and evidently see that they are so; for their faith must not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the … Continue reading →

The Visible and the Invisible Church

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The Visible and the Invisible Church by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, September 24, 2009 at 7:49pm HERE IS ANOTHER QUESTION recently received: “In a lesson on the Protestant Reformation Roger Chambers makes the claim that the invisible church, as Calvin, Zwingli, and even Augustine viewed it, is a ‘myth.’ Chambers says that their view was that the ‘real’ church was the invisible church, mainly because they looked around and saw the visible church as being so corrupted. This is why, when Protestant literature speaks of the ‘real’ church, or invisible church, they use the words ‘Christian’ or ‘Church of … Continue reading →

“Once Saved, Always Saved????”

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“Once Saved, Always Saved????” by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 at 2:54pm Someone told me that he is in discussion with an elder in a local church who is caught up in the “once saved, always saved” doctrine. He asked if I can give some help. On this subject I recommend an OOP book by Guy Duty, “If You Continue”; and Robert Shank’s “Life in the Son.” I also have dealt with it a bit in my “The Faith Once for All,” in the chapter on “Assurance of Salvation,” and in my new book on grace, “Set … Continue reading →

“Second Work of Grace”

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“Second Work of Grace” by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 at 2:06pm I HAD A REQUEST about Wesleyanism: “The Wesleyan church believes there are two forms of grace. I don’t understand this. Their doctrine is similar to the Christian Church. Can you help me understand this?” MY REPLY: Wesleyanism includes those groups growing out of John Wesley’s teaching: Methodist churches, Holiness churches, and many Pentecostal churches. This theological school is similar to the Christian Church (Restoration Movement) in one main way: it is non-Calvinist, or Arminian; it accepts truly free will in human beings. In many other … Continue reading →

Trinity vs. Modalism & Tri-theism

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Trinity vs. Modalism & Tri-theism by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Saturday, September 5, 2009 at 2:17pm TOM LAWSON (0/9/09) to Jack Cottrell I think classic modalism is fraught with heretical issues – central being the denial is the distinct existence of God as Father, Son, and Spirit as deity at the same time(s) and for all time. But popular (not theologically well understood) Trinitarianism has produced a number of serious and heretical perspectives. Many do come close to (if not embrace) the kind of Tri-theism we are accused of holding by Muslims and Arians. When I mention, in theology of … Continue reading →

SOME THOUGHTS ON 2 CORINTHIANS 6:14 – 7:1

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SOME THOUGHTS ON 2 CORINTHIANS 6:14 – 7:1 by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, May 21, 2009 at 8:58pm Recently a friend wrote me asking about the meaning of 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1. This was my reply: The background for this text is God’s permanent standard and rule that his people should always remain distinct from the world, which is “the domain of darkness,” Col. 1:13. God applied this principle to Israel under the Old Covenant by separating them geographically from the world; this is why he gave them the “promised land,” the land of Canaan. He commanded them to be … Continue reading →