As you may notice, I’ve made a few changes to this blog. For one, I’ve added an email subscription, which means that if you enter your email address and click the submit button, you will be notified of new posts via email. The email should contain the first 100 letters of the post and then provide a link so you can come straight to that post.

The second is the addition of a counter. The counter is just for the fun of it. I thought it would be interesting anyway.

Distinctive Marks of Reformed Theology
Rev. Marcus J. Serven, Th.M
(part 5 of 14)

The Doctrine of Predestination::
By God’s sovereign decree he predestines the Elect to everlasting life and he damns the Reprobate to everlasting judgement (i.e. Douple Predestination or Supralapsarian).  Some within the Reformed community believe that God predestines the Elect to life, but passes by the others leaving them in their fallen condition (i.e. the doctrine of Preterition or the Infroalapsarian view of the decrees of God).  In either case, the Reprobate ultimately follow their wicked and sinful nature to its destructive end (John 6:37-40, 17:9-11; Romans 9:6-13, 22-24; I Peter 2:7-8).  Thus, Reformed theologians emphasize the sovereign grace of God in salvation and reject the notion that God chooses the Elect on the basis of their good works or their personal decision through the means of Divine Foreknowledge.  The Reformed steadfastly assert that God alone determines who will be the recipients of the gift of salvation (Divine Monergism).  Salvation is not determined by fallen man’s autonomous decision apart from God (Evangelical Arminian theology).

Distinctive Marks of Reformed Theology
Rev. Marcus J. Serven, Th.M
(part 4 of 14)

The Doctrine of the Law of God::
The Reformed generally believe that the Law of God breaks into three categories: the Moral Law (Ten Commandments) which is eternal, the Ceremonial Law which was completely fulfilled through the sacrificial death of Christ, and the Civil Law which passed away with the end of the nation of Israel.  The Law of God both convicts as individual of sin and is a tutor in leading the sinner to Christ (Galatians 3:24).  The Moral Law has not been abolished by Christ (Matthew 5:17-20).  Instead, it is an eternal standard of righteousness for holy living (Romans 3:31), and a way unto life for every Believer (Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 19).  There are some Reformed theologians who favor a Theonomist view of the Law.  Essentially, a Theonomist would argue that the Law must be seen as a single document and cannot be broken into three categories.  Hence, every aspect of the Law (except that which has been fulfilled by Christ) is relevant and applicable for today.  This theological position has also been known as Christian Reconstruction (Bahnsen, Chilton, DeMar, North, Rushdoony).  A moderating position in regards to the Civil Law extends the principles into the present day, but not the exact particulars.

Distinctive Marks of Reformed Theology
Rev. Marcus J. Serven, Th.M
(part 3 of 14)

The Doctrine of Man & Sin:
All mankind is totally depraved and completely unable to save himself from God’s wrath (Total Inability).  Adam’s sin is immediately imputed to all humanity, so that all are born in original sin.  Most Reformed theologians believe that man was created by God on the sixth day and did not evolve from lower life forms.  Thus, the evolutionary process is rejected as completely spurious.  Each human being is created in the image of God, the Imago Dei, and although this is tarnished at the Fall its distinguishing marks are not removed altogether (Genesis 1:27; Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:12, 6:23).

I have been working on setting up my website with an RSS feed lately and as such have not had a lot of time to post unfortunately. I am pleased to say however, that TJDraper.com now has an RSS feed for whatever it’s worth. It’s actually not as hard to set up as I had feared.

I hope to return to posting about the distinctive marks of reformed theology soon (Haven’t I said that before?).

Hello all,

I really wanted to get back to posting the wonderful distinctive marks of Reformed Theology, but I just haven’t had the time to get back to it.

I have decided to re-record some of my songs since I now have better recording software and equipment, and more experience. I just finished Great Shepherd and would like to start on another one soon. I have really been inspired lately that I should get an album together and make it available somehow. I don’t know how I would do that exactly though.

Anyway, the new version of Great Shepherd is available to listen to by going to the Music Page of My Website. Please send me any feedback, or use the comment link below .