Your Teacher Has a Theological Agenda; Do You Know What It Is?
Theological transparency matters; know where your teacher stands before you trust their teaching.
As I state in my position on “Beliefs,” every post you read, every book you study, and every sermon you hear is filtered through a theological framework.
That framework shapes everything: how the gospel is presented, how prophecy is interpreted, and what genuine conversion looks like.
Most teachers don’t tell you where they stand.
That makes it your responsibility to find out.
The Berean Standard
The Internet has democratized spiritual content.
Anyone with a laptop and a free Substack account can publish biblical commentary, offer devotional wisdom, or position themselves as a theological guru.
The problem is not limited to the Internet.
Many churches are equally opaque; doctrinal statements are buried in website footnotes, and theological frameworks are never disclosed from the pulpit. Congregants may sit under teaching for years without ever knowing where their pastor stands on various theological issues.
The Bereans in Acts 17:11 modeled the right response.
Acts 17:11 — “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”
Notice the combination: eagerness to receive and diligence to verify.
They did not simply accept what Paul taught because he was an apostle. They held his teaching against the standard of Scripture.
That did not insult Paul; it honored God, and that standard applies no less today.
A Note Before We Begin
Please understand that the theological divisions that I discuss below rarely fall into perfectly neat categories, and that genuine believers are on both sides of these debates.
The divisions do not necessarily define the boundaries of salvation; they define the boundaries of how one approaches Scripture, interprets prophecy, presents the gospel, and understands the nature of true conversion.
The Three Primary Divisions
My purpose here is not to argue every position exhaustively or to convince you to adopt one over another.
My intent is simple: identify the three most significant theological divisions within conservative evangelicalism, explain what each position teaches, and disclose where I stand, so you can evaluate what I write and hold other teachers to the same standard.
Calvinism vs. Arminianism
Calvinism vs. Arminianism asks the most foundational question in all of salvation theology: Is God sovereign over salvation, or does man's free will cast the deciding vote?
The Arminian Position
Arminians argue that God’s election is conditional, based on His foreknowledge of who will freely choose Him.
They point to 1 Timothy 2:4, where Paul writes that God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth,” arguing this proves God’s saving intention extends universally to every individual.
They also cite John 3:16 — “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” — as evidence that salvation is available to all who choose to respond.
Arminians also often reject the doctrine of eternal security entirely, citing Hebrews 6:4-6 as their primary proof text, and arguing that those "who have once been enlightened... and then have fallen away" prove that genuinely saved believers can forfeit their salvation through subsequent unbelief.
The Calvinist Response
The Calvinist reads those same texts differently, and adds texts Arminianism cannot adequately answer.
1 Timothy 2:4 — “who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Paul’s context in verses 1-2 is prayer for “all people... kings and all who are in high positions.” He is describing all kinds of people; not every individual without exception. God’s desire here is not a universal saving intention for every soul; it is a sovereign purpose that spans every category of humanity.
John 3:16 — “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” This verse establishes the scope of God’s love and the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice; it does not address the mechanism of election.
The question is not whether God loves the world. The question is how He sovereignly acts within it to bring His elect to faith. “Whoever believes” describes the beneficiaries of salvation; it does not explain who grants the belief.
The texts that anchor the Calvinist position are even harder to dismiss.
John 6:37, 44 — “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me” and “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” The word draws in verse 44 is the same Greek word used in Acts 16:19 of forcible compulsion; not mere invitation.
Ephesians 1:4-5 states that God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” and “predestined us for adoption.” This choice precedes human response entirely.
On perseverance, John 10:28-29 provides the decisive answer; “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” The guarantee is Christ’s; not the believer’s sustained effort.
Romans 8:29-30 presents the golden chain of redemption and supports both God’s sovereign choice and His absolute guarantee; “those whom He foreknew He also predestined... those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.”
Arminianism ultimately places the decisive factor in salvation on man.
Calvinism places it entirely on God.
Where you land on Calvinism vs. Arminianism determines how you read Scripture, the gospel you preach, the assurance you offer, and the Christ you present.
Dispensationalism vs. Covenant Theology
Dispensationalism vs. Covenant Theology asks whether God has one unified people —the Jews— throughout redemptive history, or whether He operates through distinct programs for Israel and the Church.
The Covenant Theology Position
Covenant theologians argue that the Church is the spiritual Israel, the fulfillment and continuation of the Old Testament people of God.
They appeal to Galatians 3:29, “if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” as evidence that New Covenant believers inherit Israel’s promises spiritually.
Romans 2:28-29 supports this reading, “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly... but a Jew is one inwardly.” They also cite Romans 9:6, “For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel,” arguing that true Israel has always been a spiritual category, not an ethnic one.
This leads them to interpret Old Testament prophecy and Revelation as largely fulfilled or spiritually realized in the Church.
The Dispensationalist Response
The Dispensationalist insists that the hermeneutical principle of literal, grammatical, historical interpretation must be applied consistently, including prophecy.
Romans 11:1 opens with Paul’s direct question: “Has God rejected His people? By no means!” The entire chapter is an argument for the future restoration of ethnic Israel, culminating in verse 26; “And in this way all Israel will be saved.” Paul is not describing the Church. He is describing a future work of God among the Jewish people.
Romans 11:28-29 reinforces this; “As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” God’s covenant commitments to national Israel have not been transferred or spiritualized away.
Zechariah 12:10 and 14:4 describe a future where God pours out a spirit of grace on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and where Christ’s feet stand on the Mount of Olives at His return. These are geographic, ethnic, and literal descriptions that resist allegorization.
The Galatians 3:29 argument, while establishing Gentile participation in Abrahamic blessing, does not eliminate the distinction between Israel and the Church; it expands the covenant family. Participation is not replacement.
Where you land here reshapes your entire reading of the Old Testament prophets, Daniel, and Revelation; determines whether God's covenants with Israel remain literally intact; and ultimately defines whether you preach a God who keeps His promises or one who quietly reassigned them.
Lordship Salvation vs. Free Grace
Lordship Salvation vs. Free Grace asks whether genuine saving faith necessarily produces repentance, submission to Christ’s authority, and fruit; or whether a person can be saved while living carnally and without transformation.
The Free Grace Position
Free Grace theologians argue that adding repentance or submission to faith introduces works into justification.
They appeal to John 3:16 and Acts 16:31 — “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” — as proof that faith alone, understood as bare intellectual assent, is the sole condition of salvation.
They also cite 1 Corinthians 3:15 to argue that a believer can suffer the loss of rewards while still being “saved, but only as through fire,” suggesting a carnal Christian who bears no fruit is nonetheless genuinely saved.
The Lordship Salvation Response
The Lordship position does not add works to justification. It insists that genuine faith, by its nature, produces transformation as a natural byproduct.
James 2:17 is unambiguous: “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” A dead faith does not justify. The question is not whether works earn salvation; it is whether a faith that produces nothing was ever alive.
Matthew 7:21-23 presents the most sobering indictment of profession without transformation: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.” Christ does not say these people lost their salvation. He says He “never knew” them. Their profession was never genuine.
2 Corinthians 5:17 establishes the necessary result of true regeneration; “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” This is not aspirational language. It is declarative.
Finally, Luke 9:23 records Christ’s own terms of discipleship; “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” The call to salvation and the call to follow are inseparable in the mouth of Jesus Himself.
Free Grace theology, however well-intentioned in protecting grace, ultimately produces a category of “saved” individuals that the New Testament nowhere recognizes: those who believe with their minds while their lives remain entirely unchanged.
Where you land here determines the gospel you call people to, the converts you accept, and whether the Christ you preach demands everything or costs nothing.
Where I Stand
For purposes of full transparency, here is where I stand:
I am Calvinist in my soteriology; I believe God’s sovereign election and effectual grace are the ground of salvation, and that those truly regenerated will persevere.
I am Dispensational in my hermeneutics; I believe the promises made to national Israel remain distinct from the Church’s calling and will be literally fulfilled.
I hold to Lordship Salvation; I believe genuine faith produces repentance, submission, and fruit, and that a profession absent transformation warrants serious examination.
Every post on The Inevitable Truth is written from within that framework.
You may not share every position. That is not the point.
The point is that you now know the lens through which I read and teach Scripture; and that knowledge allows you to engage what I write with the same Berean diligence the text calls you to apply to every teacher, including me.
Future posts will examine each of these three divisions in greater depth; exploring the key arguments, the primary texts, and why each debate continues to matter for the health of the Church.
For now, the most important question is this: Do you know where the teachers you follow actually stand?
To His Glory,
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