Calvanism vs Arminianism

What a way to begin, with a test!  But this test is very important as it will help you understand where you are coming from as you read through this.  You will discover that there are two sides to every issue and how you answer these questions will determine how you will understand God!!!!!

Yes, nothing like objectivity –

T or F    1.  I am capable of doing good deeds apart from the Holy Spirit.

T or F    2.  God knew I was His before I was ever born.

T or F    3.  I was free to choose Christ’s atonement for me.

T or F    4.  Jesus died as an atonement for the sin of everyone.

T or F    5.  Once I accept Christ as my savior, I am His forever, no matter what I do.

Is There A Correct Answer?

Calvin or Arminius?  Which is right, which is wrong?  There has to be a simple answer, right?  Well, Christianity is pretty much divided down the middle as to which side of the issue is the proper one to follow.  So, there is no simple answer.

Personally, I believe that each of them had one or more points that I believe and one or more points that I completely reject.  I do not think either of them had it 100% correct!  And the only way I, you or anyone will ever know whom is correct is to crack open our Bibles!!!!

Total Depravity

            Pro      Romans 3:10-12,23

            Con                Romans 1:19-20,28,32

Election

            Unconditional

                        Ephesians 1:4-6

                        Romans 8:29-30

                        1 Corinthians 1:9

            Conditional

                        Romans 10:13

                        Revelation 22:17

Atonement

Limited

                        Acts 13:48

                        John 15:16

Universal

                        1 John 2:2

                        1 John 4:9-10

                        John 3:16-18

Grace

Resistible

                        Acts 7:51

                        Hebrews 10:26

Irresistible

            Romans 3:24-28

                        John 6:37

Preservation

            Pro     

                        Romans 8:38-39

                        Romans 8:1

                        John 10:27-28

            Con

Matthew 7:21-23

Luke 9:62

1 Corinthians 6:9-10+

Calvin Said-

1.  Total Depravity

Man is a sinner without any hope of reaching out to God for salvation.

2.  Unconditional Election

God elects saints to salvation when they have no merit at all.  God does not look down and see sinners wishing to believe and therefore elect them to salvation but rather sees all men as sinners and elects some of them for salvation.

3.  Limited Atonement

The atonement (Jesus’ payment for sin) is limited to only those whom are elect.

4.  Irresistible Grace

It is impossible for a sinner to resist salvation once the Holy Spirit begins drawing him.

5.  Preservation

A saved person will be saved forever and will live a holy and Godly life.

Arminius Said-

1.  Conditional Election

Election is based on the faith or belief of men.

2.  Universal Atonement

The atonement is for all, but only believers enjoy its benefits.

3.  Saving Faith

Man, unaided by the Holy Spirit, is unable to come to God.

4.  Resistable Grace

The drawing of the Holy Spirit can be resisted.

5.  Uncertainty of Preservation

This doctrine was open to inquiry.  

Depending upon your answers above, you will like one of these two songs better than another.  One approaches God from man’s view and the other, man from God’s view!

Calvinistic Statement For All You’ve Done by Reuben Morgan My Saviour, Redeemer. Lifted me from the miry clay. Almighty, forever, I will never be the same. ‘Cause you came near. From the everlasting to the world we live. The father’s only son. And you lived and you died. And you rose again on high. Any you opened the way for the world to live again. Hallelujah, for all you’ve done. ‘Cause you came near, from the everlasting to the world we live. The father’s only son.

Reworded as Arminian                      .

Arminian Statement I Give You My Heart by Reuben Morgan This is my desire, to honor you. Lord, with all my heart I worship you. All I have within me I give you praise. All that I adore is in you. Lord, I give you my heart, I give you my soul. I live for you alone. Every breath that I take, Every moment I’m awake, Lord have your way in me. Lord I give you my heart.

Reworded as Calvinistic                   .

It is important to remember that both John Calvin and Jacob Herrmann (Arminius) were God fearing believers in Christ.  I have no doubt both will be in Heaven with us.  So to separate over man’s understanding of these doctrines seems a little on the odd side to me.  But, man is famous for separating from each other on the finest of points of doctrine (for example, are there ‘magic’ words in a prayer that brings about salvation?  Or, how about how baptism is done!).

It is a tragic statement when we as believers become so bogged down with being ‘right’ or ‘letter of the law’, we completely forget we are to love one another and lift up one another in prayer.  Debates can rage over the concept of what is the Holy Spirit or its ‘in filling’, or if it is an ‘it’, a ‘he’ or a ‘she’!  Even more divisive is the concept of what constitutes salvation and where Calvin and Arminius’ doctrines departed causing a host of denominations to spring into being.

Both men used Paul’s writings heavily and both men used the book of Romans, and yet, somehow both men missed the entire point of Romans – ‘Unity in the Faith’; Paul states we are not to separate – just a few times………

So, take a moment and decide now where you should stand in your faith on each of these points ~

THE FIVE POINTS OF ARMINIANISM

Salvation is accomplished through the combined efforts of God (who takes the initiative) and man (who must respond) - mans response being the determining factor.  God has provided salvation for everyone, but His provision becomes effective only for those who, of their own free will, choose to cooperate with Him and accept His offer of grace.  At the crucial point, man’s will plays a decisive role; thus man, not God, determines who will be the recipients of the gift of salvation.

1.  Free Will

Although human nature was seriously affected by the fall, man has not been left in a state of total spiritual helplessness.  God graciously enables every sinner to repent and believe, but He does not interfere with man’s freedom.  Each sinner possesses a free will, and his eternal destiny depends on how he uses it.  Man’s freedom consists of his ability to choose good over evil in spiritual matters; his will is not enslaved to his sinful nature.  The sinner has the power to either cooperate with God’s Spirit and be regenerated or resist God’s grace and perish eternally.  The lost sinner needs the Spirit’s assistance, but he does not have to be regenerated by the Spirit before he can believe, for faith is man’s act and precedes the new birth.  Faith is the sinner’s gift to God; it is man’s contribution to salvation.
 

2.  Conditional Election

God’s choice of certain individuals for salvation, before the foundation of the world, was based upon His foreseeing they would respond to His call.  He selected only those whom He knew would of themselves freely believe the Gospel.  Election therefore was determined by or conditioned upon what man would do.  The faith upon which God based His choice was not given to the sinner by God but resulted solely from man’s will.  It is left entirely up to man as to whom would believe and therefore as to whom would be elected unto salvation.  God chose those whom He knew would, of their own free will, choose Christ.  Thus the sinner’s choice of Christ, not God’s choice of the sinner, is the ultimate cause of salvation.
 

3.  Universal Redemption

Christ’s redeeming work made it possible for everyone to be saved but did not actually secure the salvation of anyone.  Although Christ died for all men and for every man, only those whom believe on Him are saved.  His death enabled God to pardon sinners on the condition they believe, but it did not actually put away anyone’s sins.  Christ’s redemption becomes effective only if man chooses to accept it.
 

4.  The Holy Spirit Can Be Resisted

The Holy Spirit calls inwardly all those whom are called outwardly by the gospel invitation; He does all that He can to bring every sinner to salvation.  But, since man has free choice, man can successfully resist the Spirit’s call.  The Spirit cannot regenerate the sinner until he believes; man’s faith precedes salvation and makes possible the new birth.  Thus, man’s free will limits the Holy Spirit in the application of Christ’s saving work.  The Holy Spirit can only draw to Christ those who allow Him to have His way with them.  Until the sinner responds, the Spirit cannot give life.  God’s grace, therefore, is not invincible; it can be, and often is, resisted and thwarted by man.
 

5.  Falling From Grace

Those who believe and are truly saved can lose their salvation by failing to keep up their faith, etc.  (Note: not all Arminians agree on this point; some hold to believers being eternally secure in Christ, and once regenerated can never be lost to Christ.)

THE FIVE POINTS OF CALVINISM

In summary, salvation is accomplished by the almighty power of the Triune God.  God, the Father, chose a people, the Son died for them, the Holy Spirit makes Christ’s death effective by bringing the elect to faith and repentance, thereby causing them to willingly obey the gospel.  The entire process (election, redemption, regeneration) is the work of God and is by grace alone.  Thus God, not man, determines who will be the recipients of the gift of salvation.

1.  Total Depravity

Because of the fall, man is unable in and of himself to believe the Gospel for salvation.  The sinner is dead, blind, and deaf to the things of God; his heart is deceitful and desperately corrupt.  His will is not free, it is in bondage to his evil nature, therefore, he can not choose good over evil, at least in the spiritual realm.

Consequently, it takes much more than the Spirit’s assistance to bring a sinner to Christ, it takes regeneration by which the Spirit makes the sinner alive and gives him a new nature.  Faith is not something man contributes to salvation but is itself a part of Gods gift of salvation.  It is Gods gift to the believer, not the sinners gift to God.
 

2.  Unconditional Election

God’s choice of certain individuals, to bring to salvation since before the foundation of the world rests solely on His sovereign will.  His choice of particular sinners is not based on any foreseen response nor obedience on their part, such as faith, repentance, etc.  On the contrary, God gives faith and repentance to each individual He selected.  These acts are the result, not the cause of Gods choice.  Election therefore was not determined by nor conditioned upon any virtuous quality nor act foreseen in man.  Those whom God elected He brings through the power of the Spirit to a willing acceptance of Christ.  Thus Gods choice of the sinner, not the sinner’s choice of Christ, is the ultimate cause of salvation.
 

3.  Limited Atonement

Christ’s redeeming work was intended only to save the elect.  His death was the penalty for sin in the place of certain specified sinners (those elected).  In addition to putting away the sins of His people, Christ’s redemption secured everything necessary for their salvation, including faith which unites them to Him.  The gift of faith is applied by the Spirit to all for whom Christ died, therefore guaranteeing their salvation.
 

4.  Irresistible Grace

In addition to the outward general call to salvation which is made to everyone whom hears the gospel, the Holy Spirit extends to the elect a special inward call that inevitably brings them to salvation.  The external call, which is made to all without distinction, often is rejected.  Whereas the internal call, which is made only to the elect, cannot be rejected - it must always result in conversion.  By means of this special call the Spirit irresistibly draws sinners to Christ.  The Holy Spirit is not limited in His work of applying salvation by either man’s will or cooperation for success.  The Spirit causes the elect sinner to cooperate, to believe, to repent, to come freely and willingly to Christ.  God’s grace, therefore, is invincible; it never fails to result in the salvation of those to whom it is extended.
 

5.  Perseverance of the Saints

All whom have been chosen by God, are redeemed by Christ, and given faith by the Spirit, are eternally saved.  They are kept in faith by the power of God and therefore will persevere to the end.

Drink, Steal, Swear & Lie

Drink from the "everlasting cup".

Steal a moment to help someone in worse shape than you are.

Swear you will be a better person today than you were yesterday.

And last, but not least, when you lie down at night thank God you
have freedom to share your faith.