May I pose a question with your question, because I have to admit that I do not understand this Calvinists/Arminians stuff. I�m sure that is to my shame� it is really that difficult to understand the difference between that God HATES all sin and the standard that are in Christ is raise beyond most imaginations� of people� actually with a 100% HOLY GOD � who can honestly fathom that?? The Scriptures�� say: Psalm 92:12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar in the L'vanon 13 Planted in the house of ADONAI, they will flourish in the courtyards of our God. 14 Even in old age they will be vigorous, still full of sap, still bearing fruit, 15 proclaiming that ADONAI is upright, my Rock, in whom there is no wrong. (we grow; there is a process)2 Cor. 3: 18 So all of us, with faces unveiled, see as in a mirror the glory of the Lord; and we are being changed into his very image, from one degree of glory to the next, by ADONAI the Spirit. Ephesians 3:14 We will then no longer be infants tossed about by the waves and blown along by every wind of teaching, at the mercy of people clever in devising ways to deceive. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in every respect grow up into him who is the head, the Messiah.(like a natural baby, typically developed�meaning not mr/dd, we mature and grow-up)Philippians 1: 4 Whenever I pray for all of you I always pray with joy, 5 because you have shared in proclaiming the Good News from the very first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this: that the One who began a good work among you will keep it growing until it is completed on the Day of the Messiah Yeshua. 7 It is right for me to think this way about you all, because I have you on my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and establishing the Good News, you are all sharing with me in this privileged work. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the deep affection of the Messiah Yeshua. 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may more and more overflow in fullness of knowledge and depth of discernment, 10 so that you will be able to determine what is best and thus be pure and without blame for the Day of the Messiah, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Yeshua the Messiah - to the glory and praise of God.
I�m saying this is it so hard to understand that we are sanctified by the blood, we are being sanctified, and we will have complete/total sanctification (when Yeshua returns)� we grow in His grace when we are saved and john 3: 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only and unique Son, so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life, instead of being utterly destroyed. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but rather so that through him, the world might be saved. 18 Those who trust in him are not judged; those who do not trust have been judged already, in that they have not trusted in the one who is God's only and unique Son. 19 "Now this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness rather than the light. Why? Because their actions were wicked. 20 For everyone who does evil things hates the light and avoids it, so that his actions won't be exposed. 21 But everyone who does what is true comes to the light, so that all may see that his actions are accomplished through God." Of course all can quote 3:16 but they do not quote that the world is already condemned unless you believe in Jesus.
Why does not the �church� understand this� it appears that the time spent on loosing salvation is time that could be spent on how to be all things to all people that some may be saved????
Maybe I am in the wrong here� but the way I see it (not that I am right) my father who was a 40 yr Rabbi was converted when the Holy Spirit reviled to Him that if he picked up the Bible one day on an island and didn�t have any theologians to confuse him and he just read the Bible he would believe Jesus is Messiah, that the Holy Spirit is the same today, and all he had to do is call upon the name of Jesus and he would be saved� now Messianic Rabbi) thank God too because he reproduced 4 Jewish daughters whom did not believe in Jesus and today not only all of us but all of our children and 22 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild have called upon the name of the Lord and are saved (well, not the great-grandchild yet he is only 4�lol)� but he will)�
I do not think oh� �I�m a Jew I�m soooo much better�� NO � just this morning before I left for wok I dropped my son of at my father�s house, we had a fight, and God reminded me of Lev20: 9 "'A person who curses his father or mother must be put to death; having cursed his father or his mother, his blood is on him. And Leviticus 19: 17 "'Do not hate your brother in your heart, but rebuke your neighbor frankly, so that you won't carry sin because of him.�. I got in my cat letting Papa know how in the wrong my Father was and just going on like a crazy woman� and he reminded me no matter what my father did I�m still responsible for my actions� the truth is I am a sinner who deserves death� and it�s by Jesus alone that I get to repent�. I�m sooooo GEATFUL HIS MERCY IS RENEWED EVERY MORNING�. And Papa reminded me that to be like Him is to be Isaiah 53: 7 Though mistreated, he was submissive - he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb led to be slaughtered, like a sheep silent before its shearers, he did not open his mouth.
My point is this how does anyone think for a moment they are righteous enough to be Holy enough to keep themselves saved� maybe you and I see ourselves as we are �sinnersssssssssssssssssss� saved by GRACE and kept by grace if we honestly look in the mirror. So please explain this Calvinists/Arminians theology to me�.
Amen, mcubed. We're supposed to walk as Jesus walked. We're not "there" until that "twinkling of an eye". I don't think anyone should be able to say they're "saved". Maybe "I'm being saved". We're supposed to have hope, not presumption.
mcubed-dont listen to mark,hes a nice kid,but hes a little confused,read this article,I know its long,but we must diligently things if we really want to know the truth.
Arminianism
The heresy plaguing the modern church of the 21st century. What is it and where did it come from?
The system of doctrine known as Arminianism is heresy. It is an offshoot from Pelagianism and Semi-Pelagianism. It has been adversely affecting the church and its doctrine for over 250 years. Men like Finney and Wesley, being the charismatic personalities they were, propagated the doctrine and resurrected the Pelagian error from the pit of hell once again to persecute the church of Christ. Today's Arminians are not necessarily the same caliber as those of old. Historic Arminianism is altogether heretical. However, contemporary Arminianism is often confusing; it melds together a number of different theological ideas to come up with a theological "soup". Some things contemporary Arminians believe are radically different than historic Arminians. If we were to live in the days of old, when the caliber of theology for Arminianism reached its zenith in its contentions with the Reformed churches of the Netherlands, we would find men very much deceived and propagating doctrines of a different nature than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Today, each case for an "Arminian" church must be taken on its own accord since much of 21st Century Christendom really has no idea what they theologically believe. It is not my purpose to condemn all men who hold a title of "Arminianism" since many do not know what the title means, much less believe all the historic aspects of the theological system. Walk into any church and ask the difference between Arminianism and Calvinism, and you will find a variety of answers. Yet, there are some today who do hold to historic Arminianism, and who do believe the depth of Arminian theology historically. There are even a variety of Arminian websites which propagate the doctrines. But for the most part, each "Arminian" must be dealt with individually in order to assess their understanding, or flavor, of theological soup. It may very well be that they are believing a damning heresy. It may very well be that they are simply confused and need help to understand the doctrines of God's grace, or their depravity. But in any case, the Calvinist ought always to be fair, gentle and loving in his approach to preaching the grace of God in Jesus Christ.
Spurgeon was correct when he said,
"I have heard it asserted most positively, that those high doctrines which we love and which we find in the Scriptures, are licentious ones. I do not know who has the hardihood to make that assertion, when they consider that the holiest of men have been believers in them. I ask the man who dares to say that Calvinism is a licentious religion, what he thinks of the character of Augustine, or Calvin, or Whitfield, who in successive ages were the great exponents of the system of grace; or what will he say of those Puritans, whose works are full of them? Had a man been an Arminian in those days, he would have been accounted the vilest heretic breathing; but now we are looked upon as the heretics, and they the orthodox."
Why is this still so? Why are the Calvinists looked upon at the "cultists" and the Arminians as those who are orthodox? Men no longer know how to think, nor desire to do so. They simply do as Eve did in the garden, they accept the lie and the consequence of erroneous ideas then plague the church until they have run their due course.
It is in the course of these errors which the church has taken up their pens and fought vehemently against them. But even in our own day men take up the pen hesitantly in fear of other men and the consequence of a biblical stand for the truth. John Owen pleaded with men in his "Death of Death in the Death of Christ" to take up the pen and write against the errors of Arminius, Pelagius and the like. But men are slow to do so. We need more men to stand for the truth and not shy away from it when the cooker becomes hot with the flames of adversity.
Those who hold to and preach the deviant theological systems known as Arminianism and Pelagianism will not help people find Christ. They deter people from the Christ of the Bible because those who follow such doctrines do become twice sons of hell as those that propagate the doctrines. Sincerity does not necessarily breed truth. Sincere, theologically astute Arminians are more destructive to the church than sincere Buddhists will ever be. It is because the system of doctrine known as Arminianism clothes itself so well that people actually believe the crafty fox is a real live sheep. Satan has so sown the seeds of confusion among such men and such churches that this clever lie continues to breed and grow through the world.
Now some will say, "You have not told us what Arminianism is. How do we know it is bad theology if you do not have anything here comparing the system to the Bible?" Well, the articles to the right are filled with information about Arminianism and the ideas that it houses. In those articles there are a wealth of information about what it teaches. But that may take lots of study time that you, the reader, may not have today. So, to gain a clear understanding of where Arminianism came from and what heresies it teaches, read this article that I wrote on its history and theology: The Pelagian Captivity of the Church, by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon. It is in the Historical Theology section of this website. It not only covers the history of Semi-Pelagianism, or Arminianism as it is called, but also its roots in the Pelagian heresy. That will give the reader a clear understanding of what Semi-Pelagians believe, and what contemporary Semi-Pelagians have said in sermons, on the TV, and in books.
It is not that this part of the web site offers every answer. As I am able I hope to write more articles, and post other like-minded articles and papers which may help the traveler who is searching for the biblical Christ find Him.
Some who hold a banner for Arminianism may be readily offended at this website and especially at this section of the site. I am truly saddened that some would feel this way. I do not think this part of the site contradicts 2 Tim. 2:24-26, "And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will." I believe loving men begins with telling them the truth in love. Jesus did this with the Rich Young Ruler. He loved him in that he preached the truth to him. But alas, the Rich Young Ruler went away sad.
I hope, in this section of the site, to help others become strengthened in their faith, and turn the wayward back to Christ, peradventure, God would grant them repentance
dear miss cubed, this is a description of what armenism belief is... its not a heresy. it is basic beliefs..
dear folks, since alot of you may not even know what the word means or what they believe in. figured id show you.. this comes from wickipedia...
Arminianism is a school of soteriological thought within Protestant Christianity based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609)[1] and his historic followers, the Remonstrants. The doctrines' acceptance stretches through much of mainstream Christianity, including evangelical Protestantism.[citation needed]
Arminianism holds to the following tenets:
Humans are naturally unable to make any effort towards salvation (see also prevenient grace).
Salvation is possible only by God's grace, which cannot be merited.
No works of human effort can cause or contribute to salvation.
God's election is conditional on faith in the sacrifice and Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Christ's atonement was made on behalf of all people.
God allows his grace to be resisted by those who freely reject Christ.
Believers are able to resist sin but are not beyond the possibility of falling from grace through persistent, unrepented-of sin.[2]
Arminianism is most accurately used to define those who affirm the original beliefs of Jacobus Arminius himself, but the term can also be understood as an umbrella for a larger grouping of ideas including those of Hugo Grotius, John and Charles Wesley, and others. There are two primary perspectives on how the system is applied in detail: Classical Arminianism, which sees Arminius as its figurehead, and Wesleyan Arminianism, which sees John Wesley as its figurehead. Wesleyan Arminianism is sometimes synonymous with Methodism. In addition, Arminianism is understood by some of its critics to also include Semipelagianism or even Pelagianism, though proponents of both primary perspectives vehemently deny these claims.[3]
Within the broad scope of Church history, Arminianism is closely related to Calvinism (or Reformed theology), and the two systems share both history and many doctrines in common. Nonetheless, they are often viewed as rivals within Evangelicalism because of their disagreement over details of the doctrines of divine predestination and salvation.[4]
my words here..
the only big difference i see in my beliefs is this.
Believers are able to resist sin but are not beyond the possibility of falling from grace through persistent, unrepented-of sin.[2]
ya see folks i believe that the only way you can loose your salvation is to do the opposite of how you gained your salvation.. stop believein in JESUS and loose your faith ..say i dont want YOU and YOUR salvation anymore..
but personally i dont see how anyone whos ever felt the HOLY SPIRIT come into you.. can ever deny the awesomeness of the grace of GOD you felt when salvation occured. or how could one deny the SPIRIT thats within them..
maybe if you got so deep in wallowing in your sin life everyday..and satan got ahold of ya.. that its possible one could turn away and deny the very salvation that existed for you.. maybe..
Here are a few of many scriptures that explain how a Christian can "Forfeit" their salvation.
Heb 3:12-14
12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of UNBELIEF,...... in departing from the living God.
13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
14 For.... WE.... are made partakers of Christ,... IF we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; (KJV)
Let's examine some key points here.
1) This passage is clearly addressed to the "Brethern". These are Christians. Jewish Christians but Christians nevertheless.
2) The warning is concerning Christians possibly developing an evil heart of "UNBELIEF" and if so, their departing from the living God. You cannot depart from God unless you are with God to begin with. How does this occur?
3)" lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin". Here we see that staying in a sinful lifestyle can harden a Christian's heart. That is what sin does. It hardens a person's heart to a point that they can fall back to a state of UNbelief and depart from God. This is what Apostasy is. A total rejection of Christ BY a Christian believer. Hardening is something that does not occur over night. It takes time but for each individual that time will vary.
4) 14 For we are made partakers of Christ, IF we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
Here is the condition placed upon our salvation. We are made partakers of Christ, ..."IF" we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end. What does that mean? It means that as long as we continue to believe in Christ, then we will remain a partaker of Christ.
Paul also related this same situation to the Christians in Rome. Paul was explaining to these Gentile Christians about unbelieving Israel and how some of the natural branches (Jews) were broken off so that Gentile Christians could be grafted into the vine. Then Paul gives a similar warning as Christ did.
Rom 11:19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in."
20 Well said. Because of.... UNBELIEF... they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty,....BUT FEAR.
21 For if God did not spare the natural branches,...HE MAY NOT SPARE YOU EITHER
22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness,.. IF.. you CONTINUE.. in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. NKJV
Paul was warning these Gentile Christians not to be haughty but to fear. In other words do not be so secure in thinking that it is not possible for you as a Christian to fall back into "unbelief" and be cut off from God just as some Jews were.
Good to see you too. I really believe the scriptures are very clear and easily understood. Here is an article by my Pastor that deals with "Limited Atonement". I am pressed for time so I can't write my own article on this for now. It would still be the same. lol
Blessings!
Walter
Calvinism
III. Limited Atonement
Copyright � Tim Warner - 10/2003
Calvinists take their theory to the next logical plateau, by claiming the blood atonement of Christ was limited to the elect only. Christ died only for the sins of the elect. If one is not elect, Christ did not die for his sins. Support for this idea is derived from passages that speak of Jesus' dying for our (believer's) sins. However, that some passages specifically apply the atonement to believers does not exclude the non-elect any more than my saying "Jesus died for me" necessarily means He did not die for anyone else! It does not follow logically that such passages rule out the atonement being open to all. Other Scriptures flatly contradict the Calvinist position here.
1 Tim 2:1-6
1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
(KJV)
The reason I included verses 1-5, rather than just verse 6, is because Calvinists claim Paul was speaking of "all the elect" in verse 6, not all mankind. But, the context proves he was speaking of mankind in general. "All men" in verse 1 includes (but is not limited to) "kings and all in authority." Obviously, this is not referring specifically to the "elect." In verse 4 Paul wrote it is God's will for "all men" to be saved. He was still speaking of the general population for whom we are to pray, not just the "elect." The same holds true for verse 6, where Paul said Jesus "gave Himself a ransom for all." The context is still all of mankind.
1 John 2:2
2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
(KJV)
John stated that Christ's substitutionary sacrifice was for the whole world. Some Calvinists argue that this verse means Christ died not only for the Jewish "elect" but also for the Gentile "elect" out of every nation. The words "whole world" mean a remnant of "elect" from every nation according to Calvinists. But a careful examination of John's words rules out this understanding. John's epistles were written after the other Apostles were dead and he had the care of the churches of Asia Minor. As the aged apostle and elder of these churches, his epistles were written primarily to Gentile believers. Therefore, when he wrote, "He is the propitiation for our sins," he included his readers who were predominantly Gentiles, representing a variety of nations, in the first person plural personal pronoun, "our." Therefore Gentile believers from all nations must be included in the first group, and their sins are represented by the words, "our sins" (John's and his Gentile readers'). Then he wrote, "and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." He was speaking of a second group in addition to his mostly Gentile audience. Had John meant the Jewish remnant when he said "our sins," he would have said "and not ours only, but also yours." By his writing, "the sins of the whole world," John was speaking of the unsaved who will never experience the effect of Christ's atonement because of their unbelief. But that atonement is available to all as the following verses prove.
Isaiah 53:5,6
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
(KJV)
If all of humanity is included in the "all" and "every one" who have gone astray, then Christ bore the sins of the very same "all." That is, the sins of all humanity. But, even if we say that Isaiah limited his comments to Israel, the problem remains for Calvinists, because the same "all" that referred to the whole nation of Israel must also mean the very same "all" for whom Christ died. Unless every Jew will be saved, Calvinism cannot stand in light of Isaiah's prophecy.
1 Timothy 4:9,10
9 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.
10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.
(KJV)
Here a clear distinction was drawn by Paul between those who believe, and those who do not believe. Yet, Christ is the Saviour of "all men." That is, His atonement is for all. (See also: Rom. 5:6,8,18, 2 Cor. 5:14,15, Gal. 3:22, 1 John 2:2). It is not that His atonement is effective for all, because most do not accept His atonement. But, it is available for all.
We also have clear Scripture indicating Jesus provided redemption for even the false prophets who are destined for destruction!
2 Pet 2:1
1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
The context of this passage is plain that the Gnostic "false teachers" will be damned. Yet, Peter stated plainly that the Lord "bought" (redeemed) them. One might argue that they were not actually "saved." If so, then being "bought" (redeemed) must refer to Christ's atonement for the sins of the lost. Whether being "bought" (redeemed) refers to actual salvation or only potential salvation, either way it refutes "limited atonement."
Man's depravity, as a result of the Fall, is total. All men are born into this world spiritually dead, blind, and deaf to the things of God; the sinner's heart is desperately corrupt. His will is not free; it is in bondage to his evil nature. Therefore, he has lost his ability to choose good over evil in the spiritual realm. It takes more than the Spirit's assistance to bring the 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 God's gift of salvation - it is God's gift to the sinner, not the sinner's gift to God.
Psalm 51:5, 58:3; Isaiah 53:6, 64:6; Jeremiah 17:9; John 3:3, 8:44; Romans 3:10-12, 5:12; Ephesians 2:2-3; I Corinthians 2:14
UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION
God's choice of certain individuals unto salvation before the foundation of the world rested solely in His own sovereign will. His choice of particular sinners was not based on any foreseen response or obedience on their part, such as faith, repentance, etc. On the contrary, God gives faith and repentance to each individual whom He selected. These acts are the result, not the cause, of God's choice. Election, therefore, was not determined by or conditioned upon any virtuous quality or act foreseen in man. Those whom God sovereignly elected He brings through the power of the Spirit to a willing acceptance of Christ. Thus, God's choice of the sinner, not the sinner's choice of Christ, is the ultimate cause of salvation.
Deuteronomy 7:6-7; Isaiah 55:11; John 6:44, 15:16; Acts 13:48; Romans 8:28; 9:11-13; II Timothy 1:9
LIMITED ATONEMENT
Christ's death was a substitutionary endurance of the penalty of sin in the place of certain specified sinners. Christ's redeeming work was intended to save only the elect (those whom the Father had given him) and actually secured salvation for them. Christ's redemption secured everything necessary for the elect's salvation, including faith which unites them to Him. The elect are the sole object of God's saving grace.
Matthew 1:21, 20:28; John 10:14-18, 17:9; Acts 20:28; Romans 5:8-9; Titus 2:14; Revelation 5:9
IRRESISTIBLE GRACE
In addition to the outward general call to salvation which is made to everyone who hears the gospel, the Holy Spirit extends to the elect a special inward call that inevitably brings them to salvation. The external call (made without distinction) can be and is often rejected; whereas the internal call (made only to the elect) cannot be rejected; it always results in conversion. By means of this special call, the Spirit irresistibly draws sinners to Christ. He is not limited by man's will or dependent upon man's cooperation for success. The Spirit graciously causes the elect sinners to cooperate, to believe, to repent, and 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.
Ezekiel 11:19-20; John 6:37; Romans 8:30; Colossians 2:13; James 1:18; Titus 3:5
PRESERVATION OF THE SAINTS
All who were chosen by God, redeemed by Christ, and given faith by the Spirit are eternally saved. They are kept in faith by the power of Almighty God and, thus, persevere to the end. Therefore, salvation is wholly dependent upon the God who has willed to save those whom He gave to His dear Son. Their salvation can never be lost. The elect are kept by God's power through faith, and nothing can separate them from His love. They have been sealed with the Holy Spirit who has been given as the guarantee of their salvation, and they are thus assured of an eternal inheritance. This doctrine does not maintain that all who profess the Christian faith are certain of heaven. Many who profess belief and then �fall away� do not fall from grace; they were never in grace. True believers fall into various temptations and commit grievous sins, but these sins do not cause them to lose their salvation or separate them from Christ.
Salvation is accomplished by the almighty power of the Triune God. The Father chose a people, the Son died for them, and 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 of election, redemption, and regeneration is the work of God and is by His grace alone. Thus God, not man, determines who will be the recipients of the gift of salvation
John 1:12-13; John 15:16; Romans 9:14-16; Ephesians 1:2-14
Where there is access to a good theological library or to the old editions of worthy religious books, there are, in this anti-intellectual age, few professing Christians who avail themselves of the privilege of exploring the subject of �The Sovereignty of God.� How few have ever read a book bearing such a title! One must make a rather exacting search to find material comprehensively treating the� entire scope of this field � the whole counsel of God, the doctrine of Predestination in its two parts: election and reprobation. For though in the �making of many books there is no end� (Eccl. 12:12), yet this truth is made gradually to disappear and at length be forgotten. This is due to a determined decline from what is both Calvin�s and the Church�s Calvinism. This becomes evident when sovereign reprobation, if not expunged altogether from popular literature, is removed from its rightful place of prominence next and subordinate to election, and is relegated to a mere footnote or appendix. Repugnant to �the flesh� (Gal. 5:17) it is; but no mere appendage to holy Scripture. It is an integral part of the fundamental principle of that system of truth taught in the Bible and known as the Reformed Faith.
In the interest of that Faith it is much more than in good taste once again to place this Gospel nicknamed �Calvinism� before the public. For the true church always fulfills its obligation to do so. The true church over against the false church is readily identified by its distinctive marks: the pure preaching of the Word of God, the proper administration of the sacraments, and the maintaining of good order in life and worship. Such a church is no hypocritical church. It stands, as the truth does, antithetically to the lie. The truth is, �our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased� (Ps. 115:3). The lie is, �Yea, hath God (so) said?� (Gen. 3:1). The truth is God�s thesis. The truth is also God�s antithesis to the lie. Calvinism is the eternal truth. Arminianism has always been an inveterate lie. The motive, therefore, for publishing these fundamentals of the .faith is not, contrary to the spirit of the times, to secure premature �decisions� for, or unintelligent acceptance of the Christian position; but to proclaim the Word of truth, leaving conversion and salvation, which are impossible as well to the eloquent preacher as the pleading evangelist, to the sovereign will of God and the power of the Holy Spirit (1Cor. 2:4, 5).
DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY
1. ARMINIANISM is that rejected error which has become the most insidiously devised heresy ever to lay claim to Biblical support. Its allure and popular appeal arise from its subtle flattery of depraved human nature, and in its apparent Scripture basis. In loud tones it pretends to the sovereignty of God. �He sovereignly controls all creation, universal nature and the whole of mankind; His supremacy pertains to all things, everywhere. Nothing escapes His surveillance and all-pervading control. �The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good� (Prov. 15:3). It includes our lives; for �in Him we live.� It embraces our actions, for �in Him we move.� It extends to our very being, for in Him �we have our being� (Acts 17:28). We devise our own plan, but the Lord �directeth our steps� (Prov. 16:9). Yet His superintendency is so exercised that God is not the ordainer of sin, but only by His providence permits it. Neither does He coercively prevent it, and thus infringe upon man�s free will and responsibility. Indeed, in that province God does not allow His sovereignty to interfere; for He has created and maintains man�s free will inviolate. Hence Joseph says of the crime of his wicked brethren, �But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive� (Gen. 50:20). In the spiritual realm, God tenders His primary will that men be saved by obedience to the covenant of works (Gen. 3). When man broke that covenant, He, according to His ultimate will, employed an emergency plan�the Cross�that men be saved by compliance with the conditions: �except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish� (Lk. 13:3,5).� Here is the lie fostered that man takes central position at the hub of the universe. Man is almighty man!
CALVINISM has for its first principle, �In the beginning God!� He is the center of the universe. �For of Him, and thru Him, and to Him are all things: to whom be glory for ever! Amen� (Rom. 11:36). In the realm of creation, nature and providence, absolutely nothing occurs without God�s appointment; but He works all things according to the counsel of His own will (Eph. 1:11). Nothing happens by chance, but by the direction and ordination of our gracious heavenly Father. �My counsel shall stand and I will do all My pleasure: . . . yea, I have spoken, and I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed, I will also do it� (Is. 46:10,11). Also God does more than merely to permit evil: He gives the power to perpetrate it: �Thou couldest have no power against Me, except it were given thee from above� (Jh. 19:11), for �power belongeth unto God� (Ps. 62:11). Further, He sovereignly determines beforehand that the evil shall be done according to His eternal counsel: �for of a truth against Thy holy child Jesus, whom Thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together for to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determined before (�foreordained,� ASV) to be done� (Acts 4:27f). Though Joseph�s brethren did wickedly sell him into Egypt, it is nevertheless true that it was not they, but God who sent him there; for it was God who ordered their evil act /Gen. 45:8). The principle, of Scripture is that evil rulers and their wicked actions come to pass by His ordination. �The Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men� (Dan. 4:17). �The powers that be,� though the most degraded, �are ordained of God� (Rom. 13:1). The evil of war also is God�s work: �For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that He might destroy them utterly, and �that they might have no favor, but that He might destroy them� (Josh. 11:20). In fact, man acts only when activated by God. �In Him we live and are moved� (Gr., passive). So that we cannot turn to what is right unless God turn us. �Turn Thou us unto Thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned� (Lam. 5:21). A man�s heart indeed does devise his way, �but never independently of God�s control. For his very thoughts and words come by the sovereign operation of God upon his heart. �The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue are from the Lord� (Prov. 16:1). �Man�s goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way?� (Prov. 20:24), i.e., by his own would-be autonomous way? God�s will alone is absolutely free; and man�s will is always subject to His. �And all the inhabitants of the ear.th are reputed as nothing: and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and who can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?� (Dan. 4:35). God is equally as sovereign in the field of grace. Here His mercy is free, never suspended upon conditions required beforehand, as for example, that man should repent, or use the light of nature aright. No unregenerate man can or does live up to the light of nature (Rom. l:20f; 8:8); and repentance is a gift of free grace (2 Tim. 2:25; Acts 11:18). Finally, the saying death of Christ was designed chiefly for the praise and glory of God, not merely as a means to rescue souls from hell. �To the praise of the glory of His grace,� �that we should be to the praise of His glory,� and, the whole of �redemption (is) unto the praise of His glory� (Eph. 1:6, 12, 14). �Unto you (God�s elect people only) ... a Saviour . . . (Why? primarily for man�s betterment? No!) Glory to God in the highest!� (Lk. 2:11, 14). The highest truth of Scripture is that God in His eternal purpose seeks His own glory God is God!
TOTAL DEPRAVITY
2. ARMINIANISM, however, under its breath croons the siren song of man�s essential goodness. Man is only �very far gone from original righteousness,� not really nor utterly dead in sin, nor destitute of all powers to spiritual good, but is wounded, badly corrupted, and left half dead (Lk. 10:30). Though he be totally depraved, yet he remains a free moral agent, and can still hunger and thirst after righteousness and life (Matt. 5:6); he can believe (Acts 16:31), if he will; he can will and choose, or not to will and not to choose Christ, and all manner of good which may be offered to him: �How often would I have gathered thy children . . . and ye would not� (Matt. 23:37), and, �Choose you this day whom ye will serve� (Josh. 24:25). Therefore the initial grace of God is not that almighty power whereby He raises us out of death into life; but is only a gentle advising whereby God does not produce the consent of man�s will; but merely proposes that consent to the will, and leaves man to comply and convert himself: �Save yourselves from this untoward generation� (Acts 2:40). Man, therefore, after the Fall not only has power to do good, but can so resist God (Acts 7:51, but see under �Irresistible Grace�) that he can entirely prevent his (conditional) regeneration, since it is in his power to be regenerated or not. For first before regenerating grace can work efficaciously in man�s new birth, the will of man must first move, and determine to comply with the conditions of regeneration, e.g., �I have set before you life and death . . I therefore choose life ...� (Deut. 30:19). To be sure, God must give the grace to conform to the prescribed prerequisites, as we ourselves can do nothing. Nevertheless regeneration is a work of God in harmony with the free agency of man and performed on conditions required of man. �As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God� (Jh. 1:12).
CALVINISM confesses the Scripture truth that man is wholly gone from original righteousness, has in his sinful flesh �no good thing� (Rom. 7:18), and that �there is none righteous, no, not one� (3:10). Man, though physically (half or all) alive, is totally depraved, totally deprived of all spiritual ability, �dead thru trespasses and sins� (Eph. 2:l-3), and this death passed upon all men (Rom. 5:12). �We ourselves had the sentence of death within ourselves� (2Cor. 1:9). Calvinism alone takes man�s spiritual death seriously. For man is dead, not merely half-dead; he is drowned, not simply drowning. By the Fall man lost all power unto good, or to better himself. He is �wise to do evil, but to do good he has no knowledge� (Jer. 4:22). He can do no good when it is his nature only and continually to do evil (Jer. 13:23). Freedom of will for fallen man is the ability to act according to his nature. What is his nature? One totally corrupt; for �the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I the Lord search the heart� (Jer. 17:9, 10). His �carnal mind is enmity against God. It is not subject to the law of God; neither indeed can be. So then, they that are in the flesh (unregenerate nature) cannot please God� (Rom. 8:7, 8). This being true, unregenerate man cannot and will not believe. �Ye believe not� (Jh. 5:38), �How can ye believe . . . ?� (5:44), and, �they could not believe� (12:37, 39). And we never will until �we believe according to the working of the strength of His power� (Eph. 1:19); for we �believe thru grace� alone (Acts 18:27), i.e., our believing is the result �of the operation of God� (Col. 2:12). Why is this? Because faith is the gift of God, an exotic something, not something native to man. Not all men have it: when Paul speaks of �they which are of faith� (Gal. 3:7), he implies that some are not of faith: �all men have not faith� (2Thess. 3:2). Again, why? Faith is �the grace given� (Rom. 12:3, 6), not to all, but �was once delivered unto the saints� (Jude 3). Furthermore, in regeneration and the receiving of faith, man is passive, as an infant in physical birth (and has all done to it and for it�no cooperation!), and as in the initial work of salvation. Then it is not �save yourselves,� but as in the original, �be saved� (aorist passive), and indicates that God permanently makes alive the sinner dead in trespasses and sins. Then he acts and lives God-ward. Thus the �receiving� and �believing� are acts of the regenerated who already �were born of God� (Jh. 1:12, 13), and so believed as born again, and because regenerated. It is never true that one believes, and so is for that regenerated; but is regenerated so that one may and does believe: �he that heareth . . . and believeth . . . hath eternal life� (5:24). Why he hears and believes is because he �hath passed out of death, into life� (Gr.). He had to be in life before he could believe! For believing is evidence of regeneration.
The other texts Arminians appeal to under this heading must not be made to say what they do not say. First, the will of man can never disappoint or checkmate the will of God. Christ does not say, �I would have gathered you, and you would not.� Nor, �I would have gathered Jerusalem, and she would not.� Nor even, as some force the text to say, �I would have gathered thy children, and they would not.� But �I would have gathered thy children, and ye would not.� That plainly does not teach that the children Christ would gather were unwilling to be gathered, but rather that the �generation of vipers� were not willing that they should (Matt. 23:13, 15)! Of the two wills here, the finite will of �ye would not,� and the infinite �I would,� the latter never fails, and the former is always subservient to the latter. Secondly, it is Arminian philosophy, not Scripture truth, which exhorts us to make a decision between Christ or some other alternative. Scripture allows no other: it is Christ or nothing! Moses does not bid us either to choose life or death. His precept is �choose life!� This is further borne out by the fact that Joshua did not give sinful Israel a choice between Jehovah and idols. Instead, since it seemed evil to them to serve the Lord, preferring either the gods of their fathers �or the gods of the Amorites,� it was in severe denunciation (not �invitation�) that they heard, �choose you this day whom ye will serve . . . but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord! . . . Ye cannot serve the Lord� (Josh. 24:14, 15,19).
UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION
3. ARMINIANISM pretends to believe the doctrine of election. �Election is of such persons as believe and persevere in faith.� For God has chosen the act of faith as a condition of salvation, which condition is a prerequisite unto the final establishment of man�s election: �repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ� are everywhere presented as the conditions. If then, some men do not fulfill the conditions, they may possibly have an election unto faith, but not an election unto salvation. They may once have had faith, but unless they also fulfill the condition of perseverance, they at last are lost: �lest . . . when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway (reprobated)� (1Cor. 9:27). Thus their election can be unto a justifying faith, without being a decisive election unto salvation. For it is necessary to �give diligence to make your calling and election sure� (2Pet. 1:10). God elects believers, it is contended, because He foresaw their faith, their holiness, obedience and turning to Him in final perseverance. These good qualities, therefore, do not have their source in sovereign, immutable election; they are not fruits of election; nor is election the cause of all our fruitfulness; but the performing of these as conditions are the cause of the election. Where we do read, �as many as were ordained to eternal life believed� (Acts 13:48) we are to understand that it means, �as many as believed to eternal life were ordained.� Or, if the familiar word-order be retained, we are to understand �ordained� to mean, �those who were ready� (Twentieth Century N.T.), or �those disposed, i.e., �those who felt led to exercise faith.� Arminianism takes the basic virtues of salvation and makes them previously necessary causes of election, foreseen as being fulfilled by the finally faithful.
CALVINISM maintains with Scripture that the Lord chose us not because we were holy, but �He hath chosen us in Him . . . that (in order that) we should be holy� (Eph. 1:4); not because He foresaw our obedience, but we are �elect . . . unto obedience� (1Pet. 1:2); nor because He foresaw our faith, for �God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation, thru . . . belief� (2Thess. 2:13). The effect of election is that none believe except those ordained to eternal life, chosen to faith and to every saving good. The word �ordained� pertains to the eternal, sovereign counsel of God. According to that counsel it means, �to place�: �as many as were placed to eternal life believed,� i.e., to be placed in such a way as to be rooted in and invested with eternal life; it means �to give�: �as many as were given to eternal life, i.e., those under the dominion and ownership of eternal life believed. And since the word is a passive verb (�had been ordained�), it implies that a word omitted is to be understood. That word can be nothing else but �Lord,� which appears in the first part of the text. �As many as had been ordained� � by whom? by the Lord! It is not man�s act, but God�s. �I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen� (Jh. 13:18), for, �ye did not choose Me, but I chose you, and ordained you� (15:16). Our election does not depend upon anything in us, but upon His own sovereign ordination. From God�s point of view, if is absolutely and eternally firm and sure. Our diligence cannot make His decree any more secure; but; rather, furnishes us with the comfort and joy which knowledge of election affords (1Thess. 1:4). God�s election guarantees that none of His elect can be fatally deceived (Matt. 24:24); that none can perish (Jh. 10:27ff.) nor be lost (6:39). God Himself is omniscient, omnipotent and never changes (Mal. 3:6). Therefore it is impossible that His election be changed, recalled, disturbed or disannulled. Nor can the elect be cast away by God (Is. 41:9). They are cast away by men (Jh. 6:37 with 9:34); and sometimes, because of their sins, they bring reproach upon the Gospel, and so are blamed and disapproved by men, enough, perhaps, to become useless in the Lord�s service. But even if an elect person should have a fear that he may become a reprobate, still he is not, nor can he ever be. Scripture does not contradict (Jh. 10:28, 35c). As to all God�s people, their names were forever written in heaven (Lk. 10:20), and He unconditionally promises that He will not blot out their name from that record (Rev. 3:5).
REPROBATION
4. ARMINIANISM bitterly repudiates the doctrine of sovereign reprobation. It is this point which raises the most controversy, and where we meet with the most serious and violent agitation. It is precisely at this point that the carnal mind has the greatest difficulty in submitting itself to the confines of the Word of God, and of bowing to the incomprehensible counsel of God. When we ask, What of the fact that there are certain angels and men who were not �ordained to eternal life�?�, the answer often given is that �God never sends anyone to hell, for His cross bars the way thence, so that the damned send themselves there, as a result of treading the cross underfoot: �who hath trodden under foot the Son of God,� (Heb. 10:29). Indeed, for the sake of that cross God does not determine by an indisputable will to leave anyone in the Fall of man, nor to pass by or leave anyone in the state of sin and condemnation. For �God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance� (2Pet. 3:9); but cf. this under Limited Atonement). Then it cannot be absolute predestination which determines the reason why God sends the gospel to one people and not to another, but rather because one is better and worthier than the other to whom the gospel is not sent: �But seeing ye put it (the gospel) from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles� (Acts 13:46). Why is one consigned to perdition while another is not? Not as the result of an arbitrary partiality: �there is no respect of persons with God,� (Rom. 2:11); but rather because one is good and the other bad; the one became a believer, and the other remained an unbeliever: for �some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not,� (Acts 28:24); or the one is obedient and the other rebellious. Cf. �Come, ye blessed . . . For I was an hungered and ye gave Me meat,� etc., with �Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire . . . For I was an hungered, and ye gave Me no meat,� etc., Matt. 25:34f, 41f). If all this be so, �reprobation� is no decree, nor is it included in the decree of God, for wicked men reprobate themselves; and some of the elect can and do perish, regardless of any decree of God.�
CALVINISM declares that we know only so much about reprobation as God has seen fit to reveal, but that it is important we do know that much. The Bible teaches that the elect are by nature just as wicked, depraved and worthy of damnation as the reprobate: �Are ye not as the children of the Ethiopians unto Me, O children of Israel? saith the Lord� (Am. 9:7). Yet the Lord had chosen the Israel of God (Gal. 66:16), and rejected the rest. For there is a personal election of some to salvation (2Thess. 2:13). There must, then, be other persons who are not elected to salvation. God has not appointed His elect unto wrath: �For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ� (1Thess. 5:9). There must, it follows, be others who are appointed to wrath, and to fatal stumbling: for Christ is �a stone of stumbling ...to them which stumble at the Word, being disobedient; whereunto also they were appointed� (1Pet. 2:8). There are some God gave to Christ: �all that the Father giveth Me� (Jh. 6:37); there are others He did not give to Christ: �I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me� (17:9). There are some whose names were written in the book of life (Re. 21:27); there are others �whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world� (Re. 17:8). To some �it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them (that are without, Mk. 4:11) it is not given� (Matt. 13:11). There are some whose welfare we are to seek (Neh. 2:10); there are others concerning whom Christ commands, �Let them alone� (Matt. 15:14). Cf. Jer. 14:11; 7:16. Some are made accepted in Christ (Eph. 1:6); others, �natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed . . . and shall utterly perish� (2Pet. 2:12). But it is altogether out of place to object here that �God is no respecter of persons.� For if He were, no one would be saved ! All would be damned; for all sinned. It is not so amazing that God saves �whom He will� as that He saves any! But this is not to present the complete picture. As Judge, God has respect to no man�s person, and so can do no less than to conclude all under sin (Gal. 3:22). But as Savior, he makes men to differ (1Cor. 4:7); He distinguishes by �distinguishing mercy� one person from another. This is evident from the free dispensings of His grace. �The Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering; but unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect� (Gen. 4:4, 5).
Furthermore, it is only the reprobate who are such children of disobedience that they judge themselves unworthy of eternal life; they make a covenant with death (Is. 28:15). To that disobedience they were sovereignly appointed (1Pet. 2:8), and that self-adjudged unworthiness is their actual state and condition to which they were of old (from eternity) ordained (Jude 4). Hence, �Art Thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God . . . ? we shall not die. O Lord, Thou hast ordained them for judgment� (Hab. 1:12). Concerning that �we� God says, �You only have I known (loved) of all the families of tile earth� (Am. 3:2). Here is reference to the Divine, eternal foreknowledge which is not synonymous with prescience or mere knowledge beforehand. �To foreknow� means to love from eternity. �God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew� (Rom. 11:2). This love of God to the believer is the ground of the believer�s love to Him. �I know (love) My sheep, and am known (loved) of Mine� (Jh. 10:14). But of the rest Christ denounces, �I never knew (loved) you� (Matt. 7:23). Not even before the universe came into being did He know them � He never knew them! �For our God is a consuming fire� (Heb. 12:29). Every plant which He has not planted shall be uprooted (Matt. 15:13), and for the reason that it was not the Divine purpose to engraft them into Christ or plant them as trees in His garden. This makes clear the fact that God is not only sovereign in His goodness, but also in His severity (Rom. 11:22), and that His sovereignty is absolute and independent: �He hath mercy on whom He will, and whom He will He hardeneth� (9:18). The hardened ones are so because He willed to harden them; He wills to show the power of His wrath upon them; they had not been prepared unto glory (as were the vessels of mercy), but are vessels made unto dishonor, �vessels of wrath fitted to destruction� (Rom. 9:21-23).
Consequently, why some are gifted with faith (and all good works) by God in time, and some are. not so gifted, is determined by God�s eternal decree. And that decree does not have chief reference to the Fall of man, or even to the sins of the reprobate. For it was made, �the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil� (Rom. 9:11). Rather, the decree has primary reference to the sovereign good pleasure and will of God, �who worketh all things (including reprobation) after the counsel of His own will� (Eph. 1:11). Election is the main object of the eternal purpose of God. The Fall and reprobation are subservient to that main object. �The Lord hath made all things for Himself (for His own purpose); yea, even the wicked for the day of evil� (Prov. 16:4).
LIMITED ATONEMENT
5. ARMINIANISM supposes that the Atonement of Christ is �not according to a certain and definite decree to save some, but was made according to a general, conditional offer of grace which God desired to make to all men absolutely and indiscriminately who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth� (1Tim. 2:4). But, being conditional, the death of Christ does not infallibly secure the salvation of anyone. The word �atonement� is not to be understood in the sense that it makes salvation actual, but that it merely provides a possible salvation for the whole human race: �and He is the propitiation (provided remedy) for our sins, and not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world� (1Jh. 2:2). This possibility remains even for the so-called reprobate: cf. Cain � �if thou doest not� well, sin (a sin-offering) lieth at the door� (Gen. 4:7). In its extent, therefore, the atonement is universal: He died for all the ungodly; the gospel being for �whosoever,� �whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,� (Acts 2:21). God loves everybody; He can hate nobody (Jh. 3:16). The preaching of the gospel is grace for all who hear; for �gospel� means �good news�; but if the gospel provides salvation for the elect only, it cannot be good news to those for whom no possible provision of salvation has been made. This being so, the cross must be outfitted like a blank check, providing universal redemption, payable to the endorser, merely for his endorsement, which in turn completes the stipulated terms of the atonement.� By reason of this the final effectuation of election and salvation depends upon the free will of man. As a result, all or none may be saved! �Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?� (Lam. 1:12) is so understood as that it may be anything to anybody.
CALVINISM sponsors the Biblical doctrine of particular atonement, which does more than to render salvation possible, but secures the actual salvation of those for whom Christ died; and He died for those the Father gave to Him (Jh. 17:2, 12). In the same manner, that death is not for a vague, general �whosoever,� but for �whosoever believeth� (3:16); and they only believe who were ordained to eternal life (Acts 13:48). This implies that the �whosoever shall call� must be the called according to His purpose and grace (2Tim. 1:9). Notice then, when the Scripture says that Christ died for the ungodly (Rom. 5:6), it does not say that He died for all the ungodly. Where the word �all� does appear in connection with the atonement of Christ, it has a meaning limited by the context. The arm of the Lord is not revealed to all (Is. 53:1). Why not? because the Lord had sovereignly determined to harden and blind the rest so that they could not believe (Jh. 12:37-40). In 1Cor. 15:22 (Rom. 5:18) �All� means all in Christ; otherwise the Arminian will prove more than he wants to prove. In 1Tim. 2:4 it is all classes of men. So with the word �any.� Cf. 2Pet. 3:9, �The Lord is not slack concerning His promise (which is never made to the reprobate), as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.� God is longsuffering to us (His elect); and is not willing that any of us should perish. Who are the �any�? the �us�? According to the context, the �beloved� of v. 1, the �beloved� of v. 8. He is not willing that any of His beloved should perish. So He is longsuffering over them. But take �any� in the unqualified, absolute sense,� and the text is made to contradict other Scripture, where, for example, it says that God is �willing to show His wrath� upon he �vessels of wrath,� and cause them under that wrath to end in destruction (Rom. 9:22). However, it is different with His �beloved.� They shall never perish. Another distinction is to be noted In the word �world.� Did Christ die for the whole world of men without exception? N3, but for the world of �whosoever believeth� (Jh. 3:16); for the world which has its sin actually and really �taken away� (1:29). The Lamb loves that world; He takes away its sin. But of the wicked world it is said, �your sin remaineth� (9:14). Their sins lie (crouch) at their own door, to pounce on them like a roaring lion, dragging them down to the pit of hell. For them the sin-offering and intercession of Christ are not, not for the whole world of all mankind; but only for those the Father gave Him (17:9). But assuming He did die for absolutely the whole world, why does He not pray for it? �I pray for them; I pray not for the world.� The truth of the matter is that there is an elect world, a world with its sin removed (1:29), and a �world of the ungodly� (2Pet. 2:5). Teach, however, that Christ died for all the sins of all men, and the following results: God demands the penalty for sin twice! � once at the hands of His Son who paid it all, and again at the hands of those for whom He died (now in hell, themselves paying that already cancelled debt!). But Christ lays down His life exclusively for the sheep. To the rest He says, �Ye are not of My sheep� (Jh. 10:15, 26). He does not lay down His life for them. Nor will it do to say that God originally intended to save all. For from the beginning it was not so: Gen. 3:15. At the first, God put enmity between the children of God and the children of the devil. From the first, the cross divided all men into these two separate companies. Clearly, the cross was never intended to save the serpent�s brood. For the cross sovereignly maintains the ordained enmity against the serpent�s seed. And though temporal gifts flow from the cross, they are not a blessing, but a curse to that reprobate seed: �the curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked; but He blesseth the habitation of the just. Surely He scorneth the scorners, but giveth grace unto the lowly� (Prov. 3:33f). The gospel itself must be and is to them a curse (2Cor. 2:15f), not a blessing. They �are perishing� (Gr.) because the cross is not saving to them (1Cor. 1:18). From this it should be plain that God does not love all without exception. Did God love Pharaoh (Rom. 9:17)? Did He love the Amalekites (Ex. 17:14ff)? Did He love the Canaanites (Deut. 20:16)? the Ammonites and Moabites (23:3)? Does He love the workers of iniquity (Ps. 5:5)? Does He love the vessels of wrath (Rom. 9:22)? Did He love Esau (Rom. 9:13)? Does He love �the people against whom He hath indignation for ever� (Mal. 1:4)? What is the central purpose of the cross? To �save His people (and them only) from their sins.�
IRRESISTIBLE GRACE
6. ARMINIANISM insists that man can and does often resist Divine grace (Acts 7:51); that the gospel does not present impossibilities to the sinner, but where God commands, there man is able to obey. For the Lord gives every sinner the ability to believe, then expects the sinner by his free will to exercise faith and consent to the terms of salvation. Sinners can therefore accept or reject the offer of grace at their pleasure, since it obviously is of him that willeth and of him that runneth (holds out). God does His part for man�s salvation, in fact, has done all He can for man without destroying his free agency. So that God, frequently, in His great efforts to save man is displeased with Himself and the results He finally obtains. He sets His heart on the sinner to deliver him, and, as it were, labors till the going down of the sun to deliver him (Dan. 6:14). Why He sometimes experiences this lack of success in accomplishing the attempted deliverance is because He has created man with a will sovereign in its own right: �wherefore say My people, �We are lords (sovereigns); we will come no more unto Thee�� (Jer. 2:31). For this reason God�s counsel can be annulled and rendered ineffectual by the perverse wills of impenitent sinners: �I have called and ye have refused; I have stretched out My hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all My counsel, and would none of My reproof� (Prov. 1:24, 25). The unavoidable inference is that it remains in man�s power to be regenerated or not, to be converted or to continue unconverted. And since man has such power to choose or refuse, it may very well happen that all the works of grace which God uses to convert man may be so opposed, the Holy Spirit so resisted that his salvation is prevented, though it was originally possible.
CALVINISM rejoices in the truth that saving grace is irresistible. God does not save any against their will, it is true. Nevertheless �it is not of him that willeth� nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy� (Rom. 9:16). The counsel of God as to its precepts the wicked do invariably and consistently disregard. But the counsel of God as to its eternal purpose, which embraces sin itself in its Divine plan, is incapable of being set at nought. �For who hath resisted His will� (9:19)? Man�s will is always subservient to God�s sovereign will. God is always Almighty God! Therefore they who did resist the Spirit, did not resist the Spirit in them, for they were devoid of the Spirit. But that resistance is to the Spirit in the prophets, and in the ministers of the Lord; it is resistance to the external calls and reproofs thru the preaching of the Word. But when the Spirit is in men in His grace of conversion, and so acts with a will to convert, He thus makes them willing, and turns them forever to Himself. �Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power� (Ps. 110:3). Unregenerate men may and will refuse and repudiate God�s Word all they please, disregard His admonitions years on end, but when the time comes for God�s counsel to be fulfilled in their conversion, then God�s mercy at the precise moment decreed shall invincibly overcome their obstinancy, causing them to gladly trust and obey Him. �Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favor her, yea, the set time, is come� (Ps. 102:13). What more conclusive testimony that never by free will (Jh. 1:12, 13; Rom. 9:16; Zech. 4:6) are we saved, but by God�s irresistible power (Eph. 1:19) working in us a new heart, removing hardness (and unwillingness), and inscribing God�s law in our heart (Ezek. 36:26f)! The dead sinner does not open his heart to the Lord Jesus Christ and let Him come in to save. That is an idea prominent in Arminian hymnology, but is nowhere in Scripture. Christ must first open the heart (Acts 16:4), and then the heart receives Him. Christ �must first come to the sinner, so that the sinner may come to Him. God gives the elect to Christ in eternity. That guarantees that in time, they �shall come� to Him (Jh. 6:37). Man, of himself, has not the ability to come to Jesus, will not come (Jh. 5:40), and cannot will to come until the Father draw him (6:44). God giving the new heart causes the renewed sinner to walk in His ways. How else can a heart of stone open to Him ? How can a heart that is enmity against God be willing for Him to improve it? But, assume that the power of God�s saving grace can be baffled, and God must be supposed to will that all men be saved, yet nevertheless it must finally be, not as He wills, but as they will! However, the truth remains that grace saves those who are �the called according to His purpose� � saves with an almighty power � for they must be saved with an everlasting salvation!
PERSEVERANCE OF SAINTS
7. ARMINIANISM wrests Scripture to teach that it is possible for the true believer to fall from the grace of salvation (Gal.5:4); and that each believer is provided with sufficient ability to persevere and preserve himself, if only he will: (�And ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life,� Jh. 5:40). If all depends on the choice of man�s will, whether he will persevere or not. (This denies everything thus far so irrefutably declared!) The error continues: not only is it possible that believers fatally and finally fall, sin unto death, and be eternally lost, but indeed, may often fall, be often recovered, yet in the end be lost to God. �Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God� (Heb. 3:11). There is, then, no such thing in this life as certainty of eternal security, nor assurance of perseverance: �Have not I chosen you twelve and one of you is a devil ? . . . And began every one of them to say unto Him, Is it I, Lord?� (Jh. 6:70; Matt. 26:22).
CALVINISM is strong in the Divine Word that no true believer can ever fall from Christ and salvation. For He promises. �I give unto them (the sheep) eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father which gave them Me is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father�s hand� (Jh. 10:28ff). This promise is made unconditionally to God�s people. It is not qualified by any additions of �ifs,� �buts,� �perhaps,� �maybes,� etc., but is to be understood in its plain unencumbered, unequivocal sense. God�s covenant is equally sure. In that covenant He swears that He will never leave His people, and will so keep them that they shall never forsake Him: �I will make an everlasting covenant with them, and I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me� (Jer. 32:40). So our salvation, and our remaining in that salvation in no way depends on us, or on our feeble will. Yet we are confident of this very thing (not of our doing, but) that He who hath begun a good work in us will perform and perfect it unto the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6). We trust not in our own strength (we have none!), but in His power to keep us from falling and to present us faultless before Him! And when the elect do fall, the Lord raises them up (Prov. 24:16). So that He is faithful, who will not suffer us to perish, but will establish us, and keep from evil (2Thess. 3:3). Of this the believer may be certain, and have the assurance of faith now and forever, even though, within the organism of the church, there are some who depart from God in unbelief. But the elect �are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul� (Heb. 10:39). �The righteous shall hold on his way,� and as God has promised, he shall never depart from that way; but rather he shall become �stronger and stronger� (Job 17:9). The believer remains a believer; he does persevere to the end, not by human effort, but by the power of God; which power is exerted on his behalf not for any worthiness in him, but for the sake of the Lamb who alone is worthy! He, meanwhile and always, belongs unto Jesus his faithful Saviour �who shall also confirm you unto the end blameless, in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ� (1Cor. 1:8).
CONCLUSION
The truth is never popular. We are, however, not concerned with what is popular, but with what is right The truth of Scripture is one thing. What men would like to be true is another. The question is, Are we willing to be bound by the Word of God? no matter what the cost? Too few are willing to be that self-denying. The hatred of the natural mind against God is such that though a man be shrewd, intelligent, and able to see the arguments on both sides, yet he will not admit the fundamental doctrine of absolute sovereign grace to be true; or, if he know it to be true, still he refuses to receive it If an angel from heaven were to stand before him. and declare that God redeems both objectively and subjectively only His elect people, and that Christ Jesus prays not for the world, but only for those the Father gave Him, such a (natural) man will not, cannot believe it. This whole system of truth is contrary to the old nature; it is the opposite to what men think to be in agreement with justice and experience. So that the many who hate this doctrine are always ready to oppose it Therefore also comprehended under the brand of Arminianism are the following evil forms of the same proud heresy: Universalism, Romanism, Pelagianism (naturalism), Socinianism (modernism), Amyraldianism (synergism), Baxterianism (hypothetical redemption), New School Presbyterianism (religious humanism), etc. Calvinists, then, are the most hated people in the universe! We know this from Scripture, reports, history and personal experience.
But this does not change the eternal purpose of God. For �the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His� (2Tim. 2:19). Suppose every preacher in the U.S.A., or in the world speaks the very opposite to these points! That means, humanly speaking, we are in a very, very unpopular minority. But, with God and His truth on our side, or rather we being of His side are on the side of the majority! Finally, it is our calling to preach that which God has clearly revealed. We cannot but speak the things we have seen and heard.
