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Your display name should be at least 2 characters long. At Kobo, we try to ensure that published reviews do not contain rude or profane language, spoilers, or any of our reviewer's personal information. But all Arminians are doing is applying the same principle except in the plan of salvation. That is to say, God decreed that He would graciously permit and endowed fallen man to respond to His salvation offered to them.
What Is Classical Arminianism?
Defined and Defended Contrary to what many think, Classical Arminianism affirms the total depravity of man. That is to say, due to original sin, man does not have the natural capacity to practice any good work or exhibit faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, some Calvinists have been less than charitable in their description of the Arminian view of human depravity. Consider the following quote from a Calvinist describing Arminianism: Although human nature was seriously affected by the Fall, man has not been left in a state of total spiritual helplessness.
Each sinner possesses a free will, and his eternal destiny depends on how he uses it. But Arminius had a strong view on the necessity of grace: In this manner, I ascribe to grace the commencement, the continuance and the consummation of all good, and to such an extent do I carry its influence, that a man, though already regenerate, can neither conceive, will, nor do any good at all, nor resist any evil temptation, without this 30 Ibid. From this statement it will clearly appear, that I by no means do injustice to grace, by attributing, as it is reported of me, too much to man's free-will.
For the whole controversy reduces itself to the solution of this question, "is the grace of God a certain irresistible force? With respect to which, I believe, according to the scriptures, that many persons resist the Holy Spirit and reject the grace that is offered. The difference, however, reveals itself when the two groups debate as to how God counteracts the depravity so that man can freely respond to His offer of salvation. So the debate is not about the necessity or nature of grace but the operations of grace. Free Will and Grace According to Calvinism It is very unfortunate, that Calvinism along with Arminianism is often misrepresented at this point.
A common characterization of Calvinism is that it denies that man has a free will. But this is not the case at all. They simply have a differing understanding as to what free will is. Calvinism believes in what is called compatibilism. But where did the will of man come from? After all, total depravity teaches that man is both unable and unwilling to respond to the call of salvation. For the Calvinist, fallen man is free in that he can choose within his own nature. He cannot choose to do otherwise, but no external forces coerce him to make those decisions within his corrupt nature.
In order for man to exhibit faith in God, the Holy Spirit must regenerate him so that he can freely choose to follow Christ from his redeemed nature. So to summarize, those whom God predestined to salvation will receive efficacious grace which will necessarily result in their free expression of faith. Free Will and Grace According to Arminianism As stated before, Arminians do agree with Calvinists about the adverse effects sin has had on man.
Contrary to Calvinism, Arminians believe in what is called libertarianism. This teaches that divine determinism is incompatible with free will. Grace is necessary but it is not determinative and can be resisted. This is not to say that man has absolute free will. Man is completely submissive to the governing power of God.
Defined, Defended, and Documented, God is not the only actor in the universe; man also acts- for good or evil. Prevenient grace would be then that preparatory grace the enables a person to respond to the gospel if it were to be offered to them. This grace is offered to all in the form of a call. Thomas Oden speaks of three aspects of calling: All the person does is cooperate by not resisting. This is my opinion concerning the free-will of man: In his primitive condition as he came out of the hands of his creator, man was endowed with such a portion of knowledge, holiness and power, as enabled him to understand, esteem, consider, will, and to perform the true 33 Robert E.
Abingdon Press, , Yet none of these acts could he do, except through the assistance of Divine Grace. But in his lapsed and sinful state, man is not capable, of and by himself, either to think, to will, or to do that which is really good; but it is necessary for him to be regenerated and renewed in his intellect, affections or will, and in all his powers, by God in Christ through the Holy Spirit, that he may be qualified rightly to understand, esteem, consider, will, and perform whatever is truly good.
Arminius believed this doctrine to be important for two reasons. One, it ensured that God could not somehow be accused of being the author of evil. Two, it made man responsible for his actions resulting in his just damnation. The reason being is that because the primary objection to prevenient grace is that it simply lacks biblical support.
Although many people are drawn 36 Arminius, Declaration of the Sentiments of Arminius, If prevenient grace is not affirmed by the Bible, then it should be automatically dismissed regardless of how reasonable it may be. This, however, does not necessarily mean that the doctrine does not have any biblical basis. The doctrine could be upheld if it is implied in other biblical teachings and not negated by scripture. For instance, the Bible teaches that there is only one God and that three persons claim to be God.
So the conclusion we are forced to reach in order to avoid heresy is to affirm that there is a God who is one in essence but three in persons. There is no one verse that explicitly teaches this to be true, but it is strongly inferred by other teachings and not negated elsewhere in scripture. So does the doctrine of prevenient grace operate in the same manner? This paper believes that it does.
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First, what other clear teachings of the Bible imply the doctrine of prevenient grace? One, the Bible declares that God is genuinely remorseful when sinners do not respond to His calling. Jesus was clearly distraught when Jerusalem was unwilling to be gathered to Him Matt. We know that Judah failed to listen to God, the solution that the Calvinists offers is that God only offered them an external call rather than the inward call that would have resulted in their repentance.
Society of Evangelical Arminians | What Is Classical Arminianism?
In other words, the true intentions of God cannot be discerned from his words. It would seem that prevenient grace better explains these passages in that it teaches that God genuinely wants them to repent but they refused His grace; thus explaining His saddened reactions. Second, Scripture charges us to preach the gospel, without exception, to all of humanity. Walls and Joseph R. IVP, , How would this work if prevenient grace were not true? On one hand, Jesus is offering salvation to those who believe. But why make such an offer to everyone if He does not give the grace to everyone enabling them to believe?
On the other hand, He condemns those who refuse to believe. But would it be considered just to require someone to do something they lack the capacity to do? The Calvinists are, of course, aware of such passages. It invites all men without distinction to drink freely of the water of life and live.
Outwardly, He gives the appearance that He desires all to be saved, but inwardly He withholds grace to make it so. The only reason, therefore, someone ultimately winds up in hell is because God chose not to save them. But are there any passages that demonstrate prevenient grace to be false and irresistible grace is true? Often, Calvinists typically point to John 3: But all these passages indicate is that grace is necessary in order to respond positively to the gospel invitation.
No one can say that Jesus is Lord, without the working of the Holy Spirit in our minds and wills. Furthermore, it cannot be definitively demonstrated that it contradicts the Bible. Lastly, the alternative irresistible grace makes God the ultimate reason as why people go to hell. He could have saved them while leaving their will in tact, but simply chose not to. The Extent of the Atonement According to Calvinism Calvinists believe that while Christ was sufficient to save everyone, it is only intended for those that God unilaterally determined to be the elect.
The non elect experience the common grace of God everyday of their lives and experiencing great joy along the way. The Extent of the Atonement According to Arminianism Arminians, on the other hand, believe that the atonement of Christ was intended for everyone but only applied to those who would freely in the libertarian sense believe. To believe that Christ provided salvation for only some, would strongly imply that God does not sincerely love the non elect. All Christians agree that God is love. The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Furthermore, Peter writes that God desires the salvation of all men 2 Pet. Jesus bitterly wept over state 44 Roger E Olson. The General Council of the Assemblies of God , http: The free gift came to all men without exception in the same way that judgment came to all men without exception. Among the impressive is 1 Timothy 4: In addition, we must consider statements like 2 Peter 2: The conclusion is inescapable.
The passages that seem to restrict the scope of salvation are easily reconciled with the passages that universalize the scope of salvation. For if Christ died for everyone, then that would entail His church. But the converse is not true, it is very difficult to make the 45 Erickson, Christian Theology, For one, as the Calvinists do, would have to believe that God expresses a desire to save all men but inwardly only wants a portion to be saved. His actions would contradict His speech. Possible Objections Although it seems that a general atonement was made for all without exception; this does not mean that Calvinists have not posed some challenging objections.
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First, Arminians face a similar problem that Calvinists do. Arminians concede that God has the power to force someone to believe. After all, it would be more loving to force someone to go to heaven than it would be to send them to hell. He loves the sinner and He loves His own justice. Arminius contends that to satisfy both His love for sinners and His justice, God served as substitute for sinners on the cross. He writes, He gave satisfaction to his love for the creature who was a sinner, when he gave up his Son who might act the part of Mediator.
But he rendered satisfaction to his love for justice and to his hatred against sin, when he imposed on his Son the office of Mediator by the shedding of his blood and by the suffering of death; Heb. So the Calvinist still has to face the daunting challenge. If God can justly appoint who the elect are without regards to the 47 The Works of Arminius, trans. This is the predicament a Calvinist faces if he endorses either supralapsarianism or infralapsarianism and compatibilism. Since the Arminian rejects all of those, this is a predicament that is only unique to Calvinism.
Some also argue that general atonement necessarily leads to universalism. If Christ died for everyone, so they say, then everyone must be saved. His salvation is universal in scope but not in application. But some argue that this somehow limits the power of the atonement.
They can argue that perhaps the application of the atonement is guaranteed but until then, the atonement is considered provisionary. Miethe counteracts this objection with a syllogism: The Bible unquestionably teaches an unlimited atonement 2. The Bible also teaches that same will be saved 3. Surely there is a great difference between saying that something is effective for some, given free will, and saying it might not be effective for any. Both affirm the depravity of man, believing that the unredeemed are unable and unwilling to respond to the gospel call.
Both affirm necessity of grace, believing that without it, the unredeemed are hopelessly lost. Both affirm the urgency of preaching the gospel, believing that God has ordained the preaching event as the primary means to expand His kingdom. This being said, however, it has been adequately demonstrated that Classical Arminianism is to be preferred for several reasons. First, Classical Arminianism properly places Jesus Christ at the foundation of election. Both schemas of Calvinism appoint the elect to salvation logically prior thus inadvertently treating Jesus as the means of salvation rather than the source.
Second, Classical Arminianism clearly teaches that God is not the author of evil and holds man responsible for his sins. Although Calvinist asserts the same thing, it would seem to be inconsistent with their compatibilism. For God, according to compatibilism, could decree that every man repent and do only good without violating their free will.
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While it is true that God allows earthly blessings to come to them in this life; what is the point if He God withholds the grace necessary in order to enjoy the blessings in the next? Lastly, Classical Arminians have more freedom in the presentation of the gospel. Calvinists can tell a room full of people that Christ died for them and they should repent because they are uncertain as to whom the elect are. Hopefully, a well articulated Arminianism will rise and present itself as a viable option within Christendom.
The Works of Arminius, trans. Grand Rapids, Baker Book House, A Reply to Thomas Schreiner. The Quest for Truth: The Transforming Power of Grace.
Grace Faith Free Will: A Journal of Christian Thought 2 Baker Book House,