I was visiting a Calvinist brother’s Facebook page and found that he had a few lines attacking Arminianism. At first I brushed off his attacks as simply another Calvinist misunderstanding Arminianism, but the more I thought on his comments, the more I realized how many people truly don’t understand what Arminians believe about God nor about His salvation in general. Roger Olson already has done a good job of presenting common myths about Arminianism in his book Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities, so I don’t feel a need to re-write what Olson has already covered concerning popular myths about Arminianism.
Yet I do feel that there are a few things that I want to point out about Arminianism as to what it is not. Arminianism is not . . .
- Man-Centered Theology – A reading of the works of Arminius will find that Arminius’ emphasis is always on glorifying Christ. Whether it be Arminius’ understanding of election (Christ-centered) to his understanding of the nature of perseverance (Christ-focused), Arminius sought to exalt Christ.
I actually believe (and have written posts on this before) that Arminianism truly exalts Christ even above Calvinism since Jesus is seen not just as the Savior of the elect (which He is according to 1 Timothy 4:10) but to all (John 1:29; 1 Timothy 2:1-6). In eternity, all the saints will declare that Jesus alone was worthy of praise for saving us (Revelation 5:8-10). Mankind will not receive credit for our eternal salvation that was purchased alone by the blood of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 9:14).
- Will-Centered Theology – Some try to teach that Arminians believe that anyone, anywhere can “will” themselves to salvation. This is not the case. We teach that apart from the drawing of the Spirit, no person can be saved (John 6:44; 16:8-11). The Spirit convicts us of sin, and though He does not force the person to believe, He does enable us to believe through grace (Philippians 1:29; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14). We don’t deny that God has given us free will, but no person can be saved apart from the Holy Spirit’s work upon the human heart. We don’t teach that a person co-operates with God to be saved but that we surrender to His grace to be saved. We receive His salvation by faith (Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:8-9) and the Spirit regenerates us at that moment (John 3:3-7; Titus 3:5-7; 1 John 5:1). Salvation is always by faith and continues by faith until the very end (John 8:51; 1 Corinthians 15:1-2; Colossians 1:21-23; 1 John 2:28).
- Works-Kept Salvation – Some want to teach that Arminians believe we are saved by grace through faith but kept by works. I actually heard a “non-Calvinist” try to say that this is the reason he is not an Arminian since Arminians believe in a revolving door salvation (one minute you are in and the next you are out). How sad that he failed to search out the truth from Arminius’ works and relied on the Internet or Calvinist sources for his material.
The reality is that Arminians teach that we are saved by grace through faith and we are kept by faith. 1 Peter 1:5 makes this clear. Jesus said that His sheep hear (present tense) His voice and follow Him and no one is able to take them (those who are listening to His voice) out of His hands (John 10:27-30). Paul said that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39 with the key being “in Christ Jesus”). As long as a believer remains a believer in Christ Jesus, we have nothing to fear (2 Thessalonians 3:3). Jesus said that the work we must do for salvation is simply to believe (present tense) in Him (John 6:29). When we do this (believe), we will stand secure (2 Peter 3:17-18 NIV).
- Evangelism is Man-Centered –I refer you back to point #1, but it is foolish to assert that Arminians believe in man-centered evangelism. Evangelism should always be to the glory of God in Christ Jesus. When we seek to make disciples for Jesus we should always place the emphasis on Jesus and His teachings (Matthew 28:19-20 NIV). Evangelism should be done using the Word of God to bring about conviction of sin (1 Timothy 1:8-11) and to bring people to repentance through God’s Word and through God’s grace (Romans 2:4; 3:19-20; 2 Timothy 2:25; 2 Peter 3:9).
To this Arminian, the sad gimmicks found in many churches where you “walk the aisle” or say “the sinner’s prayer” is simply misleading and is not Arminianism but is semi-Pelagianism. The Bible does not teach any methods to salvation other than God dealing with people through the gospel and once people repent, being baptized (Acts 2:37-39, 41; 3:19; 8:12-13, 36-38; 9:17-18; 10:44-48; 11:18; 16:14-15, 30-34; 18:8; 19:1-7; 22:16; 26:20). There is nothing in the New Testament about people “praying to receive Christ” or “coming down front.” Even Jesus simply told people to abandon all and follow Him (Luke 14:25-35; 18:18-30). He never tried to convince people through gimmicks to follow Him but He laid out the truth before them and allowed them to follow Him or reject Him (John 4:42).
- Lacks Biblical Exegesis – I have read Calvinist blogs and books that seem to teach that Calvinism is an intellectual faith whereas Arminianism is more emotionally based. There is simply no evidence for this. Arminians, such as myself, love the Word of God and I love to feed on its precious truths (Matthew 4:4). I believe that it is the duty of the disciple of Jesus to abide in His teachings (John 8:31-32 NIV) and I believe that the faithful disciple (Revelation 17:14) needs to hold firmly to sound doctrine (1 Timothy 4:16 NIV).
Over the years as a disciple I have modified my beliefs yet I have done so only because I searched the Scriptures and concluded that I either had to change my belief or compromise. Compromise is not an option for the disciple of Jesus, so I have reformed my mind (Romans 12:2). God has given us His Word to know His ways and to walk after Him (Psalm 19:7-11 NKJV) and to know right from wrong (Hebrews 5:14 NIV). The Holy Spirit helps us to apply the Scriptures to our lives (John 14:25-26; 1 Corinthians 2:11-16). It is important for us to obey God and His Word (James 2:14-26) and to be transformed by the Word.
Conclusion
By no means do I understand everything about Calvinism, but I pray that my Calvinist brethren would be cautious in labeling Arminianism as any of the above apart from first reading and studying what Arminius said on the subjects. We Arminians have been guilty of attacking Calvinists for what we perceived about Calvinism without first seeking to know if John Calvin taught such a doctrine. I admit this and for that I am sorry. But I do think that as brothers and sisters in Christ we need more understanding and less simply making false assumptions about each others theological system.
[Link to original post and comments on Roy Ingle’s website.]
