Calvinist often deplore the Arminian argument concerning Adam’s transgression, but we Arminians often turn to this because it is the first sin in the Bible and it produced the world that we live in (Romans 5:12). The Arminian argument over Adam’s sin is simply this: If the Calvinist doctrine of God and their definition of His sovereignty are correct, then God caused Adam to sin. There is simply no getting around this argument. If God is the direct cause of all things, then He obviously caused Adam’s sin. This, of course, would make God the author of sin and the reason for sin being in the world would be primarily with God and not mankind.
This teaching goes against the Scriptures. Sin is defined as lawlessness (1 John 3:4). Adam broke the Law of God, Who said that Adam and Eve were not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17). Adam violated God’s Law. James 1:13 says that God is not tempted by sin nor does He tempt anyone to sin. For God to tempt someone to sin would go against His holy character (Habakkuk 1:13; Matthew 5:48). If God caused Adam to sin, while God Himself would not be guilty of sin, it would violate His desire for people not to sin nor tempt someone to sin. Further, God’s statement that, if Adam ate from the tree he would surely die as His judgment, would be simply unfair since God Himself caused Adam to commit the sin. Why must Adam pay for a sin that God caused him to commit?
The Arminian answer to Adam’s sin is simple. God created Adam and Eve with freedom of the will. God gave them the right to either obey Him or disobey Him. Adam chose to disobey God and so sin came into the world through Adam and death to all men. It was not God who caused Adam to sin but Adam, in his own free will, rejected God and chose to rebel against God and brought condemnation upon himself. This is not just the case for Adam’s sin but for us all. The Bible says that the soul who sins shall die (Ezekiel 18:4). Jesus said that everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin (John 8:34). The Scriptures further teach that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Our own sins will condemn us (Romans 2:7-10).
The Calvinist, in turn, will come back to the issue of Divine sovereignty. By definition, if God is sovereign, then He must be the cause of all things. But why? The Arminian believes in the sovereignty of God, but we believe that God Himself limits His sovereignty by allowing His creation to operate with a certain sense of free will. No doubt, for example, God is sovereign over His creation. Jesus said that the Father makes His sun to rise on the good and the evil and His rain to fall on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). But does God cause directly the sun to rise or the rains to fall or does He control them? I would argue that God controls His creation and He has the right to do with it as He wants, but does God cause hurricanes or floods or earthquakes or does He control them and place limits upon them? There is a difference. If God controls His creation and allows it to operate based on its natural courses, then we could hardly call storms “the wrath of God” but rather that He allowed them to occur based on their natural weather patterns.
In a practical level, the Calvinist would have to look on rapes, murders, racism, etc. and see that God caused these to take place for His glory. The only appeal to Scripture for this is usually Deuteronomy 29:29 (which Calvinist theologians often apply to election as well). But the Arminian says that these sins and horrible events take place not because God willed them or caused them but because He has given His creation a limited freedom. Does God want people killed or babies murdered in the womb? Of course not! But people sin against God and do things that violate His laws as Adam and Eve did in the garden.
Frankly, life is difficult at times. People are mean. Bad things happen to good people. But I believe that the Calvinist understanding of divine determinism leads only to pointing our finger at God and blaming Him for such occurrences in life. This should not be. We should run to God as our refuge (Proverbs 18:10). We should see God as good and loving (Romans 8:28) and not as a harsh dictator who causes all things to come to pass for His own mysterious (and some would say twisted) desires. No doubt I trust God when bad things occur, but I don’t blame Him and say that He did this to me. I trust Him as Job said in Job 1:21 (which God controlled but did not cause as is clear in the context). God is sovereign and He does what He likes (Psalm 115:3). I praise Him for this, but it is clear that God limits His own sovereignty to allow humanity a limited freedom to do what they like. but in the end God will have His way and His kingdom will be firmly established and His Christ will be exalted above all others (Philippians 2:9-11). While God allows a limited freedom, in the end He will be exalted and His plans will come to pass (Ephesians 1:11).
[Link to original post and comments at Roy Ingle’s website.]
