Why would you call that Arminianism?

In my discussions with those friends who are persuaded by Calvinism and especially by the doctrine of predestination, I find they often do misunderstand or display a healthy ignorance of what true Arminianism really is.  I cringe when I hear Arminians accused of believing that they must earn their salvation through good works.  It is eye-popping and heart-stopping to hear that Arminians believe that they have an equal part with God in the salvation of their souls.  Here is their misconception in a nutshell:  that Armininians must initiate their own salvation and then maintain it through the accumulation of good works. 

 

Classical Arminianism has always given God all the glory for salvation and reserved no credit whatsoever for human endeavor in the work of salvation.  All true classical Arminians will declare that the human soul is completely and entirely dead in trespasses and sins and every man would  be hopelessly lost without the prevenient grace (that grace which prepares the way) extended by the Holy Spirit of God.  This prevenient grace is taught throughout scripture, although, like the word ‘trinity’, ‘prevenient grace’ is never found in the Bible. 

In spite of the opinions of uninformed Calvinists, Jacob Arminius had a passionate commitment to the grace of God.  Arminius’ theology was clearly sola gratia.  To interpret the theology of Arminius by the beliefs of those who followed is an error committed by many who have never studied the original works of the man.  Thus, Arminians get a bum rap by being compared to Pelagians, semi-Pelagians or devotees of the Remonstrants who successfully twisted the original doctrines of Arminianism so as to make them at least unbiblical and at most heretical.

Arminius didn’t deny the work of God’s grace in the salvation of man.  He did question whether that grace was irresistible.   The Calvinist would argue that if grace is resistible then salvation cannot be all of grace.  The Arminian wonders why the Calvinist believes that resistance to the gift causes the gift to be sullied or diminished.  Why, asks the Arminian, is the gift not worthy of reception if it is accepted willingly?  It is only worthy of reception if we are forced to receive it.

Simon Episcopius and Arminius, unlike Philip Limborch and later Remonstrants, believed that prevenient grace is the grace that goes before to prepare the soul to respond freely to the calling of the Spirit of God to salvation.  Through the ages true classical Arminians have lamented the fact that Limborch’s theology has been labeled ‘Arminian’.  Limborch believed that the fallen human will needs only assistance, mainly through access of knowledge, not renewal, in order to acquire salvation.  Arminius would say that man is totally depraved and it is impossible to do or think any good without prevening grace.   Limborch would counter by saying that man is not totally depraved, he is only weakened by his lack of knowledge and limited capabilities.

John Wesley redirected Arminianism back toward its original form.  Although he has been falsely accused of being a Pelagian for several hundred years now.  A careful reading of Wesley’s sermon “On Working Out Our Own Salvation” should remove all doubt as to his position on the grace of God.  “Whatsoever good is in man, or is done by man, God is the author and doer of it,” Wesley proclaimed.  Wesley taught that we can only respond to God because he did first extend his grace to us.

Prevenient grace does not remove the free will of man so that he can be forced to salvation by an arbitrary God.  Prevenient grace simply prepares the heart of man so that he can choose to not resist the grace of God.  Having received prevenient grace he can choose not to reject it or he can choose to resist it but not without consequences.  Thus, the only role of the human in his own salvation is the nonresistance to the grace of God.

Adam Clarke summed up the Arminian position by saying, “God gives the power (to believe).  Man uses the power thus given, and brings glory to God:  Without the power no man can believe; with it, any man can.”  (quoted in H. Orten Wiley’s Christian Theology, pp. 369-70)  Faith is an expression of man’s free will only after it is recognized as a work of God.

Free Will Baptist theologian Leroy Forelines summed Arminian’s interpretation of grace by saying: “The Holy Spirit must work before there can be a successful communication of the gospel to the sinner and before there will be conviction and response from the sinner.”    

Arminians believe salvation is impossible without the effectual preparatory grace of God.  The application of this grace to the human soul does not eliminate or diminish the soul’s freedom.  It simply enables the soul to no longer resist the grace of God.  Arminianism promotes the scriptural teaching of salvation by grace through faith alone.  God makes this possible without diminishing the responsibility of man to practice non-resistance toward his grace.

Kevin teaches Bible and Apologetics to high school students at Lafayette Christian School in LaGrange, Georgia. He loves writing about theology, apologetics and politics.

Laura’s Story

Laura Story’s Blessings

They were high school sweethearts. Usually those relationships fade away as we mature and grow older. Laura and Martin fell deeper and deeper in love and finally married. But marital bliss was interrupted by the terrorizing fear of sudden loss. Martin had developed a brain tumor. A healthy and handsome man in the prime of youth was hospitalized with no assurance of a future with his new bride.

When we arrive at unexpected crossroads, when our own happiness is threatened and we learn that his plan for us includes a direction we did not choose and pain we did not want there are only two directions we can go; we will become embittered and get angry with God and perhaps even hate him or we will discover an enduring and sustaining grace we never thought possible.

Laura Story chose the path that led her nearer to God. When I heard her song and read her story I couldn’t help but think of the verse in 2 Corinthians 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Laura’s unexpected trial took her to a place where she could write the song “Blessings”. It is a song about responding with faith and hope when life takes a bad turn. Laura says, “Life is filled with things you don’t expect, but the Bible tells us to respond by trusting God and continuing to worship him. Martin hasn’t received complete healing—and that can be hard at times when we view God as all-powerful and all-loving. But here we are now saying, ‘Yes, this is how faith works.’ God has proven to be faithful. We have been truly blessed out of a circumstance that at first didn’t seem like much of a blessing at all.”

How many of God’s children have found comfort in his words? “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. I will never fail you. I will never abandon you." (Hebrews 13:5) It is often during the more difficult times that we discover “a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24)

God doesn’t promise us a rose garden. Sometimes he sends his “refining fire” to purify us and awaken us so our senses are prepared for a deeper revelation of his glory. The suffering He allows and the subsequent grace has a transforming affect on us. Laura says, “We have a voice that wasn’t there prior to this suffering.”

Recently we saw many of our greatest warriors shot down in Afghanistan. They gave their lives for their country and for a cause they felt was bigger than themselves. I wondered when I read about this tragic loss if they would have signed up had they known the outcome. When we choose Christ’s way our commitment to the journey does not depend on our own contentment or happiness. We press onward for Christ whether the path leads through the valley or to the mountain heights. Laura reinforces this truth when she says, ““Everyone wants to be a mature and equipped follower, but would I have signed up had I known what it would take? God has grown us up, deepened our faith, our awareness of our great need for him as a savior, daily. We knew it before, but we didn’t see it. This is a good place to be.”

Laura writes a wonderful song about the mystery of how God can bring blessings through tragedy.

Nathan Hale was hung as a traitor by the British during the Revolutionary War. His last words mirror the feelings of many Christians, “I regret that I have but one life to give for my country.” We have all been given but one life. We must make the most of it. Laura expresses it well, “The world supports an idea of self-centered living because ‘I just have this one life,’ but we need to look at it the other way. We only have one life to give to God. I don’t want to have held anything back. I don’t want to be a conservative Christian; I want to give with abandon, to be spent, to truly give my life away for the cause of Christ.”

Might we, like the Apostle Paul, learn to “be content whatever the circumstances” (Philippians 4:11)

“'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears?

And what if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You're near?

 

  Kevin Probst

Saving Grace - How A Biblical Bully Was Born Again

When I say the word ‘grace’, what do you think of? There are a multitude of meanings for this lovely word. You may think of movement, ballet, elegance or charm.

I saw a bumper sticker once that said, “American by birth, southern by the grace of God.” Having grown up about 50 miles south of the Canadian border I’m not so sure I’m connecting with this particular aspect of God’s grace.

I saw a deer loping across a field not long ago and where the field meets the road there was a high fence, much taller than the deer. She didn’t even hesitate. It was a thing of beauty. With unbelievable grace she left her feet and sore through the air over that fence and land effortlessly on the other side.

I see grace in the Olympic event, synchronized swimming. I saw a beautiful bride take a long walk recently toward her groom. It was a true picture of grace. That bride is now my daughter-in-law.

For some of you, grace is a name. It might be your name or you may know someone named Grace. We have friends living in Atlanta who have a three year old daughter named “Gracie” and a little boy the age of our son, Kameron. I asked my six year old the other day had he decided who to marry yet and he surprised me by saying, “Yes, I have.” Well, I had to know so I asked him whom he had decided on. He said in a matter-of-fact way, “Gracie”. So I just had to know why and he said, “Because if I marry Gracie I’ll always be able to play with Hayden’s toys.

Try to wipe your mind clear of all these ideas of grace and let’s go to the biblical idea of grace. It comes from the Greek word, Charis. Its English sister is charity which means love. When we speak of grace we are inferring love. Grace doesn’t exist alone. It only exists in the hearts of people or a person. It is like hatred, or evil or goodness. It is not a thing, it is an expression.

Grace is the unmerited mercy given to us by God the Father and made available only through his son, Jesus Christ. Grace is God’s Redemption At Christ’s Expense. It is forgiveness when forgiveness is undeserved.

When I was growing up in the northwestern town of Meadville, Pennsylvania, we had a bully living in our neighborhood. He was a 15 year old who loved to terrorize those of us who were still in Junior High School. We never walked anywhere alone for fear we would run in to him.

Let’s consider another neighborhood bully.

His name was Saul and he was on the road to Damascus. He was an ornery fellow if there ever was one. He had a deep seeded hatred for Christians. He persecuted Christians and assisted in the murder of Christians until he experienced a miraculous event in his life. This is how he described it in his own words: “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.” (Acts 22:6-10)

Saul experienced a wonderful conversion that day. He experienced Saving Grace. His name was changed to Paul and he became the greatest missionary who ever lived. He is probably responsible for more souls finding Christ than any other man in history.

Later on in his life he is telling his Christian brothers about this event. “For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” – (1 Cor. 15:9-10)

1. Saving Grace is generous. We may or may not receive forgiveness from men but God is generous in his grace. He wants more than anything to forgive you. Our God loves to give and he gives mercy and forgiveness freely to those who will seek it.

2. Saving Grace is undeserved. If you have experienced his saving grace, you received something you didn’t deserve. It is the unmerited favor of God. You can do nothing to earn this grace. It is available not only to those who don’t deserve it but it is available to the very enemies of God. It is for those who despise God and who are ungrateful and entirely undeserving.

3. Saving Grace is available. There are those who teach that this grace is limited to only a select few. This smacks of a sort of Christian elitism, our four and no more. Christ does not limit his atonement for a select few. He is not willing that any should perish. “For God so loved the world that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

One can experience saving grace in a moment of time. He then claims that he is saved. But salvation is more than an instantaneous experience, it is a life-long process. Isn’t it more accurate to say, “I am being saved” rather than “I have been saved?” Salvation is not just an event, it is a journey. It is the long process of becoming more and more like Jesus.

Paul said, "Now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed." (Romans 13:11) Full salvation doesn’t happen in a moment, it happens over a lifetime. We are not yet perfect but we hope for perfection: "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure" (1 John 3:2-3).

One man humbly prayed to God, “Lord, I’m not what I ought to be, I’m not what I’m going to be, but praise God, I’m not what I used to be.”

Kevin Probst