Arminian or Calivinist. 

These views/doctrines/beliefs are from two opposite extremes, and extremes are rarely Biblical.  I believe that the Biblical truth lies somewhere in the middle.

I have no desire to be divisive, nor dogmatic, in areas where Bible believers disagree.  However, it is important to state as clearly as possible the doctrinal basis of fellowship and unity with one another.

I attempt to avoid conclusions, terminology and arguments which are not clearly presented in the Word of God.  This is most essential in the long-simmering debate between Calvinists and Arminians.  In the midst of this heated debate, it is easy to ignore or neglect the clear teachings of the Bible, or to believe that we have the ability to fully understand the ways of God, which we do not (Romans 11:33-36). 

That said, it is indeed tragic when one becomes more concerned with being “right” than with being loving.  No issue is probably more important, or as potentially divisive, as the doctrine of salvation that was reflected in the debate between the followers of John Calvin and those of Jacob Hermann (best known by the Latin form of his name – Arminius).  Since the Protestant Reformation of the 16^th Century, Christian churches have disagreed over such issues as depravity, God’s sovereignty, human responsibility, election, predestination, eternal security and the nature and extent of the atonement of Jesus Christ.

The “Five Points of Arminianism” included the following:

• FREE WILL:  Arminius believed that the fall of man was not total, maintaining that there was enough good left in man for him to will to accept Jesus Christ unto salvation.

• CONDITIONAL ELECTION:  Arminius believed that election was based on the foreknowledge of God as to who would believe.  Man’s “act of faith” was seen as the “condition” for his being elected to eternal life, since God foresaw him exercising his “free will” in response to Jesus Christ.

• UNIVERSAL ATONEMENT:  Arminius held that redemption was based on the fact that God loves everybody, that Christ died for everyone, and that the Father is not willing that any should perish.  The death of Christ provided the grounds for God to save all men, but each must exercise his own “free will” in order to be saved.

• OBSTRUCTABLE GRACE:  Arminius believed that since God wanted all men to be saved, He sent the Holy Spirit to “woo” all men to Christ, but since man has absolute “free will”, he is able to resist God’s will for his life.  He believed that God’s will to save all men can be frustrated by the finite will of man.  He also taught that man exercises his own will first, and then is born again.

• FALLING FROM GRACE:  If man cannot be saved by God unless it is mans will to be saved, then man cannot continue in salvation unless he continues to will to be saved.

The followers of John Calvin, some 54 years after his death, developed what is known today as the “Five Points of Calvinism”.  These came out of the Canons of the Council of Dort (1618).

• TOTAL DEPRAVITY:  That man is in absolute bondage to sin and Satan, unable to exercise his own will to trust in Jesus Christ without the help of God.

• UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION:  That foreknowledge is based upon the plan and purpose of God, and that election is not based upon the decision of man, but the “free will” of the Creator alone.

• LIMITED ATONEMENT:  That Jesus Christ died to save those who were given to Him by the Father in eternity past.  In this view, all for who Jesus died (the elect) will be saved, and all for who He did not die (the non-elect) will be lost.

• IRRESISTABLE GRACE:  That the Lord possesses irresistible grace that cannot be obstructed.  That the free will of man is so far removed from salvation that the elect are regenerated by God even before expressing faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.  If a totally depraved person wasn’t made alive by the Holy Spirit, such a calling on God would be impossible.

• PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS:  That salvation is entirely the work of the Lord, and that man has absolutely nothing to do with the process.  The saints will persevere because God will see to it that He will finish the work He has begun.

It is not my purpose to take sides on these issues, or to divide the body of Jesus Christ over human interpretations of these Biblical truths concerning our salvation.  I simply desire to state how I understand the Bible’s teachings regarding these matters.

• DEPRAVITY:  I believe that all sinners (Romans 3:23) are unable by human performance to earn, deserve, or merit salvation (Titus 3:5).  I believe that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), and that apart from God’s grace, no one can be saved (Ephesians 2:8-9).  I believe that none are righteous or capable of doing good (Romans 3:10-12), and that apart from the conviction and regeneration of the Holy Spirit, none can be saved (John 1:12-13; John 16:8-11; 1 Peter 1:23-25).  Mankind is clearly fallen, and lost in sin.

• ELECTION:  I believe that God chose the believer before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-6), and based on His foreknowledge, has predestined the believer to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29-30).  I believe that God offers salvation to all who will call on His Name.  Romans 10:13 says “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”       I also believe that God calls to Himself those who will believe in His Son, Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:9).  However, the Bible also teaches that an invitation (or call) is given to all, but that only a few will accept it.  We can see this balance all through Scripture.  Revelation 22:17 states “Whoever desires, let him take of the water of life freely”.  1 Peter 1:2 tells us that we are “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.”  Matthew 22:14 says “For many are called, but few are chosen.”  I believe that the Word of God clearly tells us that God does choose, but man must also accept God’s invitation to salvation.

• ATONEMENT:  I believe that Jesus Christ died as a propitiation (a satisfaction of the righteous wrath of God against sin) “for the whole world” (1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:9-10), and that He redeems and forgives all who will believe in the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ as their only hope of salvation from sin, death and hell (Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18-19).  I believe that eternal life is a gift of God (Romans 6:23), and that “whoever believes” in Jesus Christ will not perish, but will have eternal life (John 3:16-18). In 1 Timothy 4:10 it says “we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.”  Hebrews 2:9 states that Jesus “was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.”  The atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ was clearly sufficient to save the entire human race.

• GRACE:  I believe that God’s grace is not the result of human effort or worthiness (Romans 3:24-28; Romans 11:6), but is the response of God’s mercy and love to those who will believe in His Son (Ephesians 2:4-10).  Grace gives to us what we do not deserve nor can we earn by our performance (Romans 11:6).  I believe that God’s grace and mercy can be resisted by us.  Jesus said in Matthew 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!”  We are not condemned because we have no opportunity to be saved, but a person is condemned because he makes a choice not to believe (John 3:18).  In John 5:40 we can read “But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”  Jesus also said in John 6:37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”  And, John 6:40 states “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”  In John 7:37, Jesus said “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.”  And, in John 11:26, He adds “And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.”  Jesus also clearly acknowledges the fact of human resistance and rejection in John 12:46-48.  In Stephen’s message in Acts 7:51, he concluded by saying “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.”  In Romans 10:21, Paul quotes Isaiah 65:2 when he speaks of God’s words to Israel “All day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and contrary people “.  In one of the five warning passages of the Epistle to the Hebrews, Paul (whom I believe wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews) says in Hebrews 10:26 “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins”, and in Hebrews 10:29 he adds “Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?”  Clearly, I believe according to God’s Word, that God’s grace can either be resisted or received by the exercise of human free will.

• PERSERVERANCE:  I believe that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 8:38-39), and that there is no condemnation to those who are in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:1).  I believe that the promise of Jesus in John 10:27-28 is clear: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”  Jesus said in John 6:37 “… the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”  We also have this assurance in Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”  I believe that the Holy Spirit has sealed us for the day of redemption (Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 4:30).  But, we should all be deeply concerned over the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”  Apparently, there are many who claim to be, or think that they are, believers that in fact are not.  Jesus said in Luke 9:62 “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”  1 Corinthians 6:9-10 insists that “the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God”, and warns us not to be deceived.  Paul then gives us a list of various kinds of sinful lifestyles with an ending remark that they will not inherit the kingdom of God.  Similar statements and conclusions can be found in Galatians 5:19-21 and Ephesians 5:3-5.  Also to be considered would be Galatians 5:4; Colossians 1:22-23; and 2 Timothy 2:12.  Hebrews 3:12 says “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.”  Can true believers depart from the living God?  Paul says in 1 Timothy 4:1 “…  in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.”  And, 2 Thessalonians 2:3 speaks of a “falling away”, or an apostasy in the church.  2 Peter 2:20-21 also makes these pretty remarkable statements:  “For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.”  It’s no wonder that Peter says in 2 Peter 1:10 “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble.” 

Maintaining a Bible-centered balance in these difficult issues is of great importance.  I do believe in the perseverance of the saints (true believers), but am deeply concerned about sinful lifestyles and rebellious hearts among those who call themselves “Christians”. 

We don’t have all the answers to these issues, but we should desire to be faithful to the Lord and to His Word.  If we find ourselves basing our view of salvation on the performance and attitudes of people, we become discouraged and concerned.  But, when we keep our eyes on the Lord, and trust in Him alone, and in His power, we can say with Peter in 1 Peter 1:3-9:  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.” 

Sometimes, it’s not easy to maintain the unity of the Spirit among us on these matters.  It seems that the sovereignty of God and human responsibility are like two parallel lines that do not seem to intersect within our finite minds.  God’s ways are truly “past finding out” (Romans 11:33), and the Bible warns us to “lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).

To say what God says in His Word – and no more and no less – is not always easy, comfortable or completely understandable.  We, in our human nature, do not want our deeply held beliefs shaken should they be proven in error.  But Scripture tells us that the wisdom from above will be loving and kind toward all, seeking the unity of the believers, and not trying to find ways to divide and separate.

In difficult doctrinal matters, may we truly have gracious attitudes and humble hearts, desiring most of all to please Him who has called us to serve Him in the body of Christ. 

ü  DISCUSSION:  Yes

ü  DISAGREEMENTS:  Yes

ü  DIVISION:  No!

When a particular position on the Scriptures causes us to become argumentative, legalistic, and divisive, I would question the validity of that position.  We should seek to embrace those things that tend to make us more loving and kind, more forgiving and merciful.  We can know then that we are becoming more like our Lord Jesus Christ.

If we have come to a strong position and personal conviction on one side of a doctrinal issue, I believe we should first examine that position to see how it has helped us to become more Christ-like in our nature.  We must be sure to always look at the fruit of the teaching – “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” (Matthew 7:20)

I would much rather have the wrong facts and a right attitude, than the right facts and a wrong attitude.  God can change my understanding of the facts in a moment, but it often takes a lifetime to change our attitudes.


Howard Fleury
Pastor - Crossroads Christian Fellowship