| Arminianism |
Calvinism |
Free-Will or Human Ability
Although human nature was seriously affected by the fall, man has not
been left in a state of total spiritual helplessness. God graciously
enables every sinner to repent and believe, but He does not interfere
with man's freedom. Each sinner posses a free will, and his eternal
destiny depends on how he uses it. Man's freedom consists of his ability
to choose good over evil in spiritual matters; his will is not enslaved
to his sinful nature. The sinner has the power to either cooperate with
God's Spirit and be regenerated or resist God's grace and perish. The
lost sinner needs the Spirit's assistance, but he does not have to be
regenerated by the Spirit before he can believe, for faith is man's act
and precedes the new birth. Faith is the sinner's gift to God; it is
man's contribution to salvation. |
Total Inability or Total
Depravity
Because of the fall, man is unable of himself to savingly believe the
gospel. The sinner is dead, blind, and deaf to
the things of God; his heart is deceitful and desperately corrupt. His
will is not free, it is in bondage to his evil nature, therefore, he will
not - indeed he cannot - choose good over evil in the spiritual realm.
Consequently, it takes much more than the Spirit's assistance to bring a
sinner to Christ - it takes regeneration by which the Spirit makes the
sinner alive and gives him a new nature. Faith is not something man
contributes to salvation but is itself a part of God's gift of salvation
- it is God's gift to the sinner, not the sinner's gift to God. |
Conditional Election
God's choice of certain individuals unto salvation before the foundation
of the world was based upon His
foreseeing that they would respond to His call. He selected only those
whom He knew would of themselves freely believe
the gospel. Election therefore was determined by or conditioned upon
what man would do. The faith which God foresaw
and upon which He based His choice was not given to the sinner by God (it
was not created by the regenerating power of
the Holy Spirit) but resulted solely from man's will. It was left
entirely up to man as to who would believe and therefore
as to who would be elected unto salvation. God chose those whom He knew
would, of their own free will, choose Christ.
Thus the sinner's choice of Christ, not God's choice of the sinner, is
the ultimate cause of salvation. |
Unconditional Election
God's choice of certain individuals unto salvation before the foundation
of the world rested solely in His own
sovereign will. His choice of particular sinners was not based on any
foreseen response of obedience on their part, such as
faith, repentance, etc. On the contrary, God gives faith and repentance
to each individual whom He selected. These acts
are the result, not the cause of God's choice. Election therefore was not
determined by or conditioned upon any virtuous
quality or act foreseen in man. Those whom God sovereignly elected He
brings through the power of the Spirit to a
willing acceptance of Christ. Thus God's choice of the sinner, not the
sinner's choice of Christ, is the ultimate cause of
salvation. |
Universal Redemption or General Atonement
Christ's redeeming work made it possible for everyone to be saved but did
not actually secure the salvation of
anyone. Although Christ died for all men and for every man, only those
who believe on Him are saved. His death enabled
God to pardon sinners on the condition that they believe, but it did not
actually put away anyone's sins. Christ's
redemption becomes effective only if man chooses to accept it. |
Particular Redemption or Limited
Atonement
Christ's redeeming work was intended to save the elect only and actually
secured salvation for them. His death
was substitutionary endurance of the penalty of sin in the place of
certain specified sinners. In addition to putting away the
sins of His people, Christ's redemption secured everything necessary for
their salvation, including faith which unites them
to Him. The gift of faith is infallibly applied by the Spirit to all for
whom Christ died, therefore guaranteeing their
salvation. |
The Holy Spirit Can Be Effectually Resisted
The Spirit calls inwardly all those who are called outwardly by the
gospel invitation; He does all that He can to
bring every sinner to salvation. But inasmuch as man is free, he can
successfully resist the Spirit's call. The Spirit cannot
regenerate the sinner until he believes; faith (which is man's
contribution) proceeds and makes possible the new birth.
Thus, man's free will limits the Spirit in the application of Christ's
saving work. The Holy Spirit can only draw to Christ
those who allow Him to have His way with them. Until the sinner
responds, the Spirit cannot give life. God's grace,
therefore, is not invincible; it can be, and often is, resisted and
thwarted by man. |
The Efficacious Call of the Spirit or
Irresistible Grace
In addition to the outward general call to salvation which is made to
everyone who hears the gospel, the Holy
Spirit extends to the elect a special inward call that inevitably brings
them to salvation. The internal call (which is made
only to the elect) cannot be rejected; it always results in conversion.
By means of this special call the Spirit irresistibly
draws sinners to Christ. He is not limited in His work of applying
salvation by man's will, nor is He dependent upon
man's cooperation for success. The Spirit graciously causes the elect
sinner to cooperate, to believe, to repent, to come
freely and willingly to Christ. God's grace, therefore, is invincible; it
never fails to result in the salvation of those to whom it is
extended. |
Falling from Grace
Those who believe and are truly saved can lose their salvation by failing
to keep up their faith, etc. All
Arminians have not been agreed on this point; some have held that
believers are eternally secure in Christ - that once a
sinner is regenerated, he can never be lost. |
Perseverance of the
Saints
All who are chosen by God, redeemed by Christ, and given faith by the
Spirit are eternally saved. They are kept
in faith by the power of Almighty God and thus persevere to the
end. |
According to Arminianism:
Salvation is accomplished through the combined efforts of God (who takes
the initiative) and man (who must
respond) - man's response being the determining factor. God has provided
salvation for everyone, but His provision
becomes effective only for those who, of their own free will, "choose" to
cooperate with Him and accept His offer of grace.
At the crucial point, man's will plays a decisive role; thus man, not
God, determines who will be recipients of the gift of
salvation.
According to Calvinism:
Salvation is accomplished by the almighty power of the Triune God. The
Father chose a people, the Son died for
them, the Holy Spirit makes Christ's death effective by bringing the
elect to faith and repentance, thereby causing them to
willingly obey the gospel. The entire process (election, redemption,
regeneration) is the work of God and is by grace
alone. Thus God, not man, determines who will be the recipients of the
gift of salvation. |
|
The above material, taken from Romans: An Interpretive
Outline, by David N. Steele and Curtis Thomas,
Baptist ministers in Little Rock, Arkansas, contrasts the Five Points of
Calvinism with the Five Points of Arminianism in the clearest and most
concise form found by Mr. Loraine Boettner. It is also included as an
Appendix in The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, by Mr.
Boettner. Each of these books is published by the Presbyterian and
Reformed Publishing Co., Phillipsburg, N.J. |
