Arminianism
In the 17th century, James Arminius was the first
to speak on the subject. He "... sought to change the doctrines of
Calvinism so that, according to him, God was no longer seen as the agent of
sin, nor was man cast out of God's hands." (2) He introduced the idea that
God really does have authority and chose men to be saved. He taught that the
selection was based on God's foreknowledge of who would accept Christ by faith
and reject Him. All people, he taught, could be saved only if they did their
own will and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. He rejected the notion that the
ransom was limited to a few and that God was the author of sin. Arminius
emphasized that Christ died for all people and saves all who accept him by
faith. Arminius was a doctrinal weakness in the area of biblical teaching
"Eternal Security for the Believer." Eternal security means that once
a person is saved, he cannot lose his salvation. Arminius said he thought the
Scriptures were unclear and the Bible seems to teach believers not to lose
their salvation. (3) The majority, who profess to be Arminian, believe that a
person can be saved and later lose his salvation.
Just as those who followed Calvin, passing on his
teachings to the extremes, many who used to follow James Arminius did not stop
with his ideas, but furthered the story, teaching that man had a part in the
meal.
salvation. (4) Armenians, as they are commonly
called, teach that man is a part of the divine nature of salvation. The natural
conclusion of this train of thought was that salvation could be lost. If by the
efforts of man he may obtain salvation, by his deeds he may also lose it.
Belief can be expressed this way; Christ made the lowest price for our
salvation on the cross, but once a person is saved he must continue to be paid
faithfully and for good works. So this is a bad mistake supports
salvation in the power of man to qualify for salvation through his good works.
The Bible clearly condemns this false teaching: “For by grace are ye saved
through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works,
lest any man should boast. . Is Arminianism in the Bible?
Arminianism
teaches us that man has a divine spark in him and thus can respond to the
Gospel, according to his abilities and be saved. However, the Bible says that
all people are sinners, unworthy and saved by God's grace without any human
works. Man cannot choose to be saved and has no power, without the work of the
Holy Spirit, to answer God. "By grace you have been saved through faith.
It is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. It is not of works, so no one
can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9) "For all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God"; (Romans 3:23) "But the Bible says that the faith
of Jesus Christ concludes that all are under sin and the promises of the Spirit
are given to those who believe. (Galatians 3:22) “We all, like sheep, have gone
astray, each one to his own way, and Jehovah himself has brought upon us all
our errors. (Isaiah 53: 6) "The love of Christ binds us, for we judge that
if one died for all, all died: (2 Corinthians 5:14) "Therefore, just as
sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin. Sin and death
also came to all people. "Because I sinned." (Romans 5:12) God is
clearly stated when he said that. that person is a sinner who cannot save
himself. So to say that within a person there is a spark of divinity or
goodness is contrary to what God has clearly stated. Arminians, who teach that
man is responsible for his own salvation, make the same mistake as Calvinists,
abusing the faulty thinking of man in interpreting God's Word. God says:
"... the heart of the flesh is enmity with God, because it does not follow
God's law” (Romans 8: 7).
The
natural man has nothing to offer God for salvation. God said that the natural
man was “dead in trespasses and sins.” (Eph. 2: 1, Col. 2:13) The dead are
lifeless and cannot do anything for themselves. Romans 10:13 says, "For
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." It must be
concluded that if “everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved”
then, in order to receive salvation, that person must be empowered to respond
to Jehovah's call. That is the work of the Holy Spirit that brings conviction
to one's heart and thus in a supernatural way enables one to respond. Verse 17
says, “So faith comes from hearing and hearing from the word of God. Therefore,
when a person hears the word of God, it is clear, God makes him believe and
accept it. Nowhere does the Bible teach that a person has a "divine
spark" and that a person deserves salvation by confessing the truth the
Holy Spirit makes him understand and accept. Salvation is a free gift given to
man. (See Eph. 2: 8-9; Rom. 5: 15-16, 18).
The Greek word for "grace" is
"charis" and means "a gift which a person receives without his
merit." So accepting God's grace, through salvation by faith, is not a
"work" of man when one is worthy of salvation. It is simply a matter
of responding to the entreaties of the Holy Spirit and believing in the fact
that Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world and that by simple faith in
Him, and through His work alone, one can be saved. The Bible teaches that once
saved a person gain eternal life. Arminian limits the meaning of the word
eternal. He argues that salvation is eternal only if a person maintains his
integrity by his good works. So the Arminian concludes that the word
"eternal" does not mean "eternal." This clearly violates
the normal and correct meaning of the word. Something eternal lasts forever
without interruption. If an action can be suspended or terminated it cannot be
said to be permanent. Arminians also wrongly concluded that they received the
gift of salvation because they were naturally able to respond to it. He fails
to realize that man, being spiritually dead, cannot answer in his own strength,
but can only believe and find the truth when he has been given supernatural
powers by the Holy Spirit. Arminian, bound and faithful to his unbiblical
system, assumes that if a person within him has the power to touch his
salvation, then also by good works, he should keep it. He downplayed God's plan
of salvation by grace, becoming the plan of salvation by grace and works. Therefore,
he falsely assumes that if a believer has the power to receive salvation on his
own, he can stop believing and fall into grace.
Arminian then preaches another gospel that is not
"another" (Gal. 1: 6-7). Charles Spurgeon, one of the greatest
preachers of all time, took the initiative in preaching the good news of both
salvation and the human obligation to respond to God's call for redemption. He
would preach the election of salvation one Sunday and the following Sunday
preaching that man must do his will and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Like
many Calvinists, he mistakenly thought of the election as referring to the one
chosen for salvation, when in the Bible it was God's plan of salvation, not
individual; more will be said about this later. A Calvinist fanatically assumes
that Charles Spurgeon was a Calvinist. Some, like the author Arthur Pink, who
have a large part of Calvinism in Five Point, boldly teach that God predestined
some to be saved and similarly predestined that others would be cast into hell.
He who is predestined for salvation will be completely saved and there is
nothing he can do to stop it. This is their teaching of "Infinite
Grace." When God gives grace it cannot be denied. On the other hand, the
unfortunate poor soul chosen by God to be cast out is not given grace, but is
born in hell and cannot receive Christ.
Well-known Calvinist Radio Preachers. John
MacArthur, of the radio program “Grace to You”, is a Calvinist fan of Five
Points. He argues that man does not want to accept God's sovereignty. He argues
that the truth of God's sovereignty irritates man and puffs up his feelings of
righteousness. MacArthur uses name-calling and quotes Arthur Pink, calling
those who reject Calvinism "practitioners of merit." He goes on to
say that some people reject the sovereignty of God with salvation: “Because the
fallen are for the weak of faith "(5) MacArthur builds a man of grass with
his imagination and attacks him. No wise Bible student or preacher of the Bible
can deny the absolute sovereignty of God over all things. The Bible clearly
states that man is not worthy to work for his salvation as God's work, but a
Calvinist mistakenly states that if a person does his will and believes in
Jesus Christ, it means that he gains or deserves his salvation. to those who
believe in the word of God and who reject the Calvinist religion, because it is
not in harmony with the Bible.
MacArthur went on to say that people hate the
doctrine of elections because it seems unfair that God would choose to save
some, but not others. MacArthur says, "... the reason a man so desperately
wants to play a part in his salvation is because he wants to use his
pride." (6) MacArthur does not have to say anything strongly about what
the Bible Christians believe. It is MacArthur's worst mistake, to judge the
hearts of ignorant men. Moreover, it is unfortunate that a famous person may
equate accepting Calvinism with a belief in the word of God, but that is what
he does. According to John MacArthur, "if you reject Calvinism you are not
a Bible believer!" In fact, there are many heretics who do not belong to
any of the so-called MacArthurian sects and who reject biblical Calvinism.
These individuals, as the author of the article did, reject Calvin and Arminian
ideas and apply only the Scriptures to themselves. There is overwhelming
evidence from the Bible to refute both ideas that are not in harmony with the
Bible. There are many God-fearing people who fully embrace God's sovereignty
and who reject human arrogance or human participation in the merits of
salvation.
David Jeremiah, of "Turning Point", is
one of Calvin's most prominent followers. In response to a letter sent by the
author to David Jeremiah, one of his assistants replied, “Our feeble minds in
study cannot integrate both predestination and choice, but our faith knows both
and holds both as true. . Scripture is directed to faith and not to thought.
"(7) He also quoted another source and said:" Now do not try to
confuse these two things (predestination and election) and with even greater
emphasis... Do not try to 'bring it back... , these seemingly contradictory
things? ...
In response, David's representative Jeremiah also
laid the groundwork for his vicious attack on this unscriptural doctrine. His
assertion that “Scripture is written for faith and not for thought” is unwise.
Yes, we live by faith ... but faith in the revealed word of God! Our faith does
not see ... but it is based on the word of God. According to the Bible, God is
certainly not the cause of chaos and the fact that he cannot lie, nor can he
contradict himself. It is an insult to God on the other hand to say, “For this
is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who wants all people to
be saved and to know the truth (1 Timothy 2: 4) And on the other hand, the
command, as David teaches Jeremiah, is that certain men are chosen and born to
be cast into hell." The reason why Calvinists wish to criticize those who
disagree with them for trying to "reconcile" this issue is that their
views are in direct conflict with what God has clearly stated and cannot be
protected according to the Bible. They rightly say that they cannot “reconcile”
God who saves others and denies His grace to others, because you cannot
"reconcile" the truth with error. You can not reconcile a God who is
a loving and just God, and on the other hand teaches that you are withholding
His mercy and grace and condemning the majority of the world to hell and will
not allow them to believe and be saved. It is an absurd view that God's word
does not guarantee. There is not a single verse in the Bible that says God has
set limits on His grace or decided that some people will go to hell without any
chance of salvation. Nowhere does the Bible teach that “kindness is without
blemish.” Calvinism is a false teaching built up in the minds of men who are
firmly rooted in the unpopular system of heresy. A Calvinist adheres to his own
conviction whether he contradicts God 'word or not.
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