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 possesses 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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) precedes
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 was taken from The
Five Points of CALVINISM - Defined, Defended, Documented. David N. Steele and Curtis
Thomas, are Baptist ministers in Little Rock, Arkansas. Their contrast of
the Five Points of Calvinism with the Five Points of Arminianism is the
clearest and most concise form found for the edification of the average
student. It is also included as an Appendix in, Romans: An Interpretive Outline by the same authors. Each of these books is published by the
Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., Phillipsburg, N.J.
For a more in depth statement
of the above comparison, go to the "Canons of the Synod of Dordt".
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