“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. 15:10).
This month we
conclude our study of Calvinism and Arminianism. If you will recall: Calvinism
and Arminianism are two systems of theology that attempt to explain the
relationship between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility in the matter
of salvation. So over the past several months we have considered both sides.
Overall, we at Eugene Christian Church feel that the Arminian side has more
Scriptural support than the Calvinist side of this debate. However, there are
issues with both sides.
Calvinists will
argue that Arminians undermine God’s sovereignty. Yet as we have already
discussed, in reality Arminianism actually looks to God’s greater sovereignty
as He is able to orchestrate His plan for human history without undermining
mankind’s freewill.
Calvinists will
also argue that Arminianism leads to a works based salvation. To that I have
two responses. First, allow Scripture in its totality to determine what a work
is and what it is not. Thus, as has already been discussed, from Scripture
Arminianism is not a works based salvation. Second, from personal experience, I
have not seen mature Arminians who think and act as if their salvation is
dependent upon their own good works. Thus, the core doctrine of salvation by
grace through faith alone is adhered to by the majority of practicing
Arminians.
Apart from
objections to Arminianism like the above or other objections that simply look
at disagreements in the 5 key teachings of each (see http://eugenechristianchurch.blogspot.com/2018/05/theology-201-3-pick-brighter-tulip-part.html), most other objections can be easily eliminated. However,
as an Arminian, I see two that are genuinely worth considering.
The first of
which we looked at last month, open theism. No doubt open theism is a dangerous
doctrine that arose when Arminianism was taken to an extreme. Open theism
undermines God’s all-knowing nature. However, the Bible clearly affirms that
God does know all things that have ever happened and will ever happen calling
the end from the beginning (Isa. 46:10). Thus, open theism is in fact a
dangerous heresy.
A second concern
with Arminianism is the misunderstanding of the connection to Pelagianism.
Pelagianism derives its name from Pelagius who lived in the 5th century A.D.
and was a teacher in Rome, though he was British by birth. Before going into
much depth of what Pelagianism teachings, as an Arminian, I do not reject all
that he taught.
Pelagius denied
Calvinism’s teaching of original sin. Original sin is the teaching that all
people have inherited a sin nature from Adam and Eve, and are thus, sinners by
birth. Therefore, original sin essentially teaches that people will be held
accountable for not only their own sins but also for the sins of their parents
(Adam and Eve). However, we have talked extensively about how the Bible clearly
teaches that a person cannot be held responsible for someone else’s sins! On
our blog, you will find several articles affirming this (see http://eugenechristian
church.blogspot.com/2016/07/man-image-of-god-7-do-all-babies-go-to.html?m=0).
Likewise, Pelagius taught that people were
inherently good, similar to Adam and Eve. Ecclesiastes 7:29 affirms that. There
Solomon stated, “This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have
gone in search of many schemes.” However, unfortunately, eventually every
person makes the same decision that Adam and Eve made; they make the freewill
choice to sin (Rom. 3:23).
All Arminians
hold to some variation of this. The majority of Arminians teach what is
sometimes referred to as semi-Pelagianism. “This view says that the only
hereditary spiritual effect of Adam’s sin is a state of partial depravity.
Every baby is born partially depraved, having a soul that is corrupted with
spiritual sickness or weakness, i.e., with a ‘bent’ or inclination toward
sinning. Still, it is not a total depravity; freewill is not lost. Also, as in
the previous view, a child is born innocent, and thus free from guilt and
condemnation” (Jack Cottrell, The Faith Once for All, p. 180). This
can be witnessed in children at a very early age as they argue with others
concerning whose toys they are playing with. “MINE!” Thus, one does not need to
teach a child how to be selfish, they inherently act that way. However, as
discussed, this does not undermine original grace, and points to how each child
goes their own way very early on. “As it is written: "There is no one
righteous, not even one” (Rom. 3:10).
This brings us to an issue that Pelagius taught. Pelagius denied
that our own sin corrupts our nature. The Bible makes very clear that when a
person sins, sin/Satan becomes their master. In Ephesians 2:1-3, the Apostle
Paul said, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in
which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the
ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are
disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the
cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the
rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.”
This brings us to something else that Pelagius undermined, the
grace of God. Pelagius taught that grace picked up where our efforts and
goodness ended. In other words, Pelagius thought of grace as secondary or
supplemental. There could be nothing further from the truth. Grace is necessary
throughout all of life and it is not a supplement. It is the only thing that we
have.
The Apostle Paul went on in Ephesians 2 to say, “But because of
His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ
even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved.
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms
in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the
incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ
Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast”
(Eph. 2:4-9).
Grace is not just something that we need for salvation. Some in
actual practice have taught that grace is necessary for a person to be saved
initially, yet they are kept in a saving relationship with Jesus Christ by
obedience. That is a works based salvation, and it is not possible. Just try to
prevent yourself from sinning and see how that goes. Now please do not misunderstand
me, the Bible clearly teaches that we should strive to live holy, God honoring
lives (Heb. 12:14; 1 Peter 1:16). Yet in actual practice, it is impossible to
keep oneself from sinning from time to time. Thus, there is a continual need
for God’s grace.
One writer speaking of the dangers of Pelagius’s view of grace
said, “All this implies, of course, that if you are extremely talented and
self-disciplined and highly-motivated, you may not need grace at all. In other
words, Pelagius’ concept of divine grace, at least potentially, makes the death
and resurrection of Christ unnecessary” -(Sam Storms, 10 Things You Should
Know about Pelagius and Pelagianism).
Additionally, most times that the word grace appears in the Bible,
it is not referring to saving grace. Most times it is referring to God’s
kindness and love as displayed in His willingness to help us and answer our
prayers. That is grace that we need daily as well.
The bottom line is that we all need God’s grace. No one is going to
get into heaven by simply being “a good person.” NO! Every person who makes it
to heaven will be there on account of nothing other than God’s amazing grace!
Have you received His grace? And are you living in His grace each
and every day? I pray that you are!
In His service,
Matt
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