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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) mans 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, mans 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 Christs 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. Total Depravity 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 mans freedom. Each sinner posses a free will, and his eternal destiny depends on how he uses it.
Mans 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 Gods Spirit and be regenerated or resist Gods grace and perish. The lost sinner needs the Spirits assistance, but he does not have to be regenerated by the Spirit before he can believe, for faith is mans act and precedes the new birth. Faith is the sinners gift to God; it is mans contribution to salvation. Because of the fall, man is unable of himself to savings 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 Spirits 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 Gods gift of salvation it is Gods gift to the sinner, not the sinners gift to God. Unconditional Election Gods 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 mans 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 sinners choice of Christ, not Gods choice of the sinner, is the ultimate cause of salvation.
Gods 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 Gods 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 Gods choice of the sinner, not the sinners choice of Christ, is the ultimate cause of salvation. Limited Atonement Christs 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 anyones sins.
Christs redemption becomes effective only if man chooses to accept it. Christs redeeming work was intended to save the elect only and actually secured salvation for them. His death was substitution ary endurance of the penalty of sin in the place of certain specified sinners. In addition to putting away the sins of His people, Christs 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. Irresistible Grace 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 Spirits call. The Spirit cannot regenerate the sinner until he believes; faith (which is mans contribution) proceeds and makes possible the new birth. Thus, mans free will limits the Spirit in the application of Christs 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.
Gods grace, therefore, is not invincible; it can be, and often is, resisted and thwarted by man. 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 mans will, nor is He dependent upon mans cooperation for success.
The Spirit graciously causes the elect sinner to cooperate, to believe, to repent, to come freely and willingly to Christ. Gods grace, therefore, is invincible; it never fails to result in the salvation of those to whom it is extended. Perseverance of the saints/Present assurance of the saints Those who believe and are truly saved can lose their salvation by failing to keep up their faith, etc. All Arminian's 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. Calvinist believe 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.
Berkhof, Louis. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing, pp. 415 - 549. (Calvinist) Erickson, Millard. Christian Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, pp. 907 - 928. (Moderate Calvinist) Forster, Roger T. and Marston, V.
Paul. Gods Strategy in Human History. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1973. (Moderate Arminian) Murray, John. Redemption Applied and Accomplished.
Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1989. (Calvinist) Packer, J. I. Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God.
Downers Grove: Inter Varsity Press, 1961. (Calvinist) Pinnock, Clark, ed. Grace Unlimited. Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1975. (Moderate Arminian) Shank, Robert. Elect in the Son. Springfield, Mo. : Westcott Publishers, 1970. (Arminian) Thiessen, Henry C. Introductory Lectures in Systematic Theology.
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing, 1983. (Moderate Arminian)
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