The Damnable Heresy of Arminianism

But we who believe the true gospel know that this issue lies at the heart of Christianity. The doctrines of grace are the basics of the Christian faith, not some higher theology that only seminarians are able to understand. It is a life and death issue; for if one is an Arminian, he is dead in his sins.  

--Outside the Camp....

{This article was written in 2012.  While my view has changed, I am leaving this in place because the criticisms of Arminianism are still valid.  I no longer believe that all Arminians are lost.  But it should be noted that even Gordon H. Clark said that if certain Arminians cross over into Pelagianism, that is a heresy that would be excluding from biblical Christianity.  I would add neo-orthodoxy and open theism and theological liberalism to that list of heresies.  Charlie J. Ray.  October 3, 2024.}

I generally do not agree with some of the extreme positions taken on the Outside the Camp website. However, the following article regarding Arminianism expresses my own view of the matter. Since Arminianism directly contradicts the Gospel on every point of the five points of the Remonstrandts, then it is difficult to see how anyone could be saved under that system of doctrine. Here is the article in its entirety: 

Is Arminianism a damnable heresy? Most people who say they believe the doctrines of grace would agree that Arminianism is a theological error. But as soon as one throws in the word "heresy," the number of people who would go that far drops off quite a bit. When one goes so far as to say that Arminianism is a damnable heresy (thus saying that all who believe in Arminianism are unregenerate), then the number of people who agree is narrowed to a very few. In fact, the "tolerant sovereign-gracers" would call such a person an unloving, divisive schismatic who is arguing over minute and complex theological issues. Believing the doctrines of grace is just part of their "tradition" or "heritage." Oh, the doctrines of grace are "precious truths," but they are not essential to Christianity; they are merely a "more Biblical perspective." Arminians are seen to be just "happily inconsistent" Christians who "just need a little different emphasis in their theology." Calling Arminians unregenerate is almost unheard of.

But we who believe the true gospel know that this issue lies at the heart of Christianity. The doctrines of grace are the basics of the Christian faith, not some higher theology that only seminarians are able to understand. It is a life and death issue; for if one is an Arminian, he is dead in his sins. It is an issue of truth versus lies; an issue of the true gospel versus another gospel; an issue of the true God versus a false god. In fact, the doctrines of grace are what differentiate Christianity from every other false religion.

What do Arminians believe?

(1) Arminians believe that, although God is the creator of the universe, He did not decree everything that comes to pass. This includes the belief that God did not choose before the foundation of the earth who would be saved and who would be damned. Instead, they say that God saw what would happen in the future and made His determinations based on what human beings did. 

What does the Scripture say about God's decree and control of everything that comes to pass?

"See now that I, I [am] He, and there [is] no other God with Me. I kill, and I keep alive. I wound and I heal, and there [is] no deliverer from My hand" (Deuteronomy 32:39). "Jehovah kills and keeps alive; He brings down and causes to go to Sheol. Jehovah brings down, and He gives riches; He brings low; yea, He lifts up high. He raises the poor from the dust; He lifts up the needy from the dunghill, to cause [them] to sit with nobles; yea, He causes them to inherit a throne of honor; for to Jehovah [are] the pillars of the earth; and He sets the habitable world on them" (1 Samuel 2:6-8). "Behold, He breaks down, and no one builds; He shuts against a man, and no one opens. Behold, He holds back the waters, and they dry up; and He sends them out, and they overflow the earth. With Him [is] strength and sound wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are His. He causes wise men to go stripped; and He makes judges fools. He loosens the bonds of kings, and He binds their loins with a girdle; making priests walk [away] stripped; and He overthrows the mighty; turning aside the lip of the trusted men; and He takes away the reason of the aged. He pours scorn on nobles, and He loosens the girdle of the mighty; revealing deep things out of darkness; and He brings the shadow of death to light. He gives greatness to the nations, and He destroys them; spreading out the nations, and He leads them out. He takes away the heart of the heads of the people of the land; and He causes them to wander in a waste [in which is] no path. They grope in the dark, and [there] is no light; and He makes them stagger like a drunkard" (Job 12:14-25). "But He [is] in one [mind], and who can turn Him? Yea, His soul desires, and He does [it]. For He fulfilled my lot, and many like these are with Him" (Job 23:13-14). "But our God [is] in Heaven; He has done all that He has pleased" (Psalm 115:3). "For I know that Jehovah [is] great, and our Lord [is] above all gods. Every [thing] which Jehovah [was] pleased to do, He did, in the heavens and in the earth, and in the seas and all deep places. He causes the vapors to rise from the end of the earth; He makes lightnings for the rain; He brings the wind out of His storehouses" (Psalm 135:5-7). "The lot is cast into the lap, but all ordering of it [is] from Jehovah" (Proverbs 16:33). "[As] streams of waters, the king's heart [is] in the hand of Jehovah; He turns it wherever He desires" (Proverbs 21:1). "Have you not known? Have you not heard? Was it not told to you from the beginning? Did you not discern [from] the foundations of the earth? He who sits on the circle of the earth, even those living in it are like grasshoppers; He who stretches the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; who gives potentates into nothing. He makes judges of the earth as nothing. Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they are not sown; yea, their stem [is] not taking root in the earth. And He shall also blow on them, and they shall wither, and the tempest shall lift them up like stubble. To whom then will you compare Me, or [am] I equaled, says the Holy One? Lift up your eyes on high and look: Who has created these? Who brings out their host by number? By greatness of vigor, and might of power, He calls them all by names; not one is lacking" (Isaiah 40:21-26). "Behold, the former things have come to pass, and I declare new things before they happen, I cause you to hear" (Isaiah 42:9). "I [am] Jehovah, and [there is] none else; there is no God except Me. I will clothe you, though you do not know Me, that they may know from the rising of the sun, and to its going down, that [there is] none besides Me; I [am] Jehovah, and there is none else; forming light, and creating darkness; making peace, and creating evil. I, Jehovah, do all these things" (Isaiah 45:5-7). "Remember former things from forever, for I [am] God, and no one else [is] God, even none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from the past those things which were not done, saying, My counsel shall rise; and, I will do all My desire; calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of My counsel from a far off land. Yes, I have spoken; yes, I will cause it to come; I have formed; yes, I will do it" (Isaiah 46:9-11). "O house of Israel, can I not do to you as this potter? says Jehovah. Behold, as the clay in the potter's hand, [so are] you in My hand, O house of Israel" (Jeremiah 18:6). "Who [is] this speaking, and it happens [when] the Lord does not command it?" (Lamentations 3:37). "And all the trees of the field shall know that I, Jehovah, have brought down the high tree [and] have exalted the low tree, [and] have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree flourish. I, Jehovah, have spoken and acted" (Ezekiel 17:24).

 

Is a god who does not control all of his creation the God of Holy Scripture? And if it is not the God of Holy Scripture, is it a false god? What is God's attitude toward those who worship false gods?

If God is not in control of every action of every creature, including man, then He cannot make His promises come to pass, and He is not God.

What does Scripture say about the Arminian claim that God does not choose to save or damn individuals based solely upon His sovereign choice?

"And coming near, the disciples said to Him, Why do You speak to them in parables? And answering, He said to them, Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven, but it has not been given to those. For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have overabundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. Because of this, I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled on them, which says, In hearing you will hear and in no way understand, and seeing you will see yet in no way perceive. For the heart of this people has grown fat, and they heard heavily with the ears, and they have closed their eyes, that they not see with the eyes, or hear with the ears, and understand with the heart, and be converted, and I heal them" (Matthew 13:10-15). "For even as the Father raises the dead, and gives life, so also the Son gives life to whomever He wills" (John 5:21). "All that the Father gives to Me shall come to Me, and the [one] coming to Me I will in no way cast out" (John 6:37). "And He said, Because of this, I have told you that no one is able to come to Me except it is given to him from My Father" (John 6:65). "And hearing, the nations rejoiced and glorified the Word of the Lord. And as many as were appointed to eternal life believed" (Acts 13:48). "But we know that [to] the [ones] loving God all things work together for good, [to] those being called according to purpose; because whom He foreknew, He also predestinated [to be] conformed to the image of His Son, for Him to be [the] First-born among many brothers. But whom He predestinated, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified" (Romans 8:28-30). "for [the children] not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of the [One] calling, it was said to her, The greater shall serve the lesser; even as it has been written, I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau. What then shall we say? Is there not unrighteousness with God? Let it not be! For He said to Moses, I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will pity whomever I will pity. So, then, [it is] not of the [one] willing, nor of the [one] running, but of the [One] showing mercy, of God. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, For this very thing I raised you up, so that I might display My power in you, and so that My name might be publicized in all the earth. So, then, to whom He desires, He shows mercy. And to whom He desires, He hardens. You will then say to me, Why does He yet find fault? For who has resisted His will? Yes, rather, O man, who are you answering against God? Shall the thing formed say to the [One] forming [it], Why did You make me like this? Or does not the potter have authority over the clay, out of the one lump to make one vessel to honor, and one to dishonor? But if God, desiring to demonstrate His wrath, and to make His power known, endured in much long-suffering vessels of wrath having been fitted out for destruction, and that He make known the riches of His glory on vessels of mercy which He before prepared for glory, whom He also called, not only us, of Jews, but also out of nations" (Romans 9:11-24). "Blessed [is] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies with Christ, even as He elected us in Him before [the] foundation of [the] world, for us to be holy and without blemish before Him in love, predestinating us to adoption through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to [the] praise of [the] glory of His grace in which He favored us in the [One] having been loved" (Ephesians 1:3-6). "in whom we also have been chosen to an inheritance, being predestinated according to [the] purpose of the [One] working all things according to the counsel of His [own] will" (Ephesians 1:11). "But we ought to thank God always concerning you, brothers, beloved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning to salvation in sanctification of [the] Spirit and belief of [the] truth, to which He called you through our gospel, to obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14). "the [One] having saved us and having called [us] with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to [His] own purpose and grace given to us in Christ Jesus before eternal times" (2 Timothy 1:9). "Then to you who believe [belongs] the preciousness. But to disobeying ones, [He is the] Stone which those building rejected; this One became [the] Head of the Corner, and a Stone-of-stumbling, and a Rock-of-offense to the [ones] stumbling, being disobedient to the Word, to which they were also appointed" (1 Peter 2:7-8).

A God who makes decisions based on what man does is not God. Do Arminians believe in God? 

(2) Arminians believe that the fall of Adam did not make man totally unable to come to God. They believe that man was affected by the fall, but only to the extent that it is now difficult for men to come to God but not impossible. What does Scripture say? 

"But we are all as the unclean [thing], and all our righteousnesses are as a menstruation cloth. And we all fade as a leaf, and like the wind our iniquities take us away. And [there is] not one who calls on Your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You. For You have hidden Your face from us, and have melted us away into the hand of our iniquities" (Isaiah 64:6-7). "No one is able to come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day" (John 6:44). "What then? Do we excel? Not at all! For we have charged both Jews and Greeks before, all [with] being under sin; according as it has been written, [There is] not a righteous one, not even one! [There is] not [one] understanding; [there is] not [one] seeking God. All turned away, [they] became worthless together, not [one is] doing goodness, not so much as one!" (Romans 3:9-12). "For the ones that are according to flesh mind the things of the flesh. And the ones according to Spirit [mind] the things of the Spirit. For the mind of the flesh [is] death, but the mind of the Spirit [is] life and peace; because the mind of the flesh [is] enmity towards God; for it is not being subjected to the Law of God, for neither can it [be]. And those being in the flesh are not able to please God" (Romans 8:5-8). "But a natural man does not receive the things of [the] Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he is not able to know [them], because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14).

From these Scriptures, would you conclude that men have the free will to either choose good or evil? Is the Arminian view a Christian view of unregenerate man? If it is not Christian, then what is it?

(3) Arminians believe that when the Holy Spirit intends to regenerate a man's heart, the man has the ability to resist the Holy Spirit. Not only do they believe this, but some also believe that once a man is regenerated, even though God wants him to go to heaven, he can lose his salvation and end up in hell. These beliefs show one thing: The view that man is more powerful than God. Man can thwart God's plan. Man is on the throne, and God is subservient to the choices of man. This is incredible blasphemy. Reader, are you getting the full impact of this? Think about it for a moment: A god that is dependent upon man -- a god that is frustrated by the actions of man. Who in the world would call these people Christians? The following are some Scriptures to expose these notions as blasphemous lies: 

"All that the Father gives to Me shall come to Me, and the [one] coming to Me I will in no way cast out" (John 6:37). "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give eternal life to them, and they shall not perish to the age, never! And not anyone shall pluck them out of My hand. My Father who has given [them] to Me is greater than all, and no one is able to pluck out of My Father's hand" (John 10:27-29). "But we know that [to] the [ones] loving God all things work together for good, [to] those being called according to purpose; because whom He foreknew, He also predestinated [to be] conformed to the image of His Son, for Him to be [the] First-born among many brothers. But whom He predestinated, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified" (Romans 8:28-30). "But He confirming us and anointing us with you in Christ is God, even He having sealed us, and having given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts" (2 Corinthians 1:21-22). "in whom also you, hearing the Word of Truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also believing you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is an earnest of our inheritance, to [the] redemption of the purchased possession, to [the] praise of His glory" (Ephesians 1:13-14). "being persuaded of this very thing, that the [One] having begun a good work in you will finish [it] until [the] day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6).

(4) Arminians believe that Jesus Christ died for every single human being without exception, including those who are and who will end up burning in hell. These blasphemers believe that the precious blood of Jesus, shed for the remission of sins, has no power to save in and of itself. This should anger us Christians with a holy anger. This should stir our souls to cry out against this lie from the pit of hell.

The atoning work of Christ is at the very heart of the gospel. If one gets the atonement wrong, one gets the gospel wrong. We who are Christians believe in salvation conditioned on the work of Christ alone. That means that we believe that it is the work of Christ that makes the only difference between salvation and damnation. That also means that we believe that the work of Christ ensures the salvation of all whom Christ represented. Do Arminians believe this, or do they believe in salvation conditioned on the sinner?

Let us briefly go over some terms with which all of us should be familiar, and how they relate to the topic at hand. 

First, atonement. Atonement means reconciliation. Christ's blood atoned -- it achieved reconciliation between God and the people for whom Christ died. If Christ died for everyone, which is what the Arminians say, then every single person has been reconciled to God. And if every single person has been reconciled to God, then when God sends people to hell, He is a liar.

Second, propitiation. To propitiate means to appease or to pacify. Christ was a propitiatory sacrifice; He appeased God's wrath when He became sin for His people and incurred the judgment for that sin. If Christ died for everyone without exception, then God's wrath against every single person's sin has been appeased. However, if God sends even one person to hell whose sins have been punished, then God is punishing twice for the same sins -- once when Jesus died, and now a second time when people are being punished in hell. So has God's wrath really been appeased? If God judges anyone to hell for whom Christ died, then this nullifies Christ as propitiation.

Third, redemption. To redeem means to pay the price for a possession so as to rescue or deliver that possession. Ransom is another word that is used. Christ's blood paid the price for His people's sins and bought His people as His very own. If Christ died for everyone without exception, every single person has been bought with Christ's blood and has been claimed as His own. What, then, are blood-bought sinners doing in hell? To think that some people believe that some human beings who were bought by the blood of Christ, whose sins have been paid for, are being tormented in hell is utterly repugnant. It is spitting in Christ's face. Of what account is Christ's blood? The precious blood of Christ is trampled underfoot by these God-haters.

For whom did Christ die? The Scriptures cannot be more clear:

"And she will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). "Even as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28). "I am the Good Shepherd! The Good Shepherd lays down His life on behalf of the sheep" (John 10:11). "Even as the Father knows Me, I also know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep" (John 10:15). "But you do not believe for you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give eternal life to them, and they shall not perish to the age, never! And not anyone shall pluck them out of My hand" (John 10:26-28). "Then take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit placed you [as] overseers, to shepherd the assembly of God which He purchased through [His] own blood" (Acts 20:28). "For I delivered to you in the first place what I also received, that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3). "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the assembly and gave Himself up on its behalf" (Ephesians 5:25). "For this reason He ought by all means to become like [His] brothers, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the things respecting God, in order to make propitiation for the sins of [His] people" (Hebrews 2:17).

What conclusions can we come to from this study?

Romans 1:16-17 says that the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation, reveals the righteousness of God. Romans 10:3 says that those who are ignorant of this righteousness of God revealed in the gospel are unregenerate. Mark 16:16 says that those who do not believe the gospel are unregenerate. 2 John 9 says that those who do not abide in the doctrine of Christ are unregenerate. Galatians 1:6-9 says that anyone who preaches a different gospel than the gospel of the Apostles is unregenerate. Do Arminians believe the gospel? Are Arminians ignorant of the righteousness of God revealed in the gospel? Do Arminians abide in the doctrine of Christ? Do Arminians believe and preach a different gospel? Is a gospel that tells people that they have the ability to make a decision for Christ, that tells people that God needs us to cooperate with Him in order for us to be saved, that tells people that Christ's blood paid the price for the sins of everyone in the whole world -- is that the true gospel or a different gospel?

Arminians have created a god of themselves. The god of self is on the throne. Glory is given to man and not to God. In order to put self on the throne, you must relegate God to an impotent, helpless, weak, changeable being, and that is exactly what Arminians do. 

Arminians have an impotent god whose will is not accomplished without human cooperation. When humans refuse to cooperate with His "plan," God has to either go to "Plan B" or give up the plan altogether.

Arminians have an impotent atonement in which Christ's blood does not ensure the salvation of all for whom He died. The work of Christ does not make the only difference between salvation and damnation; instead, Jesus died to save no one in particular. Thus, it is up to the sinner to make the difference. Redemption, then, is not people being "bought by the blood of Christ" unto salvation, but it is a "take it or leave it" redemption. They believe that some blood-bought sinners will go to hell.

Arminians believe that, since God foresaw which people would believe, He chose them to be saved. This makes salvation dependent upon the merit of man and not upon God's grace. It also makes room for the gospel of self-esteem, which says that there was something of worth in me that God saw, and thus He chose me.

Arminians believe that an unregenerate sinner is not totally dead in sins. They believe that an unregenerate sinner can reach out to God. The truth is that a dead man cannot reach out unless a miracle of regeneration takes place.

Arminians believe in decisional regeneration; the Holy Spirit waits and pleads impotently for the sinner to make a decision and only when the sinner decides to follow Jesus does the work of regeneration happen in the sinner's heart. This gives rise to "evangelism" based on getting as many people as possible to "make a decision for Christ." It looks at the number of people who came forward as a measure of success.

Arminians believe that, since everyone has the potential to come to Christ, we must do everything within our power to get them to make a decision. This gives rise to unbeliever-centered evangelism rather than God-centered evangelism. In order to attract the unbeliever, gimmicks are used to appeal to the unbeliever, or the service is "user-friendly" and makes the unbeliever feel as comfortable as possible. God is not preached as a Holy, Almighty Lord to Whom the sinner is commanded to bow, but He is preached as someone who needs the sinner to come to Him. 

Arminians believe that we need to be doing good works because it keeps us from falling away, as opposed to doing good works out of obedience and love and gratitude for the God who chose us not based on anything that we have done.

Arminians believe that the only difference between someone who goes to heaven and someone who goes to hell is not what Christ has done, but is what the heaven-bound person has done for himself.

Read the words of the world-famous heretic, Billy Graham: "The prayer needed is not that Christ may accept you, but rather that you will accept Christ. You do not have to wait for Christ to accept you. He is waiting to see the evidence of your faith in accepting him. The decision is yours, not Christ's. He decided in favor of you when he died for you on the cross. Now you must decide for him. ... Christ will not enter your life in opposition to your beliefs. As soon as he sees that you believe in him and trust in his promise, he will enter. ... [T]he initial step is one of absolute faith on your part" (from the March 1979 My Answer, as quoted in the Jan/Feb 1982 issue of The Trinity Review). This is blasphemy that comes from the father of lies, and unless God sees fit to save him, Billy Graham will go to hell.

What then should our response be as believers?

First, we must judge righteous judgment. We must call a liar a liar and an idolater an idolater. This will not win any popularity contests, but it is totally biblical. Arminianism is a lie. Arminianism is wickedness. Arminians are liars. Arminians are wicked sinners. They are not my brothers, and they are not my sisters. Second, if we truly believe that the christ of Arminianism is not the Christ of Holy Scripture and that Arminians are not Christians, then we must be separate from them.

"Do not be unequally yoked [with] unbelievers. For what partnership does righteousness [have] with lawlessness? And what fellowship does light [have] with darkness? And what agreement does Christ [have] with Belial? Or what part does a believer [have] with an unbeliever? And what agreement does a temple of God [have] with idols? For you are a temple of [the] living God, even as God said, I will dwell in them and walk among [them], and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Because of this, come out from among them and be separated, says [the] Lord, and do not touch [the] unclean thing, and I will receive you. And I will be a Father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to Me, says [the] Lord Almighty" (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove [them]" (Ephesians 5:11).

2 Timothy 3:1-7 gives us a description of wickedness in the last days: "But know this, that in [the] last days grievous times will be [upon us]. For men will be lovers of themselves, money-lovers, braggarts, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural feeling, unyielding, slanderers, without self-control, savage, haters of good, betrayers, reckless, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it; even turn away from these. For of these are those creeping into houses and leading silly women captive, [the ones] having been heaped with sins, being led away by various lusts, always learning, but never being able to come to a full knowledge of [the] truth" (2 Timothy 3:1-7).

Are Arminians lovers of themselves? Do they hold to a form of godliness but deny its power, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth? 

Psalm 1 gives the description of those who do not walk in the counsel of Arminians or stand in the path of Arminians or sit in the seat of Arminians and says that Arminians will not stand in the assembly of the righteous. 2 John 1:11 says that those who consider Arminians to be their brothers in Christ are participants in the evil deeds of the Arminians and are thus just as unregenerate as the Arminians. 

Third, we must present a bold witness to the world and to professing Christianity. We are different than the church down the road. It does make a difference. And the world and other professing Christians should be able to see that difference. We believe in a sovereign God who has decreed every single thing that has ever come to pass and will ever come to pass. We believe that the work of Christ alone ensures the salvation of all whom He represented and is what makes the difference between salvation and damnation. 

Fourth, we must confront others who profess to be Christians about these basics of the faith. We must not let a relationship with a professing Christian even start without a confrontation of this type. If they are not saved, God may use this confrontation to change their hearts and grant them repentance. If they are saved, there is fellowship with them in the truth.

Fifth, we must recognize Arminianism that comes in the guise of sovereign grace. There are very well-known people out there who claim to believe the doctrines of grace who are totally Arminian in their evangelism. They are putting forth the lie that, although redemption is particular to the elect, true gospel preaching tells people that God loves everyone, truly desires that everyone be saved, and shows grace to everyone in the "offering" of the gospel, whereas 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 makes it clear that preaching is for the purpose of saving some and hardening others. The gospel is not an offer -- it is God's promise to save His people conditioned on the atoning blood and imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ alone. Some will say that Christ's atonement is "sufficient for all but efficient for the elect." This is nothing more than universal atonement in disguise. Some will say that salvation is conditioned on faith and that the Holy Spirit enables the person to meet that condition. This is nothing more than a version of salvation conditioned on the sinner. If salvation is conditioned in any way to any degree on the sinner, even if God enables the person to meet the condition, then it is not salvation conditioned on the work of Christ alone, and it is a false gospel.

Sixth, we must not be proud that we are believers. In a study such as this in which a certain segment of professing Christianity is exposed as wicked, it is inevitable that some will see this as pride. But exposing wickedness should not come from pride. It should come from obedience to God's Word. And we must always remember that if it were not for the grace of God, we, too, would be God-hating Arminians. The grace that God has bestowed upon us should make us fall on our faces in the dirt in humility, knowing that we have done nothing to deserve this salvation. We should also be in constant praise and wonder at the grace of Almighty God toward us. It should make us live a life of gratitude and love for God, and this gratitude and love must translate into obedience of God's commands. We do not obey for the same reason the Arminian obeys. The Arminian is obeying because he believes his final glory is conditioned on his obedience. We obey out of love for a God who chose us before the foundation of the world and who saved us and will keep us saved for His own glory.

After hearing all this, someone may ask, "But don't Arminians believe that Jesus Christ is God?" Our response should be, "What kind of god do Arminians say that Jesus is?" Someone else may ask, "But don't Arminians believe that Christ died on the cross for our sins?" Our response should be, "Do Arminians believe that Christ's blood atoned, redeemed, and propitiated? If not, what in the world does an Arminian mean by 'Christ died on the cross for our sins?'" Arminians say biblical phrases. They talk of Christ's death for sinners. They talk of grace. They even talk of the sovereignty of God. But when you confront them on what they really mean, you find that their house is built on sand.

Christians are to contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered to all the saints, as God says in Jude 3. The latter part of Isaiah 48:11 says,"I will not give My glory to another." The first part of Isaiah 42:8 says the same thing: "I [am] Jehovah; that is My name; and I will not give My glory to another." May we live with a holy zeal to give God all the glory, and, as God says in 2 Corinthians 10:5, let us demolish arguments and every high thing lifting up itself against the knowledge of God, and let us bring into captivity every thought into the obedience of Christ.

by Marc D. Carpenter
www.outsidethecamp.org

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 The Damnable Heresy of Arminianism