I did not use this term because I wanted to particularly nag those who might call themselves Arminians, or those who are called Arminians by others.
Those well versed in the theological battles that existed in church history know that the original five points of Jacobus Arminius are normally not what is believed by the average person who is labeled "Arminian" by Calvinists. I used the title merely as an attention-getter, because as you read you will not find a point by point contrast of Calvinism, and Arminianism.
Because catch-all labels can put a person in a camp with which he cannot fully agree, we have come up with the ludicrous labels "Two point Calvinists" or "Three and a half point Calvinists."
If we were to content ourselves with a fundamentalism consisting of five salient points, would we countenance a "One and a half point Fundamentalist"?
I, personally, try to resist those labels because those labels are loaded with different content for different people. And people love to slap a label on you and then everybody defines that label in a different way. So, I really run from those labels.
That is all to say we are not going to dwell on terms; rather, we will try to adhere to biblical principles, and probably are going to answer the simple question, "Can someone who disagrees with me on theology or practice still be a Christian?"
Possibly our most difficult task will be to partition the heart from the head. We will have to dismiss some prevalent myths.
Some believe that "Faith cometh by hearing" has reference to the ears. We see two very similar Greek words among those used for "hearing." The first is akoe (which is used in Romans 10:17a, quoted above) and the second akouo. The latter is the primary verb and simply means to hear, that is, to use your ears. The "hearing" by which faith comes is not the organ of hearing, but the thing heard.
We often misquote Romans 10:17 - we say "Faith comes by hearing the word of God." This is not correct. The Bible says, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
In other words, Faith comes by that which is heard, and that which is heard comes from the Word of God.
The hearing of which the Bible speaks is not speaking of physical ears, for faith comes from hearing, and it is in the heart that man has faith (believes) (Romans 10:9,10)
It is in the heart that the work of salvation is done, and this is manifested by the outward confession. However, we must be careful lest we trust an outward confession that has not had a work done in the heart.
It is a disgrace to have rotten theology. We are clearly commanded to study to show ourselves approved unto God. One great hazard is that today we have so many Bible teachers on radio and television, and so many books with clever titles in written or video form that many Christians never study. More unfortunately, their study is often limited to what a man has convinced them is true, that there is no open mindedness at all.
For example, we will take two positions on biblical election. One Christian says that God has unconditionally elected certain ones to Heaven, and another says that it was God's foreknowledge that allowed Him to know to elect only those who would respond to the Gospel.
Can both of these be Christians?
Two men believe in the eternal security of the believer. One believes that those who don't believe this truth must be lost; the other believes there are some Christians who don't embrace this truth. Can both of these be Christians?
And how about the man who doesn't believe in eternal security?
And what about the man who believes in eternal security but was never regenerated?
Or what about the man who doesn't fully understand it, but believes that something must happen when the child is baptized?
How about the man who keeps the Sabbath? Or even believes that Sabbath-keeping is necessary for salvation? Can he be saved?
The answer is that all of the above are saved IF a work of regeneration has been wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit.
Now it is good to go through all things we believe and discern if they are scriptural. But I can assure you some Christians who do not believe in eternal security think that they have scriptural proof.
Everything depends on what message the person has responded to.
If the person, in his heart, hears and responds to the message of the true Gospel, he is saved. If, after he is saved, a man tells him he must be baptized in order to be really saved, he is still saved. No incorrect post-salvation theology can do away with the work of Christ.
If a person responds to a message that tells him he must believe and be baptized in order to be saved, the Holy Spirit didn't tell him that, so he is not saved.
If a person responds to the Spirit's message and is saved, and then is told by a man that he must keep the Sabbath in order to be saved, he is still saved.
But if the message was "believe and keep the Sabbath," he is not saved, simply because the Holy Spirit does not say, "Believe and keep the Sabbath for salvation."
That is one reason why we must be sure we preach the pure Gospel. If our message is anything more than grace alone, we can still get people to respond to that message. Most people would like to have the opportunity to do something, even if it is just walk the aisle or be baptized.
To sum it up:
We know the Holy Spirit will only witness to the true message of the Gospel.
If the Holy Spirit has done His work in the heart and the person responds to the message He has given, the person will be eternally saved.
If the work is truly done, it is an infinite work, and no incorrect theology can undo it (Ecclesiastes 3:14).
If the message received is Christ + anything, it was not given by the Holy Spirit. It may have been given by a loud preacher, but, as Charles Spurgeon said, "Nonsense does not improve by being bellowed."
The true work of salvation is interior, and although there will be outward manifestations of it, no one can say (as was often said of Mother Teresa ), she must have been saved because she manifested the fruit of the Spirit. Nor can one know for certain that one is not saved because of a moral lapse
The Bible sums it up beautifully, "The Lord knoweth them that are His."
Those well versed in the theological battles that existed in church history know that the original five points of Jacobus Arminius are normally not what is believed by the average person who is labeled "Arminian" by Calvinists. I used the title merely as an attention-getter, because as you read you will not find a point by point contrast of Calvinism, and Arminianism.
Because catch-all labels can put a person in a camp with which he cannot fully agree, we have come up with the ludicrous labels "Two point Calvinists" or "Three and a half point Calvinists."
If we were to content ourselves with a fundamentalism consisting of five salient points, would we countenance a "One and a half point Fundamentalist"?
I, personally, try to resist those labels because those labels are loaded with different content for different people. And people love to slap a label on you and then everybody defines that label in a different way. So, I really run from those labels.
That is all to say we are not going to dwell on terms; rather, we will try to adhere to biblical principles, and probably are going to answer the simple question, "Can someone who disagrees with me on theology or practice still be a Christian?"
Possibly our most difficult task will be to partition the heart from the head. We will have to dismiss some prevalent myths.
Some believe that "Faith cometh by hearing" has reference to the ears. We see two very similar Greek words among those used for "hearing." The first is akoe (which is used in Romans 10:17a, quoted above) and the second akouo. The latter is the primary verb and simply means to hear, that is, to use your ears. The "hearing" by which faith comes is not the organ of hearing, but the thing heard.
We often misquote Romans 10:17 - we say "Faith comes by hearing the word of God." This is not correct. The Bible says, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
In other words, Faith comes by that which is heard, and that which is heard comes from the Word of God.
The hearing of which the Bible speaks is not speaking of physical ears, for faith comes from hearing, and it is in the heart that man has faith (believes) (Romans 10:9,10)
It is in the heart that the work of salvation is done, and this is manifested by the outward confession. However, we must be careful lest we trust an outward confession that has not had a work done in the heart.
It is a disgrace to have rotten theology. We are clearly commanded to study to show ourselves approved unto God. One great hazard is that today we have so many Bible teachers on radio and television, and so many books with clever titles in written or video form that many Christians never study. More unfortunately, their study is often limited to what a man has convinced them is true, that there is no open mindedness at all.
For example, we will take two positions on biblical election. One Christian says that God has unconditionally elected certain ones to Heaven, and another says that it was God's foreknowledge that allowed Him to know to elect only those who would respond to the Gospel.
Can both of these be Christians?
Two men believe in the eternal security of the believer. One believes that those who don't believe this truth must be lost; the other believes there are some Christians who don't embrace this truth. Can both of these be Christians?
And how about the man who doesn't believe in eternal security?
And what about the man who believes in eternal security but was never regenerated?
Or what about the man who doesn't fully understand it, but believes that something must happen when the child is baptized?
How about the man who keeps the Sabbath? Or even believes that Sabbath-keeping is necessary for salvation? Can he be saved?
The answer is that all of the above are saved IF a work of regeneration has been wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit.
Now it is good to go through all things we believe and discern if they are scriptural. But I can assure you some Christians who do not believe in eternal security think that they have scriptural proof.
Everything depends on what message the person has responded to.
If the person, in his heart, hears and responds to the message of the true Gospel, he is saved. If, after he is saved, a man tells him he must be baptized in order to be really saved, he is still saved. No incorrect post-salvation theology can do away with the work of Christ.
If a person responds to a message that tells him he must believe and be baptized in order to be saved, the Holy Spirit didn't tell him that, so he is not saved.
If a person responds to the Spirit's message and is saved, and then is told by a man that he must keep the Sabbath in order to be saved, he is still saved.
But if the message was "believe and keep the Sabbath," he is not saved, simply because the Holy Spirit does not say, "Believe and keep the Sabbath for salvation."
That is one reason why we must be sure we preach the pure Gospel. If our message is anything more than grace alone, we can still get people to respond to that message. Most people would like to have the opportunity to do something, even if it is just walk the aisle or be baptized.
To sum it up:
We know the Holy Spirit will only witness to the true message of the Gospel.
If the Holy Spirit has done His work in the heart and the person responds to the message He has given, the person will be eternally saved.
If the work is truly done, it is an infinite work, and no incorrect theology can undo it (Ecclesiastes 3:14).
If the message received is Christ + anything, it was not given by the Holy Spirit. It may have been given by a loud preacher, but, as Charles Spurgeon said, "Nonsense does not improve by being bellowed."
The true work of salvation is interior, and although there will be outward manifestations of it, no one can say (as was often said of Mother Teresa ), she must have been saved because she manifested the fruit of the Spirit. Nor can one know for certain that one is not saved because of a moral lapse
The Bible sums it up beautifully, "The Lord knoweth them that are His."
, worried about losing salvation (which is terribly sad), but heaven-bound!
