Arminianism and Works

[steven-nemes]

If the Arminian asserts that man has to will to trust in Jesus Christ for the atonement of his sins, is he not assert that man has to do something? It seems his willing on his own to have faith (which is a topic altogether strange, but that is for another debate) means his doing something on his own. If faith comes and is given to us by God, then truly we haven't done a thing at all! But if we will our faith, it is us doing a thing on our own: namely, believing.

Thoughts? Care to expand on it?

 

[MMasztal]

I don't really understand your question. Try parsing your terms a bit more.

"that man has to will to trust"... Do you mean that man has the will to trust..

 

[Skyler]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but as I see it the Arminian view of faith is the same as the Calvinist view with the exception that they deny the completeness of man's fallen nature and therefore his inability to exercise saving faith. The Calvinist, on the other hand, recognizes this and that God must regenerate a person before he will do anything to move towards God--including exercising faith.

I could be wrong, I haven't really studied this area, but that's the impression I've gotten.

 

[steven-nemes]

I will return to this question I suppose another time.

Basically my question was regarding whether or not leaving it up to the individual person to believe of his own will is leaving him to work for salvation.

 

[Skyler]

I will return to this question I suppose another time.

Basically my question was regarding whether or not leaving it up to the individual person to believe of his own will is leaving him to work for salvation.

I don't think so. Please, correct me if I'm wrong, but the impression I get from reading Paul is that faith is not a work; it is something we do, but only through the power and grace of God.

As I said, I could be wrong, so feel free to correct me.

edit: And if the prevenient grace of Wesley and Tozer is taken into account, technically(though not biblically) the Arminian is claiming that it's through the grace of God, at least to some extent.

 

[Jon 316]

I will return to this question I suppose another time.

Basically my question was regarding whether or not leaving it up to the individual person to believe of his own will is leaving him to work for salvation.

I would say so. This, to me, seems to become apparent in the arminian understanding of foreknowledge. In the arminian school of thought, God looks into teh future and sees who will trust in Him. Therefore the elect are those whom God saved because of their faith in him. In calvinism God looks into the future and chooses to impart saving faith to those who he chooses according to His own good pleasure and purpose.

In the arminian school of thought God is responding to something in the person who believes. In this sense faith becomes a 'work.' That is, people are saved by some merit of their own, in this case faith. The difference in Calvinism is that it is Christ alone. Christ not only makes salvation possible, he secures it. There is nothing in us that could warrant his favour. If I can believe of my own free will, and if his favour is based upon my choosing, then there is something in my that I am contributing to salvation. Faith is a work and not a gift.

 

[cih1355]

In this sense faith becomes a 'work.' That is, people are saved by some merit of their own, in this case faith. The difference in Calvinism is that it is Christ alone. Christ not only makes salvation possible, he secures it. There is nothing in us that could warrant his favour. If I can believe of my own free will, and if his favour is based upon my choosing, then there is something in my that I am contributing to salvation. Faith is a work and not a gift.

This is the logical outcome of their beliefs. There are Arminians who say that faith is not a work and that faith does not contribute anything to their justification. They say that there is nothing in them that merits salvation. When Arminians say this they are being logically inconsistent with their beliefs.

 

[Prufrock]

To the historic Arminian, faith plays a different role in justification than in the Reformed system; for the Arminian, "faith or the act of believing is the cause of our justification so that there is no other immediate and formal righteousness by which we are just before God than our faith" (from Turretin); whereas for the Reformed, faith is but the instrument which apprehends Christ's righteousness.

 

[KMK]

To the historic Arminian, faith plays a different role in justification than in the Reformed system; for the Arminian, "faith or the act of believing is the cause of our justification so that there is no other immediate and formal righteousness by which we are just before God than our faith" (from Turretin); whereas for the Reformed, faith is but the instrument which apprehends Christ's righteousness.

LBC 14:1 The grace of faith, whereby the elect are enabled to believe to the saving of their souls, is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts,1 and is ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the Word;2 by which also, and by the administration of baptism and the Lord's supper, prayer, and other means appointed of God, it is increased and strengthened.3

And yes, it is a works gospel.

 

[CharlieJ]

If faith comes and is given to us by God, then truly we haven't done a thing at all! But if we will our faith, it is us doing a thing on our own: namely, believing.

First, faith is by definition not a work. Second, Calvinists and Arminians agree on the necessity of faith, and that the faith is exercised by the one believing (otherwise he could not be called a believer). Third, faith either is or is not a work regardless of the source, since the source of faith does not change the nature of the act of believing. Fourth, the Reformed have traditionally called faith an act, but not a work. So, no, faith is not considered a work in either system.

 

[KMK]

If faith comes and is given to us by God, then truly we haven't done a thing at all! But if we will our faith, it is us doing a thing on our own: namely, believing.

First, faith is by definition not a work. Second, Calvinists and Arminians agree on the necessity of faith, and that the faith is exercised by the one believing (otherwise he could not be called a believer). Third, faith either is or is not a work regardless of the source, since the source of faith does not change the nature of the act of believing. Fourth, the Reformed have traditionally called faith an act, but not a work. So, no, faith is not considered a work in either system.

Does the Arminian 'system' agree with this statement?

The grace of faith, whereby the elect are enabled to believe to the saving of their souls, is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts...

If not, then what is it a work of?

 

[A.J.]

The original five articles of Arminianism will be helpful here.

The Five Articles of the Remonstrants, 1610​

Article 1.

[Conditional Election - corresponds to the second of TULIP’s five points, Unconditional Election]

That God, by an eternal and unchangeable purpose in Jesus Christ his Son before the foundation of the world, has determined that out of the fallen, sinful race of men, to save in Christ, for Christ’s sake, and through Christ, those who through the grace of the Holy Spirit shall believe on this his son Jesus, and shall persevere in this faith and obedience of faith, through this grace, even to the end; and, on the other hand, to leave the incorrigible and unbelieving in sin and under wrath and to condemn them as alienated from Christ, according to the word of the Gospel in John 3:36: “He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that does not believe the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him,” and according to other passages of Scripture also.

Article 2.

[Unlimited Atonement - corresponds to the third of TULIP’s five points, Limited Atonement]

That, accordingly, Jesus Christ the Savior of the world, died for all men and for every man, so that he has obtained for them all, by his death on the cross, redemption and the forgiveness of sins; yet that no one actually enjoys this forgiveness of sins except the believer, according to the word of the Gospel of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” And in the First Epistle of John 2:2: “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Article 3.

[Deprivation - corresponds to the first of TULIP’s five points, Total Depravity]

That man does not posses saving grace of himself, nor of the energy of his free will, inasmuch as in his state of apostasy and sin he can of and by himself neither think, will, nor do any thing that is truly good (such as saving Faith eminently is); but that it is necessary that he be born again of God in Christ, through his Holy Spirit, and renewed in understanding, inclination, and will, and all his faculties, in order that he may rightly understand, think, will, and effect what is truly good, according to the Word of Christ, John 15:5, “Without me you can do nothing.”

Article 4.

[Resistible Grace - corresponds to the fourth of TULIP’s five points, Irresistible Grace]

That this grace of God is the beginning, continuance, and accomplishment of all good, even to the extent that the regenerate man himself, without prevenient or assisting, awakening, following and cooperative grace, can neither think, will, nor do good, nor withstand any temptations to evil; so that all good deeds or movements that can be conceived must be ascribed to the grace of God in Christ. But with respect to the mode of the operation of this grace, it is not irresistible, since it is written concerning many, that they have resisted the Holy Spirit (Acts 7, and elsewhere in many places).

Article 5.

[Assurance and Security - corresponds to the fifth of TULIP’s five points, Perseverance of the Saints]

That those who are incorporated into Christ by true faith, and have thereby become partakers of his life-giving Spirit, as a result have full power to strive against Satan, sin, the world, and their own flesh, and to win the victory; it being well understood that it is ever through the assisting grace of the Holy Spirit; and that Jesus Christ assists them through his Spirit in all temptations, extends to them his hand, and if only they are ready for the conflict, desire his help, and are not inactive, keeps them from falling, so that they, by no deceit or power of Satan, can be misled nor plucked out of Christ’s hands, according to the Word of Christ, John 10:28: “Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” But whether they are capable, through negligence, of forsaking again the first beginning of their life in Christ, of again returning to this present evil world, of turning away from the holy doctrine which was delivered them, of losing a good conscience, of neglecting grace, that must be more particularly determined out of the Holy Scripture, before we ourselves can teach it with the full confidence of our mind.

These Articles, thus set forth and taught, the Remonstrants deem agreeable to the Word of God, tending to edification, and, as regards this argument, sufficient for salvation, so that it is not necessary or edifying to rise higher or to descend deeper.

The Articles of the Remonstrants are adapted from Phillip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, Volume 3, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, 1996, pp 545ff.

Link: The Five Articles of the Remonstrants (1610)

 

[moral necessity]

I will return to this question I suppose another time.

Basically my question was regarding whether or not leaving it up to the individual person to believe of his own will is leaving him to work for salvation.

General arminianism of today makes salvation to by synergistic, like you say. Man must do something, and God must do something. But, scripture says, "I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules......I will deliver you from all your uncleanness.......It is not for your sake that I will act...." (Ezek. 36:27-32) Everything is "I....I....I", not "we....we....we."

It is true that a person must believe, but that belief is a fruit of the already begun work of God in that person. Arminians fail to see that, and to distinguish between the primary cause and the secondary cause behind every choice we make. We will as God bends our wills with his Spirit.

 

[Skyler]

I'm going to stop trying to defend inconsistent positions. It makes my head spin.

 

[ZackF]

I like Dr. R.C. Sproul's analogy about the . Forgive my crude paraphrase of it.

Historically Calvinists and Arminians believe in sin and sins. We are in a fallen state to some degree and all kinds of nasty sins follow. Such is the sea of human thought and behavior. However Arminians believe in an "island of righteousness." That "island" is the ability to believe in the Gospel. This ability transforms saving faith into the "one thing" you can do to be saved. Faith under such a system becomes a work. Rather the biblical (Calvinist) doctrine teaches we have no such island to wash up on. We must be rescued from the sea, really revived completely, by God entirely by His grace.

 

[Confessor]

The typical defense for this is that faith is either an acceptance or application of salvation that was wrought completely by Christ. Almost always, this "defense" is presented in the form of an analogy: e.g., if a rich man were to offer you one million dollars, would it really be a work for you to accept it?

This argument fails, as it is nothing more than an appeal to emotion. It does not avoid the fact that it's still a decision made because of some innate ability within the person that only a few people correctly utilize (free will), and it still brings about a benefit -- by definition, a work. Moreover, the Arminians fail to recognize that only believers are good or smart or fit enough to accept the offer (in their terms) in the first place.

The argument that saving faith is merely an application of salvation still runs into the same problems, but it generally circumvents the hackneyed analogy argument. I was debating a Molinist on this issue and I got to him to admit that saving faith "is a non-meritorious work which brings about benefits to the believer." (!) His argument eventually began to sound suspiciously like the analogy argument above, for he started to stress the massive work done by Christ in the process; saying that He is the one who gains all the merit, while the believer is merely and humbly the one who applies it, as if application is not by definition a work.

But I digress. Arminianism is necessarily a works-gospel, as you have pointed out.