WHO WAS RIGHT: CALVIN OR ARMINIUS?

In a nutshell, Calvinists emphasize God’s plan and sovereignty (reign) over our lives, while Arminians emphasize our responsibility.

I am convinced that many of our doctrinal differences and unyielding battles arise because we conceive of our Lord too narrowly. In other words, Arminians and Calvinists might be opposed more than the Bible requires. 

Is it possible that they both can be true - that we are both the product of our efforts and choices and yet we are still the product of God's plan for our lives?

I think that Scripture embodies both perspectives. For example, we observe that Paul's letters reflect his style, interests, vocabulary, choices, efforts, experiences, and personal associations. Meanwhile, Paul, without denying his hand in his writings, asserted that Scripture is still entirely the Word of God (1 Thess. 2:13).

Perhaps this point can be illustrated even more clearly by the Psalms. While they cry out with human passion and even accusations against God but are often followed with words of repentance), they are still the Word of God, as Jesus had often asserted:

·       Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." (Luke 24:44)

I think that this says something about God that we have to accept. He can work through our free choices, even our sinful human outbursts, to fully accomplish His purposes. This means that our efforts and freewill choices are compatible with God’s sovereignty and plan. He doesn’t nullify our freewill choices in order to accomplish His purposes.

In fact, we see evidence of this perplexing association throughout the range of Scripture. For example, Paul declared that he had worked hard, but even his efforts were the result of the grace of God:

·       But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10)

Somehow God’s plan is married to our intentions and efforts. Elsewhere, Paul held us responsible for working out our salvation, but explained that it is actually God’s work:

·       Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13)

In contrast, we have a tendency to dismiss one aspect of the marriage in favor of the other. If we are discussing sanctification, we (Calvinists) tend to leave our responsibility out of the equation and simply declare that it is God who sanctifies. Meanwhile, we (Arminians) tend to conceive of God as passively offering all the same thing, making us the key agents in our holiness or sanctification.

Both sides are able to supply verses to support their position. However, God’s truth seems to be more mysterious. Somehow, He is able to marry our freewill choices and efforts to His own plan for our lives. We also find this strange and bewildering tension between our respective roles in the Hebrew Scriptures:

• Keep my statutes and do them; I am the LORD who sanctifies you. (Leviticus 20:8)

Did you notice the overlap expressed here? We have to keep ourselves holy by avoiding sin, by keeping His commandments, but it is God who makes us holy (“sanctifies”).

We find the same tension or overlap also in the area of salvation. We are told to believe and to have faith, but we are also taught that it is God who provides faith as a gift (Eph. 2:8-9). Which is it? It is both – our responsibility but first of all God’s. He has to give us a new heart so that we can believe (John 6:40-45).

Admittedly, it has to begin and end with God, but we cannot dismiss our biblically prescribed role.

Instead, we strenuously try to squeeze God into our zip-locked understanding (theology), and we should try to do this, but we also must appreciate our limitations. We only see in part. Consequently, we fail to appreciate the magnitude of God and His Word. If this is true, we have to view ourselves as servants of the Word and not its masters.

Our belief in the Trinity exemplifies this. We believe in the Trinity even though we cannot fully understand this revelation. I think that the same is true about our freedom of choice, culpability, and responsibility in view of God’s sovereignty. We have to embrace both. To do otherwise is to put our understanding (theology) above God’s revelation, His Scriptures. Also, to do otherwise is to create needless divisions within the body of Christ.

How do we understand faith from this perspective? As so many verses indicate, God has to initiate the process. He gives us faith as a gift:

·       For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9; also, Romans 12:3; Phil. 1:29; Acts 3:16; 13:48; 16:14; 18:27)

Nevertheless, there are many verses instructing us to believe or trust, suggesting that we have a secondary role to play:

·       Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. (Proverbs 3:5-7)

Notice that we are also instructed to “fear the LORD,” but we are also instructed that God will grant us this fear of Him:

·       And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. (Jeremiah 32:38-40)

Well, which is it – is fearing the Lord our responsibility or is it both ours and God’s? It is both. However, our Lord plays the leading role. Must we make every effort to fear Him and to put Him first in our lives (Matthew 6:33)? Yes, but at the end of the day, we give God the credit, even for our efforts:

·       LORD, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works. (Isaiah 26:12)

Can we understand this completely? Of course not! And if God is greater than our understanding, why should we be surprised at this! I am merely asking us to be sensitive to Scripture and not to force it to agree with our theology. Instead, our theology has to humbly esteem the Word above all else and to always be open to its correction.

And where does repentance fit into this understanding of our mutual responsibilities? According to Jesus, repentance isn’t an option:

·       And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:2-5)

However, this leaves us with several questions. While it is clear that Jesus had taught that there are dire consequences when we refuse to repent, do these consequences involve the question of salvation?

Also, in keeping with our present theme, is repentance our responsibility or God’s? As we have seen with faith, faith is both a gift and something we have to exercise. The same goes for repentance. It is a gift, granted by God, but it is also something we have to do, as Jesus had commanded:

·       And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:24-26)

Consequently, we can compare both faith and repentance to the gift of an orchid. However, once we receive this gift, we have to care for it according to specific requirements. But even then, our Lord will guide us through the process.