Five Points

[Neighbor]

This is a comparison of the five points of Arminianism with the five points of Calvinism.

Credit is given to the resource being paraphrased. The Book is

 "The Five Points of Calvinism" by David N. Steele, Curtis C. Thomas, S. Lance Quinn

I encourage those having questions, and or challenges to make (on the subject of the five points),  to see if they might enjoy the most useful information within this short book. 


These five points of comparison are posted here as encouragement for individuals that may enjoy reading books as a source of their information,  and to have a small peek at this one well prepared resource on the subject, should it interest anyone .

I am placing the comparisons without comment of my own, except  this; that all of the following posts of the five points of comparison are  my summary merely a paraphrasing, not necessarily a direct quote from the work of the person credited as author of the book. My purpose in that is so that I do not just use the work of another, but instead interpret it as I understand it,and to encourage reading this really good book. 

The full comparisons are in part one of the book starting at page five.

 

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Five points of Arminianism

Point 1. summarized Freewill ( Human Ability )

Man is not in total spiritual helplessness, though his nature is affected by the fall.
God enables everyone to repent and believe without interfering in man's freedom. 
Everyone has a freewill, their own eternal destiny depends on how they use that will.
Man has the ability to choose good over evil in spiritual matters: his will is not enslaved to his sinful nature.
Man ( sinner) can choose to cooperate with, or reject, God's Spirit to his regeneration or to his demise.
The lost sinner needs assistance ( by the Spirit), but does not have to be regenerated ( by the Spirit ) in order to believe, as faith is man's act and precedes the new birth. 
Faith is the sinner's gift to God, and man's contribution to his salvation


Five points of Calvinism

Point 1. summarized Total Inability or Depravity

Fallen man is unable (of himself) to believe the gospel. 
He is dead, blind, and deaf, to all things of God.
He is deceitful, corrupt.
His will is not free, instead it is in bondage to his evil nature.
He cannot choose good over evil in the spiritual realm. 
It takes more than the Spirit's assistance to bring a sinner to Christ, 
it requires regeneration a new Spirit given live and nature.
Faith is not something man contributes to his salvation. 
Faith is part of God's gift of salvation, not the sinners gift to God.

Edited September 28, 2017 by Neighbor

[Neighbor]

Five points of Arminianism

Point 2. summarized Conditional Election

God's choice of certain individuals for salvation is based upon His foreseeing whom will respond to his call.
He selects only those that He foreknew would freely choose to believe the gospel.
Election is conditional upon what man will do. 
Faith which God foresaw, and upon which He based his choice was not from God ( Not the regenerating by the Holy Spirit), but was solely from man's own freewill. 
Man determines who will be elected for salvation, God chose whom He knew would, of their own free will, choose Christ.  
Thus the sinner's choice of Christ, not God's choice of the sinner, is the ultimate cause of salvation.



Five points of Calvinism

Point 2. summarized Unconditional Election

God's choice of certain individuals for salvation before the foundation of the world is solely by His own sovereign will.
His choice is not based upon any foreseen response, or obedience, or faith, by sinners.
God gives faith and repentance to each individual that he has selected. "These acts are the result, not the cause, of God's choice."
Election therefore is not conditioned upon any any virtuous quality or act seen in man
"Those God sovereignly elected He brings through the power of the Spirit to a willing acceptance of Christ" 
Thus God's choice of the sinner is ultimate cause of salvation.

[Neighbor]

Five points of Arminianism

Point 3. summarized Universal Redemption or General Atonement 

The redeeming work by Jesus allows everyone to become saved, but did not secure anyone's salvation. 
Jesus died for all, but only those that believe in Him are saved.
Christ's death enabled God to pardon sinners on condition they believe, but did not actually put away the sin's of anyone.
Christ's redemption is only effective when and if man chooses to accept it.


Five points of Calvinism

Point 3. summarized Particular Redemption or Limited Atonement

The redeeming work by Jesus was intended to save the elect only. It secured salvation for them.
"His death was a substitutionary endurance of the penalty of sin in the place of certain specified sinners" 
Christ's redemption secured everything, including faith, necessary for bringing them to Him and it (That redemption) unites them to Him.
Faith is the gift applied by the Holy Spirit to all for whom Jesus died. It guarantees their salvation

 

[Neighbor]

Five points of Arminianism

Point 4. summarized  The Holy Spirit Can Be Effectually Resisted 

All who are called outwardly through the gospel invitation are also called inwardly by the Spirit.
The Spirit does all He can, but man having freewill can resist the Spirit's call.
The Spirit cannot regenerate the sinner until he believes. 
Man's faith precedes and makes possible the new birth.
Man's freewill limits the Spirit in application of Christ's saving work. 
Only those that allow it are drawn by the Holy Spirit to have His way with them. The Spirit cannot give life until the sinner responds.
God's grace is therefore not invincible. 


Five points of Calvinism

Point 4. summarized The Efficacious Call of the Spirit or Irresistible Grace

Everyone that hears the gospel receives and outward call general call to salvation. 
The Holy Spirit extends to the elect a special inward call that inevitably brings them to salvation. 
The external call can be rejected. 
The internal call to the elect cannot be rejected. It always results in conversion. The Holy Spirit is not limited by man's will. He is not dependent on man's cooperation success.
The Spirit causes the elect sinner to cooperate and to believe to repent to come freely and willingly to Christ as God's grace is invincible.
God's grace never fails to result in the salvation of those to whom it is extended.

[Neighbor]

Five points of Arminianism

Point 5. summarized Falling From Grace

The saved can lose their faith by failing to keep up their faith and or other acts. Some Arminians do not concur with this

Five points of Calvinism

Point 5. summarized Perserverance of the Saints

All the chosen by God, redeemed by Christ, and given faith by the Spirit, are saved eternally by the power of God and thus persevere to the end.
 

[Neighbor]

According to Arminianism
It is a combined effort of God and man that brings about man's salvation.
God has provided for everyone but it is effective only for those who of their own freewill choose to cooperate with Him by accepting his offer of Grace. 
Man's will plays the decisive role. 
Man not God decides who will be the recipients of the gift of salvation.

According to Calvinism

The almighty power of the triune God brings about salvation.
"The Father chose a people, the Son died for them, and the Holy Spirit makes it effective, by bringing the elect to faith and repentance" causing them to willingly obey the gospel. 
Election - redemption - regeneration, is by God's grace alone. God not man determines who will be the recipients of the gift of salvation.

 

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Some personal notes:

Arminianism Rejected by the Synod of Dort

The five points of the Arminians were submitted( as a system of thought in the Remonstrance) to the church of Holland in 1610 for adoption, but were rejected in 1619 on the ground sit was unscriptural.

Calvinism Reaffirmed
This system of theology was reaffirmed by the Synod of Dort in 1619 a seeing the doctrine of salvation contained in the Holy Scriptures and was at that time formulated in five points in answer to the five point submitted by the Arminians and has since been called the five point of Calvinism.

The concepts of each system being much older than the Synod of Dort and James Arminius and John Calvin, neither originated the concepts that bear their names.

Edited September 28, 2017 by Neighbor

[Neighbor]

This paraphrasing presentation is made simply to highlight the differences. As does the introductory chapter of the book. It is not intended to be a defense of either. 

It is also made to illustrate some information within this well done book,- The Five Points of Calvinism, by David N. Steele Curtis C. Thomas and S.Lance Quinn.
 

[missmuffet]

Not into Calvinism at all....nope

[angels4u]

4 minutes ago, missmuffet said:

Not into Calvinism at all....nope

No points for you at all? Did you do the test!

[Sower]

15 minutes ago, Yowm said:

I sort of like the middle ground on this (closer to Luther) where yes, man is dead in sins and trespasses, and on his own cannot nor will not believe. But where it differs from both sides that it is in the Word of the Gospel and hearing of that Word that faith is created through the power of the Gospel (Rom 1:16) and the person's spirit is quickened. Because it is the means of grace (the Word) it can also be resisted to the person's detriment.

Yes, Yowm, and amen.            Hearing the word enables the hearer to repent, to change their thinking. Replace old false data, with new data, truth, preparing the soil. The needed faith is planted upon hearing, the word, the seed comes alive in good soil.

God is light.  "and the Word was God".   his spirit (the hearer) is quickened ( made alive-born) by hearing the word, to now possible belief.  (That's the rub, the part they miss)  Think of the sower and the seeds, and the soil.

Luk 8:8  And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Rom 10:14  How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
Rom 10:15  And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!  (sowing seeds)