Arminianism: Past And Present (2)

3) The will of man is free to choose good as well as evil

It seems to me that in this point, Arminius has followed the way of Pelagius who taught that every man is born like Adam before the fall, with a free will. He thought that the fall did not change anything in essence as far as human nature was concerned—so Adam’s fall should not have any consequences for his descendants. Original sin does not exist. Everybody has a free will to choose good or evil.

Arminius taught also that God’s grace is for all men, but man must make himself worthy of His grace. Christ became man to encourage the people by His preaching and example to go in the path of virtue. This is the doctrine of Arminius who used orthodox expressions, but really was far from the truth. He went against the doctrine of Augustine which was scriptural: Man is unable to do any good and inclined to all evil.

4) The spirit of God does not work irresistibly in conversion

In the Canons of Dort, Head 3 and 4, error VII, we read of this erroneous doctrine of Arminius. Here we read: “Who teaches that the grace whereby we are converted to God is only a gentle advising, or (as others explain it), that this is the noblest manner of working in the conversion of man, and that this manner or working, which consists in advising, is most in harmony with man’s nature.... But, this is altogether Pelagian and contrary to the whole Scripture which, besides this, teaches yet another and far more powerful and divine manner of the Holy Spirit’s working in the conversion of man, as in Ezekiel: ‘A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh’ (Ezek. 36:26).” How clearly this explains that the work of the Spirit of God is irresistible!

God’s children can tell about it in their own lives—how the Lord has broken their hard hearts and brought them on the way of life.

5) Believers can fall out of the state of grace

The perseverance of the saints is one of the points by which the creed of the Calvinists is distinguished from the followers of Arminius. The latter holds that true believers may fall into sins inconsistent with a state of grace and may continue in apostasy to the end of their lives, and consequently will be condemned. The same doctrine is taught by Rome. What a comfortless teaching this is for those who ascribe faith, repentance, and perseverance to the power of man!

The fifth head of the Canons of Dort explains the doctrine of perseverance. We all know that God’s children can fall into abominable sins; nevertheless God does not wholly withdraw His Spirit from them, although it can become very dark in spiritual life. They cannot lose the grace of adoption, nor fall out of the state of justification: The elect “are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:5). (See also the fifth head of the Canons of Dort.)

The widespread influence of the Arminians

I am convinced that what I have written is only the tip of the iceberg, because in my studies I have found more than twenty major differences between the followers of Arminius and the Calvinists, but have limited myself to the five errors mentioned by Rev. Hellenbroek.

These matters of Arminianism don’t move the people as much in our day as they did about four hundred years ago. Then the whole of The Netherlands resounded with theological controversy. Especially the well-known Professor Gomarus has fought against these false doctrines. To settle the questions in dispute, a national Synod was held in Dort from November 13, 1618 to May 9, 1619. The Synod of Dort was the greatest Synod ever held by the Reformed Churches. Delegates from throughout Europe were present and gave their views.

The Synod unanimously rejected and very positively condemned the teachings of the Arminians. It stated the true Reformed doctrine in the Canons of Dort which is so well-known among us. It is much praised, but I fear not so well read!

The Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort are to this day the creeds of doctrinal standards of the Reformed churches in the Netherlands and America. It is very sad that these creeds are still signed in many churches, but don’t function anymore in the preaching. It is as an old piece of furniture which is used for show, but is not used in practice.

Although Arminianism was condemned in Dort, it was not exterminated. It had great influence in England. It invaded the Anglican Church and almost all the dissenting denominations. John Wesley adopted Arminianism and it became the creed of the Wesleyan Methodists. Today it has become the accepted doctrine in nearly all the churches in America. This means that its influence is great.

If we know a little about contemporary theological literature, then we must be impressed by the leaven of Arminianism. What they could not achieve by debate has been accomplished by peaceful penetration. This is a method which is still used: Don’t fight, but keep quiet and it will fall as a ripe apple in your lap. So we must realize that Arminianism has influenced theological thinking to an extraordinary degree. The “revival” literature of our day is full of it, and it is the same in the religious press.

“Warnings from the pulpit are not heard as in former days,” Rev. D. Beaton wrote in the church paper of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. In some measure this can be explained, because so many new errors and sects arise and the majority of the people believe that the old foe is dead. Unfortunately, this is not true; it is very much alive and still enjoys great favor with the religious public. When we remember the horror with which our forefathers have opposed Arminianism, then modern attitudes indicate how far the professing church has drifted away from the position of theologians of those days.

The late Rev. Vergunst wrote in the Saambinder: “It is so necessary, very necessary, that from all our pulpits a warning is issued against this Arminian doctrine, because it is under a Reformed cloak and is very effective, sometimes more than we suspect.” May the Lord make us faithful to combat it with might, and may He gird us and enlighten us to recognize this evil.

At our Synod of Dort the Belgic Confession was also examined by the Dutch and foreign divines. After the examination the foreign divines expressed this wish: “May this orthodox, pious, and plain confession of faith always persevere; may it be passed on unstained to your descendants and be kept until the coming of our Lord Jesus.” May the Lord Himself make this wish precious to us, so that we may combat Arminianism among us and abhor it, and the confession of our forefathers may be passed on to the following generation.

It is our prayer that the God of our fathers may give us to be faithful to the old, scriptural doctrine of free grace, not only with our lips, but experientially with our whole heart.

CONSIDERING THE POOR

“Blessed is he that considereth the poor” (Ps. 41:1).

To consider the wretched and distressed is an attribute possessed only by God’s people. The truly converted understand the truly distressed. They are affectionately united in spirit and share their distress wholeheartedly. They count it a great blessing and privilege that God permits them to support the poor in their needs with sincere feelings of love. The godly do this wisely, through the mercy of the Holy Spirit, and for Christ’s sake. They do it in meekness, without seeking their own honor in this work of love. By helping the distressed they conform to God’s Holy Word, thereby serving and praising God. Faith and meekness is needed to serve the Lord according to His Word. Only then are we blessed in considering the poor.

—Rev. Theodorus Van der Groe

Rev. A.M. den Boer is pastor of the Netherlands Reformed Congregation of Sunnyside, Washington.

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