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Because of the fall, man is unable
of himself to savingly believe the gospel. The sinner is dead, blind, and
deaf to the things of God; his heart is deceitful and desperately corrupt.
His will is not free, it is in bondage to his evil nature, therefore, he
will notindeed he cannot choose good over evil in the spiritual realm.
Consequently, it takes much more than the Spirits assistance to bring a
sinner to Christit takes regeneration by which the Spirit makes the sinner
alive and gives him a new nature. Faith is not something man contributes to
salvation but is itself a part of Gods gift of salvationit is Gods gift to
the sinner, not the sinners gift to God.
Gods choice of certain individuals
unto salvation before the foundation of the world rested solely in His own
sovereign will. His choice of particular sinners was not based on any
foreseen response or obedience on their part, such as faith, repentance,
etc. On the contrary, God gives faith and repentance to each individual who
He selected. These acts are the result, not the cause of Gods choice.
Election therefore was not determined by or conditioned upon any virtuous
quality or act foreseen in man. Those whom God sovereignly elected He brings
through the power of the Spirit to a willing acceptance of Christ. Thus Gods
choice of the sinner, not the sinners choice of Christ, is the ultimate
cause of salvation.
Christs redeeming work was intended to
save the elect only and actually secured salvation for them. His death was a
substitutionary endurance of the penalty of sin in the place of certain
specified sinners. In addition to putting away the sins of His people,
Christs redemption secured everything necessary for their salvation,
including faith which unites them to Him. The gift of faith is infallibly
applied by the Spirit to all for whom Christ died, therefore guaranteeing
their salvation.
In addition to the outward general
call to salvation which is made to everyone who hears the gospel, the Holy
Spirit extends to the elect a special inward call that inevitably brings
them to salvation. The external call (which is made to all without
distinction) can be, and often is, rejected; whereas the internal call
(which is made only to the elect) cannot be rejected; it always results in
conversion. By means of this special call the Spirit irresistibly draws
sinners to Christ. He is not limited in His work of applying salvation by
mans will, nor is He dependent upon mans cooperation for success. The Spirit
graciously causes the elect sinner to cooperate, to believe, to repent, to
come freely and willingly to Christ. Gods grace, therefore, is invincible;
it never fails to result in the salvation of those to whom it is extended.
All who are chosen by God, redeemed by
Christ, and given faith by the Spirit are eternally saved. They are kept in
faith by the power of Almighty God and thus persevere to the end.
REAFFIRMED by the Synod of Dort
This system of theology was reaffirmed by the Synod of Dort in 1619 as the doctrine of salvation contained in the Holy Scriptures. The system was at that time formulated into five points (in answer to the five points submitted by the Arminians) and has ever since been known as the five points of Calvinism.
Although human nature was seriously
affected by the fall, man has not been left in a state of total spiritual
helplessness. God graciously enables every sinner to repent and believe, but
He does not interfere with mans freedom. Each sinner possesses a free will,
and his eternal destiny depends on how he uses it. Mans freedom consists of
his ability to choose good over evil in spiritual matters; his will is not
enslaved to his sinful nature. The sinner has the power to either cooperate
with Gods Spirit and be regenerated or resist Gods grace and perish. The
lost sinner needs the Spirits assistance, but he does not have to be
regenerated by the Spirit before he can believe, for faith is mans act and
precedes the new birth. Faith is the sinners gift to God; it is mans
contribution to salvation.
Gods choice of certain individuals
unto salvation before the foundation of the world was based upon His
foreseeing that they would respond to His call. He selected only those whom
He knew would of themselves freely believe the gospel. Election therefore
was determined by or conditioned upon what man would do. The faith which God
foresaw and upon which He based His choice was not given to the sinner by
God (it was not created by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit) but
resulted solely from Mans will. It was left entirely up to man as to who
would believe and therefore as to who would be elected unto salvation. God
chose those whom He knew would, of their own free will, choose Christ. Thus
the sinners choice of Christ, not Gods choice of the sinner, is the ultimate
cause of salvation.
Christs redeeming work made it
possible for everyone to be saved but did not actually secure the salvation
of anyone. Although Christ died for all men and for every man, only those
who believe on Him are saved. His death enabled God to pardon sinners on the
condition that they believe, but it did not actually put away anyones sins.
Christs redemption becomes effective only if man chooses to accept it.
The Spirit calls inwardly all those
who are called outwardly by the gospel invitation; He does all that He can
to bring every sinner to salvation. but inasmuch as man is free, he can
successfully resist the Spirits call. The Spirit cannot regenerate the
sinner until he believes; faith (which is mans contribution) precedes and
makes possible the new birth. Thus, mans free will limits the Spirit in the
application of Christs saving work. The Holy Spirit can only draw to Christ
those who allow Him to have His way with them. Until the sinner responds,
the Spirit cannot give life. Gods grace, therefore, is not invincible; it
can be, and often is, resisted and thwarted by man.
Those who believe and are truly saved
can lose their salvation by failing to keep up their faith, etc. All
Arminians have not been agreed on this point; some have held that believers
are eternally secure in Christthat once a sinner is regenerated, he can
never be lost.
REJECTED by the Synod of Dort
This was the system of thought contained in the Remonstrance (though the five points were not originally arranged in this order). It was submitted by the Arminians to the Church of Holland in 1610 for adoption but was rejected by the Synod of Dort in 1619 on the ground that it was unscriptural.
That God, by an eternal and
unchangeable purpose in Jesus Christ his Son, before the foundations of the
world were laid, determined to save, out of the human race which had fallen
into sin, in Christ, for Christs sake and through Christ, those who through
the grace of the Holy Spirit shall believe on the same his Son and shall
through the same grace persevere in this same faith and obedience of faith
even to the end; and on the other hand to leave under sin and wrath the
contumacious and unbelieving and to condemn them as aliens from Christ,
according to the word of the Gospel in John 3:36, and other passages of
Scripture.
That, accordingly, Jesus Christ, the
Saviour of the world, died for all men and for every man, so that he has
obtained for all, by his death on the cross, reconciliation and remission of
sins; yet so that no one is partaker of this remission except the believers
(John 3:16; I John 2:2)
That man has not saving grace of
himself, nor of the working of his own free-will, inasmuch as in his state
of apostasy and sin he can for himself and by himself think nothing that is
goodnothing, that is, truly good, such as saving faith is, above all else.
But that it is necessary that by God, in Christ and through his Holy Spirit
he be born again and renewed in understanding, affections and will and in
all his faculties, that he may be able to understand, think, will and
perform what is truly good, according to the Word of God. (John 15:5)
That this grace of God is the
beginning, the progress and the end of all good; so that even the regenerate
man can neither think, will nor effect any good, nor withstand any
temptation to evil, without grace precedent (or prevenient), awakening,
following and co-operating. So that all good deeds and all movements towards
good that can be conceived in thought must be ascribed to the grace of God
in Christ. But with respect to the mode of operation, grace is not
irresistible; for it is written of many that they resisted the Holy Spirit.
(Acts 7 and elsewhere passim)
That those who are grafted into Christ
by a true faith, and have thereby been made partakers of his life-giving
Spirit, are abundantly endowed with power to strive against Satan, sin, the
world and their own flesh, and to win the victory; always, be it understood,
with the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit, with Jesus Christ assisting
them in all temptations, through his Spirit; stretching out his hand to them
and (provided only that they are themselves prepared for the fight, that
they entreat his aid and do not fail to help themselves) propping and
upholding them so that by no guile or violence of Satan can they be led
astray or plucked from Christs hands (John 10:28). But for the question
whether they are not able through sloth or negligence to forsake the
beginning of their life in Christ, to embrace again this present world, to
depart from the holy doctrine once delivered to them, to lose their good
conscience and to neglect gracethis must be the subject of more exact
inquiry in the Holy Scriptures, before we can teach it with full confidence
of our mind.
These Articles thus set out and delivered the Remonstrants deem agreeable to the word of God, suitable for edification and, on this subject, sufficient for salvation. So that it is not needful, and tends not to edification, to rise higher or to descend lower.
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