1. Arminianism: Arminian theology came by Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609). It maintains that God predestined only some but not in an absolute sense; saying God looked into the future to see who would pick Him, and then God “chose” them. Each person is the one who decides of their free will whether he wants to be saved or not.

Arminianism says those who believe and are saved but can lose their salvation by failing to keep up their faith. Not All Arminians have been in agreement on this point; some have held that believers are eternally secure in Christ, that once a sinner is regenerated, he can never be lost. Wesleyan-Arminianism – Wesley’s Methodism was as an attempt to explain Christianity in a manner unlike Calvinism.

So, Arminianists such as most Holiness denominations and The United Methodist Church believe you can be saved by grace through faith, but then lose your salvation… if you don’t you persevere, “endure (faithful) to the end,” based on verses such as these below. (The United Methodist, among others, still officially stands by this view. http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/do-united-methodists-believe-once-saved-always-saved )

“(Concerning the Hebrews) it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, ⁵And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, ⁶If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance…” (Heb. 6:4-6)

“For I (Jesus) say unto you (Israel), That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of (to come from) heaven.” (Mat. 5:20)

“He (of Israel’s kingdom gospel) that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life…” (Rev. 3:5)

“… If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: ¹⁹ And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life…” (Rev. 22:18-19)

We should note that all the above verses are taken out of their proper ‘dispensational context,’ actually applying only to Israel, not applying to believers under today’s age of “dispensation of the grace of God.”

This kind of error occurs when we don’t “rightly divide the word of truth” (2Tim 2:15). We must note what applies to Israel versus that which applies to the church, “the body of Christ.” When one misuses such verses as above, you can see how they may believe they can’t be certain of their salvation or even lose their salvation.

How do we know such verses apply to Israel only, and not to the Gentiles “the body of Christ”? We can read below to see to whom Jesus came and to whom His 12 Apostles were sent, as seen in the so-called “four Gospels.” Obviously His Apostles then also wrote their epistles under the same instructions.

“he (Jesus) answered… I am not sent but (except) unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (Mat. 15:24)
“These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: ⁶ But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (Mat. 10:5-6)

Israel’s “Law,” is a performance based acceptance system for ‘blessing and cursing’ and Israelite salvation. The “children of Israel” must abide faithful “to the end” in order to be saved; and this view is what was adopted by Arminian and Wesley and many others.

The Roman Catholic Church saw in these verses that say men can lose salvation. Their answer was to create the totally unbiblical idea of an intermediate state… a place for the dead after death and before heaven, called ‘Purgatory.’ This is an erroneous mediatorial merit system that was used to extract money from the faithful. The faithful are told they can pray and buy time to get days-off of Purgatory (called ‘indulgences’) for loved ones. But no Priest can say how much praying and money is enough to make it to heaven. This was but one point of contention that Luther raised in 1521.

By contrast, Paul as “the Apostle to the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:13) tells “the members of the body of Christ” we can be certain of our salvation since we are “sealed with the Spirit” (Eph 1:13) and that our “citizenship” and home is “eternal in the heavens” (Philip. 2:20-21; 2Cor 5:1b).

Having dispensed with my remarks about Arminianism, we can now move onto Calvinism.

2. Calvinism:

The word ‘TULIP’ (below) is an acronym used to summarize the five points of the Calvinism to which most Baptists churches, Reformed churches, Presbyterian churches subscribe… at least in part.

T - Total depravity of man, which says; man is helpless in himself and God must give him necessary “faith” to believe and thereby be saved.

U – Unconditional Election, which says some elected to salvation without condition, presuming then that some are not elected.

L - Limited Atonement, which says; Jesus did not die for “all men,” He died only for “the elect.”

I - Irresistible grace, which says those chosen and elected cannot help but believe and be saved.

P - Perseverance of the saints, which is referred to as eternal security as well as the similar but distinct doctrine known as ‘Once Saved, Always Saved.’ These teachings assert that once a person is truly “born of God” or “regenerated” with “the Spirit of life (eternal) in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:2a), nothing in heaven or earth “shall be able to separate (them) from the love of God” (Romans 8:39) to result in a reversal of the person’s converted and saved condition.

Calvinists believe everyone is predestined by God to be either saved or not saved and that this is fixed by God. Calvinism is a Reformed Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice of John Calvin and other Reformation-era theologians. Hard core Southern Baptist are Calvinist. Calvinist believe in the election of some such that only ‘some’ people are the “elect of God,” They are “chosen” by God to be saved by grace through faith that He gifts to them.

The “L” in TULIP doctrine stands for the Calvinist doctrine of “Limited Atonement,” saying Jesus died only for “the elect.” The basis for this is rooted in the belief that man is so Totally Depraved that he cannot believe unless ‘saving faith’ is the gifted to them from God. Only ‘some’ are the unconditionally “called” or “the elect.” All who are “chosen” by God are redeemed by Christ and the Holy Spirit gives them the necessary faith to be saved. They’re also kept in faith by the power of Almighty God and thus are able to Persevere to the end.

The rest of our study addresses what of the views of Arminianism and Calvinism are supported by the word of God “rightly divided” – as we will see some are supported and some not supported.

The ‘T’ in TULIP: This correctly says man is Totally Depraved. Calvinists sight these verses showing the fact that with man is dead in his sins, totally depraved and hopeless apart from God’s intervention.

“And you (Gentiles) hath he quickened (made alive), who were dead in trespasses and sins; ² Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air (Satan), the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: ³ Among whom also we all had our conversation (manner of living) in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath (due from God), even as others.” (Ephesians 2:1-3)

The ‘U’ in TULIP: The Calvinist says no man of himself is able to believe; “faith” must be given them, as “the gift of God.”  This doctrine says “faith” is gifted by God, but only to certain Unconditionally “elected persons.

The “L” in TULIP is for “Limited Atonement.” By this, the Calvinists erroneously believes Jesus’s atoning sacrifice on the cross was payment for the sins of only ‘some’ people, those whom He had “chosen” as His “elect.”

Most all believers know that Mankind is totally depraved and helpless in his self. But as you can see from the foregoing, we must correctly settle the matters of the source of saving “faith” and to whom it applies. Are only some the “elect” who are “chosen” by God unto salvation?

We must look to what the Bible says as it applies to us today during this Gentile age of the pure grace of God. The Apostle Paul called this unique Gentile age, which came after the cross and “the fall of them (Israel)” (Rom 11:10-11, 25), “the dispensation of the grace of God.”

We will discuss the points of Arminianism and Calvinism with the Bible in detail as we proceed to see if they are supported by “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2Tim 2:15) as it applies to “the church… the body of Christ” today.