Essay On Calvinist And Arminan

Finally, the fifth article focuses again on human free will and the possibility of someone forsaking their salvation and choosing to live a sinful life apart from God. In other words, Arminians do not believe in the notion of “once saved always saved” as most Calvinist do believe. Therefore, in an effort to summarize the major beliefs of both Calvinists and Arminans, a side-by-side comparison is best. See Appendix A. As can be seen in this comparison, Calvinists and Arminians differ in their view of humanity’s role within God’s saving work. Yet what is absolutely clear is Jesus accomplished salvation on the cross and there is no other means of salvation apart from faith in Christ. Yet where does that leave a believer within the 21st century …show more content…
His work was to restore humanity back to a perfect relationship with God as was intended in the beginning before the Fall. As long as this theological truth is firmly embedded within the heart of a believer one is free to explore the periphery aspects of salvation, such as election, resistance of grace or the possibility of losing salvation. However, at the end of the day, those extra beliefs had better drive a person more deeply into the mission of God to set the world right, rather than to divide people in to certain groups (elect, chosen vs. not elected, not chosen.) For who knows the mind of God and his ways are not man’s ways. What is more, God never intended for faith to become systematized but rather a never-ending journey of growth. Systems of belief are a tool, but not the end all to following Jesus. In conclusion, John Calvin and Jacob Arminius gave the church a great gift in their deep thinking about God’s work of salvation through Christ. Yet what is clear, they never intended to divide the church or create doctrines that would stir arguments distracting Jesus followers from the mission of God. In their hearts, they wanted to understand how marvelous God’s salvation was and the way in which