Unconditional Election, Arminianism, Calvinism, & Evangelism - CRPC Podcast Part 005
Martin Luther in his book, The Bondage of the Will, wrote: "if any man would ascribe even the smallest part of his salvation to his free will, he knows nothing of grace and has not learned Jesus Christ."
In our last program we discussed God's comprehensive, pre-creation, immutable decree or plan that encompasses all that comes to pass for the purpose of His own glory. In today's program we move on to the next points in chapter 3 of the Westminster Confession, Of God's Eternal Decree, wherein we will discuss the heart of biblical grace - the blessed doctrine of God's unconditional election of His Beloved church.
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In the debates that take place today in local churches and on-line, one will often hear people say "oh, you're a Calvinist," or "oh, you're an Arminian." But what do these words really mean? Are the issues that divided these two groups really that important or is it just theologians splitting hairs. After the Reformation took hold in the Netherlands, a theologian named Jacob Arminius (1559-1609) was facing allegations from the Reformed church in that region. In response, Arminius delivered orally before the States at Holland at the Hague which was the place of the Dutch government his famous "Declaration of Sentiments." In it, Arminius left no doubt what he believed regarding the biblical teaching on predestination and the salvation of sinners. Arminius said:
This decree [to save or condemn certain persons] has its foundation in divine foreknowledge, through which God has known from all eternity those individuals who through the established means of his prevenient grace would come to faith and believe, and through his subsequent sustaining grace would persevere in the faith. Likewise, in divine foreknowledge, God knew those who would not believe and persevere (Gunter, Arminius and His Declaration of Sentiments, 135).
This position was a comprehensive departure from the teachings of all the Reformed Confessions at that time - particularly the Belgic
