Arminian Heresy

Just what is the Arminian Heresy? In short Jacobus Arminius was a man who lived after Luther and the Reformation he brought in. Basically his teaching questioned the impact Christ's grace has on our lives. In other words he questioned the works/grace principle Calvin (and Luther) taught. They taught (in essence) that God's grace was what empowered a man to worship God. Arminius challenged this by saying that God's grace enabled sinful man to choose God on his own volition. In other words fallen man is able to make the decision to serve a holy, perfect God simply by means of gathering all necessary facts and employing his God-given rational logic to make a right decision. Problem here is that Arminius was merely following after his predecessor St. Thomas Aquinas who believed that man's body was sinful but his mind remained uncorrupted. This led into all kinds of misunderstandings. So man's body was the part that fell in the Garden, but his mind remains perfect? It is understandable then how Arminius would say man can choose a holy, righteous God - it was because man's mind remained uncorrupted - and so he was able to make this kind of choice. The problem is simply that what Arminius taught was dead wrong. The Bible teaches the opposite of Arminius' theological insights. What we have in his teaching is an inoculation of Renaissance humanism trying to make inroads through the pure teaching of Biblical interpretation. We currently have Arminius' theology in many of our churches today such as Nazarene, Assembly of God, Methodist, Wesleyan, and even the Mormon cult leans towards the works base form rather than the proper Grace base form. The difference is that the others hold up the person of Christ as the central figure as is proper, whereas the Mormons do not consider his divinity. Apart from this both hold to the works base form in order to gain salvation. Salvation is not assured (as is taught in the scriptures) it is only a hope if one perseveres to the end. The grace base form teaches that even the very maintenance of our faith is a working of Christ within us accomplishing all he has in mind to do through us.

Be careful though - the works base advocates will agree with the grace base adherents but in practice they will show you which side they are really on. Lip service will go to grace; but they don't really understand it. What they do understand is works and the law. These will be on constant display for all to see. Worry about all kinds of things that should be given to God; fear about all kinds of things that should have been given to God. These things demonstrate that a person is living by the law and not by faith - and we know that without faith it is impossible to please God. This is the heritage Jacobus Arminius has given to the churches of God. Should we be sad? No, on the contrary heresy serves to separate the flock into two distinct groups - the sheep and the goats. God will sort out the differences and the distinctions; for he knows who belong to him. My job is to pray, as Paul says, "that God will make clear to them these things".

-Joe