At the heart of any salvation discussion there is the age-old debate between Arminianism and Calvinism. (Arminianism teaches that salvation is in the hands of the sinner, emphasizing free will and man’s ability to respond to God’s offer of grace. In contrast, Calvinism asserts that God is sovereign in salvation, meaning that it is entirely God’s work, with humans being incapable of choosing Him due to their sinful nature.)

This debate has sparked theological discussions for centuries, with each view offering a distinct understanding of how salvation works. Below, we’ll dive deeper into these two opposing perspectives and the historical roots of this debate.

As the Calvinist movement grew and expanded (mid-to-late 16th century and early 17th century), it was inevitable that there would be doctrinal controversies even within the movement.

One of the major oppositions to the Calvinist doctrine of salvation is the Arminianism taught by Jacob Arminius.

Jacob Arminius (1560 – 1609 A.D.) was a theologian who believed that salvation was in the hands of the sinner and not God. This understanding is, of course, the direct opposite of Calvinism which teaches that God is ultimately sovereign over salvation.

Arminius intended to bring the protestant message back to the medieval theology held by the Catholic church, which is essentially a theology of “cooperation with grace.”

Meaning that some work was required from man’s end to achieve and maintain salvation.

This was the very teaching that Luther (the great reformer) rejected and for which he stood against the Catholic church.

Arminius taught that salvation is by man’s will, who has the capacity or ability within himself to respond to the gospel. Essentially his teaching concluded that people have the power within themselves to repent and come to God by exercising their free will.

Arminius wanted to introduce a bit of cooperation with God to keep humans responsible and accountable for their salvation.

The idea sounds great, but it isn’t biblical.   

In a nutshell, Arminianism shares some similarities with Roman Catholic theology, particularly in the belief that human free will plays a role in salvation. Both systems hold that God’s grace enables individuals to respond to the gospel, but they also teach that humans must cooperate with that grace.

This idea of cooperation is in line with what Thomas Aquinas (an influential 13th-century theologian) taught. While Aquinas emphasized that salvation is initiated by God’s grace, he also believed that humans must actively respond to it.

Some have used the illustration of a person climbing a staircase, where God helps them up at various points, implying that salvation involves both divine grace and human effort. Unfortunately, many today hold to a similar view: ‘You do your part, and God will do His.’

Calvinism, however, teaches that a person cannot even begin the climb due to their sinful nature, and that salvation is entirely dependent on God’s sovereign grace from start to finish.

Basis of Arminianism

To address the conflict between Calvinism and Arminianism, an official forum was held called the ‘Synod of Dort’ (1618 to 1619 A.D.). The forum consisted of a group of reformed churches across Europe and the British Isles.

Their concern was not some a minor theological matter; they considered that the gospel itself was at stake.

Arminianism, which emphasized human free will and the idea that people could accept or reject God’s grace, was seen by many as departing from biblical teaching. The synod concluded that Arminius’ theology was not driven by scripture but rather by a ‘rationalist spirit’, prioritizing human logic over divine revelation. To put it another way, “what makes sense to me?”

The fundamental problem with rationalism is that it opposes the Christian worldview. If we try to use logic alone to explain why God would sacrifice His only Son for sinners, we will fail to understand it. Human principles and ideas cannot fully comprehend the love  that the Scriptures describe from the Father or the obedience that He required from Christ.

The Reformed teachers, based on Scripture, affirmed the doctrines of grace, later summarized in the Five Points of Calvinism (TULIP), as the true gospel message. Ultimately, the ‘what makes sense to me?’ approach is problematic because it assumes that God’s actions must fit within the limits of human understanding, which Scripture shows is far from the truth.

What is wrong with the Arminian view of Salvation?

A major problem with the Arminian view of salvation is that it undermines the glory of God and gives a wrong view of man. This view places human free will above God’s sovereignty, suggesting that man’s choice ultimately determines salvation, which diminishes God’s complete control and overstates man’s role in the process.

The basis for such an ideology lies in a fundamentally flawed and weak understanding of the gospel.

Simply put, if you believe that man has any capacity to come to God on his own merits, then you truly do not understand depravity (human fallenness) and what it means to be dead and blind in sin.

Throughout the Bible, sinners are defined as incapable of coming to Jesus, as well as unwilling to do so.

Hence, if man is helpless (Ephesians 2:1), hopeless (Ephesians 2:12), unwilling (Romans 3:10-12), and unable to respond (John 6:44), the only conclusion is that salvation must be solely dependent on God.

Charles Finney, also an avid believer in Arminianism (that people had power within them to come to Christ), ended up developing a manipulative kind of evangelism that basically attempted to poke the sinner emotionally and manipulate their minds and feelings to get them to give their lives to Christ.

When evangelism becomes a manipulation of emotion, false believers flood in. Phil Johnson, associate pastor of the grace community church offers an interesting question for those who believe salvation is something earned; “I often ask Arminians, “Why do you even pray for the lost? Your theology tells you God has already done everything He could possibly do to save them and now it’s all up to them. So why do you pray for your lost relatives? Something in you knows that God is sovereign over their hearts.”

When cornered, even the Arminian will end up with God’s sovereignty, so why not start there? Why do we need to present a different picture of salvation that devalues God’s total involvement in salvation?

In conclusion, the primary flaw with Arminianism is that it elevates human free will above God’s sovereignty, giving man an undue role in the process of salvation. By suggesting that sinners have the power to choose God on their own, it underestimates human depravity and shifts the focus from God’s saving grace to human effort.

Salvation is entirely the work of God from start to finish, with no dependence on human will (Philippians 1:6, Romans 9:16). This gives all the glory to God and assures believers of their security in Christ, knowing that He alone secures and completes their salvation.

Can you be arminian and still be saved?

The answer is yes.

Despite holding to an Arminian belief, it is still possible for a person to be saved, yet not fully grasp the doctrines of grace in all its perfection.

In fact, even if people misunderstand human capability, God’s election, the extent of the atonement, God’s irresistible saving grace, and whether they hold to the wrong belief that salvation can be lost, they may still be saved.

In the end, as long as a person acknowledges that he or she is a sinner and that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation through His atoning work on the cross, people can be saved, no matter how confused, uninformed, or ignorant they may be on those topics.

People can also still be saved if they assume that it was a work of their own power and do not know or acknowledge that it was actually the work of the Holy Spirit of God.

In the same way, there are people in churches today who don’t understand the sovereignty of God in salvation in its fullest sense because of poor teaching. However, it does not invalidate the possibility that God may have worked in their hearts to bring them to faith through the simple understanding of the Gospel message.

Ultimately, salvation is based on faith in Christ’s finished work on the cross, not on having flawless theology. While doctrinal accuracy is important for growth and maturity, it is faith in Jesus and His atoning sacrifice that secures our salvation.