These are my thoughts on Calvinism and Arminianism.

Posted byMtclark2014Posted inUncategorizedTags:, , , , , ,

So I’m going to give several verses on in note form for y’all to read later and I’ll explain my thoughts a little. These thoughts are after much prayer and thoughts while pondering over Gods sovereignty vs mans free will. If you disagree, it is perfectly fine and I definitely won’t separate fellowship since this is definitely a complicated issue. If you have any other thoughts or verses that you have in mind, leave a comment below and I will respond when I can.

God knows all that we pray for and knows what we need. God knows everything about us-Romans 8:26-27,Luke 12:7

No one including us can snatch us out of his hand. We can’t lose our salvation. -Romans 8:38-39

Whoever believes (has a choice) in Jesus, will be served- John 3:16, Romans 10:13

For those he knew would accept Christ, he made sure that they would become more like Jesus. Those that he knew would accept Christ in their lives, he made sure they heard the gospel from someone or something(missionaries, videos, dreams, etc..) Christ-Romans 8:28-29

He raised up and chooses people for specific circumstances in order to assure his plan for the world is fulfilled. He knew what our choices would be and put us in place for the purpose that he has for us. -Romans 9:6-11

He can harden peoples hearts if he wants and has done before (pharaoh and the Israelites during Jesus’ time on earth)- Romans 9:18

So that you know where I am coming from, I have had plenty of teachers that I’ve listen from both sides of the isle. Calvinist and Arminian. I’ve listened to both and honestly, there seem to be good points on both sides. But taken to the extreme on both cases leads to some very scary thoughts and assumptions about God and us.

If you go completely Calvinist, then it can be almost look like fatalism and therefore God looks like he is double damming people. He gives people no chance of redemption and therefore the sacrifice of Jesus almost loses some of its power because it’s not a sacrifice for all the world as stated in John 3:16 but rather only for those he decides not to dam to hell.

Now this is not to say that God couldn’t do that if he wanted to. He surely could if he wanted because he made us and can do with us what he wills(Romans 9:19-23), but it seems in my eyes that it would contradict scripture and God being perfect and just doesn’t contradict himself like we do in our sinful nature.

But also when it comes to the extremes of Arminianism, it can be equally dangerous. Taken to the extreme, God has no power over the universe and the timeline. He doesn’t control who comes to power or who falls and gives all the power to Humans. This takes away the power and sovereignty of God and it also contradicts scripture heavily(Daniel 2:21 and Romans 9:17). Though I believe humans have free will as is implied in Romans 10:13 and John 3:16, I know God is in control.

Also another extreme of Arminianism is that we can just choose to lose our salvation which I see no evidence in the scriptures for that and even contradicts Romans 8:38-39). This also would diminish the sacrifice of Christ by saying that his sacrifice is the same level of putting up and putting down as say deciding to buy or sell a car.

So then, what are my thoughts currently on this issue. Honestly, I will probably wrestle where free will and predestination mingle together until I see Christ in heaven, but currently I’m kinda in the middle if not leaning towards Calvinism.

Right now I believe God has foreknowledge of every decision we would ever make and therefore took those tendencies into consideration and rose certain people up into roles of authority to sway the history of the world, but also rewarded those who chose to accept by giving them eternal life in heaven. He allows us choice but uses us as pawns in a great game of chess, each of us with a different role with different abilities, personalities and choices.

Now you could ask, well why doesn’t he just choose a reality with everyone accepting Christ? Well the next obvious question is, why doesn’t everyone else just accept the free gift. He doesn’t want to make us robots and actually wants a relationship with us. Also, even if he did choose who gets to go to heaven, we as Christians should feel even more joyful that he chooses us. You may think that seems unfair to the unbelievers. Well to be honest, they wouldn’t even want to be there in the first place. They chose a life without God and so therefore, God fives them an eternity without God.

These are just my thoughts and I don’t assume everyone to agree, but if you do. I would love to hear from you and leave any idea you have any disagreements to also leave a comment with your thoughts on i

Published by Mtclark2014

Just an average guy that loves Jesus, football and wanting to learn more about God everyday. I post my devotions and lessons on here to gather my thoughts together. So if I make a mistake, tell me and if you know places where I can learn more, tell me that too. I hope y’all have a great day.

13 thoughts on “These are my thoughts on Calvinism and Arminianism.”

  1. Mt, I align with much of what you’ve written here. Man’s free will and God’s sovereignty are incompatible, yet both are taught by Scripture. It’s a mystery that we cannot grasp this side of eternity. The great thing is this question of Arminianism vs. Calvinism is not something we need to solve as a requirement of our salvation. While I’m somewhere in the middle of the debate, I also lean towards Calvinism. The Arminian belief that a Christian can lose their salvation seems to me to require works righteousness as a part of justification. I suspect many Arminians aren’t genuinely saved because they are trusting in their works/obedience to maintain their salvation. Well, no one can obey God perfectly, so at what point do they lose their salvation?

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    1. I really can’t wait to ask God to clarify it to me when I get to heaven. When it comes to the salvation of an entire section of the church, I hesitate to say that most of many of them aren’t saved. They may possibly be misinformed just like a lot of we were when we first accepted Christ. I say that, though agreeing that a lot of them may struggle with thinking works possibly make them saved and not on grace alone(Ephesians 2:8). It can lead to extreme anxiety and possible depression because you then hold yourself to an impossible standard. In any case, let’s pray for those that disagree with us and agree with us for there is a reason why good faithful men of God throughout the centuries have landed on both sides.

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  2. I do think Calvinist believe man has a will, but not free from man’s nature (sinful or nonsinful) and of course not free from the influences and decree of God. Your post sounds a lot like where I stand

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    1. Well if that is the case, then I’m a Calvinist. The reason I say that is because I’ve met a couple calvinists that went to that extreme and arminians that went to that extreme as well. Thanks for your input.

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      4. I believe once saved always saved. Not because we couldn’t decide to not do it but because once saved, there is no chance on earth that we would want to give it away because it would be irresistible at that point. We can resist it at the onset of God extending his grace as seen with the pharaoh, the Israelites and my dad. But once we have accepted God as our Lord and Savior, we will never give it up. Those that do, were never saved and were just living amongst us as talked about in Hebrews.

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