Those of us in the Calvinistic Faith of the Gospel call those outside the Calvinistic Faith âArminiansâ in reference to those who followed the religious views of Jacob Arminius, the Dutch theologian (1560-1609). This is really not a fair label for our modern style religious system with its mixture of free-will, easyâbelievism, charismatic drunkenness and liberal tommy-rot. The scriptural ignorance of historical Arminianism is far, far above the scriptural ignorance of this modern religious ten-headed beast. Like the historical heresy of Jacob Arminias these modern ignoramuses call the justice of God to the bar of reason. They, with pride inflated confidence, wade in the deep, deep ocean of divine mysteries and in dealing with the decrees of God, when the blessed and learned Apostle Paul could find no bottom, but cried âO the depthâ! These self-styled âbible scholarsâ undertake to bring Paul down from his lofty bewilderment, âexplainingâ that âGod foresaw that Jacob would believe, and that Esau would not believe, therefore the one was loved and elected, and the other was loved a little less and rejected.â Thus these modern âwise-menâ in their schools of Christian mass-production have learned deeper divinity than what Paul learned in the third heaven. The new breed Arminians are truly nothing more than varnished offspringâs of Pelagius, the fourth-century moralist who fathered the modern day lie of spiritual âfree-will.â They make sheep keep the Shepherd, and put the Sovereign God into the same extremity with the Persian King Darius, who would have gladly saved Daniel, but could not. Who has âfree-willâ in the salvation of sinners? Iâm going to stick with Paul when he quotes the audible words of Jehovah spoken to Moses in Exodus 33:19, âI will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.â In his own inspired words Paul concludes his argument saying, âSo then it is not of him who WILLS nor of Him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.â The free-will of God in salvation had its beginning before man was eligible to vote. It had its beginning in the eternal council of God. Paul writing to Timothy in his second epistle discusses salvation in these terms, âWho has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our own works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.â ~~Terry Worthan (1938-2022)
AMAZING grace! (how sweet the sound!) That saved a wretch like me; I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, but now I see.