I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH FAITH TO BE AN ARMINIAN.

(Disclaimer J  The long sentences reflecting poor grammar are intentional)

I haven’t read the book, but the title intrigues me.  Norman Geisler and Frank Turek have co-authored a book entitled, “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist.”  I was musing about things while driving from Point A to Point B, recently and thought, ‘I don’t have enough faith to be an Arminian.”  Now there is a whole technical, historical definition to that label, Arminian.  In the circles where I roll, though, to be an 'Arminian' is applied to people who believe some or all of the following:

• God chose a people to be saved because in His omniscience He realized that they chose Him;
• That free, free  will is the irrevocable, divine right of humanity;
• That God died for every single human being and they must freely, based on their free will, accept His salvation as it is offered to them in their state of ungodliness;
• That God passionately entreats all to be saved and you have the choice, with the ability to accept or refuse that invitation; and
• That God’s promises give assurance to all who come to Him, but there can always be the chance that at some time ‘the once-believer’ chooses to be a ‘now-unbeliever’.

That’s the basic belief of the average Christian in the average evangelical church.  You may not agree with all those tenets, but in essence that’s how the cookie crumbles. I don’t intend to be uncomplimentary, but if one is objective and really examines this belief structure, we see that the defining characteristic of the average Christian belief structure is that we humans are in the driver’s seat.  In fact great angst is caused if you try to switch seats.  So now here’s the problem that I have:

I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH FAITH TO BE AN ARMINIAN.

Let me explain.  Firstly, I do not have enough faith to believe that the masses of humanity[i], dead in trespass and sin[ii], living disobedient to God, serving the desires of their flesh[iii], in bondage to Satan[iv], unable to obey[v] and not ever seeking God in the first place[vi], lying desiccated and dead in the valley of dry bones[vii] have enough fortitude to see, hear and obey the Gospel, apart from a prerequisite work of Divine resuscitation[viii].

Secondly, I do not have enough faith to believe that the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, took on human flesh having lived an absolutely unblemished life[ix], was crucified at the hands of wicked men according to the predetermined will of the inestimable God-Head[x], spilled his infinitely precious, omnipotent blood on Calvary’s Cross[xi], completely satisfying the demands of Divine justice for every single human being, once-and-for-all paying the eternal sacrifice for their sin[xii] – and for countless millions this sacrifice is absolutely futile, thus Christ died for the sins of many who will replicate that suffering in eternal torment.   I don’t have enough faith to believe that.

Thirdly, I do not have enough faith to believe that this great salvation received by faith in Christ[xiii] and His unbelievable work on behalf of men and women, ungodly and weak[xiv], that they are, rests upon the fickle, always sin-impacted, imperfect volition of sinners saved by grace[xv]. I do not have enough faith to believe that the saving merits and work of Christ[xvi] bring them most of the way and then hope that they can muster the spiritual energy and commitment to achieve eternal life.

Fourthly, I do not have enough faith to believe that I will, on my own, wake up every morning trusting fervently in the matchless grace of a wonderful, merciful Savior.

I do not have enough faith to be an Arminian.   I DO HAVE ENOUGH FAITH to believe that salvation is by the sovereign, electing grace of God;[xvii]  that by the appointment of the Father[xviii], Christ voluntarily suffered a vicarious,[xix]  expiatory and propitiatory death[xx]; that justification is by faith alone[xxi] in the all sufficient sacrifice and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ[xxii] and that those whom God has effectually called[xxiii] shall be divinely preserved[xxiv] and finally perfected in the image of the Lord[xxv].

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[i] “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23, NIV)

[ii] “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,” (Ephesians 2:1, NIV)

[iii] “in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.” (Ephesians 2:2–3, NIV)

[iv] “and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” (2 Timothy 2:26, NIV)

[v] “The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.” (Romans 8:7, NIV)

[vi] “there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.” (Romans 3:11, NIV)

[vii] “Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.” (Ezekiel 37:4–5, NIV)

[viii] “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4–5, NIV)

[ix] “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” (Hebrews 4:15, NIV)

[x] “This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.” (Acts 2:23, NIV)

[xi] “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” (1 Peter 1:18–19, NIV)

[xii] “Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.” (Hebrews 7:27–28, NIV)

[xiii] “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,” (Romans 3:22, NIV)

[xiv] “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6, NIV)

[xv] “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.” (Romans 7:15–16, NIV)

[xvi] “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6, NIV)

[xvii]“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love” (Ephesians 1:4, NIV); also Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Acts 13:48; John 10:26-30)

[xviii] “This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” (Acts 2:23–24, NIV)

[xix] ““I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”” (John 10:14–18, NIV)

[xx]“God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—” (Romans 3:25, NIV);  (also Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 2:2)

[xxi] “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Romans 5:1, NIV)

[xxii] “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” (Romans 10:9–10, NIV)

[xxiii] “All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” (John 6:37, NIV)

[xxiv] “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:28, NIV)

[xxv] “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:29–39, NIV)