The Historical Burden of Calvinism

Selected Scriptures
2007.03.04
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1. The Historical Burden of Calvinism

The historical burden of Calvinism, that is, the main historical motivation that produced Calvinism, was to refute false teaching. Calvinism was forged in an historical setting where the burden of the church was to refute false teaching.

In 1610, one year after James Arminius (a seminary professor in Holland) died, five articles of faith were crafted by his followers. These five articles were a protest against the teaching of the church.

As a quick footnote, the debate between free-will and predestination is not new. In fact, James Arminius was not the first one to question God’s sovereignty. The debate goes at least as far back as Pelagius and Augustine in the 5th century, and really we could say it goes back to the apostle Paul, Jesus, and even Moses.

Nevertheless, the term Arminianism and its counterpart, Calvinism, come from this protest in the 17th century. The followers of Arminius crafted five articles of faith in what was called the Remonstrance.

The Remonstrance was rooted in two assumptions. First, that human freedom and divine sovereignty are incompatible. Second, that there can be no responsibility if there is no ability. Their logical assumptions determined their conclusions. And though we all bring various assumptions to our study of God’s Word, we had best make sure we are willing to abandon our assumptions if Scripture says something else. In the case of the Remonstrance, it was logic that drove their theology, not Scripture.

The assumptions of human freedom and ability prompted these five articles in the Remonstrance:

1. Man is not so corrupted by his sin that he cannot believe the gospel. Man has the ability to accept the gospel on his own.
2. Man is never so controlled by God that he cannot reject the gospel. Man also has the power to refuse the gospel.
3. God does not violate man’s will, but makes His choice in response to man’s choice. Election is on the basis of forseen faith.
4. Christ died for each and every person (even those in hell), and His death does not secure salvation for anyone unless they believe. So the cross only created the possibility of salvation.
5. Christians can lose their salvation if they do not keep themselves in grace. Believers are able and responsible to keep believing in order to have eternal salvation.

In each of these points the Arminian doesn’t deny that man need’s God’s grace, but he says that everyone gets the same grace and that man makes the crucial and ultimate difference. Jesus’ work on the cross is certainly necessary, but it is only good if the sinner accepts it. Christian’s do need God’s help, but God’s help can only do so much without man’s cooperation.

All of this was thought to protect God’s character. This way He is not responsible for those who reject Him, nor is He guilty of making robots. Likewise, Arminians desired to defend the responsibility of man.

In 1618 a national Synod (an assembly of clergy) met in Dort (South Holland) to examine the views of Arminius and settle the controversy. The Synod lasted seven months, during which there were 154 sessions where more than a hundred men determined from God’s Word that each article in the Remonstrance was wrong. They also concluded that merely rejecting the articles of Arminianism was not sufficient, so they set forth the truth in what have become known as “the five points of Calvinism.”

In general, great statements of truth, though not inspired, can help us better understand the inspired text. In fact, J. Gresham Machen once said,

Every really great Christian utterance, it may almost be said, is born in controversy. It is when men have felt compelled to take a stand against error that they have risen to the really great heights in the celebration of truth.

In their stance against error, the Synod composed five canons, or standards of truth related to the Biblical teaching of God’s sovereignty in salvation. The name Calvinism was eventually attached to these five points because John Calvin had done so much to study and clarify these truths from Scripture. So Calvin never knew the term Calvinism or Calvinist, but the term is in honor of his faithful exposition and teaching of Scripture.

We ought to be thankful for men who help us understand God’s Word with greater clarity, and we should celebrate in God’s goodness to us in raising up faithful men who defend the faith once for all delivered to the saints.