THEO 350 - Final Exam

Five Points of Calvinism

1. Total Depravity

2. Unconditional Election

3. Limited Atonement

4. Irresistible Grace

5. Perseverance of the Saints

Five Points of Arminianism

1. Total Depravity

2. Conditional Election

3. Unlimited Atonement

4. Resistible Grace

5. Apostasy Possible

Who Taught 4 Point Calvinism?

Moses Amyraut (Amyraldus)

God's Will (Antecedent)

A preference under better circumstances

God's Will (Consequent)

A decision given the current circumstances

Foreknowledge (Arminian)

"God's foresight" of our response (God is passive)

Foreknowledge (Calvinism)

"Fore-ordination" (cf. "providence") (God is active)

Free Will (Arminian)

We have the ability to accept or reject Christ. God's choice is based on our choice.

Free Will (Calvinism)

We freely decide to reject until God graciously changes our mind (by convincing us???)

Grace (Efficacious)

God's life-changing work

Grace (Judicious/Legal)

God's acceptance of sinful men

Irresistible Grace

Calvinistic idea. The elect cannot ultimately reject saving grace.

Electing Grace

Grace which singles out the predestinated before they are born.

Prevenient Grace

Arminian idea. Given to all sinners so that their will may be freed from sin's bondage. Now all have the ability to accept Christ.

Sovereignty (Authoritative)

God has a right to command (as a king.,) but grants free will to all. This is more compatible with Arminianism.

Sovereignty (Absolute)

God is actually in control of all that happens- even our decisions. This is more compatible with Calvinism.

Sublapsarian View

1. Create

2. Permit the fall

3. Provide Atonement

4. Elect

Infralapsarian View

1. Create

2. Permit the fall

3. Elect

4. Provide Atonement

Supralapsarian View

1. Elect

2. Create

3. Permit the fall

4. Provide Atonement

Final Observations (God's Sovereignty and Human Free Will)

1. Most Calvinists believe both Satan and Adam had FREE WILL in a LIBERTARIAN sense. Their sin corrupted the will of their posterity.

2. The Bible nowhere says, what God "FORESEES" as a basis for His predestination of the elect.

3. Both Calvinists and Arminians believe God ELECTS people unto salvation before they are BORN.

4. Both Calvinists and Arminians believe the Bible and that salvation is by GRACE through FAITH.

5. Both Arminius and Wesley believed that God is FAIR enough to allow UNEVANGELIZED peoples to find grace by responding correctly to NATURAL revelation (Wesley) or PERSONAL revelation (Arminius).

Catholic Grace (Prevenient)

Gives man the power of free will.

Catholic Grace (Sufficient)

Help man should use to obey God (but may choose to waste).

Catholic Grace (Cooperating)

Help God gives man as man chooses to obey (i.e. synergism.)

Catholic Grace (Efficacious)

help God gives man to obey salvific commands (and the mercy which recognizes that work as salvific.)

Middle Knowledge Definition

Molinism says that God chooses the world that contains each person's choice which God can use best for God's overall purpose.

Congruism (Semi-Augistinian)

1. God decides to give efficacious grace to a person

2. God consults middle knowledge to know how much grace is necessary

3. God gives that person the amount of grace necessary to secure his/her free will decision

Congruism (Semi-Pelagianism)

God puts a person into a situation with sufficient grace for them to be saved (not the bare minimum amount of grace)

God's Foreknowledge (Traditional)

God knows all future human decisions

God's Foreknowledge (Open)

God sometimes gets surprised

God's Foreknowledge (Presentism)

Affirms God's omniscience of the PRESENT, but denies His exhaustive foreknowledge.

God's Foreknowledge (Fatalism)

Claims the future is as FIXED as the past. (This term has a secular connotation.)

God's Foreknowledge (Determinism)

Claims the future is already PREDETERMINED. (i.e. "determined" by God).

Determinism (Unlimited Compatibilism)

Humans always make decisions according to GOD'S PLAN. aka - "theological determinism"

Determinism (Limited Compatibilism)

To the extent that God grants FREE CHOICE, He does not ensure our agreement with His plan.

Determinism (Incompatibilism)

To the extent God grants us free choice, He gives up CONTROL over our decisions.

Omniscience + Omnipotence = Sovereignty

1. If God is omniscient of "what it takes to convince me, and

2. If God is omnipotent to bring into my life "what it takes to convince me,"

3. Then God is sovereign over which decision I will be convinced to make.

Eternal Security (Assurance)

Our confidence of our current salvation (an emotional benefit).

Eternal Security (Security)

The permanent quality of our decision (a positional benefit)

Eternal Security (Optional Perseverance)

True believers may stop believing and still remain saved

Eternal Security (Guaranteed Perseverance)

All true believers will persevere in faith to the end

Eternal Security (Required Perseverance)

True believers may stop believing and forfeit salvation

Eternal Security (Augustine)

Accepted security based on election but claimed no assurance until we persevere to the end

Eternal Security (Aquinas)

"(Beginning) grace is given" to some "to whom perseverance in grace is not."

Eternal Security (Luther)

Believed paradoxically in both unconditional election and in conditional security.

Eternal Security (Calvin)

Accepted guaranteed perseverance, believed assurance is possible, but warned against a misguided assurance

Eternal Security (Arminius)

Never taught that one can lose salvation yet did not affirm "guaranteed perseverance" because of warnings

Eternal Security (Wesley)

True believers can forsake their faith and become lost again.

Eternal Security (Westminster)

Supported guaranteed perseverance, "shall certainly persevere therein to the end"

Eternal Security (New Hampshire)

"True christians ... endure"

Eternal Security (SBC 1925)

"All real believers endure to the end."

Eternal Security (Dispensationalists)

Can be found among all views

Destiny of Unevangelized (Restrictivist)

1. Christ is both epistemologically and ontologically necessary

2. Human evangelism is necessary

Destiny of Unevangelized (Inclusivist)

1. Christ is only ontologically necessary

2. Human evangelism is not necessary

Destiny of Unevangelized (Universal Opportunity)

1. Christ is both epistemologically and ontologically necessary.

2. Human evangelism is not necessary.

Destiny of Unevangelized (Post-Mortem Evangelism)

1. Christ is both epistemologically and ontologically necessary.

2. Human evangelism is not necessary (they can hear after death)

Sanctification (Lutheran)

Sanctification as a declaration by God.

Sanctification (Reformed)

Sanctification as holiness in Christ in Personal Conduct.

Sanctification (Wesleyan)

Sanctification as perfect love.

Sanctification (Keswick)

Sanctification as resting-faith in Christ's sufficiency.

Women in Ministry (Complementarian)

Can disciple, sing, pray, prophecy, teach, be a deaconess

Creationism (Young-Earth)

A literal reading

Creationism (Day-Age)

The creative "days" were extremely long periods of time.

Creationism (Gap Theory)

God used six days to repair the demonic chaos that arose between 1:1 and 2.

Creationism (Myth Theory)

To express a monotheistic creation from chaos