Blood poisoning can be very serious and can even take our life. If it is not too severe, then, it is possible with medication and the blessing of the Lord, that our blood can be purified again. What blood is for our body so is the preaching of God's Word for our soul. However, the preaching must be pure, else we will be poisoned so to speak. The fountains of pure preaching are Moses and the prophets, Christ and the apostles.

In the Bible we read about false prophets and false apostles. God's Word strongly condemns them, also the worshiping of idols. It is remarkable that in our days the difference between the true and false doctrines of the world are not seen anymore – or one does not want to see it. The great majority of the churches desire to have freedom in their views about God and His service. In previous centuries that difference was felt, but now much of shallow Christendom says: "One just expresses himself differently from the other, but their meaning is the same." So they try to pretend that all denominations speak the same truths and say, "At the gate of heaven we will not be asked – to which church did you belong?" This way of approach is not new, as we will see in this topic.

The Life of the Founder of Arminianism⤒🔗

The man whom we will try to write something about has practiced this many centuries ago. Under the cloak of orthodoxy he brought a false doctrine. He never confessed to being a heretic, although he clearly departed from the truth according to God's Word as it is written in the Belgic Confession. He always maintained that in essence there were no differences of any importance between him and the Belgic Confession. A historian wrote about him: "Arminius's weakness was that he posed as a faithful professor of Reformed doctrine." In reality it was totally different.

The theological system called Arminianism received its name from the Dutch theologian, Jacobus Harmensz. He was born October 10, 1560, in Oudewater, a small, pleasant village between Utrecht and Rotterdam. In Latin his name was Arminius.

Arminius had a very tragic child­hood. You have to remember that it was at the time of the eighty-year war between Spain and the Netherlands, which was fought over freedom of re­ligion. Finally, the yoke of the church of Rome was cast off (1568-1648). In that war the Spanish soldiers burned Oudewater and also the parental home of Arminius. His parents were both killed and he was left as an orphan.

As a child he was taken under the kind care of a clergyman who supervised his education. Later, he entered the University of Utrecht, but then his benefactor died. Another person took over his care. He then went to the University of Marburg. He also studied in Leiden, The Netherlands. At the age of twenty-two he was sent to Geneva where he had the privilege of studying under Theodore Beza, the successor to Calvin. It was already in Geneva that the so-called spirit of Arminianism began to reveal itself.

To great activity of mind and ardor of inquiry Arminius added self-sufficiency and self-assertion. This soon expressed itself in whispered criticisms of his professors, chiefly by means of private conversations. This resulted in drawing together several young malcontents, which eventually led to his dismissal at the university.

He returned to the Netherlands where his cleverness still blinded his Dutch friends to his inward dishonesty. Arminius was elected as one of the pastors of the Reformed Church in Amsterdam. He posed as the most orthodox among the orthodox, but at the same time he was undermining the doctrine he professed and thus stirred up distrust and dissension. Soon he was accused of not holding to the doctrine of free grace.

When in 1602 a professor of divinity at Leiden died, his friends conspired to have Arminius appointed to fill the vacancy. Notwithstanding the most strenuous efforts of the staunch orthodox, the thing was accomplished and Arminius became the professor. The Classis, however, exacted from him a solemn and particular promise to maintain the doctrine described in the Belgic Confession. Arminius agreed because he felt that he now had his way. Time would tell if his promises were sincere.

On entering upon his professorship he tried to clear himself from all suspicion by publicly proclaiming the pure doctrine of grace. For a few years it seemed to go quite well, but suddenly it was discovered that he had two sets of opinions – one opinion in his professor's chair and an opposing one in his private manuscripts and personal talks among the students. Publicly, he commended the Reformed divines, but at the same time he artfully opposed their standards, thus bringing them into discredit. In this way he lessened their influence and weakened their hold on the popular mind.

In this same way Satan worked in Paradise, putting question marks behind the commandments of the Lord, which led to our destruction. How sly was this learned man to undermine the doctrine of free grace! He was really an instrument of Satan to attempt to destroy the Reformation, as we shall prove from the teaching of Arminius.

The Doctrine of the Arminians←⤒🔗

What then is Arminianism of which we hear so much in sermons? Arminius himself has written this down and it sounds innocent: "God being a righteous Judge and kind Father, had, from the beginning, made a distinction between the individuals of a fallen race, according to which He would remit the sins of those who should give them up and put their trust in Christ, and would bestow on them eternal life; also that it is agreeable to God that all men be converted, and having come to the knowledge of the truth, remain therein, but He compels no one."

This sounds innocent until you place it beside the truth. We will try to com­pare the two viewpoints: Arminianism versus Reformed doctrine. We can find the main errors on the last page of our well-known and beloved catechism book of Rev. Hellenbroek, which we will follow.

1.   Election occurred due to a foreseen faith and good works←↰⤒🔗

According to the Arminians, God's decree respecting the salvation of man is founded upon foreseen faith and good works. This would mean that God's decree came first, but was de­pendent upon the determination of man. To this opinion the doctrine of Scripture is directly opposed. Election is only out of grace and excludes works (Rom. 11:5,6). Rev. Kersten writes: "It is clear that this error denies the sovereignty of predestination, deprives God of His honor and glory. It makes God dependent upon the creature and ascribes to man what he no longer possesses since the fall. Neither the angels, nor man who is brought forth in time, can be the cause of what is decreed in eternity.''

When you think about Arminian thought, then it means that man describes to God what he wants. God then must only decree according to man's desires, who will be saved. In other words, God has nothing to do with our salvation, except to register our decision. This is clearly against the truth, for God alone decrees, and man does not have to add anything to it.

2.   Christ has made satisfaction for all men←↰⤒🔗

This means general redemption for everyone. The Westminster Confession states: "As God hath appointed the elect unto glory, so hath He, by the eternal and most free purpose of His will, foreordained all the means thereunto. Wherefore they who are elected, being fallen in Adam, are redeemed by Christ, are effectually called unto faith in Christ by His Spirit working in due season" (Head 3, section 6).

This article instructs us that Christ died exclusively for the elect and purchased redemption for them alone. This Confession first asserts positively that the elect are redeemed by Christ; and then later on in the same article, negatively says that "none other are redeemed by Christ, but the elect only."

These words are diametrically opposed to the system of the Arminians who teach that Jesus Christ, by His death and suffering, made an atonement for the sins of all mankind in general, and of every individual in particular. The celebrated Richard Baxter, to mention only one name, also favors general redemption, but God's Word teaches us differently. "Many are called, but few are chosen."

3.   The will of man is free to choose good as well as evil←↰⤒🔗

It seems to me that in this point, Arminius has followed the way of Pelagius who taught that every man is born like Adam before the fall, with a free will. He thought that the fall did not change anything in essence as far as human nature was concerned – so Adam's fall should not have any consequences for his descendants. Original sin does not exist. Everybody has a free will to choose good or evil.

Arminius taught also that God's grace is for all men, but man must make himself worthy of His grace. Christ became man to encourage the people by His preaching and example to go in the path of virtue. This is the doctrine of Arminius who used orthodox expressions, but really was far from the truth. He went against the doctrine of Augustine which was scriptural: Man is unable to do any good and inclined to all evil.

4.   The spirit of God does not work irresistibly in conversion←↰⤒🔗

In the Canons of Dort, Head 3 and 4, error VII, we read of this erroneous doctrine of Arminius. Here we read:

Who teaches that the grace whereby we are converted to God is only a gentle advising, or (as others explain it), that this is the noblest manner of working in the conversion of man, and that this manner or working, which consists in advising, is most in harmony with man's nature … But, this is altogether Pelagian and contrary to the whole Scripture which, besides this, teaches yet another and far more powerful and divine manner of the Holy Spirit's working in the conversion of man, as in Ezekiel: 'A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh' (Ezek. 36:26).

How clearly this explains that the work of the Spirit of God is irresistible!

God's children can tell about it in their own lives – how the Lord has broken their hard hearts and brought them on the way of life.

5.   Believers can fall out of the state of grace←↰⤒🔗

The perseverance of the saints is one of the points by which the creed of the Calvinists is distinguished from the followers of Arminius. The latter holds that true believers may fall into sins inconsistent with a state of grace and may continue in apostasy to the end of their lives, and consequently will be condemned. The same doctrine is taught by Rome. What a comfortless teaching this is for those who ascribe faith, repentance, and perseverance to the power of man!

The fifth head of the Canons of Dort explains the doctrine of perseverance. We all know that God's children can fall into abominable sins; nevertheless God does not wholly withdraw His Spirit from them, although it can become very dark in spiritual life. They cannot lose the grace of adoption, nor fall out of the state of justification: The elect "are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Pet. 1:5). (See also the fifth head of the Canons of Dort.)

The widespread influence of the Arminians←⤒🔗

I am convinced that what I have written is only the tip of the iceberg, because in my studies I have found more than twenty major differences between the followers of Arminius and the Calvinists, but have limited myself to the five er­rors mentioned by Rev. Hellenbroek.

These matters of Arminianism don't move the people as much in our day as they did about four hundred years ago. Then the whole of The Netherlands resounded with theological controversy. Especially the well-known Professor Gomarus has fought against these false doctrines. To settle the questions in dispute, a national Synod was held in Dort from November 13, 1618 to May 9, 1619. The Synod of Dort was the greatest Synod ever held by the Reformed Churches. Delegates from throughout Europe were present and gave their views.

The Synod unanimously rejected and very positively condemned the teachings of the Arminians. It stated the true Reformed doctrine in the Canons of Dort which is so well-known among us. It is much praised, but I fear not so well read!

The Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort are to this day the creeds of doctrinal standards of the Reformed churches in the Netherlands and America. It is very sad that these creeds are still signed in many churches, but don't function anymore in the preaching. It is as an old piece of furniture which is used for show, but is not used in practice.

Although Arminianism was condemned in Dort, it was not exterminated. It had great influence in England. It in­vaded the Anglican Church and almost all the dissenting denominations. John Wesley adopted Arminianism and it became the creed of the Wesleyan Methodists. Today it has become the accepted doctrine in nearly all the churches in America. This means that its influence is great.

If we know a little about contemporary theological literature, then we must be impressed by the leaven of Arminianism. What they could not achieve by debate has been accomplished by peaceful penetration. This is a method which is still used: Don't fight, but keep quiet and it will fall as a ripe apple in your lap. So we must realize that Arminianism has influenced theological thinking to an extraordinary degree. The "revival" literature of our day is full of it, and it is the same in the religious press.

"Warnings from the pulpit are not heard as in former days," Rev. D. Beaton wrote in the church paper of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. In some measure this can be explained, because so many new errors and sects arise and the majority of the people believe that the old foe is dead. Unfortunately, this is not true; it is very much alive and still enjoys great favor with the religious public. When we re­member the horror with which our forefathers have opposed Arminianism, then modern attitudes indicate how far the professing church has drifted away from the position of theo­logians of those days.

The late Rev. Vergunst wrote in the Saambinder: "It is so necessary, very necessary, that from all our pulpits a warning is issued against this Arminian doctrine, because it is under a Re­formed cloak and is very effective, sometimes more than we suspect." May the Lord make us faithful to combat it with might, and may He gird us and enlighten us to recognize this evil.

At our Synod of Dordt the Belgic Confession was also examined by the Dutch and foreign divines. After the examination the foreign divines expressed this wish: "May this orthodox, pious, and plain confession of faith always persevere; may it be passed on unstained to your descendants and be kept until the coming of our Lord Jesus." May the Lord Himself make this wish precious to us, so that we may combat Arminianism among us and abhor it, and the confession of our forefathers may be passed on to the following generation.

It is our prayer that the God of our fathers may give us to be faithful to the old, scriptural doctrine of free grace, not only with our lips, but experientially with our whole heart.