Practicing Christian Doctrine: An Introduction to Thinking and Living Theologically

by Beth Felker Jones

Arminian soteriology is summed up in the Remonstrant articles, written in 1610 by a group of like-minded Christians after Arminius’s death. Each of the five articles invokes the grace of God in all aspects of salvation: God’s will is to elect “those who through His grace believe in Jesus Christ and persevere in faith and obedience.” Christ died for all humanity. The article quotes John 3:16 here, emphasizing God’s love for the whole world. Humans cannot “obtain saving faith” by themselves, and they stand “in need of God’s grace through Christ to be renewed in thought and will.” This is an affirmation of the crippling effects of original sin and the human need for grace. Grace is “the cause of the beginning, progress and completion” of salvation. The article speaks here of “co-operating” grace, a grace of God that works together with human freedom. Good works come through the grace of God, and humans can resist God’s grace. In Christ, humans receive the strength of the Spirit to “fight against Satan, sin, the world, their own flesh, and get the victory.” The article maintains the possibility of apostasy—that humans can turn away from God.