by Jeremy Craft
A few years ago I found myself in a discussion with a Free Will Baptist minister who was uneasy with how I taught about the believer’s perseverance. To him, my strong emphasis on grace sounded too Calvinistic, as if I believe in the doctrine of eternal security (once saved, always saved) and that grace gives license for sin. Yet this very same minister had also heard me teach on the doctrine of apostasy. Interestingly enough, others were also visiting my church at the time who resonated with my emphasis on grace, yet were bewildered by my simultaneous belief in the doctrine of apostasy.
I have been in this predicament more than once. It has caused me to ask: How could Christians who believe in eternal security identify with my emphasis on grace while, at the same time, some Arminians (not all) who share my convictions about apostasy be troubled by it? I believe that Reformed Arminianism offers a unique answer to this question, because it enables us to affirm belief in the possibility of apostasy and yet also emphasizes the necessity of grace for the believer to persevere in faith.
In fact, when Arminians express concern that an emphasis on grace provides a license to sin and teaches eternal security, they most likely have been influenced by Wesleyan theology more than the Reformational theology of Reformed Arminianism. Yet when we rightly understand Arminianism in its Reformational context, we see that we need not (yea, must not!) shy away from emphasizing the necessity of grace, not only in calling sinners to faith in Christ but also in providing believers with assurance of salvation and in motivating perseverance.
Total Depravity and the Need for Grace
First, our understanding of the human condition and the total depravity of man recognizes the necessity of grace in calling people to faith in Christ. In Romans 5:12, Paul says, “Just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (ESV). Regarding this verse, Leroy Forlines explains: “If we understand that death passed upon all men because all men sinned at some time in the past, death would pass upon all because all sinned in Adam.”[1] This passage suggests that the entire human race sinned in Adam and thus death spread to all.
As a result, the imputation of Adam’s sin to the human race rendered human nature totally depraved and left humanity condemned before God. Man’s depraved nature means that placing faith in Christ is not a neutral decision, as if one is choosing to eat an apple or an orange. What is more, man has neither the capacity nor the desire to be saved; indeed, he is a rebel. God must move toward him before he can respond to the gospel call to repentance and faith.
This movement of God toward sinners is called prevenient grace. Robert Picirilli describes it as “that work of the Holy Spirit that ‘opens the heart’ of the unregenerate . . . to the truth of the gospel and enables them to respond positively in faith.”[2] Apart from the Holy Spirit persuading, drawing, and convicting the sinner, there is no possibility for salvation. Even the ability to exercise saving faith is made possible only through the Spirit’s work.
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon to hear evangelistic messages that speak more of sinful living as the unbeliever’s problem than on actually speaking of sinners’ helpless, guilty, and condemned state before God and calling them to believe that Christ has made provision for their sin through His death and resurrection. In such cases, the focus of preaching becomes about calling people to repent of sin—as if repentance is the end in and of itself—while speaking little of the end goal of that repentance: faith in Christ (Acts 20:21; Heb. 6:1). Consequently, Christianity becomes a religion promoting Christian morality rather than a message about the good news that Jesus died on our behalf. Right living becomes the gospel message instead of faith in Christ, which is the foundation of any true right living post-conversion.
Belief in total depravity drastically shapes our approach to evangelism. This means that the gospel is not merely about calling unbelievers out of their sin (though that is part of it) and to “right living.” A sinful lifestyle is only a symptom of unbelief, and not its cause. Instead, unbelievers need to be radically transformed by the Holy Spirit (regeneration), which occurs only by faith in Christ. The sinner must be enticed by God’s goodness, convicted of his rebellion, convinced of the gospel’s truth, persuaded by what it says, and drawn to believe in Jesus’ name.
Union with Christ and the Application of Grace
Second, through the believer’s union with Christ, the Holy Spirit applies the gracious gift of salvation, which comes in both justification and sanctification. Justification addresses the verdict that renders the sinner guilty before God as a result of sin by declaring him righteous. Sanctification deals with the depraved nature, which causes the believer to sin, by making him holy. “As the justifying grace of God is effective in forgiving our sins and restoring us to favor with God,” says Forlines, “so the sanctifying grace of God is effective in changing our experience with God and sin. It guarantees a change in our lives.”[3] Without both, salvation is incomplete and ineffective.
However, a reordering of these doctrines can sometimes manifest itself in our teaching on the assurance of salvation. This becomes evident when the focus of our teaching on assurance is measuring a standard of achieved holiness (sanctification) instead of emphasizing the believer’s union with Christ (justification). From this perspective, speaking of the guaranteed results of sanctification sounds too much like the doctrine of eternal security, discourages holiness, and provides false assurance. Sinless perfection, therefore, becomes the necessary antidote for gaining assurance.
Yet this entire way of thought disregards the purpose of salvation and, in particular, the goal of sanctification: to make believers holy. The “packaged deal” of salvation provides believers with assurance that God will finish the work He has begun (Phil. 1:6). This does not encourage a life of passivity toward sin, as some presume—“let go and let God.” No, salvation that is conditioned upon faith in Christ is not against effort toward holiness so much as it is against earning salvation. Grace strengthens faith, and faith begets holiness.
Apostasy, in this context, occurs by severing union with Christ, which comes through unbelief: a retraction of faith. Saving faith, then, not personal holiness, guards against apostasy and enables the believer to persevere. With this in mind, teaching on perseverance rightly encourages believers to pursue holiness with the understanding that the Spirit also works in and through them to produce holiness, “for it is God who works in you, both to will and work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13).
Believers need not live in fear of losing their salvation simply because they have committed an act of sin(s). Nor should they feel hopeless for not having attained a state of sinless perfection, though they should strive toward spiritual maturity. Understanding the guaranteed results of sanctification strengthens faith, since it grounds assurance in believers’ union with Christ, which is conditioned on their faith, and not on their ability to live a sinless life. Sanctification will continue to occur as long as believers are in saving union with Christ.
Conclusion
In an earnest desire to encourage holiness, some Arminians place emphasis on man’s ability to mortify sin, yet speak very little about the need of grace for that sin to be forgiven, as well as the need for grace to mortify sin, motivate holiness, and persevere in faith. As a result, our preaching on salvation, in calling unbelievers to faith and in encouraging believers to persevere in faith, places more of an emphasis on what we must do as opposed to what God has done and is doing to us through His Spirit. Reformed Arminianism offers a corrective because it places Christ at the center of its theology. It recognizes that salvation is a gracious work of God—from beginning to end—and that no one is saved apart from grace.
About the Author: Jeremy Craft is a pastor and former contributor to the HSF. In March 2018, he began the pastorate of Piney Grove Free Will Baptist Church in Chipley, Florida, and has been in pastoral ministry since 2013. A native of Columbus, Georgia, he holds a Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Science from Welch College. He has been happily married to his wife, Lindsay, since June 2018.
[1]F. Leroy Forlines, The Quest for Truth: Theology for Postmodern Times (Nashville: Randall House, 2001), 161.
[2]Robert Picrilli, Grace, Faith, and Free Will: Contrasting Views of Salvation; Calvinism and Arminianism (Nashville: Randall House, 2002), 154. Picrilli prefers the term pre-regenerating grace instead of prevenient grace because its archaic usage and meaning is unknown to the common person.
[3]Forlines, 221.
January 31, 2019
You did a great job Jeremy. I’m printing this off to give to someone who is struggling with these very issues you raised and answered Scripturally. Reformed Arminianism gives a biblical answer to these vexing questions many struggle with. Thanks for your work and the HSF.
February 9, 2019
Thanks! I’m glad you found it helpful, and I pray that it will helpful for your friend also. Blessings to you.