Arminian Acronym - W.A.T.E.R.
We're going to be heading in a new direction with our Sunday night men's Bible Study in a couple of weeks. After spending almost 8 months in the Book of Mark (yes, it's only 16 chapters long… we're just a little slow), we have decided to do a 12-week study of the five points of Calvinism vs. the five points of Arminianism. It promises to be an interesting study, to say the least. Matt Beran and I have been asked to lead it, which will be a great opportunity for me to go back and review what I've already studied and to also be challenged to learn even more of what God's Word has to say about the Doctrines of Grace.
One challenge I've run into is that there doesn't seem to be an acronym for the five points of Arminainism. OK, that's not quite true. There doesn't seem to be an acronym for the five points of Arminianism that isn't pejorative in nature:"(I found a few, including CHAFF and IDLE, neither of which were intended to shade the Arminian position in a favorable light.)":, so I took the liberty of putting my own little list together:
- Wounded Will - Man's "human nature" has been seriously wounded by the Fall, but he is not completely spiritually helpless. Some Arminians believe that man still retains the ability to choose or reject God in and of himself, while others believe that God has graciously restored/maintained this ability in man. Ultimately, it is man's free choice that determines his eternal destiny. Faith is man's contribution to his own salvation, and he may give or withhold it at his discretion
- Ancillary Election - God chose, before time, those who would be saved. However, this election was secondary and entirely dependent on his foresight of future choices that these free beings would make. Those who would freely believe the gospel were elected unto salvation. Thus, it was an election of omniscience, but not of sovereignty, and man is ultimately responsible for his own destiny.
- Total Atonement - Christ died equally for the sins of all humanity. His redeeming work makes it possible for all men to be saved, but does not directly guarantee the salvation of any individual man. Christ's death enables God to pardon anyone who believes the gospel, but it did not actually, nor effectually, appease God's wrath.
- Effectual Resistance - The Holy Spirit calls men to salvation through the outward proclamation of the Gospel. However, the Spirit's work is ineffectual unless the sinner believes the message of the Gospel. Thus, the will and disposition of man can (and often does) thwart the work of the Spirit. Again, man is free to choose his ultimate destiny.
- Relapse Unto Judgement - Man, who was saved and regenerated in accordance with his own free and determinate will, can forfeit his salvation if he does not maintain the faith that saved him. Some "Four Point Arminians" would not hold to this point, while others would maintain that a person can be saved and lost repeatedly and that his eternal state before God is determined only by which side of the fence he is on when he dies, so to speak.
It's nothing special, but hopefully it is easy to remember and at least relatively fair and even-handed. I would love to hear any criticism and/or different ideas on how these points could be reworded and fit into an easily remembered list.
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