Arminianism, the name derived from its leading exponent James Arminius, exalts human nature and human reason at the expense of the glorious Being and attributes of God, and describes man as a free uncontrolled agent, independent of the plans, operations and mind of his Creator. "These sects," says Rutherford, preaching before the House of Commons in 1644, "are advocates of nature, and pleaders against the grace of God; thus constituting a King without a subject, and a Saviour without a ransomed people."
References to Arminianism will be found in nearly all of Rutherford's works, so dangerous and subtle was the heresy.
Briefly, Arminians believe and teach that Christ gave His life for all without exception (including those already perishing in hell before His incarnation), but that He cannot save all; that God is not able to save a man unless the man helps Him to, i.e. human works are needed in salvation; and that Christ may give saving grace to a sinner today, and withdraw it tomorrow, (or the sinner may 'lose' saving grace, and thus himself, tomorrow)- therefore there is no certainty that just because you are saved, you will be saved.
1. To begin with, "God (as Augustine saith) hath a greater dominion over our wills than we have over them ourselves;....otherwise He hath made a creature free-will, which is without the sphere of His own power; whereas the freest will of a king, the most sovereign and independent on earth must run in His channel, Prov. 21.1." (CHRIST DYING, page 365.)
Arminianism is "repugnant to His will, which is irresistible and cannot miss its end. 2. To His immutability, which cannot be compelled to take a second part, whereas He cannot fail the first. 3. To His omnipotency, who cannot be resisted. 4. To His happiness, who cannot come short of what His soul desires. 5. To His wisdom, who cannot aim at an end and desire it with its soul, and go about it by such means as He sees shall be utterly ineffectual, and never produce His end; and not use these means which He knoweth may, and infallibly doth, produce the same end in others." (CHRIST DYING. pg 513).
"It is safest to say, the only wise God decreed that sin should be. That the glory of His justice should appear in taking away sin, not in our way, but in the way of God." (COVENANT OF LIFE, pg 34).
"Absolute sovereignty shines in Adam's fall. So if a sparrow cannot stir its wings without God Matt. 10.29, nor a hair fall from our head, vs 30, far less could Adam fall without a single providence." ( COVENANT OF LIFE. pg 36).
It is clear from Scripture that Christ did not die with the intention of saving all of mankind. "The Scripture saith Christ died to gather His scattered children. John 17.9, to bring to God, 1 Pet. 3.18, these for whom He died, that they might have life, John 10.11, live to God, 2 Cor. 5.15, die to sin, 1 Peter 1.18, be delivered from this present evil world, Gal. 1.4. Here is our effectual intention; where is there a place for His dying with no effectual intention to bring any to God? And yet 'He died for all, good and evil, to make salvation possible', say they (Arminians)." (COVENANT OF LIFE, pg 237.)
In opposition to the Arminian (universalist) interpretation of John 1.29, Rutherford comments, "The word 'world' is the nations and Gentiles, and believers are elect of both Jews and Gentiles; John 3.16, God so loved the world. Rom. 11.12; if the the fall of them be the riches of the world, vs 15, If the casting away of them be the reconcilement of the world....." (CHRIST DYING. pg 450).
Arminianism has invented a work of Christ which He did not do, and a gospel which Christ never proclaimed. It is "another gospel".
"I stand upon His merit,
I know no other stand,
Not ev'n where glory dwelleth,
In Immanuel's Land."
Quotes from;
CHRIST DYING AND DRAWING SINNERS (1647)
COVENANT OF LIFE OPENED (1655)
In this day, there are many self-styled Biblicists who deny that they are either Calvinists or Arminian, they would prefix a number to their liking, according to the petals of TULIP that they agree or disagree upon, sometimes even adding more! As C.H. Spurgeon said "I have my own private opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what is nowadays called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else." (my emphasis).
There is no 'halfway house' or any other point, in-between pre-destination/election and 'free-will', the 5-points stand or fall together. If one says he disagrees with Calvinistic (biblical) soteriology, and denies he is an Arminian free-willer, what he doesn't quite grasp is that he is Arminian by default.
But, for all this a man is saved entirely by God's sovereign grace alone.
Salvation "is the gift of God" Eph. 2.8 (my emphasis).
The elect were chosen "before the foundation of the world." Eph. 1.4 (my emphasis).
Nevertheless, Christ, and those moved by God's Holy Spirit to write in His written word preached one gospel, and that certainly wasn't the Arminian 'gospel'!
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