Question twelve: What are the five articles of the Remonstrance?
In 1609, the Five Arminian Articles or the Remonstrance were written by the followers of Jacob Arminius “in opposition to those parts of the Belgic Confession of Faith and the Heidelberg Catechism which stressed what came to be known as the five points of Calvinism, which were later set forth at the Synod of Dort (1618-1619).[1]
The Five Points of Arminianism
I. God elects or reproves on the basis of foreseen faith or unbelief.
II. Christ died for all men and for every man, although only believers are saved.
III. Man is so depraved that divine grace is necessary unto faith or any good deed.
IV. This grace may be resisted.
V. Whether all who are truly regenerate will certainly persevere in the faith is a point that needs further investigation.[2]
Article II of the Five Arminian articles elaborates the meaning of Christ’s death.
Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, died for all men and for every man so that he has obtained for them all, by his death on the cross, redemption and the forgiveness of sins; yet that no one actually enjoys this forgiveness of sins except the believer, according to the work of the Gospel of John 3:16.[3] Robert Lightner insightfully informs as to the true meaning of this apparently harmless statement and the importance of the word “obtained.”
The crucial point of this statement regarding the purpose and extent of the atonement centers in the word “obtained.” This is precisely the Arminian view, not only that Christ’s death provided salvation for all but that His death obtained it for all. This explains, of course, why Arminianism believes each member of Adam’s race possesses sufficient grace to be saved . . . this strikes at the very heart of that great Biblical doctrine of total depravity. Total depravity means that man possesses nothing nor can he do anything to merit favor before God . . . This means in reality that the decision to believe or not to believe is quite unrelated to the election purposes of God or the effectual working of the Holy Spirit but rests ultimately and entirely with the individual.[4]
The sufficient grace of Arminianism is in contrast to the efficacious grace of God or the effective calling of the Holy Spirit referred to by Ryrie in chapter 56 in Basic Theology.
[1] Robert Lightner. The Death Christ Died, 36.
[2] Roger Nicole, “Arminianism,” Baker’s Dictionary of Theology, ed. Everett F. Harrison (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1960) 64.
[3] Philip Schaff. The Creeds of Christendom, III (New York: Harper and Son Publishers) 1919.
[4] Robert Lightner. The Death Christ Died, 37-40.