The Difference Between Calvinists and Arminians

I don't understand this doctrine and maybe I never will, but I have no doubt that everything that happened in my walk with God was caused by Him. So in the end all the glory is His.

It’s just heArtbreaking how ppl write fellow Christians off, because they’re Calvinist or Arminian, as not being brothers and sisters in Christ.. All I can say is, Arminian preachers and teachers, had me so lost, confused, for many years.. they told me I wasn’t saved because I didn’t do certain things, that I could loose my “free gift of salvation” because I failed God.. added baptism, tongues, works, to the cross.. Then God saved me, I could understand what scripture said, and nothing the Arminian preacher preached, was in there.. I believe God enables us to choose him.. the natural man hates the things of God, and none would choose him..How can a dead man choose to live? Did Lazarus say no LORD, I choose not to “come forth”? Thank God, He enabled me to choose him, and to serve him.. Gave me a heart that loves him, his word, and the desire to do all of the above!! If left in my natural state I would be lost to this day..

Pastor Piper has such a calming voice & delivery. That makes it so easy for me to pay attn & absorb his words, even with my ADHD.

My biggest issue with calvanism generally tends to be it's followers. (And yes, my wording there is intentional). John Piper is an amazing man and though I have theological differences with him I think he is the best preacher we have right now. He is gracious and boldly presents the truth. Other calvanists I talk to seem more interested in spreading Calvanism instead of Christ and are so hard hearted and ungracious with their legalistic approach to Scripture (again, unlike Piper), that is make my spirit grieve greatly to a point where I just can't stay around them. It's like they serve that theology more than Christ Himself and it's terrifying. Again, Piper is a breath of fresh air and the Holy Spirit within him encourages and convicts often when he preaches... and often times it's his mature and gracious manor in speaking that affects me just as often as the Word He is saying. I truly pray he is blessed with long quality health so he remains on this earth longer to preach His Word all the more.

Thank you for this beautiful and encouraging message, dear Pastor John. May God bless you and keep you.

I had John as a professor in college. Wd loved him and his willingness to be wholly biblical.

Here is what I think what Piper was trying said: if you trust God's words (scripture) more than one'sl instinctual theology, you are more likely to accept God's sovereignty and His election. If you like the philosophy of men more than God's words and to satisfy your own seemingly rational desire, you are more likely to be a "free-willer". Personally I cried over God's unfathomable grace and love. I decided put my faith in God and his teaching.

Before I became a parent I had a hard time understanding God’s relationship to us... after I became a mother I understand God and His love for us so much more. It also has helped me understand how God can grieve our sins but still love us, convict us but not condemn us, guide us but allow free will, and how He yearns for a relationship with us.

I believe that as a fallen human being, born in sin, I did not have a choice but to give my life to Jesus Christ because of hearing the gospel in church this one Sunday, I felt total emptiness I screamed out to the pastor "I need Jesus Christ" everyone went silent, then the pastor called me up and asked me why, so I told everyone what I felt and new deep down in the pit of my stomach. From that day I gave my life to Him who died for my sin to redeem me unto the Father. I cried at that exact point because of the weight that was lifed off of my shoulders.I have done nothing to deserve the grace of a loving God, but because of his grace alone, through my faith alone in Jesus Christ alone I am saved.

Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves, but it is the gift of God. Not as a result of works so that no one may boast." Let's break this verse down because I think it is a perfect explanation of salvation. First of all, we have been saved by grace. This is the element Calvinism tends to focus on, and I absolutely agree with it. The only reason we are able to be saved in the first place is that God showed us grace. Without that, we are sinners doomed to an eternity in hell. There is no argument there. The question then becomes, "Who receives God's grace and how?" According to the Calvinist view, people are saved only if God chooses to save them. There is no choice in the matter. God selected who He would save, and there is no changing that. The issue with this arises when you consider the fact that there are unsaved people. If God has the power to save anybody He chooses, why doesn't He? Frankly, I see this issue as unresolvable without some acknowledgment of free will. The idea that a perfectly loving God would choose to send countless people to hell with no chance of salvation, only because God Himself chose to cause mankind to sin (which is another necessary conclusion if free will is discounted) is entirely contradictory and is a completely justified reason for someone to turn away from the faith. This is where the second part of the verse comes in. While grace is the only thing that can save us, there is a reason that Paul included this mention of faith. The Arminian view accepts that salvation is only possible because of God's grace; however, they disagree with the notion that God only offers that grace selectively. The offer of grace is a free offer to all. This works with the fact that God is absolutely loving, but the question now is "If grace is freely offered to all, why isn't everybody saved?" The answer is faith. Faith, by necessity, is a choice. Yes, God makes it possible for us to have faith through the work of the Holy Spirit on our hearts, but He does not force us to have faith. As a visualization, imagine you are hanging from the edge of a cliff. You start to slip towards your certain death when a man calls out to you from above and reaches out his hand. If you reach out to grab his hand, you will survive because you made the choice to accept salvation; but if you don't, you will die because you chose to reject the offer. This is obviously not a perfect metaphor, but hopefully, it gets the idea across. The idea of free will is also supported in Genesis. God gave Adam and Eve dominion over the earth. The word dominion means to have sovereignty or control, and control implies the existence of choice. In being given control over the earth, Adam and Eve were given a choice. They could follow God's perfect plan, or they could choose to do things their own way (sin). This idea of free choice makes it possible to accept the existence of sin without being forced to accept the idea that our perfectly good God caused it to exist. It is also for this reason that faith is a necessary part of salvation. We chose to turn from God's will, so we must choose to return to it. "Faith equals repentance plus trust," is how a pastor described faith to me once. God alone offers the grace we need for salvation. No work we can do can ever earn us that grace; it is offered simply because God loves us. In order to receive that grace, we have to acknowledge and repent of our sins, and we have to put our trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Without both of these, faith is not genuine, we do not truly accept God's offer of grace, and we remain unsaved. I also want to address the issue of losing one's salvation. Many people have an issue with this, as it leaves room for uncertainty in regards to salvation. I sympathize with these feelings, as for a long period I frequently questioned my own salvation. However, what I would like to remind you of is God's patience and understanding. He is under no misconception that we are a stubborn, forgetful, and sinful people who struggle to do what is good. God has patience with those who seek to do His will and be transformed in the image of Christ. As long as one has that desire, they will not lose their salvation. The only way for one to lose their salvation is, once again, by choice. If someone outright refuses to do the will of God out of the genuine desire of their heart, they will have committed apostasy and lost their salvation. This is the only way to lose salvation. This may sound terrifying to some, and you may even be second-guessing yourself right now, but take heart. If you are worried that you are in danger of committing apostasy then you are not in danger of committing it. If you care about not committing apostasy then you still have the desire to do the will of God, and your salvation is assured. God knows our hearts, and He knows and rewards genuine faith. To summarize, God is the only one who can save us from our sins, but we have to make the choice to return to Him. It is possible to turn away from Him again, but only those who completely reject Him are in danger of losing their salvation. I hope this helps someone to understand the truth about Arminianism and Calvinism. Ultimately, both of these views are not far from the truth. I believe that Arminianism is closer, but both views are often presented in extreme ways that make them appear heretical when neither is entirely irreconcilable. If Calvinism allows you to feel secure in your faith, then I praise God that it does, but I simply ask that you consider that maybe your faith is stronger because you are choosing to put more trust in God.

Thank you John Piper for sharing this & thank you Desiring God Ministry !!

Calvinists and Arminians both have bible verses to support their beliefs. It shouldn't matter what view you agree with as long as you accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. Updated thoughts 2 years later: this is not a salvation issue, but it is a very important issue. A few issues I have with Calvinism is that it makes God the author of sin and evil, removes human responsibility, and gives the non believer a great excuse for their disbelief. If there is no libertarian free will, how can there be human responsibility? How can a total depraved reprobate human being, predestined to hell to glorify God, be without excuse for their disbelief?

2 peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

His choosing of Jacob over Esau was how he planned to use them in this world but didn't pertain to salvation. How are we to compare someone's eternity to how God deals with individuals in this life?

No condition? 20:23 - "If you would just believe, if you would come, He would have you. Trust Him." So I must choose to believe and choose to come? If I'm predestined to be saved then aren't going to believe either way? Is that a choice?

Romans 9 Paul lays it out the best that he can. But who are you, O man,to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? We cannot understand the depth of the wisdom and glory of God within our human minds. In any attempt to do so and rationalize it to fit our understanding, we risk questioning God's sovereignty. God loves us first. We love because He first loves us. In His foreknowledge before the foundation of the world, God knew who would come to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Yes we have our own free will given to us by God, and everyone is ABLE to come to salvation, that does not mean that everyone will. God elected the nation and people of Israel to receive revelation of Him. I can understand why it is difficult to grasp the concept of predestination and I do not agree with some hyper calvinists who would say "welp God will save the elect so I don't need to evangelize" because that's not the answer at all, but to act like God reacts to anything man does is not the nature of God. It's almost a role reversal as Piper says in an attempt to compartmentalize God in order to make us feel as if we can control everything about our lives when day to day I'm presented evidence that I wouldn't want to be in complete control. I'm so thankful for God and His sovereignty and His election. Election is a very sound Biblical doctrine and you cannot disprove it whatsoever because it is consistent throughout Scripture.

In an alternate reality, Pastor Piper became a voice actor and scared grown men out of their pants.

Thanks for this John, brilliantly put!!

Pastor John, What a wonderful story about the woman who lost her husband. She wanted the Rock, the Word of God.  At 18 years of age, Dominic Aquila led me into the reformed faith, and he didn't even know he was doing it. That was in 1972, and freedom literally burst into a stilted Southern Baptist heart. I didn't fight it...... I did not argue with God, I ran to it with all my heart!!! BECAUSE I found out that God, Himself, wanted me!!!

Read "What Love is This" by Dave Hunt, published by The Berean Call in 2004. It is a definitive rendering of the Calvinist position and will provide the necessary background and the Biblical justification that anyone who is serious about this matter needs to understand in order to make an informed decision.