The Failures of the Arminian Preacher

Christian preachers have an eternal, glorious Gospel to proclaim (1 Tim 1:11; Rev 14:6). The Gospel of God is the Person and work of Jesus Christ (Mk 1:1, 14). We proclaim Him (Col 1:28). Therefore, preaching another gospel is a labor in vain, for there is only one Gospel that is the power of God unto salvation, for those who believe our report, by His grace (Is 53; Rom 1:16–17).

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Word of the Lord (Jn 1:14). This is the imperishable seed that is planted in the hearts of men (Jas 1:21; 1 Pet 1:23). It is the true Word of God that causes people to hear and to believe the message (Rom 10:17). It is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive (Jn 14:17), who guides the saints of God into all truth (Jn 16:13). Jesus Christ is the truth (Jn 14:6). But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus (1 Cor 1:30a).

The Bible is the written Word of truth (Ps 119:160). This special revelation of God gives the knowledge of Christ (2 Pet 3:18), who is our salvation, being the only Savior of sinners (Acts 5:31; Titus 1:4; 2:13; 3:6; Jude 24–25).

God has revealed His thoughts to us through the Spirit of God (1 Cor 2:9–11), who gave us the Word of God, through the prophets and apostles (2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:20–21). These things the preacher is to speak, things which are fitting for sound doctrine (Titus 2:1). Because men secretly want to be their own savior, they will only endure preachers who tickle their ears (2 Tim 4:3).

The Arminian preacher knows that people want to be gods (Gen 3:5). He preaches a false gospel that does not agree with sound words that have a high view of God and a low view of man (1 Tim 6:3). He puts every aspect of God’s salvation into the control of man. Men love Arminianism for this reason.

The whole purpose of faith is for one to hold to the words that show us that God has done great things, without man’s help or cooperation. Salvation is not of ourselves: not in will (Jn 1:13), nor in works of any kind (Eph 2:8–9; Gal 2:16; 2 Tim 1:9), for it is the indwelling Spirit (Jn 14:17; Rom 8:9, 11; Jas 4:5), who is willing and working His own good pleasure (Phil 2:13).

The Arminian preacher fails to see that salvation is from all eternity (2 Tim 1:9). He fails to see that before the foundation of the world, God the Father chose a people, a holy nation (1 Pet 2:9), for Himself (Eph 1:4–5). He predestined this select group to adoption as sons (Rom 8:23; 9:4; Gal 4:5), giving them the Spirit of adoption (Rom 8:15), in love and in the kind intention of His will (Eph 1:5).

The Arminian preacher also fails to see the connection between predestination and calling (Rom 8:30). Through Gospel preaching, God calls His saints (Rom 1:7) from among the Jews and Gentiles (Rom 9:24). The remnant (Rom 9:6) hear the voice of their Good Shepherd (Jn 10:27), who gave His life for them (Jn 10:11, 15). And they come to Jesus because the Father draws them (Jn 6:44), granting them repentance (Acts 5:31; 11:18) and granting them an allotment of faith (Rom 12:3; Phil 1:29).

The Arminian preacher fails to see the grace of God is only for God’s elect. Grace irresistibly does everything necessary to accomplish salvation, as a reality, not a possibility. When the grace of the Father draws His own to Christ, it is complemented by the grace of the Son, who keeps those given to Him (Jn 6:37), and promising to never leave nor forsake them (Heb 13:5).

The Arminian preacher fails, every time he lies to men, telling them, “Jesus loves you,” that is “all the children of the world.” In this prevarication, he establishes his next failure, “For if God loves everyone in the world, then Jesus must have died for everyone.” This false premise had led to a false contingency.

Jesus purchased the church of God with His own blood (Acts 20:28). He gave Himself up for her (Eph 5:25). He Himself being the Savior of the body (Eph 5:23). Jesus accomplished redemption for His people (Lk 1:68), releasing us from our sins by His blood (Rev 1:5). Jesus gave Himself a ransom for many (Mt 20:28; Mk 10:45), that is, the few who were chosen (Mt 22:14; Rom 11:5). Simply put, the whole reason His name is “Jesus” is because He came to save His people from their sins (Mt 1:21).

The Arminian preacher fails to see the fully capable, sovereign God. Rather, he imagines that God needs man’s help in salvation. In this, he fails to see and understand the totally depravity of sinful man (Gen 6:5; Jer 17:9; Is 64:6; Rom 3:10–12; 8:7; Eph 2:1–3, 12). Regardless of how large or small, the Arminian conceives in his imagination that there is an island of good, amidst the great flood of sin, leading to death in the natural man.

The Arminian preacher fails when he imports humanism — its penchant for empowerment, free will, and autonomous choice — for men, spiritually dead in their trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1). Simply put, dead men don’t make choices. The truth is that there is no will, nor ability, in the natural man to desire God.

To complete their project of human empowerment, the Arminian preacher fails to see and understand the sure salvation of our omnipotent Lord. Instead, in order to be consistent in his contrived soteriological system, he insists it is every man’s choice to leave Christ, by his own free will.

Freedom of the will, from beginning and to the end of a possible salvation, is the sacred idol Arminians worship. The Arminian lives and dies on the premise that God gave up His sovereignty, by order of a conditional covenant, whereby God has subjected Himself to a partnership with sinful men. God is now a co-pilot with sovereign man…the chooser. Why would God give away the glory of His salvific work?

The failures of the Arminian preacher are many, as we have noted here. Still, the greatest failure of the Arminian preacher is that in his being deceived, he labors to deceive others, into the false gospel of easy believism and free will decisionalism. He steals the choice in salvation from God and gives it to sinners.

Far too many people have raised their hand, walked the aisle, and prayed the sinner’s prayer, in order to publicly decide to let Jesus save them.

May God grant you eyes to see, the failures of man-centered theology that gives you false assurance of a salvation you facilitated in error. In this, you, too, have failed, by following a man-made scheme of salvation. Only by God’s grace will you know that salvation is exclusively and entirely the work of our Trinitarian God, who deserves all the credit, honor, and glory. Can you believe it?

David Norczyk

Spokane Valley, Washington

October 31, 2022