Five Articles of the Remonstrance of Jacobus Arminius of 1610

1. Are the five doctrinal statement of the Remonstrants valid or not?

2. Do you agree with them?

See the Statements below:

Five Articles of Remonstrance

The Five articles of Remonstrance refer to the document drawn up in 1610 by the followers
of Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609). A "remonstrance" is literally "an expression of opposition
or protest," which in this case was a protest against the Calvinist doctrine of predestination
contained in the Belgic Confession. Consequently, those followers of Arminius who drafted
this protest were given the name "Remonstrants." This document was condemned as heresy
by the reformed churches at the Synod of Dort, 1618-1619. [1]

Article 1
That God, by an eternal and unchangeable purpose in Jesus Christ his Son, before the foundation
of the world, hath determined, out of the fallen, sinful race of men, to save in Christ, for Christ’s sake,
and through Christ, those who, through the grace of the Holy Ghost, shall believe on this his son Jesus,
and shall persevere in this faith and obedience of faith, through this grace, even to the end; and, on
the other hand, to leave the incorrigible and unbelieving in sin and under wrath, and to condemn
them as alienate from Christ, according to the word of the Gospel in John 3:36: “He that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath
of God abideth on him,” and according to other passages of Scripture also. [2]

Article 2
That agreeably thereunto, 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 word of the
Gospel of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” And in the First Epistle of 1 John 2:2: “And
he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” [3]

Article 3
That man has not saving grace of himself, nor of the energy of his free will, inasmuch as he, in the
state of apostasy and sin, can of and by himself neither think, will, nor do any thing that is truly good
(such as saving faith eminently is); but that it is needful that he be born again of God in Christ, through
his Holy Spirit, and renewed in understanding, inclination, or will, and all his powers, in order that he
may rightly understand, think, will, and effect what is truly good, according to the Word of Christ,
John 15:5, “Without me ye can do nothing.” [4]

Article 4
That this grace of God is the beginning, continuance, and accomplishment of all good, even to this
extent, that the regenerate man himself, without prevenient or assisting, awakening, following and
cooperative grace, can neither think, will, nor do good, nor withstand any temptations to evil; so that
all good deeds or movements, that can be conceived, must be ascribed to the grace of God in Christ.
but respects the mode of the operation of this grace, it is not irresistible; inasmuch as it is written
concerning many, that they have resisted the Holy Ghost. Acts 7, and elsewhere in many places. [5]

Article 5
That those who are incorporated into Christ by true faith, and have thereby become partakers of
his life-giving Spirit, have thereby full power to strive against Satan, sin, the world, and their own
flesh, and to win the victory; it being well understood that it is ever through the assisting grace
of the Holy Ghost; and that Jesus Christ assists them through his Spirit in all temptations, extends
to them his hand, and if only they are ready for the conflict, and desire his help, and are not inactive,
keeps them from falling, so that they, by no craft or power of Satan, can be misled nor plucked out
of Christ’s hands, according to the Word of Christ, John 10:28: “Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand.” But whether they are capable, through negligence, of forsaking again the first
beginning of their life in Christ, of again returning to this present evil world, of turning away
from the holy doctrine which was delivered them, of losing a good conscience, of becoming
devoid of grace, that must be more particularly determined out of the Holy Scripture, before
we ourselves can teach it with the full persuasion of our mind. [6]

Ah yes I think I will ignore the Calvinists😁
Thank you👍

That is 100% true.
We have a member on board who subscribes to the TULIP principle in their Denominational practice. They have said repeatedly and referred repeatedly to Christ, dying for those whom the Father gave him.

Christ died only for those God predestined before anything was at al created, to be saved.
Think about what that says about God.

Ugh

The way I see it is this,

Jesus died on the cross to call ALL men.
Those that reject HIM do so under their own volition
and suffer the just penalty for this rejection of Holy God.
We all agree on this Arminians and so called Calvinists.
Those that are saved are saved because of Election before time,
When the world was made, God knew our names,
He knew the names of all believers
and He made sure of their election by imparting the new heart see Ezekiel 36:26

"26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away
the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes,
and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them."

Did Jesus atone for all men, well if He had atoned for the wicked then they would be saved,
because they rejected HIM His atonement never took place. However should they believe
before they died then the atonement took place for them.

As to total depravity, I will say this, without God we would be totally depraved
but because of His grace operatiing in this world our utter depravity is balance
by His love towards mankind.

I don't mind anyone disagreeing with me, but please keep your complaints
focussed on the thread not a general rage at Calvinists. I know some very
gentle Calvinists who are kind and very old woman who love their fellow man
and do good works but also hold to predestination and electon. Thank you all.

I have never condemned any Arminian to hell, nor would I do so, we are all
loved of by God and therefore we must love one another.

Calvinists think they are the only one's destined to Heaven. Those of us who contend against Calvinist teachings are, for them, overcome by the last word of Calvin's god when they believe we, the non-elect, are eventually to be shut up by being damned to Hell as the non-elect.

John Calvin and Calvinism advocate Double Predestination. (Think of the kind of god this would testify of) This means, Calvin's god predetermined, before he created anything anywhere at all, a fallen human race. And from among that number he would then save those he chose for his own reasons, not due to any merit on their behalf because the human fallen race are made by that god to be incapable of exercising free will, choice, for themselves.
Further, that god would also then naturally predetermine by name whom he would damn to Hell. Which hadn't yet been created when all this predetermination by the Calvinist god was happening.

Now, how does that predetermined "saved" Calvinist of the future know they're chosen? They don't. They're not able to understand the Bible, be drawn to that god and out of their totally depraved state of their own accord. No, god has to come along and force them into his grace. And then after that he makes them to have faith in him. He does all this. Then that person is saved.

Again, think of what that formula actually says about the god committing it. First he is the author of sin that damns the human race in the beginning so that he can save the selected one's from among those damned people as he see's fit. Meanwhile, he'll send everyone else to Hell because for his own reasons he decided they weren't worth selecting as the saved ones.

The Bible tells us , those who deem themselves worthy to preach the word will have to answer to a higher standard come the judgment. Because they believed they were called to lead people to find Christ.
Imagine John Calvin's appointment before the judgment when that day comes. A man who single handedly contrived a doctrine that sent countless souls away from the true Gospel.

Dear Whispered
After sleeping on what you said... I realised all the more, the terrible extent of Calvin's heretical doctrine, and indeed it is true, it actually leads souls AWAY from salvation potentially. I have in fact encountered one such person on this forum, who was discouraged and depressedocer the fact that he didn't think he was one of God's 'elect' 😞

That is very sad indeed. And it is why false teachings should be identified and refuted.
This article is quite long however, it identifies the parts of scripture Calvinists invoke in order to inform others that they are the elect of God and by implication, others are not.

Did Jesus Die for All Men, or the Elect Only?
Q: Did Jesus Die for All Men, or the Elect Only?, Pt. 1: The Meaning of “World” (John 3:16)
A: This is a question that you may have heard before from theologians and Bible scholars. You may have never even believed in a group of people known as the elect, but the term is not without biblical support. After all, Jesus speaks of “the elect” in Matthew 24:22, 24, and 31:
It is also present in the Gospels of Mark (Mk. 13:22, 27) and Luke (18:7). One of the more famous passages in which the Greek word eklektos, or eklektoi (Greek plural of “elect”) is used is Romans 8:33:
“Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;” (Rom. 8:33a)
These passages alone do justice to the concept of “the elect.” But exactly who are the elect? Depending on the Bible scholar or Pastor and his or her underlying beliefs, you will find two different answers: either 1) a special group chosen by God or 2) a group of individuals who choose to believe in Christ.
The two choices above have been written in distinction to make a point. Those who support the first definition believe that one must repent and believe the gospel. Where they will differ from those who support the second definition is that supporters of definition #1 believe that The Lord chose each believer from eternity; He decided to save a special group of humans while abandoning the rest of humanity (those who are called unbelievers).

One of the top passages used by those who support the Special Group idea (known as Calvinists, after theologian John Calvin who also endorsed the same view) is Ephesians 1:4-6, where phrases such as “He chose us in Him” (Eph. 1:4) and “in love He predestined us to adoption as sons” (1:5) are used. Calvinists (adherents to John Calvin’s theology) will say, ” The text says that ‘He chose’ and ‘He predestined,’ so what need is there for any other proof that the special group idea is right?” For the Calvinist, “chosen” implies election, and “predestined” means “chosen before time.”

While predestined does mean, by definition, “before the event happens,” and election does mean “choice,” to read the text as “chosen without regard to faith” is to misread what Paul (and John) will go on to say about Christ and salvation.
The truth of the matter is that Calvinists read the first part of the phrases above and miss the end of the phrases. When Ephesians 1:4 says that “He chose us in Him,” the phrase in Him is just as significant as He chose us. What does it mean to be “in Him”? It means to be “in Christ” (Eph. 1:1, 3, 5, 12, 13). What does it mean to be “in Christ”? It means to experience conversion, to believe in the gospel message. As Paul writes in the same chapter (Eph. 1:13):
“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Eph. 1:13).

There are three things to notice here about this verse. First, notice that it begins with “in Him,” a phrase that is used some five times in the first chapter of Ephesians (1:4, 7, 9, 10-11, 13). The phrase “in Christ” (Christ is the Him to which the possessive pronoun, Him, refers) is also used in the same passage (Eph. 1:1, 3, 10, 12, 20). Since it is “in Him” that the Ephesian Christians (and all Christians today) believe, then Paul states here that salvation comes by hearing the gospel message (“listening to the message of truth”) and believing in the message (“having also believed”).

What we can gather from Ephesians 1 is that believers come to Christ by way of the gospel message. They must first hear the message and then believe the message in order to be saved. Also, notice something else: Paul says, “having believed, you were sealed” — meaning that the Christians to whom Paul writes mentions the responsibility of humans to believe in the gospel message.
He refers to the gospel as “the gospel of your salvation,” showing that the gospel is central to the salvation of the Christians in Ephesus (and Christians today, see Romans 10:9, John 3:16).

Now, let us return to the question above: “Did Jesus die for all men, or the elect?” To answer this question, you must know who elect are. Who are they? The elect are those who hear the message and believe God is who He says He is and that He gives eternal life to those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). The individuals who come to God, however, must have faith, for “without faith it is impossible (is not possible) to please” God (Heb. 11:6).

All God asks that we give to Him is belief, trust. In the final analysis, the elect are not some special group who are first chosen prior to demonstrating any faith in Christ. It is only after a person confesses that Jesus is Lord (Rom. 10:9) that he or she is sealed with the Holy Spirit and designated as God’s own (Eph. 1:13). Paul also says that “those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness” (Rom. 5:17) are counted as God’s elect.

Once you understand who the elect are, you can then understand the meaning of “the world” throughout the text of Scripture. But before we cover the meaning of “the world,” we must first address a critique made by the group we call Calvinists: that is, those who say individuals must believe before salvation have made faith a work — work being that of which no man can boast or brag (Eph. 2:8-9).
Is Faith A Work? [Continued]

That is very sad indeed. And it is why false teachings should be identified and refuted.
This article is quite long however, it identifies the parts of scripture Calvinists invoke in order to inform others that they are the elect of God and by implication, others are not.

Did Jesus Die for All Men, or the Elect Only?
Q: Did Jesus Die for All Men, or the Elect Only?, Pt. 1: The Meaning of “World” (John 3:16)
A: This is a question that you may have heard before from theologians and Bible scholars. You may have never even believed in a group of people known as the elect, but the term is not without biblical support. After all, Jesus speaks of “the elect” in Matthew 24:22, 24, and 31:
It is also present in the Gospels of Mark (Mk. 13:22, 27) and Luke (18:7). One of the more famous passages in which the Greek word eklektos, or eklektoi (Greek plural of “elect”) is used is Romans 8:33:
“Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;” (Rom. 8:33a)
These passages alone do justice to the concept of “the elect.” But exactly who are the elect? Depending on the Bible scholar or Pastor and his or her underlying beliefs, you will find two different answers: either 1) a special group chosen by God or 2) a group of individuals who choose to believe in Christ.
The two choices above have been written in distinction to make a point. Those who support the first definition believe that one must repent and believe the gospel. Where they will differ from those who support the second definition is that supporters of definition #1 believe that The Lord chose each believer from eternity; He decided to save a special group of humans while abandoning the rest of humanity (those who are called unbelievers).

One of the top passages used by those who support the Special Group idea (known as Calvinists, after theologian John Calvin who also endorsed the same view) is Ephesians 1:4-6, where phrases such as “He chose us in Him” (Eph. 1:4) and “in love He predestined us to adoption as sons” (1:5) are used. Calvinists (adherents to John Calvin’s theology) will say, ” The text says that ‘He chose’ and ‘He predestined,’ so what need is there for any other proof that the special group idea is right?” For the Calvinist, “chosen” implies election, and “predestined” means “chosen before time.”

While predestined does mean, by definition, “before the event happens,” and election does mean “choice,” to read the text as “chosen without regard to faith” is to misread what Paul (and John) will go on to say about Christ and salvation.
The truth of the matter is that Calvinists read the first part of the phrases above and miss the end of the phrases. When Ephesians 1:4 says that “He chose us in Him,” the phrase in Him is just as significant as He chose us. What does it mean to be “in Him”? It means to be “in Christ” (Eph. 1:1, 3, 5, 12, 13). What does it mean to be “in Christ”? It means to experience conversion, to believe in the gospel message. As Paul writes in the same chapter (Eph. 1:13):
“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Eph. 1:13).

There are three things to notice here about this verse. First, notice that it begins with “in Him,” a phrase that is used some five times in the first chapter of Ephesians (1:4, 7, 9, 10-11, 13). The phrase “in Christ” (Christ is the Him to which the possessive pronoun, Him, refers) is also used in the same passage (Eph. 1:1, 3, 10, 12, 20). Since it is “in Him” that the Ephesian Christians (and all Christians today) believe, then Paul states here that salvation comes by hearing the gospel message (“listening to the message of truth”) and believing in the message (“having also believed”).

What we can gather from Ephesians 1 is that believers come to Christ by way of the gospel message. They must first hear the message and then believe the message in order to be saved. Also, notice something else: Paul says, “having believed, you were sealed” — meaning that the Christians to whom Paul writes mentions the responsibility of humans to believe in the gospel message.
He refers to the gospel as “the gospel of your salvation,” showing that the gospel is central to the salvation of the Christians in Ephesus (and Christians today, see Romans 10:9, John 3:16).

Now, let us return to the question above: “Did Jesus die for all men, or the elect?” To answer this question, you must know who elect are. Who are they? The elect are those who hear the message and believe God is who He says He is and that He gives eternal life to those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). The individuals who come to God, however, must have faith, for “without faith it is impossible (is not possible) to please” God (Heb. 11:6).

All God asks that we give to Him is belief, trust. In the final analysis, the elect are not some special group who are first chosen prior to demonstrating any faith in Christ. It is only after a person confesses that Jesus is Lord (Rom. 10:9) that he or she is sealed with the Holy Spirit and designated as God’s own (Eph. 1:13). Paul also says that “those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness” (Rom. 5:17) are counted as God’s elect.

Once you understand who the elect are, you can then understand the meaning of “the world” throughout the text of Scripture. But before we cover the meaning of “the world,” we must first address a critique made by the group we call Calvinists: that is, those who say individuals must believe before salvation have made faith a work — work being that of which no man can boast or brag (Eph. 2:8-9).
Is Faith A Work? [Continued]

Amen...Jesus said we must have faith the size of a mustard seed...

...Also, the scripture which says 'before the foundation of the world' actually translates as ' before the world as we know it was established'....

Their whole concept actually robs God of glory... those that acknowledge Him as God do so because He is worthy and they have found it to be so... they don't acknowledge Him because He made them to-this would be worthless and contrived. Even the angels had free will which is why some are destined for the lake of fire. They were not created evil in the beginning.

That is very sad indeed. And it is why false teachings should be identified and refuted.
This article is quite long however, it identifies the parts of scripture Calvinists invoke in order to inform others that they are the elect of God and by implication, others are not.

Did Jesus Die for All Men, or the Elect Only?
Q: Did Jesus Die for All Men, or the Elect Only?, Pt. 1: The Meaning of “World” (John 3:16)
A: This is a question that you may have heard before from theologians and Bible scholars. You may have never even believed in a group of people known as the elect, but the term is not without biblical support. After all, Jesus speaks of “the elect” in Matthew 24:22, 24, and 31:
It is also present in the Gospels of Mark (Mk. 13:22, 27) and Luke (18:7). One of the more famous passages in which the Greek word eklektos, or eklektoi (Greek plural of “elect”) is used is Romans 8:33:
“Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;” (Rom. 8:33a)
These passages alone do justice to the concept of “the elect.” But exactly who are the elect? Depending on the Bible scholar or Pastor and his or her underlying beliefs, you will find two different answers: either 1) a special group chosen by God or 2) a group of individuals who choose to believe in Christ.
The two choices above have been written in distinction to make a point. Those who support the first definition believe that one must repent and believe the gospel. Where they will differ from those who support the second definition is that supporters of definition #1 believe that The Lord chose each believer from eternity; He decided to save a special group of humans while abandoning the rest of humanity (those who are called unbelievers).

One of the top passages used by those who support the Special Group idea (known as Calvinists, after theologian John Calvin who also endorsed the same view) is Ephesians 1:4-6, where phrases such as “He chose us in Him” (Eph. 1:4) and “in love He predestined us to adoption as sons” (1:5) are used. Calvinists (adherents to John Calvin’s theology) will say, ” The text says that ‘He chose’ and ‘He predestined,’ so what need is there for any other proof that the special group idea is right?” For the Calvinist, “chosen” implies election, and “predestined” means “chosen before time.”

While predestined does mean, by definition, “before the event happens,” and election does mean “choice,” to read the text as “chosen without regard to faith” is to misread what Paul (and John) will go on to say about Christ and salvation.
The truth of the matter is that Calvinists read the first part of the phrases above and miss the end of the phrases. When Ephesians 1:4 says that “He chose us in Him,” the phrase in Him is just as significant as He chose us. What does it mean to be “in Him”? It means to be “in Christ” (Eph. 1:1, 3, 5, 12, 13). What does it mean to be “in Christ”? It means to experience conversion, to believe in the gospel message. As Paul writes in the same chapter (Eph. 1:13):
“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Eph. 1:13).

There are three things to notice here about this verse. First, notice that it begins with “in Him,” a phrase that is used some five times in the first chapter of Ephesians (1:4, 7, 9, 10-11, 13). The phrase “in Christ” (Christ is the Him to which the possessive pronoun, Him, refers) is also used in the same passage (Eph. 1:1, 3, 10, 12, 20). Since it is “in Him” that the Ephesian Christians (and all Christians today) believe, then Paul states here that salvation comes by hearing the gospel message (“listening to the message of truth”) and believing in the message (“having also believed”).

What we can gather from Ephesians 1 is that believers come to Christ by way of the gospel message. They must first hear the message and then believe the message in order to be saved. Also, notice something else: Paul says, “having believed, you were sealed” — meaning that the Christians to whom Paul writes mentions the responsibility of humans to believe in the gospel message.
He refers to the gospel as “the gospel of your salvation,” showing that the gospel is central to the salvation of the Christians in Ephesus (and Christians today, see Romans 10:9, John 3:16).

Now, let us return to the question above: “Did Jesus die for all men, or the elect?” To answer this question, you must know who elect are. Who are they? The elect are those who hear the message and believe God is who He says He is and that He gives eternal life to those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). The individuals who come to God, however, must have faith, for “without faith it is impossible (is not possible) to please” God (Heb. 11:6).

All God asks that we give to Him is belief, trust. In the final analysis, the elect are not some special group who are first chosen prior to demonstrating any faith in Christ. It is only after a person confesses that Jesus is Lord (Rom. 10:9) that he or she is sealed with the Holy Spirit and designated as God’s own (Eph. 1:13). Paul also says that “those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness” (Rom. 5:17) are counted as God’s elect.

Once you understand who the elect are, you can then understand the meaning of “the world” throughout the text of Scripture. But before we cover the meaning of “the world,” we must first address a critique made by the group we call Calvinists: that is, those who say individuals must believe before salvation have made faith a work — work being that of which no man can boast or brag (Eph. 2:8-9).
Is Faith A Work? [Continued]

I will have a look through that-thank you. I have found it to be that every scripture Calvinists have used, when I have studied the original language (Hebrew or Greek) the verses only disprove their doctrine. Also their doctrine does not line up with many other verses or God's character. They are adding to scripture. When I have tried to sincerely engage with them they have only used more misunderstood verses to shoot back at me rather than study and consider the true meanings. This, to me, amounts to brainwashing/indoctrination and reminds me of how Jehovah's Witnesses have, in my experience, refused to consider any other way except that path which they are on.

Yep👌Good article that, thank you👍

I reject both arminianism and calvinism. I believe both are man-made systems that are just mirroring and competing with each other.