This title may sound offensive to some, but it is not intended to be so. It is simply true that the theological system known as Arminianism fits the dictionary definition of the word absurd. To be absurd is to be Opposed to manifest truth; inconsistent with reason, or the plain dictates of common sense. Arminianism is a belief system that teaches that God loves each member of the human race, and that Christ died for every individual of the human race without exception. Arminians also teach that man has a free will and has the ability to move toward God for salvation even when in a lost condition. Let us just examine a few of these points in the light of Scripture and observe the inconsistencies which justify the designation absurd.
The Arminian says that God loves each member of the human race, without exception. Yet he freely admits that many of these humans that God loves are going to perish eternally under the wrath of God. There are several inconsistencies in this position. According to this hypothesis either Gods love turns to hatred or God loves those who are eternally damned as much as He does those who will enjoy eternal bliss. Let us examine each of these propositions.
What about Gods love turning to hatred? This is an impossibility for those who believe the Bible to be the inspired word of God. According to Jeremiah 31:3, The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. One of the attributes of God is His immutability. God does not change. This is made plain in several Scriptures. He says in Malachi 3:6, For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. The New Testament confirms this in James 1:17, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. God does not change; therefore His attributes do not change. Love is one of the attributes of God. The apostle makes this clear in 1 John 4:16, And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
As John Gill so beautifully expresses it, for this love is like himself, sovereign, unchangeable, and everlasting
Gill further says this is:
a love from
everlasting, which does not commence in time with faith, repentance, and new
obedience; these being the fruits and effects of it; but was from all eternity,
as appears from the eternal choice of the persons loved in Christ; from the
everlasting covenant made with them in him; from the constitution and setting
up of Christ as their Mediator from everlasting; and from the security of their
persons and grace in him, before the world began: and this love will endure to
everlasting, without any variation or change; nothing can separate from it.
God does not love individuals because they are lovable, or because they do something to merit His love. God simply chose to love His people eternally. This was an act of His sovereign will and purpose. Before he was ever born, and knowing what a despicable sinner he would be, it was said of Jacob in Romans 9:13, As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
How do we become aware of the love of God? 1 John 3:16, Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us He laid down His life for everyone that He loved and He secured their salvation.
No, this love will not change to hatred, because we reject Christ. God draws those whom He loves unto Himself. His love for them had no beginning and it will have no ending. This unspeakable comfort to the child of God is gloriously proclaimed in Romans 8:38, 39, For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Cain and Abel? Jacob and Esau? Paul and Judas?
Having established the fact that Gods love does not turn to hatred, let us now consider the thesis that God loves those who will spend an eternity in hell as much as He loves those who will forever be with Him in eternal bliss.
This proposition is absurd on the face of it. It flies in the face of reason and revelation to think that God loves Cain just as much as He does Abel. It does not make sense to think that God did as much for Cain as He did for Abel. If that is truly the case then Abels part in his salvation was just as important as was Gods. That is really a blasphemous concept. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. According to Arminianism God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each did as much as possible for the salvation of sinners. However, all this is to no avail without the cooperation of the sinner. God did as much for those in hell as He did for those in heaven. The sinner is the one who made the difference.
God s word plainly says that He loved Jacob, but that He hated Esau. He did this even before they had an existence. But according to consistent Arminianism, God loved Esau just as much as He did Jacob and made equal provisions for their salvation. Esau may be in hell but God still loves him! This is simply unscriptural and absurd.
For one more example, according to Arminianism God loved Judas as much as He did Paul. Somehow, Paul accepted Christ as his personal Savior while Judas did not. Christ died for the sins of Judas, but somehow this payment for sin was not effectual because Judas did not do his part. Friends, this is simply absurd.
Anyone who reads the Bible must acknowledge that people are dead in sin before they receive spiritual life. According to Ephesians 2:5, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)
Even those this is an admitted fact, the Arminian position is absurd when it postulates that one who is actually dead can do anything to contribute to his salvation. Oh, they usually say that God did the greater part. Christ actually died on the cross for sin. However, this salvation is an offer that the sinner must reach out and accept if it is to become effectual. The reason this is absurd is because if flies in the face of what death really is. Everyone would be compelled to admit that it would be absurd to bring a wheel chair or a walking cane into a funeral home to help the corpse contribute something to its resurrection. The only thing that could bring a dead person to life would be an absolute miracle. The corpse would play no part in this miracle. It would simply be a recipient.
That is precisely what happens in the salvation of sinners. While they are physically alive, they are spiritually dead. They cannot save themselves. They cannot assist in their salvation. They cannot cooperate in their salvation. Why? Because they are dead! They are not merely sick
they are dead.
All this sounds very simple. That is because it is simple! Satan likes to complicate things so that truth is obscured. Paul warned about this. He said in 2 Corinthians 11:3, But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
My friends, the only thing that makes sense in salvation is to give God all the credit and all the glory. The simple truth is that God loves a great many people, but He does not love all. If He did He would have saved them all. God is not going to be eternally wringing His hands and agonizing about many who He passionately loves who are suffering the pains of the damned.
That is absurd!
Zack M. Guess