Life Worth Thinking

In part one of this article I explained some of the differences between Calvinism and Arminianisim, and why my theology leans much more in the direction of the latter.

One of the things that I stressed was that faith and works are always opposed by Paul.  To have faith is not a work. It is the grateful acceptance of the grace that God grants us through the death of His son. But, some will point out Ephesians 2:8, which seems to state that even faith is a gift from God:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Read more…

There’s an in-house debate in the church over God’s sovereignty and man’s free will that is key to how you understand the doctrine of salvation. On the one side are Calvinists. They hold a very strong opinion of God’s sovereignty, and believe that man really has no ability to make free choices. God’s grace and salvation is purely one-sided. Before the foundations of the world God made a unilateral decision about who He would have mercy on and save–specifically choosing some and passing over others. There’s no reason given for why God chooses some, other than He is God, and sovereign over all. On the other side are the Arminians, who believe that man can make a free choice whether or not he will accept God’s gift of grace through faith. Read more…