Calvinism and Arminianism: A Scriptural Evaluation

Please Support the Bible Translation Work of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV)

$5.00

Few theological debates have shaped Christian discourse more enduringly than the divide between Calvinism and Arminianism. While both traditions claim to honor Scripture and magnify the sovereignty of God, both also emerge from post-biblical systems that attempt to impose a rigid interpretive grid on the inspired text. In contrast, a historical-grammatical approach to Scripture resists theological reductionism. It evaluates each doctrine individually, on the basis of the original languages, grammar, and context, allowing no system to overshadow or reinterpret the Word of God. This article critiques both Calvinism and Arminianism, while affirming a biblically grounded view of salvation as a journey—a path of faithfulness, vulnerability, and perseverance.

Calvinism: The TULIP System Examined

The acronym TULIP summarizes the five major tenets of Calvinism: Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints. Each point relies on an Augustinian understanding of predestination and God’s sovereign will, yet each must be tested against the text of Scripture.

Total Depravity

Calvinism teaches that all people are born utterly incapable of seeking or obeying God unless first regenerated by His unilateral action. While Scripture affirms the pervasive impact of sin (Romans 3:10–12; Ephesians 2:1–3), it does not affirm total inability. Jesus calls sinners to repent (Matthew 4:17) and weeps over Jerusalem’s refusal to respond (Luke 13:34), indicating that they could have responded but did not. Acts 17:30 states, “God now commands all people everywhere to repent,” a command that would be meaningless if repentance were impossible for the unregenerate.

Unconditional Election

This doctrine teaches that God predestined some to salvation and others to damnation solely based on His sovereign will, not on any foreseen faith or response. However, Romans 8:29 states, “Those whom He foreknew He also predestined,” indicating that foreknowledge precedes predestination. First Peter 1:2 confirms that believers are “elect according to the foreknowledge of God.” God’s election is not arbitrary but in perfect harmony with His omniscient awareness of those who would believe.

Limited Atonement

Calvinism claims that Christ died only for the elect. Yet 1 John 2:2 clearly teaches, “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” Similarly, 2 Peter 2:1 refers to false teachers who deny “the Master who bought them,” demonstrating that even the lost were included in the redemptive price. The atonement is sufficient for all but effective only for those who believe (John 3:16; Hebrews 2:9).

Irresistible Grace

According to this view, when God chooses to save someone, His grace cannot be resisted. Yet Stephen declares, “You always resist the Holy Spirit” (Acts 7:51), and Jesus says in Matthew 23:37, “How often would I have gathered your children… and you were not willing.” These passages confirm that God’s gracious offer can be rejected. Grace is powerful but not coercive; it invites but does not force.

Perseverance of the Saints

Calvinism asserts that all true believers will persevere in faith and holiness until the end. While perseverance is biblical (Matthew 10:22; Revelation 2:10), the idea that one cannot fall away contradicts many clear warnings. Hebrews 3:12 warns believers: “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.” The entire epistle of Hebrews is built around the real possibility of apostasy (Hebrews 6:4–6; 10:26–31). Believers can depart from the faith (1 Timothy 4:1), shipwreck their faith (1 Timothy 1:19), and be cut off if they do not continue in God’s kindness (Romans 11:22).

Arminianism: A Partial Correction with Persistent Flaws

In response to Calvinism, Arminianism affirms conditional election, resistible grace, and universal atonement, which align more closely with Scripture. Yet Arminianism still shares with Calvinism a framework dependent on system-building rather than direct exegesis. Arminian theology often makes salvation contingent upon a moment of decision, collapsing salvation into a one-time act of faith that guarantees security unless explicitly revoked by apostasy.

Scripture, however, presents salvation as more than a legal transaction. It is a lifelong journey involving trust, obedience, suffering, repentance, and perseverance. Faith is not static but active (James 2:14–26). The saved are those who continue in the faith, not merely those who began (Colossians 1:23; Hebrews 10:39).

Salvation as a Journey, Not a Static State

The biblical doctrine of salvation is dynamic. While initial justification is by faith (Romans 5:1), salvation itself unfolds as a path—one on which one can wander, be corrected, or even perish if faith is abandoned. Jesus calls this the “narrow way that leads to life” (Matthew 7:14). The early Christians are repeatedly warned not to fall away (Hebrews 2:1–3), and Paul himself says, “I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

Salvation is not a one-time verdict but a relational covenant that must be upheld through faith and obedience. This path includes:

Initial faith and repentance (Acts 2:38),
Baptism for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 22:16),
Walking in newness of life (Romans 6:4),
Continual confession and repentance (1 John 1:9),
Endurance amid trials (James 1:12),
Hope fixed on the promise of eternal life (Titus 1:2).

Believers can stray (James 5:19–20), become entangled again in sin (2 Peter 2:20–22), or fall short of the grace of God (Hebrews 12:15). But the door to restoration remains open through genuine contrition and repentance (Luke 15:11–24; Revelation 2:5).

Predestination and Free Will: A Biblical Balance

The concept of predestination in Scripture refers to God’s purpose for those who believe, not an eternal decree that determines every individual’s fate. Romans 8:29–30 defines predestination in terms of God’s plan to conform believers to Christ’s image, grounded in His foreknowledge. Ephesians 1:4–5 also speaks of predestination as a corporate blessing “in Christ,” not an arbitrary selection of individuals.

God’s desire is clearly stated: “[He] desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4), and “[He is] not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Human response to this offer is not coerced. Scripture portrays humans as moral agents capable of responding to God’s initiative, aided by His Word and Spirit (Romans 10:17; John 6:44–45).

Conclusion: Reject the Systems, Embrace the Scriptures

Neither Calvinism nor Arminianism presents a fully biblical doctrine of salvation. Both systems rely on philosophical abstraction and often suppress or reinterpret passages that do not align with their structures. Calvinism imposes determinism on texts that affirm free will and responsibility; Arminianism, while closer to truth in many respects, still reduces salvation to a transactional model.

The Word of God teaches that salvation is a path, not a fixed status. Believers can fall but may be restored. God’s mercy is available to the penitent, and His grace sustains those who continue in faith. The goal is not to fit Scripture into a system but to faithfully interpret each passage as God inspired it.

Let us be content with the mystery, diligent in exegesis, and confident in the sufficiency of God’s revealed Word. The way of salvation is not found in a theological acronym, but in walking daily with Christ, listening to His Word, obeying His commands, and persevering until the end.

You May Also Benefit From

Is the Bible Truly Accurate in All Respects?

About the Author

EDWARD D. ANDREWS (AS in Criminal Justice, BS in Religion, MA in Biblical Studies, and MDiv in Theology) is CEO and President of Christian Publishing House. He has authored over 220+ books. In addition, Andrews is the Chief Translator of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV).