“But when I got mad, then your bigotry and ignorance would finally allow you to finally hear. Glad I could be of service. You can return to your humanist beliefs now.”
Talk about bigotry and ignorance!
What “humanist” belief? That “These Arminian pastors don’t believe anything but to keep em scared, keep em giving, keep em working.”?
No Arminian believes man is saved by good works. NONE! God has made a promise to us:
Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.
For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.
And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying,
“This is the covenant that I will make with them
After those days, says the Lord:
I will put My laws upon their heart,
And on their mind I will write them,”
He then says,
“And their sins and their lawless deeds
I will remember no more.”
Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.” - Hebrews 10
To repeat for emphasis: “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” Not any doubt about WHO has done it, or its completeness. NO trace of earning salvation by good works. No hint of it!
But that has NOTHING to do with Calvinism! Nothing! Every non-Calvinist believer I’ve met - which would be about 99% of the believers I’ve met - agrees: Jesus did it all.
Anyone who claims Arminians believe we work our way to heaven is either so ignorant as to have no right to say anything, or a liar. Even the briefest review of non-Calvinist Christianity reveals the truth:
“The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
God presented him as an atoning sacrifice in his blood, received through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed.
God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be righteous and declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By one of works? No, on the contrary, by a law of faith. For we conclude that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.” - Romans 3
“God presented him as an atoning sacrifice in his blood, received through faith...and declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus.”
Here is where Calvin and Arminius disagreed. Calvin says God saves us irresistibly, then gives us life. Only then can we have faith.
Arminius taught God gives us grace by revealing Himself to us, and IF we believe what He has revealed, then by definition we have faith - and are declared righteous. We “receive” the atonement “through faith”. “Faith” simply means you believe someone: “confidence or trust in a person or thing” ( http://www.dictionary.com/browse/faith?s=t )
“But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name...”
We receive. We do not earn. It is a LIE when Calvinists claim we say otherwise. Because it is excruciatingly obvious that we teach salvation is an act of God. It just is not an irresistible act of God, forced on unwilling people.
Well stated.