I am looking at the differences between Calvinism and Arminianism because I have been asked to. From the outset, I want to remind my brothers and sisters in Christ that it is important for us to remain humble, not categorically making enemies of others based on whatever differences we perceive there to be in our theology. I know that what I am speaking about uses certain terms that easily trigger some. I want to encourage you to, instead of taking a term at face value, understand how it is being defined. This is how we keep ourselves from sounding ignorant.
Calvinism Pt. 2- Total Depravity vs Free Will – Andrew Paul Cannon: Thoughts
We come to the doctrines of Total Depravity and Free Will. When a Calvinist claims that people do not have free will, he typically does not mean it unilaterally. Keep in mind, the Calvinist is operating by calvinistic language. Understand what he means by “free will” before starting an argument. It may be that you define free will differently and, therefore, have started an argument without understanding terms—an argument that accomplishes nothing aside from producing enmity between you and another person. Similarly, when the Arminian claims that someone does have free will, he means a certain type of free will—and we should pay attention to definitions instead of unilaterally agreeing or disagreeing. This is the problem that categorical acceptance or rejection causes. We can easily misunderstand others and unnecessarily make them into enemies when they are actually sound brothers and sisters—just because we think we are talking about the same thing, free will, when we probably have defined the same term in different ways and are therefore talking about two completely different concepts. This is why communication is difficult, by the way, and why we ask God for wisdom in our relationships. Learning how to consider what others mean instead of only arguing semantics will go a long way as you seek to do well in all of your relationships.
So, let’s define our terms. When The Remonstrance was published, it defined the doctrine of Free Will in this way:
Election and condemnation are thus conditioned by foreknowledge, and made dependent on the foreseen faith or unbelief of men.
Modern day explanations define the doctrine this way:
This states that though man is fallen, he is not incapacitated by the sinful nature and can freely choose God. His will is not restricted and enslaved by his sinful nature.
The claim is that people’s wills are not incapacitated by sin. So, their will is free from the affects of the Fall in Genesis 3. Of course, the natural conclusion to draw from this line of thinking is that people have perfect wills because their wills are not enslaved by their sinful natures. They can will to honor Christ and reject sin without first being born again. As a result, God predestines people based on His knowledge of their choosing Him—an act that is possible because their wills are unimpeded by the affects of sin.
When the Synod of Dort responded to this claim, the council stated that,
“…all men have sinned in Adam, lie under the curse, and are deserving of eternal death, God would have done no injustice by leaving them all to perish and delivering them over to condemnation on account of sin, according to the words of the apostle: ‘…that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.” (Rom 3:19). And: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Rom 3:23). And: “For the wages of sin is death.” (Rom 6:23).’and the cause or guilt of this unbelief as well as of all other sins is no wise in God, but in man himself; whereas faith in Jesus Christ and salvation through Him is the free gift of God, as it is written: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8). Likewise: “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him” (Phil 1:29).
The council wrote much more to be considered, and I invite you to go read it for yourself. When they argued against what is now called the doctrine of Free Will, they quoted Scripture to show that every part of every person is affected by sin. We are fallen creatures. We are such fallen creatures that the wages of our sin is death. That includes the death of the mind and the will. It is why we need a savior, Jesus Christ. For, if our wills were not incapacitated by our sin nature and we could will to overcome sin and honor God, why would we need Christ at all? How could people ever, in that case, reject God?
To frame this doctrine in terms of Free Will is a little misleading. So that I can provide some clarity, no one is claiming that people don’t have the ability to make decisions and follow through with those decisions. In that sense, people do, indeed, have the freedom to choose and act according to their own desires. What is in question is the affects of sin on the person. Are people dead in their sins or not? If we are, then we cannot overcome our sinful nature by any matter of our will or striving or work. This is what the calvinist means when he insists that people do not have free will—an unfortunate term that has been appropriated by Arminians to describe their anthropology. If we are not dead in our sin, we can overcome our sinful nature by some manner of our will or striving or work. This is what the Arminian means when he says that people do have free will. Let’s consider the story and the Romans Road.
When people sinned against God, death was the consequence (Genesis 3:3). As a result, people were cut off from the tree of life (Genesis 3:3:22-24). Even if people wanted to take of the fruit, eat, and live forever, that option is not available to them because they sinned against God. So, total depravity may be framed in terms of not free will but, instead, our inability to reach out and take from the tree of life. We are cut off because of sin. Even if we wanted to, we cannot live forever because of that sin. We are completely affected by that sin nature, dead in our sin. We also observe the Romans Road to Salvation:
Romans 1:21—“For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
Romans 3:23—“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”
Romans 6:23—“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 10:9—“…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved…”
This is a little simplistic, but perhaps that’s all we need. People became futile in their thinking, their wills. Because of these noetic effects of sin, we all fall short of God’s glory—we are unable to attain it. If we have sinned, we are dead. There is good news. The free gift of God, which does not depend on our fallen minds or wills, is eternal life in Christ Jesus. Anyone who confesses Jesus as Lord and believes in his heart that God raised Him from the dead will be saved. Though we could not take from the tree and eat of our own ability, God has made Himself available by His will by grace in Christ. Those who believe in Christ are saved.
If people truly had perfect wills that were unaffected by the sinful nature, it seems to me that all people would choose to perfectly obey God and be righteous. But, people reject God—a lot of people. Not only does Scripture tell us that people are dead in their trespasses, even having their minds bound by their sinful nature, but common observation leads us to believe that people don’t typically want what is best for themselves. The human will is fallen. It is free in the sense that we are perfectly capable of making decisions and following through with those decisions, even religious ones. But, the fruit of the Tree of Life is beyond our grasp. We must trust Jesus to provide it. Without Jesus, we are totally depraved; that is, totally incapable of attaining life by our own wills or works. Jesus actually had to atone for our sins. Jesus actually has to regenerate our hearts. We actually have to be born again of the Spirit (cf. John 3).
I have a few friends who pick on me for being a Calvinist even though they are technically Calvinists too—just without using the same semantic framework to describe their theology. One friend sent me this amazing meme where the congregation was singing, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.” Of course, the Calvinist in the meme was marching out saying, “I don’t think so, pal!” Sadly, this is the automatic perception of Calvinists, I think, because of the recent Young, Restless, and Reformed group that made much unnecessary noise. We must be born again, yes, but then we also decide to follow Jesus. At that point of new birth, regeneration, Jesus is available to us. We are totally incapable of saving ourselves. Christ has made a way. We get to confess and believe in response to the good work He has started. We receive some promises in Scripture.
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).
So, I ask, do you believe that people can make themselves righteous? Or, do you believe that salvation is in Christ alone?
Since I am serving in a Southern Baptist church, I feel it necessary to observe the latest version our own Faith and Message regarding the calvinistic doctrine of Total Depravity and the Arminian doctrine of Free Will. We find the basic Southern Baptist anthropology (nature of man) in Section III, titled “Man”.
Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God’s creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
Genesis 1:26-30; 2:5,7,18-22; 3; 9:6; Psalms 1; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; Isaiah 6:5; Jeremiah 17:5; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Romans 1:19-32; 3:10-18,23; 5:6,12,19; 6:6; 7:14-25; 8:14-18,29; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31; 15:19,21-22; Ephesians 2:1-22; Colossians 1:21-22; 3:9-11 (https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/#iii).
Those who are confessionally Southern Baptist necessarily disagree with the most basic Arminian doctrine of Free Will because we hold that every part of human nature has fallen from its original innocence and is inclined toward sin—which is precisely what the Calvinist claims in response to the Arminian doctrine of Free Will. Further, by confession, Southern Baptists hold that only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. Sin has noetic effects on the person such that people do not choose God except by the grace of God. The fruit of the Tree of Life is unreachable. God must hand it to us. The Baptist Faith and Message, then, disagrees with the Arminian doctrine of Free Will and agrees with the calvinistic doctrine of Total Depravity. It simply uses different terminology and frames the doctrine in a manner more palatable for some.
Praise God that, even though we have sinned and fall short of His glory, He has come to us giving life.
References:
Cannons of Dort: https://www.ccel.org/creeds/canons-of-dort.html
Articles of Remontrance: https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds1.ix.iii.v.html
Five Points of Arminianism: https://carm.org/dictionary/five-points-of-arminianism/
Baptist Faith and Message 2000: https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/#iii
andrew paul cannon 
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