Display of Arminianism
By John Owen
(Modern English)
When Herod the Great announced his plan to rebuild the temple, many Jews feared he would tear down the old structure and then fail to complete the new one. To calm their fears, he carefully rebuilt each section before removing the next part of the old temple.
Owen says the Arminians act in much the same way. They seek to dismantle the traditional doctrines of God's providence, grace, and sovereign mercy—the doctrines by which Christians have long believed sinners are brought to heaven. Yet they know people would be alarmed if these foundations were suddenly removed. Therefore, they gradually replace them with another system, built not on God's grace but on human ability.
The foundation of this new system is human nature itself. Because earlier theologians had shown that human nature is deeply corrupted by sin and therefore unfit to support such confidence, the Arminians first deny that any such corruption exists. They insist that there is no deeply rooted evil within mankind.
Having rejected God's sovereign providence as the source of all good in our actions, and God's predestination as the source of spiritual goodness, they attribute both to the strength of human nature and the power of human effort.
Yet there is a major obstacle to this view: the doctrine of original sin. Scripture teaches that through Adam's fall human nature became corrupted, deprived of holiness, inclined toward evil, and unable to perform spiritual good apart from grace. Because this doctrine undermines confidence in human ability, the Arminians reject it. They deny that we inherit guilt from Adam or that our nature is born corrupted.
Would that they could remove original sin from human hearts as easily as they persuade some people that it never existed.
Anyone wishing to understand how important this doctrine has always been in the church should read the writings of men such as Augustine of Hippo, Prosper of Aquitaine, Hilary of Poitiers, and Fulgentius of Ruspe.
These men were raised up by God to oppose the Pelagian heresy, which denied mankind's natural corruption. Church councils, imperial decrees, and ecclesiastical judgments repeatedly condemned that error.
One reason for this strong opposition deserves special attention:
If original sin is denied, then the necessity of Christ's coming into the world is undermined.
A Savior is necessary only because sinners need redemption. If mankind is not truly sinful by nature, then Christ's mission becomes unnecessary.
The Church of England's Ninth Article teaches four main truths about original sin:
It is an inherent corruption of human nature.
It is contrary to God's law and remains truly sinful even after baptism.
It inclines us away from God and toward evil.
It deserves God's wrath and condemnation.
Owen argues that Scripture clearly teaches all four points, while the Arminians deny each of them.
The Arminians claimed that infants are born in the same condition as Adam before the fall.
They argued that all infants possess equal innocence, whether born to believers or unbelievers, and that nothing with which we are born can properly be called sinful.
Owen regards this as a direct denial of a fundamental Christian doctrine.
Scripture teaches the opposite.
Human nature was originally created holy and upright in the image of God. After Adam's fall, however, that nature became corrupted and inclined toward evil. This corruption is passed down from our first parents to all their descendants.
David confesses:
"I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me."
David is not speaking merely about his parents' sins but about the sinful condition into which all human beings are born.
Even infants possess this corruption. Their inability to commit outward acts of sin is due only to the weakness of their bodies, not because their souls are pure.
Human beings are not sinners merely because Adam's guilt is legally counted as theirs. They are sinners because they possess a real inward corruption.
This is why Scripture speaks of being washed, cleansed, and regenerated. Such language assumes an inward pollution that must be removed.
Even infants must be born again by the Spirit if they are to enter the kingdom of God.
Owen points to Romans 5.
Paul compares Adam and Christ.
Adam's sin affects all who descend from him naturally. Christ's righteousness benefits all who are united to Him spiritually.
Since believers receive real, inward sanctification through Christ, Owen argues that it is unreasonable to reduce Adam's influence to a merely external legal arrangement.
The comparison suggests both an imputed guilt and an inherited corruption.
Scripture repeatedly teaches that fallen humanity is inclined toward evil and unable to perform spiritual good apart from God's grace.
The "flesh" spoken of in Scripture is not merely the physical body but the corrupt principle dwelling within us.
Everything born of the flesh is flesh.
This corruption affects the whole person:
The mind is darkened.
The will is rebellious.
The affections are disordered.
The heart is hostile to God.
Original sin is therefore not merely a legal status but an inward corruption of our nature.
The Arminians also denied that Adam's guilt is imputed to his descendants.
Their argument was simple:
A person should not be considered guilty for a sin he did not personally commit.
Owen responds that this reasoning misunderstands both sin and Adam's role.
Adam was not merely a private individual. He stood as the covenant head of the human race.
Therefore:
We were represented by him.
We were included in him as members of the human family.
His action affected all whom he represented.
Paul explicitly says:
"By one man's disobedience many were made sinners."
The apostle's teaching is clear: Adam's sin is counted as ours because he acted as the representative head of humanity.
Just as Christ's righteousness is imputed to believers, Adam's disobedience is imputed to his descendants.
Owen summarizes the choice bluntly:
Paul says that many were made sinners through one man's disobedience. The Arminians deny it. Decide whom you will believe.
Owen believes the Arminian position creates a serious difficulty.
If human beings inherit neither corruption nor guilt, then why do they suffer?
Why are they expelled from paradise?
Why are they born into a world of misery, disease, death, and sorrow?
The Arminians admit that Adam's descendants suffer consequences because of his sin, yet they deny that they share either his guilt or his corruption.
Owen argues that this effectively accuses God of punishing innocent people.
A just God does not punish where there is no guilt.
Therefore, if humanity truly suffers under divine judgment, there must be real guilt and corruption inherited from Adam.
The Arminians reduced original sin to little more than a weakness or infirmity.
Owen insists Scripture teaches something far more serious.
Original sin deserves punishment because it is truly sinful.
Its consequences include:
The entire created order suffers because of Adam's fall.
The earth produces thorns and thistles.
Creation groans under corruption.
All disorder, decay, and suffering in the world ultimately trace back to sin.
Death entered the world through sin.
Before the fall, Adam was not subject to death as part of God's intended order.
Disease, suffering, weakness, and mortality are all consequences of humanity's corruption.
Every sickness and every funeral testifies to the reality of original sin.
The final punishment deserved by original sin is God's wrath.
Owen carefully explains that people are not condemned merely because Adam committed a particular act long ago.
Rather, Adam's sin brought upon humanity a corrupt nature that itself deserves condemnation.
No unclean thing can enter God's kingdom.
Human nature is unclean from birth.
Unless cleansed by Christ, it remains excluded from eternal life.
Owen distinguishes between two questions:
What does original sin deserve?
What does God actually do with infants who die?
The first question concerns justice.
The second concerns God's secret purposes.
Owen insists that original sin deserves condemnation because Scripture describes all people as naturally children of wrath.
Yet he refuses to declare that all infants dying in infancy are lost.
He suggests two ways God may save such children:
Children may be included in God's covenant mercy through believing parents.
God may save infants through His sovereign election.
God's grace is free and not limited by human conditions.
Thus Owen maintains both the seriousness of original sin and the freedom of God's mercy.
Owen concludes that the Arminian doctrine radically departs from Scripture and historic Christian teaching.
According to him, Scripture teaches:
Humanity inherits a corrupt nature from Adam.
Adam's guilt is imputed to his descendants.
Original sin is truly sinful.
It deserves God's wrath and condemnation.
Christ's saving work is necessary precisely because mankind is fallen.
The Arminian position, by contrast, portrays infants as naturally innocent, denies inherited guilt, minimizes human corruption, and reduces original sin to little more than a weakness of nature.
For Owen, this does not merely alter one doctrine; it strikes at the very foundation of the gospel itself, because if mankind is not ruined in Adam, then the necessity and glory of redemption through Christ are greatly diminished.