Classical Arminianism: The Theology of Salvation

by F. Leroy Forlines

Publisher:

Randall House

, 2011

Overview

This is an excellent study of the Arminian view for those seeking to defend their theological position. In the current environment of growth in traditional Calvinism, Arminians of all denominations are looking for a good resource articulating an Arminian point of view. Once again, Forlines and Pinson have worked together to provide such a resource. This book is a valuable contribution to the Arminian–Calvinist debate.

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Key Features

• Includes subject, author, and Scripture indexes
• Contains an introduction by J. Matthew Pinson

Contents

Top Highlights

“Probably the most enduring controversy over depravity centers on the will. Does fallen man have a free will? If descendants of Adam do not in some sense have freedom of will, they have lost their personhood. One of the factors involved in being a person is to have power of choice or the ability to will. The will can choose and act only to the extent that it is free. To deprive the will of freedom is to deprive it of being a will. I think the debate between Calvinism and Arminianism should be framed over whether fallen man is a functioning, personal being. Does he have a functioning mind, heart, and will?” (Pages 20–21)

“The categories of right and wrong, with right being a plus factor and wrong being a minus factor, indelibly written in the constitution of man, produce some good in the sinner. This good will never provide acceptance before God, neither will it meet the needs of the person himself. It is the presence of this moral constitution in man that provides a point of contact for the gospel. If fallen man were a moral blank, or had the categories of right and wrong reversed, there would be no point of contact for the gospel. There would be no grounds for conviction of sin.” (Page 20)

“Influence is brought to bear on their actions. Influence in personal decisions can never be equated with cause as in mechanical cause and effect relationships. Influence and response are more appropriate terms, where persons make decisions, than the terms cause and effect.” (Page 12)

“The word person sums up the idea of rationality and morality. God is personal. Man is personal. The basic thrust of the idea of being created in the image of God is that man is a personal being. A person is one who thinks, feels, and acts.” (Page 5)

Praise for the Print Edition

Professor Forlines here develops at greater length the approach already taken in his commentary on Romans. The result is a careful defense of a model in which God works to achieve salvation in human beings by “influence and response” rather than by “cause and effect,” a view which commends itself as doing better justice to the concept of a personal God entering into relationships with human beings as persons.

—I. Howard Marshall, emeritus professor of New Testament Exegesis and honorary research professor, University of Aberdeen, Scotland

Leroy Forlines is an accomplished and seasoned scholar who is the face of Reformed or Classical Arminianism, which is closer to the actual teachings of Jacob Arminius than the more widely known Wesleyan Arminianism. Forlines is, above all, faithful to careful biblical exposition as the foundation of his theology. The perspective offered by Forlines, along with like-minded theologians such as Robert Picirilli, deserves to be heard on these crucial issues. Although our own perspective differs at points, we have used their books profitably at our seminary.

—Steve W. Lemke, provost, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Forlines has presented to the Christian community an excellent practical presentation and defense of the classical non-Wesleyan Arminianism that is rarely represented in the systematic theology sections of academic and church libraries, a challenge for Calvinistic writers to answer, and an example of the necessary and fruitful wedding of doctrine and life directed toward the zealous ministry of the gospel.

—L. Igou Hodges, professor of systematic theology, Columbia International University

Product Details

• Title: Classical Arminianism: The Theology of Salvation
• Author: F. Leroy Forlines
• Editor: J. Matthew Pinson
• Publisher: Randall House
• Publication Date: 2011
• Pages: 392

About F. Leroy Forlines

F. Leroy Forlines, a prolific writer, is the author of Romans Commentary, Biblical Systematics, The Quest for Truth, and Biblical Ethics. His monthly column “Christian Doctrine” was published in Contact magazine for 15 years. Forlines taught at Free Will Baptist Bible College for 50 years, where he continues to serve as adjunct professor. He has also served on the National Association of Free Will Baptists’ Commission for Theological Integrity since its 1962 inception. Under the auspices of Free Will Baptist International Missions, he is an adjunct professor of theology at Russian Baptist Theological Institute at the Chelyabinsk Affiliate of the Moscow Theological Institute. Forlines earned his BA from Free Will Baptist Bible College, his MA from Winona Lake School of Theology, his BD from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, and his ThM from Chicago Graduate School of Theology.

J. Matthew Pinson is president of Free Will Baptist Bible College in Nashville, Tennessee. Before he took his his current position, he worked as a pastor, teacher, and writer in Alabama, Connecticut, and Georgia. A native of Pensacola, Florida, Mr. Pinson holds degrees from Yale University and the University of West Florida, and he completed his doctorate at Vanderbilt University. He is author of other Randall House books, such as A Free Will Baptist Handbook and The Washing of the Saints’ Feet. He lives with his wife, Melinda, and their children, Anna and Matthew, in Nashville.