Five Articles of Remonstrance

Following the death of the Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius in 1609, his followers (the “Arminians”) found themselves under heavy fire from the orthodox Calvinist establishment.

To protect their positions in the state church & the universities, 44 ministers drafted a document called the Remonstrance (a formal statement of grievances) & presented it to the States General of Holland in 1610. The Articles were the Remonstrants saw as the harshness of strict Calvinism.

Article 1: Conditional Election

The Remonstrants argued that God’s decree to save individuals is based on foreseen faith. The Idea: God doesn’t just pick names out of a hat before time began. Instead, He chooses to save those who He knows will believe in Christ & persevere in faith. Election is “conditional” on the human response to grace.

Article 2: Unlimited Atonement

This article argued that Jesus died for all men/people, not just a select few. The Idea: While the benefits of the sacrifice are only applied to believers, the scope of the sacrifice is universal. It’s a direct rejection of “Limited Atonement.”

Article 3: Deprivation

This states that man is in a state of sin & has no saving power of his own. The Idea: Without the regeneration power of the Holy Spirit, a person cannot do anything truly good or exercise saving faith.

Article 4: Resistible Grace

While they agree that grace is necessary for every good action, they argue that this grace isn’t irresistible. The Idea: God offers the gift of grace to everyone through the Gospel. But a person can essentially “say no” & reject the Holy Spirit’s pull.

Article 5: Conditional Perseverance

This was the most cautious article in the original 1610 document. It questioned whether a believer could ever “fall from grace” & lose their salvation. The Idea: Initially, they said this required further study from Scripture. Eventually, they moved toward the “Arminian” stance we know today: that through negligence or sin, a believer can indeed forfeit their salvation.

The Calvinist response was the Synod of Dort (1618-1619). It was an international gathering that essentially acted as a trial for the Remonstrants. The Remonstrants were condemned. Many were exiled, & Oldenbarnevelt (their political protector) was executed.

To refute the 5 Articles of Remonstrance, the Synod produced the Canons of Dort, which we now know by the famous acronym, TULIP.

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