We continue to think about the real issue between Calvinism and Arminianism, as stated by Edward Griffin, and that is between divine efficiency and a self-determining power. Calvinism stresses that Scripture teaches that God alone is the power or efficient in salvation and Arminianism by necessity of it belief in a free-will holds to some form of self-determining power. If divine efficiency is true, then salvation is by grace and grace alone. If human beings have a self-determining power of any kind, even to the smallest degree, and it is involved in salvation, the salvation is not by grace alone.
In the original introduction of Thomas Hooker’s seventh century work entitled The Application of Redemption (will be published by International Outreach soon), Thomas Goodwin sets out what for our day would be new thinking. Yet it was the accepted teaching of Reformed theology in his day:
And for the Arminian doctrine, how low doth that run in this great article? This we may say without breach of charity say of it-that if they or their followers have no further or deeper work upon their hearts, than what their doctrine in hat point calls for, they would fall short of heaven. Though those other great truths they together therewith teach, God may and doth savingly bless unto true conversion, he breaking through those errors into some of their hearts. And how much our reformed writers abroad, living in continual wrangling and disputes with the adversaries of grace, have omitted in a practical and experimental way to lay open and anatomize the inwards of this great work, for the comfort and settlement of poor souls, many of themselves do greatly bewail.
Goodwin goes on to bemoan the fact that the will is discussed philosophically and so on rather than to be dealt with biblically and experimentally. His words are to be understood in the context in which he gives them and that is an introduction and commendation of the book he is writing about. It is, again, The Application of Redemption. The title of that book is of immense importance in the way that older theologians thought of redemption being applied. It has to do with the grace of God applying salvation to the soul by breaking the soul from all hope in itself and from all trust in its own power. Another way to put it is that the book is on how the soul must be broken from all trust in its own righteousness and works in order that the soul would trust in Christ. The author of that book thinks of salvation as being applied by grace and breaking the soul from all that it trusts in so that Christ would be trusted in alone. But again, the application of redemption is also by grace alone and nothing can be attributed to the powers of the will in the application or it is not a salvation that is by grace alone.
Goodwin also addresses the Arminian situation. In the context of the book and in the discussion of these BLOGS, it would appear that he would agree with Griffin and Owen. The Arminian evangelist looks to convince the will of the other person to make a choice rather than to lead the person in a deep and experimental breaking of the heart from self and its own will. Goodwin desires for people to be broken in their heart and have a deep work of God in the heart. While he seems to appreciate some of the doctrines that some of them taught, he seems troubled that many of them were unconverted because they did not have this work in their heart. However, he also seemed to think that the Lord had converted some of them and broke through their false doctrine to do so. That is probably the safest position that one could take. It appears that the Lord converts some despite their faulty theology. Yet that does not give us an excuse for not teaching the truth. What the Lord may do does not negate the obligation of His people to set out the truth and lead people into a deep work in the soul.
As we think through this, we can immediately see the impact this has on evangelism. As we have seen in other BLOGS, the evangelist must work with the unregenerate person to see that s/he has no power to apply redemption to him or herself. What sinners need is not a message of how much God loves them and just wants them to make a choice for Him, but they need to see that they are rebellious sinners who are opposed to God and that they must be broken from all of their own righteousness and strength. They must see that God is not obligated to save them because of their worth, works or choices. They must see, in accordance with Romans 3:24-4:6 that God saves according to grace in such a way that leaves them no room for boasting. They must see in accordance with Romans 9:16 that it is not according to their willing or their running, but on God alone who has mercy. It matters not of if we claim to be Reformed or not, if we evangelize in a way where the sinner is thrown upon his own strength and will, we have evangelized in a way that is in direct violation of Scripture.
Surely some of the major issues are clear at this point. In history the theologians and pastors used by God in a great way were those who stressed that redemption must be applied by grace and not just provided by grace. They taught that the sinner must be broken from his own willing and running in order to trust in the grace and mercy of God alone. They taught that not only did Christ provide grace, but that He also purchased the application of that grace by the Holy Spirit who convicts of sin and regenerates as He pleases. They taught that for the Gospel to be taught in its purity it must be taught where the application of the Gospel was of grace too. Virtually all of the older Reformed writers had a high level of distaste and even disgust for Arminian teachings because it does not teach a deep brokenness in the heart as the way that God applied the grace of salvation. But at least some of them did not think that all Arminians were lost. We don’t have to think that all Arminians are lost to believe that their teaching is false and destructive to the Gospel itself. God saves some sinners despite their at least outwardly holding teachings that are contrary to the application of the Gospel.
God Loves... Himself 
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