The Arminian's Prayer
“You have heard a great many Arminian sermons, I
dare say; but you never heard an Arminian prayer—for the saints
in prayer appear as one in word, and deed and mind. An Arminian
on his knees would pray desperately like a Calvinist. He cannot
pray about free will: there is no room for it. Fancy him
praying,
Lord, I thank thee I am not like those
poor presumptuous Calvinists. Lord, I was born with a glorious
free-will; I was born with power by which I can turn to thee of
myself; I have improved my grace. If everybody had done the same
with their grace that I have, they might all have been saved.
Lord, I know thou dost not make us willing if we are not willing
ourselves. Thou givest grace to everybody; some do not improve
it, but I do. There are many that will go to hell
as much bought with the blood of Christ as I was; they had as
much of the Holy Ghost given to them; they had as good a chance,
and were as much blessed as I am. It was not thy grace that made
us to differ; I know it did a great deal, still I turned the
point; I made use of what was given me, and others did not—that
is the difference between me and them.
That is a prayer for the devil, for nobody else would offer such
a prayer as that. Ah! when they are preaching and talking very
slowly, there may be wrong doctrine; but when they come to pray,
the true thing slips out; they cannot help it. If a man talks
very slowly, he may speak in a fine manner; but when he comes to
talk fast, the old brogue of his country, where he was born,
slips out.”
A Comparison
of Arminianism and Calvinism
- Charles Haddon Spurgeon, from sermon entitled,
Free Will - A Slave
