Grace, Faith, Free Will

by Robert E. Picirilli

Book Overview

Grace, Faith, Free Will addresses issues that have divided Calvinists and Arminians since the Reformation. Using historical, systematic, and Biblical theology, Robert Picirilli contrasts both views of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0892656484
• ISBN13: 9780892656486
• Release Date: April 2002
• Publisher: Randall House Publications
• Length: 258 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.3" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

excellent presentation of arminian theology with strong biblical exegesis

Picirilli's work is long overdue as an accurate presentation of the Arminian position. The author does a very good job contrasting the views of James Arminius with Calvinism and the erroneous beliefs of many that would call themselves Arminians today (i.e. Pinnock's open theism). I especially enjoyed the sections dealing with foreknowledge and predestination. Picirilli makes a very helpful distinction between what is "necessary" and "certian" as pertains to a proper understanding of God's foreknowledge. He argues that while future events are "certian" they are not "necessary", therefore preserving real contingencies as pertains to human freedom. Picirilli is also careful to present modern Calvanism in all its different flavors in comparing it with James Arminius' understanding of scripture. Picirilli is not concerned with caricatures, and is careful to deal with relevant Calvinist objections rather than straw men. I was pleased that the author demonstrated that the doctrine of "prevenient grace" (which he prefers to call "pre-regenerating grace") was taught by Arminius and was not a "Wesleyan" departure as some believe. He failed, however, to cite or interact with some of the more relevant passages (John 1:9; 12:32; Titus 2:11; Philippians 2:12-13). I was also disappointed that he did not interact with passages outside of Heb. 6, and 10, and 2 Pet. 2:20-22 with regards to apostasy. While I agree that Heb. 6, and 10 constitutes an apostasy without remedy (which I would equate with blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, Mark 3:29) I was not persuaded that the same could be said concerning the 2 Pet. passage. I would like to have seen Picirilli interact with passages like James 5:19, 20; Rom. 11:23; Luke 15:11-32; and Gal. 4:19, which seem to indicate an apostasy that is not irrevocable. All in all the book was very well written and should be read several times to gather its full import. Picirilli is not only an excellent Arminian theologian, but also a skilled exegete and former Greek professor. He writes with grace and tries to accurately present the views of his opponents. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand Arminian theology as Arminius himself taught, and avoid aligning oneself with so many who think they understand Arminianism based on the inaccurate and unfair critiques of staunch Calvinists.

Clearest presentation of Arminianism available

This book is the best introduction to Arminianism available. Picirilli is articulating what he calls "Reformation Arminianism," the actual views of Arminius himself. His arguments are fair and compelling, and any Calvinist will admit that Picirilli has presented their position correctly. The only thing I don't like about this book is the frequency of statements like "Due to lack of space in this volume, I have to restrict my explanation to this one point," and a few typographical errors (which can be expected with the first printing of anything).

One of the Best on Refromed Arminian Theology

Robert Picirilli's book is one of the best books that I have ever read on Arminism. Many books seem to get caught up in debating with various Calvinistic or Arminian authors on the subject of the five points of Calvinism or the free will of man. However, this is not the case with Picirilli. He writes with a goal, a focus, and a point. The book begins with an historical overview of the Calvinism/Arminism debate. He dives into the life of Jacob Arminius and shows that, contrary to various Calvinist historians, he was completely Reformed in his understanding of man (total depravity), God's sovereignty, and election. However, Arminius differed with his Calvinist brothers over the extent of the atonement (limited atonement), evangelism, and free will. He was not Pelagian in his thought but was Reformed and work from that understanding. Picirilli reveals that much of Arminius has been lost due to many of his followers reshaping his thoughts to become more humanistic despite Arminius refusal to do so. The book goes on to discuss salvation from both the Calvinist and Arminian viewpoints and then Picirilli gives his own Reformed Arminian view. The book is well written, easy to grasp, and will engage both Calvinist and Arminian readers. I highly recommend it.

scholarly, insightful, and balanced look at this controversy

For nearly 10 years I have been a serious student of theology. The Calvinist/Arminian issue comes up a great deal and it is important for serious students of theology to study this issue and attempt to discover the truth.In terms of background, many of the most prominent teachers of our day (RC Sproul, John MacArthur, John Piper, etc.) are diehard Calvinists so that most people are already heavily biased against Arminian theology. Because of the influence of powerful Calvinists, the word Arminian now connotes humanism, liberalism, and being generally soft toward the Bible.The goal of this book is to study major themes of Scripture (salvation, grace, faith, free will) from both the Calvinist and Arminian perspectives. It is quite systematic, yet fortunately not too long.I read Picirilli's book having previously studied Arminianism from the lens of Calvinists. It was a stunning read because I now am convinced that Arminius' views are generally mischaracterized. For example, as Picirilli shows in his book, Arminius believed in total depravity and in a substitionary atonement. Arminius was actually the star student of Theodore Beza himself, who in turn was John Calvin's disciple. After having read this book, I now understand Arminius in a very different light.On each of the points of Calvinism, Picirilli first states the Calvinist position. He is exceedingly fair and goes to great lengths to quote prominent Calvinists in order to articulate the position accurately. After doing so, he looks at the same point from an Arminian perspective.Because the author is a former professor of Greek and New Testament studies, the scholarship of this book is impeccable. His exegesis is sharp and demonstrates an extraordinary command of the Bible. It is a cool, levelheaded book that does a brilliant job at examining the issue.No matter what your theological background, you will certainly benefit from reading this fine book.

An Excellent Defense of Reformed Arminianism

Dr. Robert Picirilli is a Free Will Baptist scholar and theologian. He is a former professor of Greek and New Testament studies at Free Will Baptist College. For over 45 years he has been teaching, preaching, and writing Arminian theology. Picirilli stands for a very specific kind of Arminianism that he calls "Reformation Arminianism." This type of Arminianism holds to the following beliefs: total depravity; the sovereignty of God to control all things for the certain accomplishment of His will; God's perfect foreknowledge of, and the certainty of, all future events-including the free moral choices of human beings; the penal satisfaction view of the atonement, salvation by grace through faith and not by works, from beginning to end; and an apostasy that cannot be remedied. He demonstrates that these beliefs (apostasy being more implicitly implied than explicitly stated) are the teachings that Jacob Arminius defended from Scripture. He quotes from The Works of Arminius throughout the book and has provided a helpful index for each of these citations.This book is not filled with emotional rhetoric but is rather a simple and straightforward stating of the facts. Therefore, for some people, this will not be an "exciting" book to read. Nevertheless, it does serve in accomplishing his goal "to present both sides, so that the reader will know exactly what those issues are: to clarify understanding of both positions and help readers intelligently decide for themselves" (Forward, p. i).Picirilli begins by giving a brief biography of Arminius that helps to place the issues in their historical context. He then tackles the issues surrounding God's sovereignty, predestination, human depravity, grace, atonement, and perseverance. Picirilli takes great care in accurately representing the Five Point Calvinist position. He quotes mostly from three highly respected Calvinists: Louis Berkof, William Sheed, and Roger Nicole. I would have liked to have seen Picirilli quote from John Calvin himself, yet the people he chose are fine representatives of his theological system. Picirilli cogently defends conditional election and unlimited atonement. He wisely reminds his readers that "the extent of the atonement should be determined by Biblical exegesis rather than by the logic of one's system" (p. 90). It is Picirilli's detailed exegesis on 1 John 2:2 and 1 Timothy 2:1-6 in chapter seven that I found to be extremely valuable. He concludes this chapter with an important observation:All of us who handle God's word do well to remember that we do not honor Him with our interpretive ingenuity but with submission to what He says. To say, even to show, that a given statement can be interpreted in a certain way does us no credit at all. The question is always not what the words can mean but what they do mean, here. In 1 John 2:2 and in 1 Timothy 2:1-6, the most obvious meaning of "world" and "all men" is universalistic. In these cases, careful exegesis supports the obvious meanin