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James Arminius

James Arminius (October 10, 1560 – October 19, 1609) was a Dutch preacher and theologian whose calling from God within the Reformed Church challenged prevailing Calvinist doctrines, influencing Christian thought through preaching and teaching in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Born in Oudewater, Netherlands, to Harmen Jacobsz, a cutler, and Elborch Florisdr, he was the eldest of nine children in a modest family devastated by the Spanish massacre of Oudewater in 1575, leaving him orphaned at 15. Educated initially by Theodore Aemilius in Utrecht, he studied at Marburg (1575), the University of Leiden (1576–1581, earning an M.A.), and later Geneva under Theodore Beza (1582–1586) and Basel (1584), mastering theology and languages despite early hardship. Arminius’s calling from God was affirmed with his ordination in 1588 as pastor of a Reformed congregation in Amsterdam, where he served until 1603, preaching sermons that initially aligned with Calvinism but gradually questioned absolute predestination after engaging Petrus Plancius in debate. Appointed professor of theology at the University of Leiden in 1603, he continued preaching and teaching, advocating a theology of conditional election and resistible grace—later termed Arminianism—articulated in works like Declaration of Sentiments (1608). His sermons and lectures called for a faith rooted in human responsibility under God’s grace, sparking the Arminian-Calvinist controversy that persisted beyond his lifetime. Married to Lijsbet Reael in 1590, with whom he had nine children—including sons Harmen, Pieter, and Jacob—he passed away at age 49 in Leiden, Netherlands.
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James Arminius discusses the assurance of salvation, emphasizing that believers in Jesus Christ can be certain and persuaded of their status as children of God, standing in His grace. This assurance is a result of the Holy Spirit's work within the believer, the fruits of faith, the believer's conscience, and the testimony of God's Spirit. Arminius believes that a person can confidently face death without fear, yet should continually pray for mercy. He acknowledges that ultimate judgment lies with the Lord, cautioning against equating the assurance of salvation with the certainty of God's existence and Christ's role as Savior.
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The Assurance of Salvation
VI. THE ASSURANCE OF SALVATION With regard to the certainty [or assurance] of salvation, my opinion is, that it is possible for him who believes in Jesus Christ to be certain and persuaded, and, if his heart condemn him not, he is now in reality assured, that he is a son of God, and stands in the grace of Jesus Christ. Such a certainty is wrought in the mind, as well by the action of the Holy Spirit inwardly actuating the believer and by the fruits of faith, as from his own conscience, and the testimony of God's Spirit witnessing together with his conscience. I also believe, that it is possible for such a person, with an assured confidence in the grace of God and his mercy in Christ, to depart out of this life, and to appear before the throne of grace, without any anxious fear or terrific dread: and yet this person should constantly pray, "O lord, enter not into judgment with thy servant!" But, since "God is greater than our hearts, and knoweth all things," and since a man judges not his own self -- yea, though a man know nothing by himself, yet is he not thereby justified, but he who judgeth him is the Lord, (1 John iii, 19; 1 Cor. iv, 3,) I dare not [on this account] place this assurance [or certainty] on an equality with that by which we know there is a God, and that Christ is the saviour of the world. Yet it will be proper to make the extent of the boundaries of this assurance, a subject of inquiry in our convention.
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James Arminius (October 10, 1560 – October 19, 1609) was a Dutch preacher and theologian whose calling from God within the Reformed Church challenged prevailing Calvinist doctrines, influencing Christian thought through preaching and teaching in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Born in Oudewater, Netherlands, to Harmen Jacobsz, a cutler, and Elborch Florisdr, he was the eldest of nine children in a modest family devastated by the Spanish massacre of Oudewater in 1575, leaving him orphaned at 15. Educated initially by Theodore Aemilius in Utrecht, he studied at Marburg (1575), the University of Leiden (1576–1581, earning an M.A.), and later Geneva under Theodore Beza (1582–1586) and Basel (1584), mastering theology and languages despite early hardship. Arminius’s calling from God was affirmed with his ordination in 1588 as pastor of a Reformed congregation in Amsterdam, where he served until 1603, preaching sermons that initially aligned with Calvinism but gradually questioned absolute predestination after engaging Petrus Plancius in debate. Appointed professor of theology at the University of Leiden in 1603, he continued preaching and teaching, advocating a theology of conditional election and resistible grace—later termed Arminianism—articulated in works like Declaration of Sentiments (1608). His sermons and lectures called for a faith rooted in human responsibility under God’s grace, sparking the Arminian-Calvinist controversy that persisted beyond his lifetime. Married to Lijsbet Reael in 1590, with whom he had nine children—including sons Harmen, Pieter, and Jacob—he passed away at age 49 in Leiden, Netherlands.