Glossary

Short definitions, alphabetical; where schools differ, the entry says so. Italics cross-reference.

"all" (pas) — The Greek adjective behind "all": distributive (every individual: Rom 3:23) or categorical (all kinds: 1 Tim 2:4). Context decides; both sides claim it.

Amyraldianism — The theology of Moses Amyraut (1596–1664): universal atonement plus unconditional election, by a hypothetical decree to save all who believe before the decree to elect. Also called four-point Calvinism.

antecedent will — God's revealed desire that all be saved, prior to his decree; distinguished from the consequent will by which he saves the elect.

Arminianism — The tradition from Arminius (1560–1609) and the Remonstrance: conditional election, universal atonement, resistible grace, possible apostasy. It affirms total depravity and prevenient grace.

assurance — Confidence of salvation. Westminster Confession 18.2 grounds it in God's promises, the Spirit's witness, and the fruit of grace.

atonement, definite (limited) — The view that Christ's death was designed to secure salvation for the elect only. See Canons of Dort, Second Head, Article 8.

atonement, general (unlimited) — The view that Christ died for every person, with benefits applied to those who believe. The casebook's position; see definite atonement examined.

calling, effectual — The Spirit's inward work that infallibly brings the elect to faith; the application of irresistible grace.

calling, external (general) — The gospel invitation proclaimed to all who hear, which may be rejected. Reformed theology distinguishes it from the effectual call.

Calvinism — The Augustinian-Reformed soteriology codified at Dort and Westminster. A family, not one position; Dortian, Edwardsian, popular, and hyper-Calvinist varieties differ.

Canons of Dort — The 1618–19 response to the Remonstrance, in five heads: unconditional election, definite atonement, and a promise published "to all persons promiscuously" (Second Head, Art. 5).

compatibilism — Freedom is compatible with determinism: a person acts freely when he acts according to his desires, even if those desires are determined. Associated with Edwards.

conditional election — Election based on God's foreknowledge of faith. The casebook's variant: election is "in Christ," and so conditioned on union with him.

consequent will — God's will to save believers and judge unbelievers, distinguished from the antecedent will. A pressure point in the free-offer debate.

covenant of grace — The Reformed covenant by which God saves sinners through Christ. The casebook affirms it while denying a pre-decreed extent.

covenant of works — The covenant with Adam, in which life was promised on condition of perfect obedience (Westminster Confession 7.2).

decretive will — God's secret, efficacious will that determines all that happens, distinguished from his revealed or preceptive will, which commands what creatures ought to do.

depravity, radical — Sin affects the whole person — mind, will, affections, body — not one faculty. Stronger than total inability, which adds a conclusion about the will.

depravity, total — Every part of human nature is corrupted, so no one can save himself or merit grace. Affirmed here; the dispute is what follows for the will.

double predestination — God decrees both the salvation of the elect and the reprobation of the rest. Reformed theology debates infralapsarian and supralapsarian versions.

duty faith — The obligation of everyone who hears to believe. Denied by hyper-Calvinism, which holds that the non-elect cannot be obligated to an impossible faith.

eternal justification — The view that the elect were justified from eternity, before faith; held by John Gill and some Particular Baptists. A minority position.

federal headship — Representation of a people by one head: Adam for humanity (Rom 5:12–19), Christ for the redeemed. The framework for imputation.

foreknowledge — God's knowledge of the future; in election debates, the meaning of proginōskō, whether bare prescience or a prior relational choice ("whom he foreknew").

free offer — The sincere proclamation of salvation to all who hear, with the promise that whoever believes will be saved. See well-meant offer.

glorification — The final stage of salvation: resurrection, conformity to Christ, and the end of sin and death.

hyper-Calvinism — The school denying duty faith and the free offer, holding that the gospel is not to be offered to all. Gill and Hoeksema; not representative, but the system's consistent edge.

imputation — Reckoning one person's standing to another: Adam's sin to his descendants, Christ's righteousness to believers ("double imputation").

infralapsarianism — The decree order: create, permit the fall, then elect some and pass over others. The majority Reformed view, making reprobation a passing by.

irresistible grace — The doctrine that the Spirit's saving call cannot be finally resisted by the elect. See effectual calling; contrast resistible grace.

Marrow Controversy — The 1718–23 Scottish controversy over Fisher's The Marrow of Modern Divinity (1645), on the free offer, assurance, and antinomianism. Boston and the Erskines defended it.

means of grace — The ordinary channels of God's work: Word, sacraments, and prayer. The Spirit works through them, not around them.

monergism — God alone works salvation, with no cooperative contribution. Affirmed here, but faith is not a work; see faith is not a work.

ordo salutis — The "order of salvation": election, calling, regeneration, faith, justification, sanctification, glorification. Different systems order it differently, and the order carries arguments.

particular redemption — Synonym for definite atonement.

Pelagianism — Humans can live without sin by their own power; grace is only assistance or example. Condemned in the fifth century and denied here.

perseverance of the saints — The doctrine that the truly elect persevere and cannot be finally lost. The pastoral pressure point is its relation to assurance.

preterition — The decree to pass over the non-elect, leaving them in sin, as distinct from a decree to damn them for Adam's sin. It relocates the problem.

prevenient grace — Grace that precedes and enables a response to the gospel, restoring enough freedom to believe or reject. Central to Arminian and Wesleyan theology.

provisionism — Leighton Flowers' label for the view that God provides salvation for all, enables all, desires all, and conditions salvation on faith. See Leighton Flowers.

regeneration — The new birth: the Spirit's giving of spiritual life. Reformed theology puts it before faith; John 1:12–13 puts receiving before birth.

Remonstrance — The 1610 statement of the Arminian party in five articles, answered by the Canons of Dort.

reprobation — The decree passing over the non-elect and ordaining them to judgment. The casebook argues Scripture teaches judgment on unbelief, not this decree.

resistible grace — The view that God's saving grace can be genuinely resisted. See the two wills.

sanctification — Growth in holiness by the Spirit through the means of grace; distinct from justification and never its ground.

semi-Pelagianism — Grace and free will cooperate in conversion with a shared initiative. Condemned at Orange (529): grace precedes any good response.

sovereignty — God's rule over all things. Every position here affirms it; the argument is whether it means that every event, including sin, was decreed.

supralapsarianism — The view that election and reprobation were decreed before creation and the fall. A minority Reformed view, logically the most consistent with double predestination.

synergism — Salvation involves cooperation between grace and human response. Often a slur; the label does not settle whether the response is enabled by grace.

total inability — The unregenerate cannot believe without a special, inward, effectual work of grace. Stronger than total depravity; the casebook denies this conclusion.

unconditional election — Election not based on anything foreseen in the person, including faith. Denied by conditional election; affirmed at Dort and Westminster.

union with Christ — The believer's incorporation into Christ by the Spirit through faith. The casebook's alternative to a decree-centered election: believers are elect in Christ.

well-meant offer — God sincerely desires and offers salvation to all who hear, including the non-elect. Denied by hyper-Calvinism; defended by the 1948 OPC report as a mystery.

Westminster Standards — The Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms (1647–48).

"world" (kosmos) — The Greek noun for "world": created order, humanity, the fallen system, or "Jew and Gentile alike." The argument over John 3:16 is which.

See also

• Talking to a Calvinist friend — using these terms without using them as weapons.
• Scripture index — the texts behind the terms.
• The five points as a chain — how the terms fit together.