Avoiding the Hermeneutical Trap of Arminianism: Part 4 – John 12:47

By Mark W. Christy, PhD

(This series has been adapted from several sermons that covered verses relied upon by Arminians to defend their stance. In order to properly undergird their position, the Arminians are tasked with finding clear biblical support for the human will being an active part (and therefore, completely free and beyond the control of God’s sovereign will) of the salvation process. If this can be accomplished, then they must, of necessity, engage the verses that appear to directly support the Calvinistic position that salvation is wholly based upon God’s sovereign, elective will. These verses include (but are not limited to) Matthew 11:25-27, John 5:21 and 12:37-40, Romans 8:28-9:33, and Ephesians 1:4-7.)

John 12:47 – “If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.”

Like all other verses in the present series, it seems as if biblical warrant yet again is being given to uphold the universalistic teaching that Christ died for all. The Arminian, as is their habit, finds evidence for their view in this verse even though this verse, in and of itself, in no way limits salvation to those that respond to the gospel. For this reason, if for no other, prudence demands that the Arminian engage the context so as to properly interpret and apply the Savior’s Word.

In the verses that immediately precede this apparent universalistic teaching of Christ, the Lord states, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”

In this short monologue, Jesus is differentiating between those who believe and those who stubbornly refuse. Believers are identified as those who respond correctly to Him and therefore will not remain in darkness. These believers (“anyone who hears [Christ’s] sayings”) escape judgment and therefore fall under Christ’s saving mission for He has come to “save the world.” Though He has come to accomplish this mission, the Lord mentions those who, unlike the believers, reject Him and fail to receive His Word. These, according to Him, will not escape judgement and therefore must be excluded from His saving work. To put this another way, when Jesus says that His mission is to “save the world,” He must not have those who reject Him in mind for those who are in this group will not be saved and so will face eternal judgment.

At this point, the Arminian would most likely be content with this brief analysis of the context of v.47, for they would point out that those who failed to partake of Christ’s work made a freewill choice to reject Christ’s Word. This affirmation, however, is wholly supported by Calvinists who also agree that the human freewill is operative among fallen humanity; nevertheless, it is confined and only functional within a fallen, spiritual framework. In other words, people are already in a state whereby they have rejected God, for they are born stained by Adam’s sin. When they freely choose to reject the salvation offered by Christ, they are merely acting within the parameters of their fallenness. For them to do otherwise, the Calvinists would argue that a freewill act of God alone would be necessary to free the fallen human from bondage so that they could accept the gospel.

In conclusion, this present verse together with its context fails to lay the theological framework needed to support an Arminian understanding of salvation. Instead of affirming human freewill as an active part of one’s response to the gospel, it only addresses the two possible outcomes based upon one’s reception of Christ’s teaching. For those who receive it, Jesus credits belief, but those who fail to receive are blamed by the Lord for their own decision. With this being the case, the Arminian still remains tasked with providing clear Scriptural support for the idea that one’s belief hinges upon one’s own freewill choice.