Arminian; God foreknew but did not unconditionally predetermine; free will real
The COGC stands in the Arminian tradition regarding predestination and election. God foreknew who would respond to the gospel in faith, and his election is based on this foreknowledge rather than on an unconditional, prior decree. Salvation is genuinely offered to all people through the gospel, and individuals are genuinely free to respond or to reject it. Calvinist double predestination is rejected as incompatible with God's justice and the biblical call to all people to repent and believe.
The COGC's broadly Arminian orientation is consistent with its emphasis on personal moral responsibility: if humans are genuinely accountable for their response to the gospel, then their response must be genuinely free. The COGC's conditionalist anthropology (humans are mortal and not born in inherited guilt in the Augustinian sense) further supports this emphasis on genuine human freedom and responsibility.
The COGC affirms that the gospel is good news for all — 'God so loved the world' (John 3:16) — and that no one is excluded from the possibility of salvation by an unconditional divine decree. The urgency of proclaiming the gospel reflects the conviction that all who hear it are genuinely capable of responding and that their eternal destiny depends on this response.
Key Distinctions
- Election model:
- no strict predestination; conditional; annihilationist framework
- Double predestination:
- denied
- Free will teaching:
- free will affirmed
Scripture References
Sources
- Church of God General Conference Statement of Faith