Arminian Theology and Assemblies of God Doctrine: A Biblical Foundation

The Text

Romans 8:1-17 (selections from the BSB provided; the focus question centers on Romans 8:28-39 as the capstone, which presents predestination, calling, justification, and glorification as an unbreakable chain—"If God is for us, who can be against us?")

Romans 8:1-17, with primary focus on Romans 8:28-39 (not fully provided in dossier, but referenced in the focus question) (The passage is provided in the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), a modern word-for-word translation. Key phrases: 'There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus' (v. 1); 'The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children' (v. 16); 'And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him' (v. 17). The conditional 'if' in v. 17 ('if indeed we suffer with Him') signals human participation in the process, not mechanical determination.)

Key Terms

κατάκριμα (katakrīma) · ka-TAH-kree-mah

Condemnation; a sentence or judgment of guilt. In Romans 8:1, it refers not to divine disapproval in a temporary sense but to the final, legal sentence of condemnation that the Law would pronounce. This is the opposite of justification (dikaiōsis).

δικαιόω (dikaiōō) · dee-kah-ee-OH-oh

To justify; to declare righteous or to put in the right. This is not about making someone morally perfect (that is sanctification) but about pronouncing a legal verdict of acquittal. Christ's righteousness is imputed to believers through faith; they are 'in Christ Jesus,' and thus stand as the Righteous One before God's bench.

Πνεῦμα (Pneuma) · PNYOO-mah

Spirit; the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, active as the agent of new birth, indwelling presence, and empowerment. In Romans 8, Pneuma appears repeatedly as the principle of new life, in contrast to 'flesh' (sarx, the self-directed, sin-bent nature).

υἱοθεσία (huiothesia) · hwee-oh-THES-ee-ah

Adoption; the legal and relational act by which God grants believers full son-and-heir status in His household. In Roman law, adoption conferred complete legal rights and inheritance; the adopted child became fully a member of the patria potestas (household authority structure).

Historical Foundation

Apostolic Age (c. 50-65 CE) through Early Pentecostal Movement (1901-present)

In Paul's era, the Roman church faced a critical pastoral problem: if God's grace is truly free and justifying faith alone saves, what becomes of the Law, personal holiness, and the ongoing struggle with sin? Gentile converts needed assurance that they stood secure in Christ despite their ongoing moral failures; Jewish believers needed to understand that the Law's condemnation no longer applied to them. Paul addresses this by anchoring believer security not in works or moral perfection but in union with Christ through the Spirit—a living relationship, not a legal fiction. Centuries later, the Reformation recovered this Pauline emphasis on justification by faith, but Reformed theology (stemming from Calvin and especially solidified by Beza and the Synod of Dort, 1618-1619) presented election and predestination as unconditional and irresistible, leaving little room for human response. Jacob Arminius (1559-1609) and his followers challenged this, arguing that Scripture teaches conditional election based on God's foreknowledge of faith—preserving divine sovereignty while safeguarding genuine human choice. The early Pentecostals (1901 onward), especially those in the Assemblies of God, embraced this Arminian inheritance, emphasizing the Holy Spirit's empowerment not as an irresistible force but as an enabling presence that respects human freedom. They saw in Romans 8 both the security of the believer (grounded in Christ's work and the Spirit's indwelling) and the persistent call to holy living and faithful response.

Cultural World

In the Greco-Roman world of the 1st century CE, adoption (huiothesia) was a well-known legal practice, particularly among the Roman elite. A paterfamilias (household head) could formally adopt an adult male, granting him full inheritance rights and legal standing equal to biological sons. This practice appears in Roman law codes (e.g., Gaius' Institutes, c. 160 CE) and was culturally significant as a way of securing the household's continuity and legally binding heirs to its obligations and privileges. Paul's use of this metaphor would have resonated powerfully with his Roman audience: just as an adopted son has ironclad legal security in his new household, believers have ironclad assurance in God's household through adoption by the Spirit. The household (oikos) structure itself—with its clear lines of authority, obligation, and belonging—underlies Paul's entire argument. Additionally, the concept of inheritance (klēronomia) in the Greco-Roman world carried legal force; an heir could not be arbitrarily disinherited without cause. Paul leverages this: believers are 'heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ' (Romans 8:17), with all the security that legal heirship entailed.

What the Evidence Shows

Paul's presentation in Romans 8 resolves a deep pastoral tension: How can believers enjoy secure standing before God while remaining engaged in genuine moral struggle and response? The answer lies in a carefully balanced framework. First, justification is God's declarative act, received through faith alone (Romans 5:1, Ephesians 2:8-9). This is an accomplished, forensic reality—'no condemnation' (v. 1) means the legal case is closed. The believer stands as the Righteous One, clothed in Christ's righteousness, not because of works but by union with Christ. This is not earned; it is gifted and appropriated by faith. Second, this justification is not an isolated event but the entrance into a living relationship sustained by the indwelling Spirit. The Spirit 'testifies with our spirit that we are God's children' (v. 16)—a dynamic, affective testimony, not a mere logical deduction. The Spirit is present, active, and bearing witness to the believer's belonging. Third, believers are adopted into God's household with all the security that legal status brings (v. 15). This adoption is not provisional or conditional on sinlessness but grounded in Christ's substitutionary work and the Spirit's presence. Fourth, precisely because believers are secure in Christ and indwelt by the Spirit, they have both the obligation and the capacity to live according to the Spirit, not the flesh (vv. 12-13). The security is not a license to sin but a foundation for authentic transformation. Paul makes this clear: 'If you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live' (v. 13). The conditional 'if' signals genuine human response and real stakes. Fifth, the Assemblies of God position on assurance (adopted formally in 2017) teaches that this security is real but not unconditional in the sense that a believer cannot forfeit it. The AG statement explicitly rejects 'unconditional security' (OSAS—Once Saved Always Saved) as unbiblical, citing the 'living relationship with Christ' as the foundation: 'the security of the believer depends on a living relationship with Christ (John 15:6).' This is not instability; it is relational realism. A child who rebels against his father and refuses relationship can be cast out (John 15:6 teaches this through the vine-and-branches metaphor). Salvation is available to all (John 3:16), received and assured through faith (Romans 3:28, Ephesians 2:8), but believers remain in ongoing conflict with sin (Hebrews 3:12-14) and may forfeit their salvation by willfully turning away (Hebrews 6:4-6, 2 Peter 2:20). This is not pessimism about grace; it is biblical realism about the cost of relationship. Paul's entire argument is framed to avoid two extremes: on one hand, assurance should not lead to presumption or antinomianism (the 'I am saved no matter what' attitude). On the other, struggles with sin should not undermine assurance (the 'I must be lost because I still sin' despair). The answer is union with Christ through the Spirit, a relationship that is legally and spiritually secure, yet demands genuine response and perseverance.

Scholarly Witness

Discovery Questions

• 1.In Romans 8:1-17, Paul says 'there is therefore now no condemnation' (v. 1), yet he also tells believers 'if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live' (v. 13). How can the believer have no condemnation and also face a real 'if'—a genuine choice with real consequences?

  Paul distinguishes between the believer's standing (forensic justification—already complete in Christ) and the believer's state (ongoing sanctification—requiring daily response). No condemnation refers to the permanent legal verdict, not the absence of moral struggle. The 'if' in v. 13 is not about earning salvation but about persevering in the relationship. The Assemblies of God doctrine of assurance captures this precisely: security is real and grounded in Christ's work and the Spirit's indwelling, but it is a relational security that requires the believer to continue walking in faith (see AG Position Paper on Assurance, citing John 15:6).

• 2.Romans 8:15 contrasts a 'spirit of slavery that returns you to fear' with the 'Spirit of adoption to sonship, by whom we cry, Abba! Father!' Why does Paul use the language of adoption here, and what does it tell us about the believer's security? Who could use this language in Paul's cultural moment—and who could not?

  Adoption (huiothesia) was a legal act in Roman society conferring irrevocable family status and inheritance rights. Paul uses this to express the believer's secure standing as a child in God's household—not provisional or revocable by God's whim, but grounded in Christ's substitutionary work. However, the 'if' in v. 17 ('if indeed we suffer with Him') shows that the believer's continued glorification is bound to perseverance in faith and identification with Christ. The adoption is God's gift and God's work; the perseverance is the believer's response. This is why the AG rejects OSAS (Once Saved Always Saved) as unbiblical—adoption is real, but a child who rebels and refuses the relationship can be cast out, as Jesus taught in John 15:6. The original language and cultural context reveal that Paul is not teaching mechanical security but relational belonging.

• 3.In Romans 8:16, Paul writes, 'The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.' Notice the word 'testifies'—it's a legal term. What is the Spirit bearing witness to? And how does this relate to the 'Fundamental Truth' of the Assemblies of God that 'the inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit' (citing Romans 8:16)?

  The Spirit's witness is not a vague inner feeling but a testimony to a concrete fact: you are God's child, justified and adopted. This is not the Spirit confirming your emotional state or your moral performance but bearing witness to your standing in Christ. The Assemblies of God, drawing directly on this verse, teaches that assurance is grounded in the Spirit's direct testimony, not in self-examination or inferences from behavior. This moves assurance from the realm of introspection to the realm of reliance on the Spirit's work. The AG Position Paper on Assurance (2017) emphasizes: 'At the time of the believer's new birth... the Holy Spirit comes into them, bringing assurance of forgiveness of sins, spiritual renewal, and a personal relationship with God.' This is experiential—not in the sense of being emotionally overwhelming, but in the sense of being real, personal, and testified to by the Spirit Himself.

• 4.Bringing together Romans 8:1-17 with the AG Position Paper on Assurance of Salvation, explain how the doctrine of assurance can be both robust ('there is no condemnation') and conditional ('the security of the believer depends on a living relationship with Christ'). How does Paul avoid both the rock of presumption and the hard place of despair?

  Paul's answer is union with Christ through faith, sustained by the indwelling Spirit. The believer's legal status (no condemnation, justified, adopted, glorified in the divine decree) is absolutely secure because it rests on Christ's righteousness, not the believer's performance. Yet the believer's entrance into and continuation of that relationship requires genuine faith and response. God guarantees the outcome—'He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus' (Philippians 1:6)—but the believer must continue to believe, obey, and walk with Christ. This is not instability; it is the proper tension between divine faithfulness and human responsibility. The AG's position (rooted in Arminian theology) rejects both Calvinist determinism (which removes human responsibility) and Pelagian self-sufficiency (which removes divine grace). Instead, the believer is secure because Christ is faithful and the Spirit is present, yet the believer's security is also a relational security—maintained through faith and love, not guaranteed regardless of response. This reflects the biblical realism that a child can rebel against his father, but the father's love and the opportunity to return remain.

Connected Passages

• John 3:3-6 — Jesus' teaching on the 'new birth' (palingenesia in Titus 3:5) parallels Paul's Romans 8 framework: entry into the kingdom requires rebirth by the Spirit. The Spirit is the agent; the individual must be born again. This establishes that rebirth is God's work, yet it is presented as something one enters—not a passive reception but a reorientation.
• John 15:1-6 (abide in Me) — Jesus teaches that believers are branches abiding in the vine (Christ); apart from Him, they can do nothing and will be 'cast out' (v. 6). This directly supports the AG Position on Assurance: security is real, but it is the security of remaining in relationship with Christ. Willful departure or refusal to abide results in severance. This is the condition underlying Romans 8's confidence.
• Galatians 4:5-7 (adoption as sons) — Paul uses the same adoption language (huiothesia) to emphasize that believers are 'no longer a servant, but a son... an heir of God through Christ' (v. 7). The legal reality of sonship—with all its rights and responsibilities—parallels Romans 8:15-17. The believer's security is not provisional but rooted in legal standing.
• Ephesians 2:8-10 (saved by grace through faith; created for good works) — This passage captures the two poles of Paul's theology: justification is by grace through faith (not works), yet believers are 'created for good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do' (v. 10). Security does not negate responsibility; it grounds it. Believers are secure not because they earn it but so that they might walk in the good works God has prepared.
• Philippians 1:6 (He who began a good work will complete it) — Paul expresses confidence that God will 'carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.' This assures the believer that divine faithfulness is constant. Yet the verse is addressed to the Philippians, inviting them to trust in God's work, not to presume on it without their own faithfulness.
• Hebrews 3:12-14 (hold the beginning of our confidence firm to the end) — The author of Hebrews warns against 'a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God' and calls believers to 'hold firm to the end' (v. 14). This supports the AG Position's teaching that believers can fall away and that perseverance is required. Security is real only insofar as faith persists.
• Hebrews 6:4-6 (impossible to restore those who fall away) — This severe passage (cited in the AG Position Paper on Assurance) teaches that those who have experienced the benefits of salvation—'enlightened,' 'tasted the heavenly gift,' 'shared in the Holy Spirit'—can fall away and cannot be restored to repentance. This establishes that salvation is genuinely conditional and that apostasy is a real possibility, not a theoretical one.
• 1 Peter 1:3-5 (born again to a living hope through the resurrection) — Peter describes believers as 'born again... to a living hope' and 'kept by the power of God... for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.' Security is God's keeping power (active and ongoing), yet v. 5 implies that believers are kept 'through faith.' The condition is faith; the guarantee is God's power.
• 2 Peter 2:20-22 (worse off if returning to the defilements after knowing Christ) — Peter warns that believers who escape 'the defilements of the world' but then return to them are 'worse off at the end than they were at first.' This confirms that salvation is forfeitable and that willful departure carries severe consequence. Yet the very warning presumes the believer's genuine initial conversion and the reality of the gospel's transformative power.
• Jude 20-24 (keep yourselves in the love of God; the only God, our Savior, is able to keep you) — Jude's closing appeals to believers to 'keep yourselves in the love of God' (v. 21) and affirms that God is 'able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy' (v. 24). Both the believer's responsibility (keep yourselves) and God's power (able to keep) are affirmed. Security arises from the convergence of human faithfulness and divine faithfulness.

Takeaways

• **Justification is forensic and final, grounded entirely in Christ's work and received through faith.** There is 'no condemnation' to the believer not because sin is absent or minimized but because the legal verdict has been rendered: the believer stands in Christ's righteousness before God's bench. This is accomplished once and for all (Romans 5:1, Ephesians 2:8-9) and is the ground of all subsequent experience. You are not waiting to be justified; you are justified now.
• **Sanctification is the believer's lived response to justification, empowered by the indwelling Spirit, and is genuine and necessary.** Romans 8:13 makes clear: 'If you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.' The 'if' is real. The believer's daily choice to walk according to the Spirit (not the flesh) is a real choice with real consequences. The Spirit does not bypass the will but empowers it.
• **Security is relational, not mechanical.** The believer's assurance rests on union with Christ—a living, personal relationship sustained by faith and love. God's faithfulness is constant, but the believer's belonging is maintained through continued trust and obedience. The Assemblies of God doctrine (2017) rightly teaches that 'the security of the believer depends on a living relationship with Christ' (John 15:6). This is not instability but biblical realism. A child secure in a parent's love who rebels and refuses relationship can be cast out; yet the door for reconciliation remains open.
• **The Spirit's testimony to our spirit is the foundation of assurance, not self-examination or moral achievement.** Romans 8:16 presents the Holy Spirit as the active witness to our justified status as God's children. This moves assurance from the precarious ground of introspection ('Do I feel saved? Did I pray the prayer? Am I holy enough?') to the solid ground of the Spirit's present work. The AG Fundamental Truth that 'the inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit' (citing Romans 8:16) captures Paul's intention: the Spirit Himself bears witness, freeing the believer from self-doubt and empowering confident belonging.
• **Adoption by grace confers real, legal status—but also real obligation.** The believer is an heir of God and co-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17), with all the rights of a beloved son or daughter in the Father's household. Yet this status comes with the responsibility to 'suffer with Him' and to live as a member of God's family, not the world's. The Arminian-Wesleyan tradition (which the AG embraces) rightly sees this as the heart of the gospel: free grace offers unconditional love, but it also calls for genuine response and persevering faith.
• **The debate between Reformed and Arminian theology, at its core, is not about whether God is sovereign but about how His sovereignty and human responsibility coexist in salvation.** The AG Position Papers (2015, 2017) show that the denomination has consciously chosen the Arminian reading: God's sovereignty is expressed in His provision of grace to all, His foreknowledge of who will believe, His faithfulness to indwell and empower the believer, and His promised completion of the believer's redemption. Human responsibility is real: the call to faith is genuine, the offer of grace is universal, the choice to believe (or not) is authentic, and the perseverance required is the believer's own work empowered by the Spirit. This avoids both determinism (which removes the 'if' from Scripture) and Pelagianism (which removes the 'He who began a good work will complete it'). Paul's framework in Romans 8 supports this both-and approach.