Calvinists are dishonest and disingenuous when addressing and representing Arminianist beliefs. If you are going to discuss another system of theology, you should be able to represent it honestly and accurately without engaging in fallacious arguments and misrepresentation. It is a myth, or at best a dangerous oversimplification, that Calvinists believe in predestination while Arminians believe in free will. This distortion of Arminian theology is sometimes promoted by Calvinists who have not taken the time to seriously study Arminianism. At the same time, however, Arminians are often confused about their own theological tradition and function pragmatically as what is falsely labelled as "semi-Pelagians" (which seems to describe the beliefs the early Christians [A.D. 90-300] held).
Jacob Arminius (1560-1609) believed that predestination was "the foundation of Christianity." In 1610, one year after his death, the Arminians, or Remonstrants, published the Arminian Articles, which began with a positive and Christ-centered approach to the doctrine of predestination. The Calvinistic understanding of predestination is not sufficiently Christ-centered or Gospel-centered. Arminians believe that predestination is God's purpose before the foundation of the world to save believers in Christ and to condemn unbelievers outside of Christ.
Article I: Predestination as God’s Purpose to Save in Christ
That God, by an eternal, unchangeable purpose in Jesus Christ his Son, before the foundation of the world, hath determined, out of the fallen, sinful race of men, to save in Christ, for Christ's sake, and through Christ, those who, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, shall believe on this his Son Jesus, and shall persevere in this faith and obedience of faith, through this grace, even to the end; and, on the other hand, to leave the incorrigible and unbelieving in sin and under wrath, and to condemn them as alienate from Christ, according to the word of the gospel in John 3:36: "He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him," and according to other passages of Scripture also.
Because God's predestined purpose is to save believers in Christ, He sent Christ to die for all, so that whosoever believes in Him might be saved. The propitiation (appeasement; satisfaction) or atonement (amendment) of Christ is not limited to an unconditionally elect or predestined group, it is for the whole world (see Matthew 11:28-30; John 1:7, 29; 3:14-18; 4:42; 6:33, 51; 12:32, 47; Romans 3:23-24; 5:6, 15; 10:13; 2 Corinthians 5:14-15; 1 Timothy 2:3-6; 4:10; Titus 2:11; Hebrews 2:9; 10:10; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 John 2:2; 4:14; Revelation 22:17).
Article II: Unlimited Atonement Applied Only to Believers
That, agreeably thereto, Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, died for all men and for every man, so that he has obtained for them all, by his death on the cross, redemption and the forgiveness of sins; yet that no one actually enjoys this forgiveness of sins except the believer, according to the word of the Gospel of John 3:16: "God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." And in the First Epistle of John 2:2: "And he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."
Arminianists believe the next point is crucial, rejecting any hint of synergism and believing that man is unable to take a single step toward God and needs grace in order to rightly use his free will. However, it contradicts what the first three centuries of Christians had to say on the issue of free will and synergism.
Article III: Regeneration Necessary for Right Use of Free Will
That man has not saving grace of himself, nor of the energy of his free will, inasmuch as he, in the state of apostasy and sin, can of and by himself neither think, will, nor do any thing that is truly good (such as saving Faith eminently is); but that it is needful that he be born again of God in Christ, through his Holy Spirit, and renewed in understanding, inclination, or will, and all his powers, in order that he may rightly understand, think, will, and effect what is truly good, according to the Word of Christ, John 15:5: "Without me you can do nothing."
Grace, grace, grace—all is of grace. On this point, Arminians and Calvinists, as well as just about everyone else, agree. The following Article goes above and beyond to make this clear. The word “but” signals the point of disagreement between Arminians and Calvinists. Arminians believe that, according to Scripture, the grace which regenerates and saves is not an irresistible force.
Article IV: All is Of Grace, Yet Not Irresistible
That this grace of God is the beginning, continuance, and accomplishment of all good, even to this extent, that the regenerate man himself, without prevenient or assisting, awakening, following and cooperative grace, can neither think, will, nor do good, nor withstand any temptations to evil; so that all good deeds or movements, that can be conceived, must be ascribed to the grace of God in Christ. But as respects the mode of the operation of this grace, it is not irresistible, inasmuch as it is written concerning many, that they have resisted the Holy Spirit. Acts 7, and elsewhere in many places.
An Arminian doctrine distinctive to Methodists and the broader Wesleyans is the teaching that man is so fallen that he is utterly incapable of perceiving the need for salvation, but God in His infinite wisdom has preveniently (to come before, to anticipate) extended to mankind a sufficient grace that we can, through free will, willingly accept salvation. Those who resist will be lost, but those who do not resist will believe and be saved as a gift.
This final Article leaves open the question of the perseverance of the saints, emphasizing personal responsibility but expressing doubt as to whether or not such a doctrine is taught in Scripture.
Article V: Perseverance through Assisting Grace
That those who are incorporated into Christ by a true faith, and have thereby become partakers of his life-giving Spirit, have thereby full power to strive against Satan, sin, the world, and their own flesh, and to win the victory; it being well understood that it is ever through the assisting grace of the Holy Spirit; and that Jesus Christ assists them through his Spirit in all temptations, extends to them his hand, and if only they are ready for the conflict, and desire his help, and are not inactive, keeps them from falling, so that they, by no craft or power of Satan, can be misled nor plucked out of Christ's hands, according to the Word of Christ, John 10:28: "Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." But whether they are capable, through negligence, of forsaking again the first beginnings of their life in Christ, of again returning to this present evil world, of turning away from the holy doctrine which was delivered them, of losing a good conscience, of becoming devoid of grace, that must be more particularly determined out of the Holy Scripture, before we ourselves can teach it with the full persuasion of our minds.
Wesleyan Arminianists would later conclude that it is indeed possible to be truly regenerated and yet fall away and ultimately perish. The early Christians also taught that you could fall away and ultimately perish. Arminians deny three of the five points of Calvinism, while Wesleyan Arminians deny four of the five.