Criticism of Prevenient grace
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Calvinists are critical of, and have a differing doctrine of prevenient grace from Wesleyans, which they identify with the act of regeneration and which is immediately followed by faith.[1] They derisively refer to the Wesleyan concept of prevenient grace as "universal enablement".
They characterize the Wesleyan view as teaching that God has restored to every individual the ability to seek after God and choose salvation. They argue that because this grace is supposedly given to all alike, the determining factor in salvation becomes the will of man. Calvinists believe that Wesleyans teach that God seeks all people equally, and if it weren't for the fact that some were willing to respond to his promptings and persuasions, no one would be saved. Conversely, for Calvinists, it is singularly God's own will and pleasure that brings salvation (see monergism and irresistible grace); otherwise, salvation would be "of ourselves" in contrast to Ephesians 2:8-9.
Calvinists further maintain that when the Bible speaks of humanity's condition of total depravity, of spiritual death, it speaks of it as an actuality, not a hypothetical condition, which they believe the Wesleyan doctrine teaches. Calvinists understand that when the Bible says "no one seeks God, understands God, fears God, etc" (such as in Romans 3:9-20), it is speaking about the real (present) condition of the unregenerate. For example, when the Bible says people are "dead in their transgressions" until God makes them alive (Eph. 2:1-5), Calvinists see this explaining that people are incapable of believing, because sin has destroyed their moral freedom, until God gives them new life in Christ. Hence, the Calvinist objects that prevenient grace places man in a neutral state, neither dead nor alive.[2]
Wesleyans counter these objections by claiming that God has initiated salvation through prevenient grace, and while human beings still maintain God-given free will to respond to that initiative, salvation is still initiated (and ultimately activated), by God, through justifying grace.
Evangelical theologian Millard Erickson says, "It is here that many Arminians, recognizing human inability as taught in the Scripture, introduce the concept of prevenient grace, which is believed to have a universal effect nullifying the noetic results of sin, thus making belief possible. The problem is that there is no clear and adequate basis in Scripture for this concept of universal enablement."[3] Similarly, Calvinist Thomas Schreiner maintains that, "Prevenient grace is attractive because it solves so many problems [for the Wesleyan], but it should be rejected because it cannot be exegetically vindicated."[4] According to these critics, its only function is to relieve the believer's conscience of any doubt that God is doing everything he reasonably can to rescue everyone. Wesleyans have a different understanding of Biblical exegesis and interpretation on these matters (see above).
In contrast to prevenient grace, Calvinism has the concept of common grace, the notion that God shows general mercy to everyone (Matt. 5:43-48), and that this grace restrains sin and gives mankind a knowledge of God and of their sinfulness and need of rescue from sin. Common grace thus leaves people without excuse. In Calvinist theology, common grace is distinguished from the irresistible saving grace that leads to faith.
References
- ^ J. I. Packer. "Regeneration", Concise Theology. Tyndale. ISBN 9780842339605. Retrieved on 2008-04-22. “Regeneration is monergistic: that is, entirely the work of God the Holy Spirit. It raises the elect among the spiritually dead to new life in Christ (Eph. 2:1-10). Regeneration is a transition from spiritual death to spiritual life, and conscious, intentional, active faith in Christ is its immediate fruit, not its immediate cause. Regeneration is the work of what Augustine called 'prevenient' grace, the grace that precedes our outgoings of heart toward God.”
- ^ Compare "Why Does One Person Choose God and Not Another?", a debate between an Arminian and John W. Hendryx, webmaster of the Calvinist site Monergism.org
- ^ Christian Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1985), p. 925.
- ^ "Does Scripture Teach Prevenient Grace in the Wesleyan Scheme?", in The Grace of God, The Bondage of the Will, (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1995), Vol.2, p. 382. ISBN 0-8010-2003-4
See also
Adapted from the Wikipedia article Prevenient grace used under the GNU Free Documentation License.
