In A.A. Hodge’s Outline of Theology he gives us three positions of doctrine in reference to human inability that seem to cover about any position one can come up with. They are also the three positions taken by theologians in history. The first position is Pelagianism and is given as stated by Hodge below.
1st. Pelagian.-(a.) Moral character can be predicated only of volitions. (b.) Ability is always the measure of responsibility. (c). Hence every man has always the plenary power to do all that it is his duty to do. (d). Hence the human will alone, to the exclusion of the interference of an internal influence from God, must decide human character and destiny. The only divine influence needed by man or consistent with his character as a self-determined agent is an external, providential, and educational one.
Last time we looked at the Pelagian positions premises a-c. We will look at the conclusion of this argument (d) in this BLOG. If the statements or premises (a-c) are correct, then the conclusion (d) is correct. However, I argued in the last BLOG that the premises (a-c) are not correct. Therefore, the conclusion is not correct and in fact has been declared by the Church in history to be heresy. But we must be careful in thinking through this. It is so easy to declare a historical position wrong and even heretical while we hold the same position ourselves using different words. For example, we can practice evangelism depending only on external influences of reason and persuasion. Regardless of whether we are an Arminian or a Calvinist in creed, we can practice evangelism that is consistent with the Pelagian position. When we evangelize a person and exclude the teaching that it is God who must change the heart and instead rely on reason and persuasion, we are evangelizing as a Pelagian.
The conclusion (d) of the Pelagian system must be seen for what it is and we must see this as something that is pervasive in our day. For example, the thought or the practice that God has done all He can do and is waiting on you is Pelagian. The thought that God votes for you, the devil votes against you, and now the deciding vote is yours is thoroughly Pelagian. Presenting the basic message of Christ to a person and then leaving it up to them to believe is consistent with Pelagianism. Telling people a few doctrines about sin and about Christ while trying to persuade them to make a choice (even if the person is a professing Calvinist) is consistent with Pelagianism. This thought must be driven home to our hearts over and over. Human beings are born Pelagian and do not leave the basic humanistic principles of it easily.
When we preach or teach in the church or home that morality, human character and destiny are up to the choice of the human being, we are teaching Pelagianism. Remember that the root of Pelagianism teaches us that all we need is some external influences since we have the ability to do all that we are commanded to do. While it might be rare to find a professing Reformed person who will slip into a presentation of the Gospel that depends on works for salvation, it is not so rare to find professing Reformed people relying on reason and persuasion alone in evangelism and in encouraging people to be holy and moral. True Reformed theology (historically) teaches the inward work of the Holy Spirit in salvation and also utter reliance on grace for sanctification as well. It is so hard to be consistently Reformed in the matters of the Gospel, evangelism and sanctification. But if we do not think and pray through these things, we will slip and fall into the pit of Pelagianism at the earliest possible moment. Combined with the constant pressure to fit in with the world, Christendom as a whole, and then professing Reformed people, practical Pelagianism is rampant in modern America.
What I have been trying to do in this BLOG is show how easy it is to practice Pelagianism while professing to be Arminian or Reformed. The Bible teaches that it is by grace that we are saved and that it is by grace that we are sanctified. Scripture teaches us that we must be born again to even see the kingdom of heaven. The Scripture teaches that we must die to self so that the life of Christ would live in us. Scripture teaches us that we are to live by grace and be strengthened by grace. Scripture teaches us that we must have the love of God in us to do even a single thing that is holy and good. The human will apart from the internal influences of God is nothing but a tangled mass of sin and of spiritual death and darkness. No sinner can do anything while under the power of darkness and bondage to the devil. The sinner needs more than influence and his own will, he needs the Almighty to change his heart and give grace in order to walk in holiness. After all, that is the New Covenant. Pelagianism is simply the devil tricking humanity into thinking that they have the power to do what God alone can do. He did that to Eve in Eden as well.
God Loves... Himself 
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