In this BLOG we will look at some practical examples of Pelagianism in action through some examples. Remember, we must keep the principles listed in the previous post in mind. Pelagians say that morality is determined only by what a person does and human beings have the power to do all that is commanded by God. The duty of each human being is to do the commands of God under his own power and without the internal influence from God. Man alone is responsible to do what he is commanded to do and that without any internal help of God.
Let us visit (mentally) a church where we will visit the Sunday School. The teacher in this particular class is a very nice lady and has compassion for the students. She explains to them some facts of who Christ is and what He did on the cross and even spoke of His imputed righteousness. But she now tells them that God has done everything He can do and it is up to them to pray a prayer and ask Jesus to come into their hearts. This has been a common practice and it is not some bizarre example. But what is going on in this example? What has really happened? It sounds so good to tell kids the facts of Jesus and then tell them to pray a prayer. But notice that the action asked of the children was an action that required only an external action. The children are asked to pray a prayer and perhaps even to repeat a prayer. The children are told that if they will pray this prayer that God will hear it and they will be saved. That is just one way the human will apart from the internal act of God decides its own destiny. In that way the only thing that God needs to do is provide an external agent to bring a message and persuade others to pray a prayer. This is a practice that is practical Pelagianism and the actions of heresy. It is not comfortable to talk in this manner, but we must see how rampant this heresy is in the modern external Church.
Let us leave the Sunday School room and go to the sanctuary. After a time of prayer and singing, the sermon begins. The preacher starts off with a funny story and gives a few illustrations. He tells people how much God loves them and wants them to be in heaven with Him. He tells them that God has already sent His Son and there is nothing else that He can do. It is now up to each person to make that choice. All the person has to do is make that choice and believe that Jesus died for him or her. What we see here is the common practice of a sermon directed toward convincing people of what Christ has done and then for the people to make a decision and be saved. However, it is also a sermon based on the theology of Pelagianism. Why is that? It is because everything is left up to the person to do and nothing for God to do in the heart by grace. It is all external actions and everything is left in the hand of the person as if that person has the power to do all that is needed to be saved.
As you read these two examples, you can surely see that if the analysis is correct that Pelagianism has made great inroads into the Church and rather than being a relic of heresies of history, it is widespread in the modern day. It has different names, but it is still the same old heresy. The name of this heresy was derived from a man that lived sixteen hundred years ago, but it is founded in the fallen human heart that has been around a lot longer. In the days of Jesus a religious group called the Pharisees was around. They also believed that salvation was up to them in the sense that they had to keep the Law and that they had the power to keep the Law. They seemed to scoff at the internal demands of the Law and settled for external obedience. What the older versions and the newer versions have in common is that if man will do something external and that in his or her own power, that is enough to be saved. Whether it is keeping the Law in one’s own power or whether it is saying a prayer in one’s own power, the underlying teaching is the same. It is the old heresy of Pelagianism. While one modern day version of it is seen in easy believism, it is all still left in the power of man to make a choice that is an external action and will lead to salvation. The internal change that God alone can do is ignored. It is to believe in self rather than God.
God Loves... Himself 
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