3rd. Augustinian.-Which was adopted by all the original Protestant Churches, Lutheran and Reformed. (a.) Man is by nature so entirely depraved in his moral nature as to be totally unable to do any thing spiritually good, or in any degree to begin or dispose himself thereto. (b.) That even under the exciting and suasory influences of divine grace the will of man is totally unable to act aright in co-operation with grace, until after the will itself is by the energy of grace radically and permanently renewed. (c.) Even after the renewal of the will it ever continues dependent upon divine grace, to prompt, direct, and enable it in the performance of every good work.
We have been looking at what historical thinking has been regarding the depravity of human nature. The last two posts have looked at this in terms of evangelism. We will now move to position (c) and look at the ramifications this has for sanctification. After all, a Gospel that is by grace alone must be followed by some form of sanctification by grace alone if salvation as a whole is going to be by grace alone.
Let me restate position (c) above in an attempt to get at the heart of the meaning: For the performance of any and every good work even the renewed will is totally dependent on divine grace to prompt, direct, and enable it. To restate it in more of a negative way: the renewed will cannot perform any good work apart from the grace of God to prompt, direct, and enable it to do the good work. Surely the complete and total contradiction between this position and that of the Pelagian and Semi-Pelagian can be seen. The will is not free in the sense that it is able to do what it wants to do (Pelagian and Semi-Pelagian), but it is free from the bondage of sin so that it now has the nature that can respond to the divine grace of God by the grace of God. When God moves upon the unregenerate person, that person responds according to their nature. When God moves upon and within a regenerate person, that person responds according to their nature in one sense though they are responding to grace in reality.
This teaches us to flee from any form of works for sanctification. It is true that a new heart will perform works, but we are not sanctified by the works. The works are a product of the grace and life of God in the soul and not the product of a soul that is doing the works in order to be made more holy. We are taught by Paul in Philippians 4:13 that we or “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” It is God in us who can do all things through us. John 15:4-5 show us the teachings of Christ on this: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” Apart from the grace and life we receive from God in Christ, we can do nothing spiritually good.
Colossians 1:11 teaches us how we are to grow: “strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience.” Paul then applies that to himself later in the same chapter of Colossians when he speaks of the power which works in him: “28 We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. 29 For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.” We are taught in Ephesians 2 that salvation is totally of grace, not of works in the slightest, yet we are created for the good works which God has prepared beforehand: “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
As can be seen from the verses given above, position (c) is not just some dream that some over zealous Augustinians or Calvinists came up with. Even the believer with a renewed heart is still totally dependent on the grace of God to do anything good at all. It is the grace of God that must prompt and move the will to do good works because the works are those He has prepared the believer for even from before the foundations of the world. The believer is to live by what s/he receives from Christ by faith each moment of his or her life. The believer is to walk by faith and what does faith do but receive grace. The believer is to live by the wisdom of God which is Christ and so receive that wisdom of God which is more of His grace to His people. We can receive nothing but what is given to us above and surely that can be seen as all of grace to His people. It is only when sinners are chosen by grace, salvation accomplished by grace and then applied by grace, and then they are all sanctified by that same grace can salvation be said to be by grace alone. Underlying the positions above (a. b. c.) is the teaching of the grace and sovereignty of God. Sanctification also must be by grace through faith or it is by works.
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