God Loves… Himself

2nd. Semipelagian.-(a.) Man’s nature has been so far weakened by the fall that it cannot act aright in spiritual matters without divine assistance. (b.) This weakened moral state which infants inherit from their parents is the cause of sin, but not itself sin in the sense of deserving the wrath of God. (c.) Man must strive to do his whole duty, when God meets him with co-operative grace, and renders his efforts successful. (d.) Man is not responsible for the sins he commits until after he has enjoyed and abused the influences of grace.

– A.A. Hodge

Semi-Pelagianism has been found lacking so far. It tries to find a medium between Pelagianism and Augustinianism, but is in reality far closer to Pelagianism than Augustinianism. The truth of the matter is that Pelagianism and Augustinianism are the two views that have inner consistency within them and the Semi-Pelagian view does not. I quoted William Cunningham many BLOGS ago from his Historical Theology where he noted that exact point and said that the Semi-Pelagian will tend toward Pelagianism or Augustinianism. Scripture teaches that man is dead in sins and trespasses and is by nature a child of wrath. Pelagianism would absolutely deny that by twisting the text. Semi-Pelagianism tries to take the text into some consideration but ends up denying it altogether as well. It does this in how infants come into the world and how Christ saves sinners. It also does this in terms of sanctification which ends up with man working hard and God making up for what man cannot do.

There are numerous verses of Scripture that instruct us exactly opposite of what Semi-Pelagianism does. We find in Matthew 5:3 that the blessed man has no righteousness of his own as the blessed person is poor in spirit. The Greek word there denotes a poverty that is absolute and with no way to obtain anything either. It is an absolute and utter poverty in terms of righteousness that the blessed person has. There is no teaching here of man working as hard as he can and then God meets him with co-operative grace. We find Galatians 2:20 teaching us that it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. The self and the efforts of self must be crucified and died to rather than work for co-operative grace. Colossians 1:29 puts it this way: “For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.” In that text it is not striving according to my own power and then being helped with co-operative grace, but it is grace that is working mightily within him.

We will now move to (d) where the Semi-Pelagian view says that man is said not responsible for the sins he commits until after he has enjoyed and abused the influences of grace. This view is a necessary view of the system but still stands against Scripture and what it teaches. It is necessary for the Semi-Pelagian to hold this because man cannot be successful in what he does apart from grace. So if man never has grace, he cannot be responsible for what he does. Since man is in a weakened moral state that is inherited from his parents, if he never hears of the grace of God and of the Gospel he is not guilty of his sin before God. After all, he received this nature as an infant and never heard of how he was to act before God.

What we must see here is that God is never obligated to show anyone any amount of grace or it becomes something other than grace. Where does Scripture ever teach that God must show man grace in order for the person to be responsible for his sin? That seems to make grace responsible for sin. This position also allows for the Semi-Pelagian to hold that those who never hear of Christ in this life to have another chance after death. But Scripture is entirely against this view. Romans 1:18-31 shows that all men are guilty of sin because all know God by nature. Men sin against God because they hate God and refuse to glorify Him. It is in light of this fact that all are guilty before God whether they are under the Law or not that Paul says that all are without excuse and all are accountable (responsible) to God (Romans 3:19-20). Grace is what is needed for man to be saved not what is needed for man to be a sinner. As we have looked at the core of the Semi-Pelagian view regarding the inability of man, we have seen that it stresses the ability of man more than the inability. It stresses the ability of man by nature and then the ability of man to seek God and obtain co-operative grace. Scripture says that no one seeks God and that man is at enmity with God. The Semi-Pelagian view is really just a sub-set of the Pelagian view and both fall far short of setting out the truth of Scripture. In reality both end up with a defective view of sin and of the Gospel.

2nd. Semipelagian.-(a.) Man’s nature has been so far weakened by the fall that it cannot act aright in spiritual matters without divine assistance. (b.) This weakened moral state which infants inherit from their parents is the cause of sin, but not itself sin in the sense of deserving the wrath of God. (c.) Man must strive to do his whole duty, when God meets him with co-operative grace, and renders his efforts successful. (d.) Man is not responsible for the sins he commits until after he has enjoyed and abused the influences of grace.

– A.A. Hodge

In the last BLOG we looked at two Semi-Pelagian (Arminian) statements of faith on this issue and how they agreed with statement (b) above. We closed with a look at but not much comment on the 1689 Baptist Confession. Here it is again:

As Adam and Eve stood in the room and stead of all mankind, the guilt of their sin was reckoned by God’s appointment to the account of all their posterity, who also from birth derived from them a polluted nature. Conceived in sin and by nature children subject to God’s anger, the servants of sin and the subjects of death, all men are now given up to unspeakable miseries, spiritual, temporal and eternal, unless the Lord Jesus Christ sets them free…The actual sins that men commit are the fruit of the corrupt nature transmitted to them by our first parents (1689 Baptist Confession of Faith).

What we see in the 1689 Baptist Confession is virtually the exact opposite of the Semi-Pelagian view and one that is in line with the Gospel of the glory of God which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Gospel of grace alone through faith alone. Man does not just have a weakened nature by the fall, and it is not just a weakened moral state that infants inherit from their parents, but all human beings are conceived in sin and in line with Ephesians 2:3 (by nature we are children of wrath) children are subject to God’s anger by their nature. Instead of having a nature weakened by the fall, we all have natures that make us servants of sin and the subjects of death. Jesus taught us that he who sins is a slave to sin (John 8:34). Man is not just some hindered, but instead he is dead in sin and is under the power of darkness. Man does not just need someone to free him from what hinders him, but must be freed from the power of the evil one and a corrupt nature and then delivered into the kingdom of the beloved Son (Col 1:13). We must resist the doctrine of the Semi-Pelagians in this matter as strongly as we resist the Pelagian view if we are to stand firmly against error and for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The error of the Semi-Pelagian view continues in (c) as well, and is in fact an outworking of the view of how man comes into the world as an infant. If man is not dead in his sins and trespasses and is not a child of wrath by nature (Eph 2:1-3), then man is able to cooperate with God in salvation and obedience. This once again requires careful thinking. The Augustinian view does not relegate man to being a robot, but with Augustinianism the grace of God does not just help man finish what he can’t quite do himself. Grace is what works in man the desire to be holy and then works in man to live for holiness. Man would never have any desires for holiness unless it was worked in him by God. But in the Semi-Pelagian view it appears that man is able to start and pursue holiness and then God comes along to help him.

Here we see the Semi-Pelagian view of the nature of the infant coming out once again. If man is not truly dead in sins and by nature a child of wrath, then instead of a radical work of God in the soul, what man needs is some grace to help him be successful in doing what he could not do on his own. This does not deny the grace of God absolutely, but it denies that man needs absolute grace. Does man have a nature that is weakened by sin and yet does all he can and then God finishes with grace so man can be successful in holiness? Who gets the honor in that situation? Instead of God setting up His temple in man we have man being mostly in control of himself and his own destiny. The Semi-Pelagian view leaves man mostly in control and able to almost do what God requires, needing some grace of God. We will continue this in the next BLOG.

2nd. Semipelagian.-(a.) Man’s nature has been so far weakened by the fall that it cannot act aright in spiritual matters without divine assistance. (b.) This weakened moral state which infants inherit from their parents is the cause of sin, but not itself sin in the sense of deserving the wrath of God. (c.) Man must strive to do his whole duty, when God meets him with co-operative grace, and renders his efforts successful. (d.) Man is not responsible for the sins he commits until after he has enjoyed and abused the influences of grace.

– A.A. Hodge

In the last BLOG we dealt with position (b) above. It is such a serious deviation from orthodox theology that it needs more than one BLOG, and in reality volumes of books and sermons are needed on the issue. It is truly at the heart of what Scripture teaches on depravity and therefore of salvation. The issue of sin in some way determines what one believes about salvation. I will give below what a few of the confessions or statements say on this matter:

Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence; whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin, and as soon as they are capable of moral action become transgressors and are under condemnation (1963 Baptist Faith and Message).

We believe that children are born with a nature which will manifest itself as sinful as they mature. When they come to know themselves to be responsible to God, they must repent and believe in Christ in order to be saved. Before the age when children are accountable to God, their sins are atoned for through the sacrifice of Christ. Jesus Himself assured us that children are in the kingdom of God (1963 Mennonite Confession of Faith).

The two statements above are really statements of the Semi-Pelagian view. Both statements say that children will indeed become sinners at some future point because of their nature, though they say that the nature itself is not sinful. I am not sure how this is supposed to work out, that is, how they can be so sure that all children will sin and yet not one of them have a sinful nature, yet that is their position. If the nature of man is only inclined toward sin, and yet all will sin, it is hard to imagine what the new birth really is. I suppose it gives a nature that is inclined toward holiness and yet is not holy even as it comes from Christ Himself. What is utterly vital to see at this point, however, is where this teaching leads a person. What one believes about the depravity of human beings and of infants will lead one to certain conclusions regarding salvation and the work of Christ. This is the issue concerning original sin and it is utterly vital to the teaching of the new birth and of the Gospel. It is not just some minor issue that we are dealing with, though many might sneer and say that, it is one that is at the heart of Christianity.

As Adam and Eve stood in the room and stead of all mankind, the guilt of their sin was reckoned by God’s appointment to the account of all their posterity, who also from birth derived from them a polluted nature. Conceived in sin and by nature children subject to God’s anger, the servants of sin and the subjects of death, all men are now given up to unspeakable miseries, spiritual, temporal and eternal, unless the Lord Jesus Christ sets them free…The actual sins that men commit are the fruit of the corrupt nature transmitted to them by our first parents (1689 Baptist Confession of Faith).

Here we see how the Reformed have put it. The 1689 also agrees with the Westminster Confession of Faith. The differences between the Semi-Pelagian (Arminian) statements of faith and the 1689 Baptist Confession are enormous. We saw in the BLOG preceding this how our view of sin and the nature we are born with influences our view of the new birth, the work of Christ and of the Gospel. We can simply smile and agree to be gracious toward each other, but when one person really believes the Semi-Pelagian view and another really believes the Augustinian view, a different view of the Gospel is of necessity there. It is that serious.

2nd. Semipelagian.-(a.) Man’s nature has been so far weakened by the fall that it cannot act aright in spiritual matters without divine assistance. (b.) This weakened moral state which infants inherit from their parents is the cause of sin, but not itself sin in the sense of deserving the wrath of God. (c.) Man must strive to do his whole duty, when God meets him with co-operative grace, and renders his efforts successful. (d.) Man is not responsible for the sins he commits until after he has enjoyed and abused the influences of grace.

In this BLOG we will try to think through the “b” of the Semi-Pelagian position. This states that infants inherit from their parents a weakened moral state which is the cause of sin but is not sin in the sense of deserving the wrath of God. This is not what Scripture says or the Augustinian confessions which rely on Scripture. For example, “Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest” (Eph 2:3). This verse tells us with simple clarity that we are by nature children of wrath. It is not that we became that way because of a weakened will that chose sin at some point, but a person is a child of wrath because s/he is that way because of his or her nature.

While this is a startling teaching to many in the modern day, it is a simple teaching of Scripture that, when watered down, wreaks havoc in other biblical teachings. Let us look at a few of those. If human beings are not truly worthy of the wrath of God by nature, then why do infants die and so many of them if they are not worthy of wrath? Scripture tells us that Adam was told before his fall into sin that “for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” Adam died spiritually when he ate of the fruit. All of humanity fell in Adam because he was the covenantal or federal head. This is what Romans 5 teaches us as seen below:

15 But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. 16 The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. 17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. 18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. 19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

The Semi-Pelagian position cannot handle the teaching of Romans 5 and of why infants die if they are not guilty. Following that position, there are other teachings that follow in being cast aside. If infants are not guilty of sin, then how are they saved? Do they go to heaven based on the fact that they have never sinned? If so, they don’t need the cross of Christ. If they are judged to be innocent based on the fact that they have never sinned, how do they obtain a perfect righteousness to enter heaven? If it is unjust of God to impute sin to them, then it is not just to impute the righteousness of Christ to them. If it is unjust of God to impute sin to infants and also righteousness to them, then it is unjust to impute them to any human being as well. Salvation is by Christ alone regardless of age.

We also have the issue of regeneration and the new birth. If the problem with infants is not a sinful nature, then the same is true of adults. If the problem is not of the sinful nature, it is of behavior. The reason that a person must be born from above is because each person needs a spiritual nature of a new heart given to them. If the issue is only behavior, then some simple counseling is all that is needed. However, Scripture teaches us that each person must be born from above. That teaches us that we all need a new nature and infants do too. Semi-Pelagianism starts off with incorrect teachings about the nature of infants and goes from there to other errors. It has a lot in common with Pelagianism at this point. This teaching does go to the very heart of the Gospel and is not a minor point.

We have been considering some of A.A. Hodge’s thinking regarding the three main theological positions in past BLOGS. The three positions can be seen in the BLOG titled History & Theology, Part 39: A.A. Hodge on Human Ability. The first position has already been dealt with and we will now move to the second position.

2nd. Semipelagian.-(a.) Man’s nature has been so far weakened by the fall that it cannot act aright in spiritual matters without divine assistance. (b.) This weakened moral state which infants inherit from their parents is the cause of sin, but not itself sin in the sense of deserving the wrath of God. (c.) Man must strive to do his whole duty, when God meets him with co-operative grace, and renders his efforts successful. (d.) Man is not responsible for the sins he commits until after he has enjoyed and abused the influences of grace.

The distinction between this position (Semi-Pelagianism) and Pelagianism and then Augustinianism might not be seen without some careful reading and thinking. To help clarify, another way of saying this is to say that Pelagianism is a very pervasive system because each human is born in sin with that system. It becomes so widely accepted that people can think of themselves as Semipelagian (Arminian) or Augustinian (Calvinism) and still have to some degree the system of Pelagianism covered over with their outward system of theology. Whereas Pelagianism teaches that man has the ability to do what God commands him, Semi-Pelagianism teaches that man’s nature is weakened by the fall and cannot act aright in spiritual matters without divine assistance. This is a significant difference with Pelagianism, but it is also even further (far more different) from Augustinianism which teaches that man is completely dead in sin as a result of the fall.

Again, as with all things, we have to tread carefully. Ephesians 2:1-3 does say that man is dead in his sins and trespasses. Ephesians 2:4-5 says this: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ.” In these verses all of the credit is given to God and His mercy and love in making sinners alive with Christ and nothing is attributed to the power of man. This text does not say that man has the ability to obey or that man has been weakened and needs some strength to obey, but it sets out that man is dead and God alone must raise sinners from the dead. The Semi-Pelagian system goes beyond Pelagianism in realizing the seriousness of man’s sin from the Bible, but it does not go far enough to be biblical. It wants to leave man enough power to cooperate with God rather than leave all the power to God and His grace. What we see is that the middle ground set out here (between Augustinianism and Pelagianism) does not really escape Pelagianism by very much. Indeed it admits that man is not completely able, but it does say that man has some ability in the spiritual realm. It leaves man enough power to help God in salvation. It gives man the power to do some things instead of leaving him at the total mercy of God.

One major problem with this position is that it is not the Gospel of grace alone. Sinners are saved by grace alone and not by grace plus a weakened will of man. When Romans 3:19 tells us that every mouth is closed, it does not mean partially closed but fully closed. No one has the slightest excuse before God. Romans 3:20 tells us that “by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight.” When it says that, it refers to any and all works of the Law and not just the one who does just a few works for salvation. When the Law is referred to it means more than just the commands of God, but also man’s ability to keep the Law. The Law is not there just to look at and study, it is there for a reason and that reason is to show man that he cannot keep the Law in his own strength. It is man’s ability (or non-ability) to keep the Law that is being addressed. We then see in the last part of v. 20 that the Law was not even given for man to keep and obtain righteousness, but in order to give man the knowledge of sin.

Ephesians 2:1-10 and Romans 3:19-20 should open our eyes to see that the Semi-Pelagian position is wrong as well. Man is born dead in sins and trespasses rather than just having a weakened will. I am not sure what a weakened will is supposed to do anyway since the Law was not given to man in order to keep for salvation, but in order to show man his inability to be saved by anything he can do. If we follow that biblical thought, we can see that when man is told to believe in Christ for salvation he is not told that he can do that or even partially do that. He is told that he must believe in order to be saved. Salvation is by grace alone rather than partially by grace and partially by a weakened will. Man does not cooperate in his salvation but receives all of it by faith.
this BLOG I would like to think through justification by faith alone and how the conception of Pelagianism and justification differs from the true Gospel. In the mental approach to evangelism the person evangelized would be approached as if s/he had the power to do his or her duty. The evangelist would simply give the information and tell the person what s/he must do. The will is attacked through reason or the feelings and the person is told to make a choice because it is the human will alone that decides human destiny. According to Pelagianism, God provides external influences and not internal acts in the heart.

But how does all of that influence justification by faith alone? Faith would have to be defined as an act of the human will by which God rewards it with justification or does something in response. Pelagianism has to deny that faith is by grace because it denies the act of God in the soul. So not only does Pelagian thinking have to define faith as an act of the mind or will alone, it has to dismiss the inner workings of grace in the heart by God. But in a consistent way Pelagianism would also have to deny the imputation of righteousness because man has the power to do all it is his duty to do. What we see, then, is a direct attack on the Gospel of grace alone without denying the words “justification by faith.” We have to look carefully at what people mean and not just what they say.

In the Gospel as a whole Scripture teaches that man must be born from above or again (John 3:3-8), and then that being born of God is not an act of the will of man but of God (John 1:12-13). The Pelagian must deny a real act of God in the soul (see earlier BLOGS on the new birth as taught by Asahel Nettleton) in order to stand on his principles of no internal work of God in the soul. But in Titus 3:4-7 we see that a person is justified by grace when it is God who cleanses the soul in regeneration. Without getting into a biblical or logical order of these things, we can note that Scripture does put these things together. We can also remember Ephesians 2:4-8 where it is God who raises the soul from spiritual death and it is God who seats the soul in the heavenly places with Christ. These are all acts of God that are internal to the human being. Regeneration and the cleansing of the soul are all internal acts of God in the human soul. Faith is also said to be the gift of God in Ephesians 2:8 and surely this is an act of God in the soul as well.

Romans 3:24-27 and 4:1-7 show quite clearly that justification is beyond the acts of human beings. A human being is said to be declared just by God by grace as a gift. In the Greek this points to the fact that God justifies by grace as a gift because there is no cause within man for God to justify that person. It is not as the Pelagian teaches that God responds to the faith of a person, but instead faith is the response of the soul to God. God justifies apart from any cause in the human being. Verse 27 shows that this method of justification excludes any boasting at all and of any kind. If the Pelagian view is correct, it allows for boasting because the internal act of faith and of obedience comes from the human being.

But even more, when we move to Romans 4:1-7 we see that justification is not of merit at all and not something that God responds to (v. 4), but rather He justified the ungodly (4:5) and those who stop trying to work for their salvation (4:5). There is nothing that man can do to bring God into some obligation to save him and there is nothing that man can do that would in fact participate in salvation or be a part of it. Pelagianism essentially sets out a gospel of works or at least partial works. It may subscribe to a justification by faith in some parts, but it does not have any part of the gospel in reality. There seems to be many in our day that hold that all man has to do is to work up faith on his own and then do the right things afterwards. That is Pelagianism and that denies the Gospel.

In this BLOG I would like to think through justification by faith alone and how the conception of Pelagianism and justification differs from the true Gospel. In the mental approach to evangelism the person evangelized would be approached as if s/he had the power to do his or her duty. The evangelist would simply give the information and tell the person what s/he must do. The will is attacked through reason or the feelings and the person is told to make a choice because it is the human will alone that decides human destiny. According to Pelagianism, God provides external influences and not internal acts in the heart.

But how does all of that influence justification by faith alone? Faith would have to be defined as an act of the human will by which God rewards it with justification or does something in response. Pelagianism has to deny that faith is by grace because it denies the act of God in the soul. So not only does Pelagian thinking have to define faith as an act of the mind or will alone, it has to dismiss the inner workings of grace in the heart by God. But in a consistent way Pelagianism would also have to deny the imputation of righteousness because man has the power to do all it is his duty to do. What we see, then, is a direct attack on the Gospel of grace alone without denying the words “justification by faith.” We have to look carefully at what people mean and not just what they say.

In the Gospel as a whole Scripture teaches that man must be born from above or again (John 3:3-8), and then that being born of God is not an act of the will of man but of God (John 1:12-13). The Pelagian must deny a real act of God in the soul (see earlier BLOGS on the new birth as taught by Asahel Nettleton) in order to stand on his principles of no internal work of God in the soul. But in Titus 3:4-7 we see that a person is justified by grace when it is God who cleanses the soul in regeneration. Without getting into a biblical or logical order of these things, we can note that Scripture does put these things together. We can also remember Ephesians 2:4-8 where it is God who raises the soul from spiritual death and it is God who seats the soul in the heavenly places with Christ. These are all acts of God that are internal to the human being. Regeneration and the cleansing of the soul are all internal acts of God in the human soul. Faith is also said to be the gift of God in Ephesians 2:8 and surely this is an act of God in the soul as well.

Romans 3:24-27 and 4:1-7 show quite clearly that justification is beyond the acts of human beings. A human being is said to be declared just by God by grace as a gift. In the Greek this points to the fact that God justifies by grace as a gift because there is no cause within man for God to justify that person. It is not as the Pelagian teaches that God responds to the faith of a person, but instead faith is the response of the soul to God. God justifies apart from any cause in the human being. Verse 27 shows that this method of justification excludes any boasting at all and of any kind. If the Pelagian view is correct, it allows for boasting because the internal act of faith and of obedience comes from the human being.

But even more, when we move to Romans 4:1-7 we see that justification is not of merit at all and not something that God responds to (v. 4), but rather He justified the ungodly (4:5) and those who stop trying to work for their salvation (4:5). There is nothing that man can do to bring God into some obligation to save him and there is nothing that man can do that would in fact participate in salvation or be a part of it. Pelagianism essentially sets out a gospel of works or at least partial works. It may subscribe to a justification by faith in some parts, but it does not have any part of the gospel in reality. There seems to be many in our day that hold that all man has to do is to work up faith on his own and then do the right things afterwards. That is Pelagianism and that denies the Gospel.

In this BLOG we will look at some of the issues of Pelagianism that come out in the teaching on morality and sanctification. In teaching people that they have the power to keep the commandments and that sanctification is an external action they do that is in their own power, at least two things have to be done. One, they have to deny or at least relax the spiritual nature of the Law of God. Two, they have to exaggerate the power of man to think that man can even keep the external Law of God. The Law of God was never given in order for people to keep it, but it was instead given to show people their sin and their utter need for the grace of God in Christ. But throughout history we have the Israelites in the Old Testament, the Pharisees of the New Testament, and then we have the rest of the history of the Church where men and women strive to be saved and/or moral in their own power. The key in all of this is doing it in our own internal power without the internal power of God. While lip service may be given to the power of God in the soul, it is an unknown thing in reality. In some circles the externals are carried out and the lips say something of the grace of God so all is thought to be well. That is still Pelagianism. There are those who believe in the principles of Pelagianism and there are those who live by them. Either way, it is Pelagianism.

Let us take some counseling situations where the one counseling is a pastor or friend or paid counselor. The analysis of the problem and then of the cure can sound the same on the surface but underneath there can be the difference between utter heresy and orthodoxy. The problem can be seen as behavior only (Pelagianism) or it can be of the heart. But even if the problem is seen to be from the heart, the cure might be seen as something that can be done in the power of the person. We can look at this issue using two examples. First, consider a man who goes in for counseling because he is struggling with pornography. He presents his problem as an overwhelming desire to look at magazines and visit websites that display women in suggestive poses and no clothing. He says this is a problem because it makes him feel guilty and his wife told him that she is not going to put up with it any longer. The counselor tells him that God will forgive him if he repents and then tells the man to put himself into a situation of accountability with another person and then to put a program on his computer that will allow another to check on him where he has been. He tells the man that he needs to study Scripture on this issue and pray for strength to stop doing these things. While all of these things may be fine in one sense, notice that nothing internal has been dealt with. The real issue is a sinful heart expressed in idolatry and the desire to use others for selfish purposes. The real need is for a new heart that God alone can give. The real issue has to do with the work of God in the soul and not just external actions. Just reforming the external actions is Pelagianism.

Let’s consider another example, a woman struggling with what she calls low self-esteem and some hard things in life. This person is told that she needs to see herself as God sees her and that He made her in His image and she is not junk. She is told that she needs to go buy herself some flowers and to read verses that tell her how much God loves her. She is told that people in other parts of the world have it harder than she does. Notice that all of the so-called cures are focused on the outside. The woman is not told that her desire to feel good about herself could be nothing more than sinful self-love. Her problem is not with low self-esteem but with a high view of her self. She does not need to reform her external actions to make her feel better about herself; she needs to repent in her heart of being so self-centered and self-focused. God alone can change her heart from being centered on herself and turn her to Himself in true repentance and love. Again we see that the counsel given was focused on the outward actions and not a true change of heart. This is practical Pelagianism and it is rampant in America. Pelagianism is a terrible plague in theology and the practical application of theology. It tries to use God for motivations and help for the outward behavior but denies that the real issue is of the heart and that God alone can change the heart.

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.

We have been looking at A.A. Hodge’s Outline of Theology in which he gives us three positions of doctrine in reference to human inability. This is so vital as it touches on the nature of God, the nature of man, the Gospel and sanctification. This is simply a huge issue. The first definition he gives is on Pelagianism and this is reproduced below. Read through it very carefully. All three positions can be seen together in a previous BLOG (A.A. Hodge on Human Ability). Again, this is not a minor issue. According to Luther it is the issue of the Reformation. No matter what a person professes to believe, this is the issue that determines what a person believes about those things. For example, a person can believe in the doctrine of election and yet believe it in such a way that is far different than what others believe about it. The doctrine of depravity and the will actually determines what a person believes about election. An Arminian and a Pelagian can actually believe in the doctrine of election. A person is not Reformed just because he or she believes in some form of election.

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.

As we have seen in previous BLOGS, the Pelagian system is an external one. It relies on reason and persuasion of the outer man rather than looking to the internal work of God in the soul. It believes that man has the power to do all that God commands him to do. It looks to the human will as the thing that decides human character and destiny. It does, however, leave God a few things to do but relegates those things to the external and providential realm. We must come to grips with this and see that its tentacles reach deeply into the modern Church. Open Theism is simply and profoundly Pelagian. Many denominations have descended into Pelagianism by various routes, but they are still there. Liberals and fundamentalists have Pelagianism in common. There are other denominations that claim to be Arminian but in fact have more in common with Pelagianism. There are even those who profess to be Reformed and yet practice evangelism and teach morality more in line with Pelagianism. Perhaps we could refer to that as “Reformed Pelagianism.”

I suppose it could be stated that I am making some wild and outlandish claims. Perhaps, but let us think through the issue in terms of what we are aware of today. Where do we hear of a way of evangelizing that is doing more than informing people of some facts and then trying to persuade them to make a choice and believe? Where do we hear preaching that tells people that they need the grace of God in order to love and in order to do anything morally good? Where do we read or hear of evangelism being done in a way that takes the sinners inability seriously and the need of God to change the hearts of sinners? We might hear much about the doctrines of grace in some ways, but are they preached and taught in a way that demands that it takes grace in the heart to believe and live them? We hear a lot about the means of grace in our day, but are they taught in such a way that the sinner realizes that God is not obligated to show that person grace even if the person uses the means of grace?

We see in our day an increase in certain circles of teaching the Ten Commandments and that is good. But the Pharisees taught those as well. We see self-help books galore on how to live a better life and how to keep certain commandments and strategies to beat certain sins. But do we see it taught that the Ten Commandments were never given to people with the ability to keep them? Is it taught that the Law was given to show us our utter inability to keep them and so drive us to Christ for salvation? Is it taught that in the New Covenant it is God who works in us to keep the commandments and not simply our own self-efforts? Is grace alone taught for salvation and sanctification as well? When these things are not being taught and stressed, Pelagianism is at best lurking in the scenes and worst is at the forefront. True biblical Christianity (Augustinianism) teaches that the human will cannot do anything in the spiritual realm until it is born again by grace. It then teaches that the renewed soul is still utterly dependant on grace for its holiness. No matter what else a person professes, without that, a person is at best teetering on the edges of Pelagianism even if she or he professes an orthodox theology. The devil is not called the deceiver for nothing. He loves to take heresy and put an orthodox dress on it to deceive those who do not truly love the truth. We must be careful about ourselves and others. Pelagianism is nothing but heresy, regardless of its dress.

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.