Whosoever Will The Tension Between Divine Grace and Human Freedom I. Introduction A. One of the greatest, longest-lasting doctrinal disputations of all time 1. It has gone by many names 2. Augustinianism vs. Pelagianism 3. Calvinism vs. Arminianism 4. Predestination vs. free will B. The questions and arguments are about 1500 years old! C. Why the dispute? 1. The Bible reveals that God is the author of salvation, that He is Sovereign, and what He wills shall come to pass (Ephesians 2:8-10, Isaiah 55) 2. The Bible speaks of God predestining the saints, His foreknowledge (Romans 8:28, Ephesians 1:3-4, 1 Peter 1:2) 3. On the other hand, the Bible also speaks of the need for humans to believe in God and obey Him (Matthew 10:22, 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9, 1 Peter 1:22) 4. There is no Scripture that explicitly reconciles all of these statements together! D. With no explicit reconciliation, the ground was prepared for argument 1. Other doctrines, philosophies brought into discussion 2. The issue often has more to do with one's ideas about God, man, and tradition than anything else 3. The history of the dispute full of oversized personalities E. Let us then consider the history of the dispute over divine grace and human freedom along with what the Scriptures teach II. History of the Dispute A. In the beginning, not a disputed issue 1. Pagan Roman world very fatalistic-- no concept of free will at all 2. Humans, gods all puppets of the Fates 3. Great effort involved preaching free will, personal responsibility B. Nevertheless, three factors come together to lead to the dispute C. First factor: infant baptism 1. Began as custom in middle to late second century 2. By end of third century, declared to be an apostolic practice D. Second factor: original sin 1. Tertullian (ca. 200 CE) speaks of Adam as pioneer of sin, lays groundwork 2. Later persons will use idea of inheriting sin from Adam as justification for infant baptism 3. Just before days of Augustine, Jesus declared sinless through "immaculate conception" 4. As Augustine would then conclude, rest of humans sinful through lack of immaculate conception 5. Infant baptism and original sin, therefore, lead Augustine right to doctrine of total depravity E. Third factor: Philosophy and God 1. The final factor involves Greek Neoplatonist philosophy 2. Such philosophy sees God as Absolute Cause-- if God wills, it must be done; if something takes place, God must have willed it 3. Augustine will be raised in this viewpoint, will return to it often F. Augustine of Hippo (late fourth, early fifth centuries) 1. For better or worse, most influential theologian of "Western Christendom" 2. In argumentation with Pelagius and allies, he develops doctrines of total depravity, double predestination 3. Total depravity: man in sin, man thus incapable of coming to God 4. Double predestination: All things take place by God's will; therefore, if any are saved, God specifically willed it; if any are condemned, God specifically willed it 5. Therefore, in every essential sense, Augustine the origin of the "Augustinian/Calvinist" position 6. Total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, perseverance of the saints 7. All of it based in God's foreordained, sovereign, uninfluenced will 8. Nevertheless, outside of "catholic tradition" at first G. Pelagius and Pelagians 1. Pelagius, others take issue with Augustine's extreme positions 2. Belief that man needed to become perfect, could do so 3. Augustinianism, to then, disparages nature 4. Pelagians go a bit far in diminishing man's sinfulness, belief that some existed without sin H. Between Augustine and Calvin (430-1530) 1. Augustine not without "catholic/orthodox" detractors in own day 2. Believed in grace as Augustine did, but not double predestination 3. Pelagius, Pelagians condemned as heretics in Council of Ephesus, 431 4. Synod of Orange, 529, affirms essential Augustinianism but not double predestination 5. After that synod, however, chaos in western Europe: works often read praised Augustine highly, but did not elaborate on double predestination 6. Therefore, Augustine highly exalted as theologian 7. By tenth century, things better; return to Augustine's works; lo and behold, double predestination 8. Arguments for next six hundred years focus on Augustine and what he did and did not teach-- attempts to "out-Augustine" opponents! 9. When everyone attempts to "out-Augustine" their opponent, conclusion not really in doubt! 10. "Eastern Christendom" not as fazed by disputation: hold belief in type of inherited sin, but free will always enshrined 11. Speak of "alignment" of divine and human wills, personified in the alignment of divine and human wills of Christ 12. Back in West, Reformation in 16th century 13. Popular today to speak of Reformation as seeking great change 14. In reality, "Reformers" believed that they were working to preserve "catholic orthodoxy" 15. Therefore, not just no criticism of Augustine, but also exaltation of Augustine 16. Luther, early Lutherans go so far as to consider man in image of Satan since Fall 17. Luther would not speculate about matters of predestination; Calvin would 18. Calvin, in all respects, strict Augustinian, perhaps most strict Augustinian since Augustine 19. Hence, Calvinism and its TULIP doctrine! I. From Calvin to Today (1530-2009) 1. Calvinism apex of Augustinian theology 2. Calvin's embrace of Augustinianism leads Roman Catholicism to step away from strict Augustinianism; save Jansenist movement in late seventeenth century, Catholic theologians tend to side more with Augustine's early critics in regards to double predestination than Augustine himself 3. Even among Calvinists, Remonstrant movement in early seventeenth century: Jacob Arminius 4. Willingness to challenge Augustine, affirm man's free will, grace not irresistible, rejection of limited atonement 5. Argument sustained; even to today, argument described in terms of "Calvinists" versus "Arminians" 6. "Calvinists": Reformed churches, many Baptist churches, Congregational and Presbyterian churches historically Calvinist 7. "Arminians": Anglicans/Episcopalians, Wesleyan churches (Methodists, Nazarenes, most Pentecostal groups), some Baptist churches, Restoration churches 8. In nineteenth century, dispute focused in America 9. Beforehand, American theology mostly extreme Calvinism (Jonathan Edwards, etc.) 10. After Revolution, popularity of "commonsense moral reasoning" 11. Exemplified in Stone and Campbell 12. Barton Stone: began Presbyterian, never comfortable with Calvinism, association with Presbyterians severed 13. Alexander Campbell: began as Presbyterian, influenced in Scotland, would later do study like ours into doctrines, first repudiated infant baptism, then later most of Calvinism through such study 14. When tradition not determining factor, independent study emphasized, Augustinian Calvinism waned 15. Some Presbyterians end up even denying original sin! 16. After middle eighteenth century in Europe, late nineteenth century in America, arguments shift more toward modernist concerns: issue of predestination vs. free will not as significant; cultures tend toward free will 17. Recent development: "genetic Calvinism" III. Divine Grace and Human Freedom A. We can see trends in the history of the dispute 1. Emphasis on philosophy regarding God 2. Weight of tradition, other doctrines 3. Dispute has as much to do with these other factors as with the Scriptures on divine grace and human freedom B. Arguments have been made, Scriptures cited for generations C. How to sort through it all? D. Important not to let philosophy dictate what is truth, but let God reveal truth 1. Colossians 2:8 2. God as greater than ourselves: Isaiah 55:8-9 3. Therefore, cannot make statements about how God "must be" without revelation! E. God's Sovereignty 1. No one disputes that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and sovereign 2. But does God's sovereignty require that if something happens, He specifically and directly willed it to take place, without being influenced by the actions of men? 3. Scripture does not say so-- speaks to the contrary! 4. David, Saul, Keilah: 1 Samuel 23:10-13 5. Matthew 19:8: God's will for marriage not truly realized in Law of Moses! 6. Other examples of God's will adapting to men's situations: Jonah 3, Acts 27:10, 21-24 F. God's Choice 1. Scriptures do not assert that God predetermines saved, condemned on arbitrary level 2. Romans 8:28-30: predestination based in God's foreknowledge 3. God's sovereignty not maligned by man having responsibility to choose 4. If Augustine, Calvin are right, God created billions of humans just to send them to hell! 5. God does not tempt (James 1:13), does not compel any to sin (1 Corinthians 10:13) 6. God gives man choice, as in Eden (Genesis 2-3), Israel (Deuteronomy 30:19) 7. God's will for all to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4), yet will not be accomplished because of man's disobedience (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9) 8. The problem, then, is not with God's sovereignty or consistency but man's views and perspectives of how God "must be"! G. Man's Depravity 1. Infant baptism, original sin, not from Scripture; imposed on it 2. In NT, people baptized based on belief (Acts 16:31-33) 3. Children as innocent (Mark 10:14-15) 4. Sin, death enter world through Adam; all do eventually sin (Romans 3:23, 5:12-18) H. Divine Grace and Human Freedom 1. Scriptures do show that all we have involve gifts, or grace, of God (the creation, Genesis 1; life in the Son, Ephesians 2:6-10; every spiritual blessing, Ephesians 1:3) 2. None of these deserved 3. Scriptures also show that man is to turn to God, obey Him, to be saved; judgment based on obedience or lack thereof (John 12:32, Romans 10:17, Acts 2:36-38, Romans 6, 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9) 4. Need for obedient faith to be pure (James 2:24-26, 1 Peter 1:22) 5. God not a tyrant; He compels no one 6. Thus, we have tension between God's role and man's role 7. Neither to be emphasized to the detriment of the other! I. Foreknowledge and Predestination 1. Scriptures do speak of foreknowledge and predestination (Romans 8:28-30, Ephesians 1:3-12) 2. Written not just about church, plan, but also about individuals; encouraging contexts 3. Not as Calvinists take it, God acting arbitrarily 4. Not a denial of free will: man must choose to serve God 5. Nevertheless, God certainly able to know beforehand who will choose to serve Him, prepare all things for them to be saved, do what is right 6. Predestination to conformity to image of Son, adoption as sons 7. Assures us that we are no accident, all of this in God's plan 8. Does not deny our need to come to belief, serve God! IV. Conclusion A. An argument not going away 1. 1500 years and counting 2. Plenty of people on both sides B. Nevertheless, important to understand truth about divine grace, human freedom 1. Much imbalance toward or against either aspect 2. In reality, both held in tension with each other 3. We ought not emphasize human freedom against divine grace 4. Neither should we deny human freedom on account of divine grace C. Let us hold fast to the Scriptures and allow them to inform our views! D. Invitation/songbook