Monday, April 13, 2015

But it contradicts my favorite presuppositions

Prevenient grace is an attractive doctrine in many ways, most of all because it makes overall sense of Scripture’s powerful collection of human opportunity verses, command and exhortation passages, and the rational thinking capacity that the Lord expects us to employ in the process of biblical understanding. Many opponents of prevenient grace oppose it not because it is an injustice to the biblical data, but simply because it offers a solution to the human depraved condition through the gracious enabling of the Holy Spirit that undermines the exaggerated larger sovereignty of God. Additionally, the doctrine supports the genuinely universal opportunity of the gospel and confronts the unconditional election and perseverance that construct Calvin’s theology. We have shown how prevenient grace is strongly implicit in Scripture, not contrary to any other biblical passage, and the best overall theological explanation for the universal opportunity and free will passages in the New Testament.— Prevenient Grace: God’s Provision for Fallen Humanity, page 217

<idle musing>
Indeed! As usual, presuppositions block the ability to see the forest...
</idle musing>

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