Divine Grace and Free Will: A Christian Approach to Understanding

Relieving Dissension: Helpful words from Augustine on the debate over divine grace and free will.

Long before Calvin ever grew a beard and before Arminians offered their five points (yes, TULIP was a response) there was Augustine. The year was 426 AD and the prevailing winds of controversy had blown in by Pelagianism. Although Pelagius’ views most likely came closer to orthodoxy later in life his followers had developed a path of departure. They insisted that man was basically good and was capable of choosing right and wrong without the assistance of divine grace. It was quite similar (though not identical) to the debate we are seeing among evangelicals regarding God’s sovereignty and man’s freedom of choice. Certainly there are some different nuances in a different culture but still the tension is tight. Augustine offers some helpful words as to how we may ease that tension while continuing to affirm our belief in divine grace and free will. These ideas are taken from Augustine’s On Grace and Free Will.

1.     Thank God for such things as you understand.

a.     RG - I wonder how much time we would have for caustic debates over things we don’t understand if we were truly praising God for all the things we do understand?

2.     Pray for understanding from the Lord for all which is beyond the reach of your mind.

a.     RG – If we realized how much is truly beyond us and how little we actually know, I wonder how dogmatic we would be about secondary and tertiary doctrinal issues? Or put another way: I wonder how loudly we would bark if we realized how small we are?

3.     Have peace and love among yourselves.

a.     RG - For Augustine this is essential. The chief end of exegesis and Christian teaching is love. There must be love in the process of knowing God in His word. Love will be the result of Christian living. The application of love is the result of love which strengthens us for more love. I wonder how much dissension we (not with world but with ourselves) would have if we really loved one another the way God loves us?

4.     Walk firmly on the ground of which you are sure until He Himself leads you to perceive what at present is beyond your comprehension.

a.     RG – In On Grace and Free Will Augustine affirms man’s freedom of choice with the responsibility and accountability that accompany it. He then affirms God’s absolute sovereignty in all things. Man is accountable for his choices. God is sovereign. These things are firm ground upon which we can walk. “No man, when he sins, can in his heart blame God for it, but every man must impute the fault to himself.” (p 7) “Even faith itself cannot be had without God’s mercy, and that is the gift of God.” (p 25) What to do with the tension? “You must refer the matter, then, to the hidden determinations of God” (p72) knowing that “these things happen through the secret providence of God.” (p 70)