Amazing grace that helped me help God save me: Appealing to the Arminian’s noggin

No matter how good one’s theological reasoning, without the sovereign unilateral intervention of the Holy Spirit, rationality is useless. God, in his Sovereign decrees, predetermines not only the end but the means. The end I am talking about here is, of course, salvation. God uses an embarrassment of means, all of which must involve your…

bography
1–2 minutes

No matter how good one’s theological reasoning, without the sovereign unilateral intervention of the Holy Spirit, rationality is useless.

God, in his Sovereign decrees, predetermines not only the end but the means. The end I am talking about here is, of course, salvation. God uses an embarrassment of means, all of which must involve your noggin – facts, information, which the reformers (16th century) callled notitia. Some need oodles of noggin before they believe; for example, CS Lewis, while others like Augustine of Hippo believe in order to understand. God accommodates.

Allow me to appeal to a bit of the Arminians’  noggin to try to persuade  them (they choose salvation) rather than God chooses to save them). If you insist that God only helps you to believe through “prevenient” grace, which is granted to all without exception, why then do you sing, often in full throat, “Amazing grace that saved a wretch like me?” Shouldn’t you rather be  singing – there’s no way to avoid many more words:

Amazing (“prevenient”) grace that helped me help you save me?

2 responses to “Amazing grace that helped me help God save me: Appealing to the Arminian’s noggin”

  1. Lawrie Wilmot Avatar
    Lawrie Wilmot

    Hi Rabbi,
    Thanks for the food for thought. I can’t remember all the points you made about personal holiness on Friday. One I can was that it requires us to become completely other-worldly. What were the other two?
    Shalom,
    Your Arminian friend.

    Reply
    1. bography Avatar
      bography

      Lawrie, I wouldn’t think “COMPLETELY other worldly” because a Christian would then be of no earthly use. I said in this regard, which embraces two of the three – eternally-minded and set apart in the world. The third is that God decrees (you say “allows”) everything, which includes evil; and which God purposes for good.

      Reply

Leave a comment