Whitby's Preliminary Remarks on Grace Chapter 3 - Refutation of Arguments for Irresistible Grace
Dan's comments:
Gabcast! Dan's blog #11
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Answering the arguments produced to prove, First, that man is purely passive in the work of conversion, and that it is done by an irresistible or unfrustrable act of God.
These arguments, for method-sake, may be reduced to four heads,
First. Arguments taken from the nature of the work itself; as v. g. it being represented by such acts:
Secondly. Arguments taken from the nature of the state and disability of the person to be converted:
First. That it seems unreasonable to apply all those sayings of the scripture which concern heathen nations lying under the most gross idolatry, and under great darkness and confusion, into which the corrupt customs of the Heathens, and the subtlety of Satan had reduced them, to prove what is the natural estate of all men, even of those who have the knowledge of the true God, and the light of the gospel. For to place them under the same disability with persons sunk into the dregs of Heathenism, seems a very great absurdity; it being in effect to say, that "men acquainted with all the inducements, arguments, and motives which Christianity affords to produce faith, repentance, and conversion in them, have no more advantages, towards repentance and conversion than the worst of Heathens," who, to be sure, cannot do less than nothing towards their conversion, and would as certainly be converted by an irresistible act of God, and by unfrustrable grace, as they who have attained to the exactest knowledge of God, and of the doctrine of Christianity; and yet it is certain that some of those arguments depend upon such passages as only represent the state of Heathens lying in darkness and gross idolatry, and lead by Satan captive to his will.'
Secondly. It seems also certain, that those promises and scriptures which respect whole nations, churches, and Christians, without distinction or respect of persons, can afford no just arguments to prove such operations shall be wrought upon them which are peculiar to the elect. The reason, is, because all the members of any church, nation, or public society, are not of the number of the elect, but some few of them, only, and therefore the promises made to the whole body of them must either be conditional, and so require something to be done by them in order to the enjoyment of the blessings promised, and then they cannot be purely passive, or if they be absolute, they cannot be promises peculiar to the elect, as being made to many which are not of that number. And yet that this is the nature of many of the promises produced in this affair, will be evident.
And, Thirdly. It seems very impertinent to produce those places of scripture which evidently speak of men who have already believed and repented, and upon whom the work of regeneration has been completed already, to prove that men are purely passive in the work of faith, repentance, and regeneration: the reason is, because such places cannot concern the work of faith, repentance, and regeneration yet to be wrought upon them.
If it be said, " the argument is good, a fortiori, viz. if after all these works have been done upon them, men are still purely passive in all the good they do, much more must they be so before these works are wrought within them;" I answer that the argument, were the case truly so, would be very good; but the supposition that men are still as unable after such grace received, as before, to do any good, is intolerably absurd; since, were it so, men would not be one bit the better for their conversion and the new nature wrought within them, their faith could not be fruitful in good works, their mind could be no more enabled to approve the things which are of God, nor their wills to chose them, nor their affections to desire them, nor their executive faculties to perform them. Seeing then such places cannot be understood of God's working in them without any co-operation of their own, it is evident they cannot pertinently be alleged to prove such operation upon other men.
Gabcast! Dan's blog #11
----------------------------------------------------
Answering the arguments produced to prove, First, that man is purely passive in the work of conversion, and that it is done by an irresistible or unfrustrable act of God.
These arguments, for method-sake, may be reduced to four heads,
First. Arguments taken from the nature of the work itself; as v. g. it being represented by such acts:
- 'By a resurrection. (Ephesians 1:19-20)
- A creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 6:15, Ephesians 2:10)
- A new birth in which we are confessedly passive. (John 3:5)
Secondly. Arguments taken from the nature of the state and disability of the person to be converted:
- As, v. g. that he is dead, and so unable to move towards a new life. (Ephesians 2:1, Colossians 2:13)
- To discern the things of God. (1 Corinthians 2:14)
- To think anything, as of himself, (2 Corinthians 3:5)
- To do anything till he be first in Christ. (John 15:5)
- To come to Christ till he be drawn by God. (John 6:44)
- To bring forth good fruit, being an evil tree. (Matthew 7:18)
- To be subject to the law of God. (Romans 8:7)
- Giving repentance to life. (Acts 11:18)
- Giving faith. (Ephesians 2:8)
- Opening die heart. (Acts 16:14)
- To circumcise the heart. (Deuteronomy 30:6)
- To give a new heart and spirit. (Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26)
- To write his law in our hearts. (Jeremiah 31:33)
- To give us one heart and one way, that we may fear him forever. (Jeremiah 32:39)
- Who worketh in us both to will and to do. (Philippians 2:13, Hebrews 13:21)
- Who turns us to himself. (Jeremiah 31:18)
- That one man makes himself to differ from another, which is contrary to (1 Corinthians 4:7)
- That man would have cause of boasting; which is denied, (1 Corinthians 1:29, 31, Ephesians 2:9)
- That the whole glory of our conversion would not be due to God.
- Because, if grace be resistible by the will of man, it must be uncertain whether any man will be converted by it, or not.
First. That it seems unreasonable to apply all those sayings of the scripture which concern heathen nations lying under the most gross idolatry, and under great darkness and confusion, into which the corrupt customs of the Heathens, and the subtlety of Satan had reduced them, to prove what is the natural estate of all men, even of those who have the knowledge of the true God, and the light of the gospel. For to place them under the same disability with persons sunk into the dregs of Heathenism, seems a very great absurdity; it being in effect to say, that "men acquainted with all the inducements, arguments, and motives which Christianity affords to produce faith, repentance, and conversion in them, have no more advantages, towards repentance and conversion than the worst of Heathens," who, to be sure, cannot do less than nothing towards their conversion, and would as certainly be converted by an irresistible act of God, and by unfrustrable grace, as they who have attained to the exactest knowledge of God, and of the doctrine of Christianity; and yet it is certain that some of those arguments depend upon such passages as only represent the state of Heathens lying in darkness and gross idolatry, and lead by Satan captive to his will.'
Secondly. It seems also certain, that those promises and scriptures which respect whole nations, churches, and Christians, without distinction or respect of persons, can afford no just arguments to prove such operations shall be wrought upon them which are peculiar to the elect. The reason, is, because all the members of any church, nation, or public society, are not of the number of the elect, but some few of them, only, and therefore the promises made to the whole body of them must either be conditional, and so require something to be done by them in order to the enjoyment of the blessings promised, and then they cannot be purely passive, or if they be absolute, they cannot be promises peculiar to the elect, as being made to many which are not of that number. And yet that this is the nature of many of the promises produced in this affair, will be evident.
And, Thirdly. It seems very impertinent to produce those places of scripture which evidently speak of men who have already believed and repented, and upon whom the work of regeneration has been completed already, to prove that men are purely passive in the work of faith, repentance, and regeneration: the reason is, because such places cannot concern the work of faith, repentance, and regeneration yet to be wrought upon them.
If it be said, " the argument is good, a fortiori, viz. if after all these works have been done upon them, men are still purely passive in all the good they do, much more must they be so before these works are wrought within them;" I answer that the argument, were the case truly so, would be very good; but the supposition that men are still as unable after such grace received, as before, to do any good, is intolerably absurd; since, were it so, men would not be one bit the better for their conversion and the new nature wrought within them, their faith could not be fruitful in good works, their mind could be no more enabled to approve the things which are of God, nor their wills to chose them, nor their affections to desire them, nor their executive faculties to perform them. Seeing then such places cannot be understood of God's working in them without any co-operation of their own, it is evident they cannot pertinently be alleged to prove such operation upon other men.
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