Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 9 hours ago
This session starts with Pastor Eric giving more evidence that "all men" in this passage means "all types of men." The context shows that he means Gentile inclusion in God's plan of salvation. We have a careful discussion of the debate in church history about what is called "prevenient grace." We explain how this idea was proposed by Roman Catholicism to avoid Pelagianism but still oppose the solas of the Reformation. The key proof text for the doctrine of prevenient grace is John 1:9 and we give a contextual analysis of the passage and its meaning. The context shows that "coming into the world" refers to Christ, not "every man." True light does not come from merely being born, but only by faith in Christ. The reason that prevenient grace is taught is to claim that God removed just enough of the effects of original sin so that all people are able to make a free will choice for Christ. Since the phrase "free will" is not found in the New Testament, those who teach it import the idea from the many passages that teach human responsibility. We show Biblical evidence that responsibility does not imply ability. There are serious problems in contemporary evangelicalism because of the semi-Pelagian teaching on free will. The seeker movement is one of them. We need to proclaim the gospel with clarity and know that God will use it to save all kinds of people, often unexpected ones.
This session starts with Pastor Eric giving more evidence that "all men" in this passage means "all types of men." The context shows that he means Gentile inclusion in God's plan of salvation. We have a careful discussion of the debate in church history about what is called "prevenient grace." We explain how this idea was proposed by Roman Catholicism to avoid Pelagianism but still oppose the solas of the Reformation. The key proof text for the doctrine of prevenient grace is John 1:9 and we give a contextual analysis of the passage and its meaning. The context shows that "coming into the world" refers to Christ, not "every man." True light does not come from merely being born, but only by faith in Christ. The reason that prevenient grace is taught is to claim that God removed just enough of the effects of original sin so that all people are able to make a free will choice for Christ. Since the phrase "free will" is not found in the New Testament, those who teach it import the idea from the many passages that teach human responsibility. We show Biblical evidence that responsibility does not imply ability. There are serious problems in contemporary evangelicalism because of the semi-Pelagian teaching on free will. The seeker movement is one of them. We need to proclaim the gospel with clarity and know that God will use it to save all kinds of people, often unexpected ones.
