What is preterition? It is God’s passing by a sinner in the bestowment of regenerating, not of common grace. All men are blessed with common grace. There is no election or reprobation in this reference. God’s mercy in this form and degree of it is universal and indiscriminate. But common grace fails to save the sinner, because of his love of sin, his aversion to holiness, and his unbelief. The martyr Stephen’s words are applicable to every man in respect to common grace: “Ye stiff-necked, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost” (Acts vii, 51). Consequently, in order to save any sinner whatsoever requires a still higher grade of grace which, in the phrase of the Larger Catechism (67), “powerfully determines” his will by regenerating it. Here is where the Divine discrimination comes in. It is with reference to this kind and degree of grace that God says : “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy” (Ex. xxxiii, 19; Rom. ix, 15). And this is the Scripture truth which is now on trial in the Presbyterian Church. This is the particular doctrine which excites animosity in some minds, and which it is contended must be cut out of the Confession like cancerous matter that is killing the body. Let us consider the objections that are made to it.William G. T. Shedd, “The Meaning and Value of the Doctrine of Decrees,” The Presbyterian and Reformed Review 1.1 (January 1890): 8–14.
1. It is objected that preterition is inconsistent with the infinite compassion of God for the souls of all men, and cannot be squared with such assertions as, “As I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die. God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him might not perish but have everlasting life.”
The first reply to this is, that these and many similar affirmations of the Divine pity for the sinful soul and the Divine desire for its salvation, are written in the same inspired volume that contains such assertions as the following: “Many shall seek to enter in and shall not be able. He hath blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, that they should not see with their eyes, and be converted, and I should heal them. The Son of Man goeth as it was determined; but woe unto that man by whom He is betrayed. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. The children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand not of works but of him that calleth, it was said, The elder shall serve the younger. The disobedient stumble at the word, whereunto also they were appointed.” Since both classes of passages come from God, He must see that they are consistent with each other whether man can or not. Both, then, must be accepted as eternal truth by an act of faith, by every one who believes in the inspiration of the Bible. They must be presumed to be self-consistent, whether it can be shown or not.
But, secondly, there are degrees of mercy. Because God does not show the highest degree of it to a particular sinner, it does not follow that He does not show him any at all. He may grant him the mercy of common grace, and when this is resisted and nullified by his hostile self-will and obstinate love of sin, He may decide not to bestow the mercy of special grace, and yet not be chargeable with destitution of love and compassion towards him. Any degree of love is love; and any degree of compassion is compassion. To contend that the Divine love must be of exactly the same degree towards all creatures alike or else it is not love, is untenable. It is certain that God can feel love and pity towards the souls of all men, as His creatures and as sinners lost by their own fault, and manifest it in that measure of grace which “leads to repentance” (Rom. ii, 4.) and would result in it if it were not resisted, and yet not actually save them all from the consequences of their own action. The Scriptures plainly teach that God so loved the whole world that He gave His only-begotten Son to make expiation for “the sins of the whole world and they just as plainly teach that a part of this world of mankind are sentenced, by God, to eternal death for their sins. The Arminian and the Calvinist both alike deny the doctrine of universal salvation, yet believe that this is compatible with the doctrine of God’s universal benevolence. Both deny the inference that if God does not save every human being, He does not love the soul of every human being; that if He does not do as much for one person as He does for another, He is unmerciful towards him. It is a fallacy to maintain, that unless God does all that He possibly can to save a sinner, He does not do anything towards his salvation; as it would be fallacious to maintain, that unless God bestows upon a person all the temporal blessings that are within His power, He does not show him any benevolence at all. This fallacy lies under the argument against preterition. It is asserted that if God “passes by” a sinner in the bestowment of regenerating grace, He has no love for his soul, no desire for its salvation, and does nothing towards its welfare. But if God really felt no compassion for a sinner, and showed him none, He would immediately punish him for his sin, and the matter would end here. The sinner’s doom would be fixed. Just retribution would follow transgression instantaneously, and forever. And who can impeach justice? “As all men have sinned in Adam, and are obnoxious to eternal death, God would have done no injustice by leaving them all to perish, and delivering them over to condemnation on account of sin, according to the words of the Apostle: 1 That every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God’” (Dort Canons, I, i). But God does not do this. He suffers long and is forbearing with every sinner without exception. There is not a transgressor on earth, in Christendom or heathendom, who is not treated by his Maker better than he deserves; who does not experience some degree of the Divine love and compassion. God showers down upon all men the blessings of His providence, and bestows upon them all more or less of the common influences and operation of the Holy Spirit. This is mercy to the souls of men universally, and ought to move them to repent of sin and forsake it. This common grace and universal benevolence of God is often spoken of in Scripture. “Despisest thou, O man, the riches of God’s goodness, and forbearance, and long suffering; not knowing [recognizing] that the goodness of God leads [tends to lead] thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath?” (Rom. ii, 4, 5). Here is the common grace of God enjoyed by men universally, and thwarted by their love of sin, and obstinate self-will in sin. But is God unmerciful and destitute of compassion towards this man, if He decides to proceed no further with him, but leave him where he is, and as he is? Is all that God has done for him in the way of long suffering, forbearance, kindness, and inward monitions in his conscience, to count for nothing? If this treatment of the sinner is not benevolence and compassion, what is it? It is mercy in God to reveal to every man the law of God—nay even “the wrath of God against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness”—for by this revelation, the man is warned and urged to turn from sin and live. This is one way in which God says to the sinner, “Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die. As I live I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth.” It is mercy in God, and is so represented by St. Paul, when He “does not leave Himself without witness, in that He does good, sending rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling men’s hearts with good and gladness, and makes of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and determines the bounds of their habitation, that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us” (Acts xiv, 17 ; xvii, 26, 27). That this gracious and fatherly interest in their souls’ welfare is repelled and nullified by their preference for sin and love of worldly pleasure, and comes to naught, does not alter the nature of it as it lies in the heart of God. It is Divine mercy and love for human souls, notwithstanding its ill success.
Common grace is great and undeserved mercy to a sinner, and would save him if he did not resist and frustrate it. In and by it, “God commandeth all men everywhere to repent,” and whoever repents will find mercy. In and by it, God commands every hearer of the written Word to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and whoever believes shall be saved. The common grace of God consists of the written, or, in the instance of the heathen, the unwritten Word, together with more or less of the convicting operation of the Holy Spirit. Says [Charles] Hodge (ii, 667), “The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit, as the Spirit of truth, of holiness, and of life in all its forms, is present with every human mind, enforcing truth, restraining from evil, exciting to good, and imparting wisdom, or strength, when, where, and in what measure seemeth to Him good. In this sphere, also, He ‘divideth to every man severally as He will.’” Whoever is in any degree convinced of sin, and is in any degree urged by his conscience to confess and forsake it, is a subject of common grace. And whoever stifles conviction, refuses confession, and “holds down the truth in unrighteousness,” resists common grace. St. Paul charges this sin upon both the heathen and the evangelized. Common grace, we repeat, is great and undeserved mercy to a sinner, and by it God evinces His pity for his soul, and His desire for its salvation. But man universally, unevangelized and evangelized, nullifies this form and degree of the Divine mercy, by his opposition. The opponent of preterition comes in here at this point, and contends that God is bound to go yet further than common grace with sinful man, and subdue his enmity by creating him anew in the spirit of his mind; and that if He “passes him by,” and leaves him where he is, and as he is, He has no love for his soul. The sovereignty of God in this matter of bestowing regenerating grace is denied. To bestow it upon Jacob but not upon Esau, upon some but not upon all, is said to be injustice and partiality.
Scripture denies that God is under obligation to follow up His defeated common grace with His irresistible special grace. It asserts His just liberty to do as He pleases in regard to imparting that measure of grace which produces the new birth, and makes the sinner “willing in the day of God’s power.” The passages have already been cited. And reason teaches the same truth. Mercy from its very nature is free and optional in its exercise. God may manifest great and unmerited compassion to all men in common grace and the outward call, and limit His compassion if He please to some men in special grace and the effectual call. He may call upon all men to repent and believe, and promise salvation to all that do so, and yet not incline all men to do so. No one will say that a man is insincere in offering a gift, if he does not along with it produce the disposition to accept it. And neither should one assert this of God. God sincerely desires that the sinner would hear His outward call, and that His common grace might succeed with him. He sincerely desires that every one who hears the message: “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; yea, come buy wine and milk without money,” would come just as he is, and of his own free will, “for all things are ready.” The fact that God does not go further than this with all men and conquer their aversion, is consistent with this desire. No one contends that God is not universally benevolent because He bestows more health, wealth, and intellect, upon some than upon others. And no one should contend that He is not universally merciful, because He bestows more grace upon some than upon others. The omnipotence of God is able to save the whole world of mankind, and to our narrow vision it seems singular that He does not; but be this as it may, it is false to say that if He does not exert the whole of His power, He is an unmerciful being towards those who abuse His common grace. That degree of forbearance and long suffering which God shows towards those who resist it, and that measure of effort which He puts forth to convert them, is real mercy towards their souls. It is the sinner who has thwarted this benevolent approach of God to his sinful heart. Millions of men in all ages are continually beating back God’s mercy in the outward call and nullifying it. “A man who has had common grace, has been the subject of the Divine compassion to this degree. If he resists it, he cannot charge God with unmercifulness, because He does not bestow upon him still greater mercy in the form of regenerating grace. A beggar who contemptuously rejects the five dollars offered by a benevolent man, cannot charge stinginess upon him because after this rejection of the five dollars he does not give him ten. Any sinner who complains of God’s ‘passing him by’ in the bestowment of regenerating grace after his abuse of common grace, virtually says to the high and holy One who inhabits eternity, ‘Thou hast tried once to convert me from sin; now try again, and try harder.’”
God’s desire that a sinner should “turn and live” under common grace, is not incompatible with His purpose to leave him to “eat of the fruit of his own ways, and be filled with his own devices”—which is the same thing as “foreordaining him to everlasting death.” A decree of God may not be indicative of what He desires and loves. He decrees sin, but abhors and forbids it. He decrees the physical agony of millions of men in earthquake, flood and conflagration, but He does not take delight in it. His omnipotence could prevent this suffering in which He has no pleasure, but He decides for adequate reasons not to do so. Similarly, He could prevent the eternal death of every single member of the human family, in which He takes no pleasure, but decides not to do so for reasons that are wise in His sight. The distinction between the revealed will and the secret will of God is a valid one; and the latter of these wills may be no index of the former, but the exact contrary of it. This is particularly the case when evil is the thing decreed.*
*The difference between will as general desire and inclination, and will as a particular volition or decision in a special instance, is seen in human action, and is well understood. For sufficient reasons, a man may decide in a particular case to do by a volition something entirely contrary to his uniform and abiding inclination—say, to have his leg amputated. This decision is his “decree,” and is no index of what he is pleased with.
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