Sam Storms on “Coach Pelagius”

At his website, Enjoying God Ministries, Dr. Sam Storms has loads of information on historical theology. His article, Augustine-Pelagius Part 1 is particulary interesting in light of our discussion on Sunday night.  He said, 

“The relevance of the debate between Augustine and Pelagius may be seen from the following list of questions that emerged then and continue to be asked today:

 

· Are infants born innocent or guilty?

· Are those who die in infancy saved or lost?

· Are people morally and spiritually corrupt?

· What affect did Adam’s fall have on the human race? On you?

· Is sin only an act of will or a character flaw?

· Is grace essential for salvation?

· How much does grace do and how much do you do in salvation?

· Are only some people predestined to salvation?

· How does all this affect how you preach and pray?”

Dr. Storms also gives some historical background on both Augustine and Pelagius, a bit about the theological positions they both held, and contrasts them for us.  One of the main areas they differed was in the doctrine of grace.  Pelagius thought that God would never ask us to do anything that we couldn’t do on our own power. God’s grace would assist us, but wasn’t absolutely necessary. Storms  continues,

“Thus grace is primarily external, consisting in the aids or examples or exhortations given by God to encourage us in the pursuit of purity. Grace is not internal. Pelagius rejects any notion of an inward empowerment of the soul or will. Bell provides this illustration:

 

“Perhaps the best way to understand [Pelagius’ doctrine of grace] . . . is by using the analogy of a coach and competitors at an athletics event. First of all, the competitors enter the arena with a perfectly free choice of whether and when to run, walk,, kick, punch, or jump. Secondly, as the coach, I can stand on the side-lines, shout encouraging comments, and tell the competitors what to do and when to do it. And thirdly, if my team makes a mistake or fails to take my advice, I can tell them that it does not really matter, that their sins are forgiven them, that in [the] future they should listen to their coach, but that they do not have to leave the area immediately and throw themselves off the nearest cliff or hang themselves from the nearest tree. But at no time can I enter the ring or the field and add my strength and skill to theirs, and I certainly cannot rush in, open their mouths wide, climb down inside them, and compete for them. For Pelagius, then, we are all competitors (competitors with ingrained bad habits) and Christ is the coach” (146).

 

All this implies, of course, that if you are extremely talented and self-disciplined and highly-motivated, you may not need the coach at all. You may well be capable of winning the race or the fight by your own unaided power. In other words, Pelagius’ concept of divine grace, at least potentially, makes the death and resurrection of Christ unnecessary.”

As for me and my “athletic ability”, I KNOW I need more than a Coach encouraging me.  I need Jesus! I need His amazing grace every minute of every day!  In the words of the hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,”

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.