Augustine and The Pelagian Controversy
Now let’s turn to The Pelagian Controversy (Why I am not an Arminian): Augustine’s conversion experience gave him personal insight into the enslaving power of sin and the overwhelming appreciation of God’s grace. He was convinced that he did not choose God; God chose him. In Confessions he wrote:
My whole hope is in thy exceeding great mercy and that alone. Give what Thou commandest and command what Thou wilt. Thou commandest continence from us, and when I knew, as it is said, that no one would be continent unless God gave it to him, even this was a point of wisdom, to know whose gift it was.
Reading Confessions, Pelagius, a monk from England who went to Rome to teach, blamed the teaching of Augustine for the immorality of the church he found in Rome. Pelagius argued that if Christians believe that abstinence from sin is impossible unless God gives the grace necessary for such abstinence, then they will not truly expect to live godly lives and will not pursue holiness. When God demands us to be holy in the Bible, then the possibility of living morally must lie within us. The debate between Augustine and Pelagius raised issues that have continued throughout the history of the church. While Augustine ended up “winning the day,” during the Enlightenment Pelagianism arose again in the form of theological liberalism, which still plagues us and actually is much of the content of many sermons you may be hearing today.
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