Christianity: Efficacious vs. Prevenient Grace

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Recommended: What is the theological definition of grace

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith… it is a gift of God” (NIV). Grace, according to Merriam Webster Dictionary is defined as “unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification,” (Theopedia) but is more commonly defined as God giving us what we don’t deserve. God’s grace was presented to us in the form of hi only Son, Jesus, dying on the cross so that we could go to heaven. Now that it is understood what grace is and what form the gift of grace came in, the remaining question is who the gift of grace available to. John Calvin and Jacobus Arminius had different views on to whom grace was imparted but only through careful study and examination of scripture can the truth be found.
Efficacious grace sounds intimidating and confusing, but it’s really just a fancy way to say “irresistible grace.” Irresistible grace was created in repose to Arminius’s view known as prevenient grace, which will be better explained later. “Irresistible grace is the idea that when the spirit of God works on the heart of a sinner, the sinner cannot resist.” (Theopedia) Irresistible grace has the underlying thought that man cannot choose heaven on his own, God chose him and made salvation irresistible to them. Now this doesn’t mean that God forces humans to believe in Him, it means that when He calls us, He is overwhelmingly persuading and man can’t resist the truth. (Boice/Ryken, 135) The opposing belief, prevenient grace theory, believes that the fall of man wounded mankind and now they have to choose for themselves to accept the free gift of salvation, but the Calvinists believe that the fall of man killed them because of their sin. (Theopedia) The Calvinists refer to the verse Ephesians 2:1 which states...

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...heart, they may need that one last push or the different perspective a Christian could give them to lead them into Christ’s open arms.

Works Cited
Boice, James Montgomery, and Philip Graham Ryken. The Doctrines of Grace: Rediscovering the Evangelical Gospel. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2002. Print.
"Election: God's Choosing of Individuals." Election. Theopedia, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
Foreknowledge, and Grace. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 2000. Print. 9 Apr. 2014.
Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2004. Print. 9 Apr. 2014.
NIV Bible. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2007. Print.
Schreiner, Thomas R., and Bruce A. Ware. Still Sovereign ; Contemporary Perspectives on Election, Foreknowledge, and Grace. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 2000. Print.
Smith, Adam. "Lost & Found." Lost Found. Lost and Found, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.

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