A90293:335
Theomachia autexousiastikē
Theomachia autexousiastikē: or, A display of Arminianism. Being a discovery of the old Pelagian idol free-will, with the new goddess contingency, advancing themselves, into the throne of the God of heaven to the prejudice of his grace, providence, and supreme dominion over the children of men. Wherein the main errors of the Arminians are laid open, by which they are fallen off from the received doctrine of all the reformed churches, with their opposition in divers particulars to the doctrine established in the Church of England. Discovered out of their own writings and confessions, and confuted by the Word of God. / By John Owen, Master of Arts of Queens College in Oxon.Theomachia autexousiastikē: or, A display of Arminianisme. Being a discovery of the old Pelagian idol free-will, with the new goddesse contingency, advancing themselves, into the throne of the God of heaven to the prejudice of his grace, providence, and supreme dominion over the children of men. Wherein the maine errors of the Arminians are laid open, by which they are fallen off from the received doctrine of all the reformed churches, with their opposition in divers particulars to the doctrine established in the Church of England. Discovered out of their owne writings and confessions, and confuted by the Word of God. / By Iohn Owen, Master of Arts of Queens Colledge in Oxon.
London: printed by I.L. for Phil. Stephens, 1643
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Two things in this great conjunction of grace and nature, the Arminians ascribe unto Free-will: First, a power of co-operation and working with grace, to make it at all effectual. Secondly, a power of resisting its operation, and making it altogether in effectual: God in the mean time bestowing no grace, but what awaits an act issuing from one of these two abilities, and hath its effect accordingly. If a man will co-operate, then grace attains its end; if he will resist, it returns empty. To this end they feign all the grace of God bestowed upon us, for our conversion, to be but a moral persuasion by his word, not an infusion of a new vital principle by the powerful working of the holy Spirit. And indeed granting this, I shall most willingly comply with them, in assigning to Free-will one of the endowments before recited, a power of resisting the operation of grace: but instead of the other, must needs ascribe to our whole corrupted nature, and every one that is partaker of it, an universal disability of obeying it, or coupling in that work which God by his grace doth intend. ⟨p. 142⟩If the grace of our conversion be nothing but a moral persuasion, we have no more power of obeying it, in that estate wherein we are dead in sin, then a man in his grave hath in himself to live a new, and come out at the next call. Gods promises, and the Saints prayers in the holy Scripture, seem to design such a kind of grace, as should give us a real internal ability of doing that which is spiritually good? but it seems there is no such matter: for if a man should persuade me to leap over the Thames, or to fly in the Air, be he never so eloquent, his sole persuasion makes me no more able to do it, then I was before ever I saw him. If Gods grace be nothing but a sweet persuasion (though never so powerful) it is a thing extrinsical, consisting in the proposal of a desired object, but gives us no new strength at all, to do any thing we had not before a power to do. But let us hear them pleading themselves to each of these particulars concerning Grace and Nature; and first for the nature of Grace.
Two things in this great conjunction of grace and nature, the Arminians ascribe unto Free-will: First, a power of co-operation and working with grace, to make it at all effectuall. Secondly, a power of resisting its operation, and making it altogether in effectuall: God in the meane time bestowing no grace, but what awaits an act issuing from one of these two abilities, and hath its effect accordingly. If a man will co-operate, then grace attaines its end; if he will resist, it returnes emptie. To this end they feigne all the grace of God bestowed upon us, for our conversion, to be but a morall perswasion by his word, not an infusion of a new vitall principle by the powerfull working of the holy Spirit. And indeed granting this, I shall most willingly comply with them, in assigning to Free-will one of the endowments before recited, a power of resisting the operation of grace: but instead of the other, must needs ascribe to our whole corrupted nature, and every one that is partaker of it, an universall disabilitie of obeying it, or coupling in that worke which God by his grace doth intend.