Jan 15, 2021
Dr Leighton Flowers replies to Dr Brian Abasciano of the Society of Evangelical Arminians regarding his self-defeating accusations of "Semi-Pelagianism" against Provisionists.
The complete article can be found here: https://soteriology101.com/2020/12/19...
For a summary of this issue please watch: https://youtu.be/pYcB9wQQevs
As many of our regular listeners are aware, we as “Provisionists” (or “Traditional Southern Baptists”), are sometimes accused of holding to heretical (or “semi” heretical) views due to our denial of the Calvinistic doctrine of Total Inability, the belief that all men are born in a corpselike dead condition spiritually and thus must be given new life (“regeneration” on Calvinism) or partial life (“partial regeneration” on Classical Arminianism) to believe the clearly taught, graciously inspired gospel truth brought by the Holy Spirit through His chosen messengers. I have produced much to debunk the concept of Total Inability in my books, blog posts and broadcasts, but in short, we deny that being “spiritually dead” entails a moral incapacity to believe so as to be given new life. What does the Bible say one must do BEFORE getting new life? “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” -John 20:31 “…you refuse to come to me to have life.” -John 5:40 The scriptures seem to teach that “believing in” or “coming to” Christ is the solution for those who remain dead in their trespasses rather than some pre-regenerating or pre-partial regenerating work. Interestingly, some modern-day Arminians, like Dr Brian Abasciano of the Society of Evangelical Arminians, agree with me in regard to my objections against the need for a “partial regeneration.” Abasciano wrote: “…the classical Arminian view is neither the only nor the typical Arminian view of prevenient grace. The classical view regards prevenient grace as a partial regeneration. …the more typical Arminian view today does not view prevenient grace as partial regeneration, but as God’s work of helping sinners to believe the gospel in various ways such as enlightening, convicting, drawing, opening the heart, etc... It does not involve a split in regeneration.”
LINK: http://evangelicalarminians.org/brian...
Both Olson and Abasciano maintain, however, that God must supply an extra supernatural grace to the lost, above and beyond the supernaturally gracious work in bringing us the gospel, in order for the lost to believe it. In my experience, the modern Arminian, like Abasciano, have been hard-pressed to explain what exactly that supernatural grace is accomplishing that is not adequately accomplished by the gospel itself. After all, if the condition of man from birth is not, as the Calvinist explains it, “corpse-like-dead and thus needing spiritual life in order to believe the gospel,” then what must the Holy Spirit do to the lost man in order to make the gospel revelation sufficiently believable? On Abasciano’s view, what specifically is the Spirit DOING above and beyond what the Spirit does by bringing the light of the gospel?
The complete article can be found here: https://soteriology101.com/2020/12/19...