Two Dissertations · §101 · John Davenant

Cap. 6 Arg. 7 open: If grace is fixed for all who apply Christ, the last reason falls to human choice

Suppose God's will, by Christ's death, is taken as somehow fixed to administer grace to every person who applies Christ to himself and is saved—yet so that only those receive and keep it who either used nature's light well, or raised almost no obstacle against the grace offered them, while everyone else does not receive it. Then the last account of grace obtained or missed, and of salvation gained or lost, would be charged not to the divine good pleasure but to human free choice. The consequence is plain and solid. On that view God is presumed, because of Christ's death, to administer grace and to offer everyone a grace sufficient for applying Christ and obtaining salvation; and he is also presumed, by absolute will or bare will, to give saving grace to no one specially.

Latin

Si Dei voluntas morte Christi intelligatur quasi determinata ad gratiam administrandam omnibus & singulis hominibus, qui Christum sibi applicent, & salventur, ita tamen ut eam accipiant & habeant illi soli, qui aut lumine naturae bene usi fuerint, aut gratiae sibi oblatae obicem minime opposuerint, caeteri omnes eandem non accipiant; tum ultima ratio gratiae & salutis obtentae & non obtentae non ex parte Divini beneplaciti, sed ex parte humani arbitrii assignaretur. Consequentia clara est & firma; Quia ab illis qui in hac opinione constituti sunt, Deus praesumitur propter Christi mortem gratiam administrare, & offerre omnibus sufficientem ad Christum sibi applicandum & salutem obtinendam; praesumitur etiam ex absoluta voluntate sive ex mero nemini gratiam salutiferam donare.

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