Cap. 6 close: why grace and free choice—universal covenant of faith, not of efficacious means to all
But why so much on grace and free choice, when our question is the Death of Christ as the universal cause of human salvation? Because the Pelagians once taught—and many today still slide into—the view that by the Redeemer’s death and merit, saving or efficacious grace stands open equally to every human being, to be given if they do not refuse it by their will, and denied if they do. As if Christ’s death itself had been granted from pure mercy, while efficacious or saving grace reaches people only as they use free choice well or badly in embracing or rejecting exciting grace. Then salvation would belong to those “worthy to be saved” as willing from themselves—as Prosper sang in On the Ungrateful 1.6. So in this Dissertation on the universal efficacy of Christ’s death, just as we had to show against those who try to narrow it that a universal covenant stands with the whole human race to give remission and eternal life to each person under the condition of faith, so we also had to show against those who stretch that universal efficacy past its bounds that no law and no decree stands, in connection with Christ’s death, to give the means of supernatural grace—or saving efficacious grace itself—to everyone on the condition that they use nature’s light well or less badly, or that they do not refuse that grace by their will. Christ’s death being granted, God is bound by faithfulness, under the gospel covenant, to give remission of sins and eternal life to anyone who repents and believes. By no covenant is he bound to give faith itself, charity, or saving grace to someone who only performs some other act by free choice’s own powers. Indeed, once Christ’s death is granted, the gift or denial of efficacious saving grace remains as free to God as the gift of Christ himself, which is owed to no human acts of choice. So the coming of efficacious saving grace must be traced to God’s purpose of mercy or non-mercy as its first root—not to the human choice of willing or not willing. Thus far we have had to treat Christ’s death as its force and efficacy reach all. Next we must explain how it is restricted to God’s elect children.
Latin
Sed quorsum tam multa de gratia et Libero arbitrio, cum versemur in explicanda quaestione de Morte Christi, quatenus consideratur ut universalis causa salutis humanae? Nimirum quia Pelagiani olim docuerunt, atque multi nunc dierum in eam opinionem dilabuntur, quae statuit, Morte meritoque Christi Redemptoris gratiam salvantem sive efficacem ex aequo prostare omnibus hominibus sub hac conditione dandam, Si eam sua voluntate non respuerint; sub hac lege negandam, Si respuerint: Quasi ipsa mors Christi ex pura Dei misericordia fuisset hominibus indulta, sed gratia efficax sive salutifera ad homines dimanet prout bene aut male usi fuerint libero suo arbitrio, in gratia excitante amplexanda aut repellenda. Sitque salus dignis salvari ex se volentibus, ut cecinit Prosper 1. De Ingratis, c. 6. In hac igitur Dissertatione, De universali efficacia mortis Christi, sicut nostrum fuit ostendere contra eos qui illam coarctare moliuntur, Esse stabilitum quoddam universale pactum cum toto humano genere de danda remissione et vita aeterna omnibus et singulis hominibus sub conditione fidei; ita et illud etiam monstrandum fuit, contra eos qui hanc universalem efficaciam mortis Christi extra suos limites extendunt, Nullam legem, nullum decretum esse stabilitum in ordine ad mortem Christi, de dandis mediis gratiae supernaturalis, aut de danda ipsa gratia salvifica et efficaci, omnibus hominibus sub conditione, Si bene aut minus male utantur lumine naturae, vel sub conditione, Si sua voluntate eam non respuerint. Posita igitur morte Christi tenetur Deus ex fidelitate, juxta pactum Evangelicum, dare remissionem peccatorum et vitam aeternam cuivis poenitenti et credenti: At nullo pacto tenetur dare ipsam fidem, charitatem aut gratiam salutiferam quemcunque alium actum liberi arbitrii viribus praestanti. Imo gratiae efficacis et salutiferae donatio sive negatio, posita morte Christi, tam libera manet Deo, quam fuit Christi donatio, quae nullis humani arbitrii actibus debita aut data intelligitur. Ad propositum igitur Dei miserantis aut non-miserantis, non ad arbitrium hominis volentis aut non-volentis, consecutio gratiae efficacis et salvantis tanquam ad primam radicem referenda est. Hactenus de morte Christi, quatenus ejus vis et efficacia ad omnes pertinet, disputandum est. Deinceps, quatenus ad electos Dei filios restringatur, est explicandum.