A Very Short Proof of the Unfair Nature of Prevenient Grace

A common argument made by Arminians against the Biblical Doctrine of irresistible grace is both fallacious and absurd, for it (i.)is an appeal to emotion and (ii.)it refutes the Arminian position itself. I’ll briefly demonstrate this logically.

The Arminian Argument

MP: It would be unfair for God to impose His will on free creatures.

Mp: God would never do anything unfair.

C: Therefore, God would never impose His will on free creatures.

The above argument is an appeal to emotion because it does not explain precisely how God’s imposition of His will on supposedly free creatures would be unfair. Instead, it uses the word unfair so as to stack the deck against the Christian who is arguing in favor of the doctrines of grace. On this basis alone, the argument is shown to be fallacious and, therefore, false. However, for the sake of fully demolishing the Arminian notion of Prevenient grace, I’ll take it a step further and show how such a view makes Arminianism itself impossible.

1. Arminians believe, as Scripture teaches, that man is born dead in his sins.
2. Moreover, they assert that man cannot of his own freedom come to Christ.
3. They, however, state that God grants Prevenient grace to all men in order to enable them to come to faith in Christ.
4. Thus every man, although born dead in his sins and obstinately opposed to the Gospel, is given the capacity to choose Christ.
5. However, this means that all men, regardless of their natural opposition to God, are given something they never asked for, viz. Prevenient grace.
6. Therefore, they have Prevenient grace given to them against their will, since they are born dead in their sins and opposed to God and His Gospel.
7. Therefore, God’s giving of Prevenient grace, which supposedly enables them to choose to place their faith in Christ, is unfair.
8. Therefore, Prevenient grace is an unfair doctrine, for it teaches that God gives enabling grace to those who do not want it.
9. Therefore, God imposes His will on free creatures.
10. Therefore, Prevenient grace is absurd.

Soli Deo Gloria.

-h.