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NASB | Romans 8:30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 8:30 And those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified [declared free of the guilt of sin]; and those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity]. |
Subject: Are those He called always chosen? |
Bible Note: Tim: Semi-Pelagianism is not Pelagianism, nor is it Arminianism, as I clearly distinguished between the two in my post. Semi-Pelagianism suggests that our wills are not TOTALLY depraved, but rather just weakened, and therefore is required to cooperate with God in salvation. John Cassian, a contemporary of Augustine, was the primary proponent of this view. Some semi-Pelagians even insist that it is man who initiates salvation, and that God provides the grace to compensate for what power the human lacks in placing full saving faith in Christ. In other words, the human is not so fallen that he cannot initiate his own salvation, inviting an "assist" from the Holy Spirit. Semi-Pelagianism was condemned at the Synod of Orange in 529, even though it is pretty much the idea behind the salvation we find in modern Roman Catholicism. Arminius avoided the extremes of semi-Pelagianism by saying that God must initiate salvation (since we are indeed spiritually dead, not weakened), but that His grace is not necessarily effectual, nor is it irresistible. This is the idea of "prevenient grace" (grace that "comes before" salvation) which frees the will and enables the person to accept Christ. Of course, as you will agree, once that prevenient grace is present, it is up to the individual sinner to accept or reject that grace and "seal the deal," so to speak. Calvinists, in contrast, go further than just saying God's grace is only savingly given to some. They say that God's grace is effectual, that it accomplishes God's purpose, and that it inevitably changes the disposition of the sinner's heart so that he will willingly embrace Christ. --Joe! |