Jesus was no Pelagian

A local Hardshell elder sends out a daily commentary on a verse of scripture to an emailing group of which I have remained a part ever since my departure from them. Today, his devotional was from Matthew 11:28 which reads:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

He comments as expected:

“This is not an invitation to those who have not been “born again” for the Lord also said, ‘No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him’ (John 6:44).”

Now what is the reason why he objects to the commandment being directed toward the unregenerate? It is because he assumes that sinners must have the ability to come before they can be commanded to come. And not only does he assume it, but he thinks that Jesus held to the same premise. Our Lord would not tell those who could not come to Him that they should do so.

It has been repeatedly pointed out on this blog that commands do not imply ability. To have that as a premise when one confronts the invitations to sinners in scripture is to imbibe Pelagianism.

R.C. Sproul wrote:

“For Pelagius and his followers responsibility always implies ability. If man has the moral responsibility to obey the law of God, he must also have the moral ability to do it” (R.C. Sproul)

To say that Christ would not command the regenerate due to a lack of ability on their part is to charge him with Pelagian logic!

Sorry, but Jesus was no Pelagian!