People Are Drawn to Doctrines That Bolster Their Egos.
It is easy to see the appeal of a doctrine propounded in the fifth century. It went like this: When Adam fell, he fell alone. His sin was his alone, and the consequences his alone. His children, born as innocent as the first dawn over Eden, came forth from the womb of Eve with pure souls and the God-given ability to live lives fully pleasing to their Creator. They could choose obedience, or they could follow the errant example of their father, Adam. There was nothing wicked in their nature to drag them towards the latter.
This heretical view taught by Pelagius, an influential Irish monk, was in direct opposition to the church’s doctrine of original sin. Many people followed Pelagius. His views were like a plague upon the Christian church. Pelagianism spread from the British Isles to Rome and then to North Africa.
Augustine of Hippo, the greatest theologian of the early church, fought it vigorously, debating and opposing its founder both privately and publicly. For twenty-five years a theological war was waged. Pelagius claimed that humanity was born without sin, free to obey or disobey the commandments of God. Augustine fired back that Adam’s fall in the Garden resulted in original sin and the total depravity of humankind.
Pelagius conceded that sin appears to be universal but only because people give in to the evil example of others who have been chosen to do wrong. He claimed that it is possible for a person to live a sinless life as Christ did when he set the example of complete obedience to God. Augustine countered that it is impossible to have victory over sin apart from the grace of God that operates in the Christian who is submitted to Jesus Christ.
Pelagius believed that anyone who could choose to trust in Jesus and was baptized for the forgiveness of sins already committed,…could march obediently toward heaven in his or her own strength. Augustine preached that God alone called people to salvation, and that none could believe or obey apart from his wooing grace and the enabling power of His Holy Spirit.
Pelagius insisted that people had the freedom of choice and held their own fate in their hands. Augustine retorted that God’s sovereignty and election are the first cause of each person’s destiny.
The rancorous debate continued until a local synod of sixty-four bishops in Carthage, North Africa at the end of 416 A.D. asked Pope Innocent I to excommunicate Pelagius. Another North African church council in Mileve made the same request. Finally on January 27, 417 A.D., the pope excommunicated Pelagius. Another council held in 418 seconded the censure of Pelagianism, and Zosimus, the succeeding pope, concurred.
Even after Pelagius’s death, however,the battle continued against two of his principal disciples. Celestius and Julian of Eclanum. A definitive condemnation of Pelagianism was finally reached by the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D. confirming it as a heresy.
Points To Ponder
Who do you think is right, Pelagius or Augustine? Do you believe babies are born innocent or sinful? Is it possible for humans to live without sin? Is it important to always confirm what you believe through Scripture, godly counsel, and prayer? Always seek God’s perspectives on theological and cultural issues.
Romans 3 : 10–12,…21–22
“No one is good–not even one. No one has real understanding; no one is seeking God. All have turned away from God; all have gone wrong. No one does good, not even one.”…But now God has shown us a different way…We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins.
Learn Well The Lessons of History………..