The irresistibility of prevenient grace

Prevenient grace is an important and essential doctrine for all Arminians but what is the relation of it and the will when it comes to prevenient grace? I will say that prevenient grace is irresistible in one sense and resistible in another sense. And it's not uncommon for Arminian theologians to say prevenient grace is irresistible and I will give two examples of that. But first I need to define what prevenient grace is since it's meaning is essential to understand why I say it's irresistible.  


  I think William Burt Pope, one of the best Methodist theologians, gives a great definition of prevenient grace. "It is the sole, efficient cause of all spiritual good in man: of the beginning, continuance, and consummation of religion in the human soul. The manifestation of Divine influence which precedes the full regenerate life receives no special name in Scripture; but it is so described as to warrant the designation usually given it of Prevenient Grace."(1) Pope gives a perfect definition of prevenient grace, the grace that precedes the regenerate life. Now what this grace does is enable the will to be able to accept God since we see in scripture that we are children of wrath (Eph 2:3) and that no man can come to God unless the Father draws him (John 6:44). So we see man is powerless and corrupted by sin where he can't by his own power come to God. There needs to be an internal working of the Spirit that precedes the human will to make our system not Pelagian or semi-pelagian. So prevenient grace is where God gives his grace to draw people to him but some people will say this leads to an infinite regress. Since they will argue if you need grace to cooperate with grace you would need grace before prevenient grace and it would keep going in an infinite regress.

   But here is the thing: anyone using this argument doesn't really understand prevenient grace since in a sense it's irresistible. When God gives his prevenient grace it comes irresistibly but how we use and respond to this grace is up to our free will. Since the entire point of prevenient grace is that it enables the will to be able to choose God so in that sense it's irresistible. Now if we yield obedience to this grace or not is up to us since the cooperation with prevenient grace is resistible. Let me quote two great Methodist theologians who explain this in a better way than I can John William Fletcher explains this as "I say irresistibly, because God does not leave to our option whether we shall receive a talent of redeeming grace or not, any more than he left it to Adam's choice whether Adam should receive five talents of creative grace or not: although afterward he gives us leave to bury or improve our talent of redeeming grace, as he gave leave to Adam to bury or improve his five talents of creative grace."(2) So we see here the receiving of prevenient grace is irresistible but after it's given we can cooperate with it or reject it. Now let's go to William Burt Pope and what he says "Grace has the pre-eminence inasmuch as it's influence when the Word is preached, whether directly or indirectly, is inevitable and irresistible. Prevenient grace moves upon the will through the affections of fear and hope; and these affections are necessarily moved by the truths which the understanding perceives."(3) So prevenient grace is irresistible since it's given and works through the will of man before the will does anything and right after this Pope says "Moreover, in the secret recesses of man's nature the grace is given disposing and enabling him to yield. Though the will must at last act from its own resources and deliberate impulse, it is influenced through the feeling and the understanding in such a manner as to give it strength."(4)

    So the question of prevenient grace being irresistible or resistible is both a yes and no. Since this grace already works through the will without man's cooperation so in that sense it's irresistible. But once it works through, man has the option of obeying this grace or rejecting this grace so the response to this grace is resistible. So in my opinion it's perfectly fine in saying prevenient grace is irresistible even though you will have to nuance it. Also this language of saying prevenient grace is irresistible is used by perfectly orthodox Arminian theologians like Pope and Fletcher.

References

1. William Burt Pope: A Compendium Of Christian Theology pg 747

2. John William Fletcher: The Fictitious and Genuine Creed: Being "A Creed for Arminians"

3. William Burt Pope: A Compendium Of Christian Theolog pg 754

4. William Burt Pope: A Compendium Of Christian Theolog pg 754

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