Prevenient Grace: An Investigation into Arminianism

by J. Alexander Rutherford

If a plant grows with shallow roots, the storms of a season will wither away and uproot it; like a house built on sand, a poor foundation will doom its fate. But this isn’t a book on botany, nor on architecture; foundations, good roots, are essential to thought structures as well as material structures. In theology, a bad foundation will produce results as catastrophic as bad roots or shifting sand. How we think about God and His work in the world will profoundly affect how we live and work out our Christian faith. This book evolved from the conviction that a prominent theological system rests on a fragile foundation. It is written as a small contribution towards refounding our understanding of God’s relationship with the world and our salvation on His Word.
The theology in question is Arminianism, the foundation is prevenient grace. Deep within Evangelical Arminianism lies the essential doctrine that God has acted in the life of all human beings, giving them enabling grace enough to respond or reject His offer of salvation. The contention of this book is that this doctrine has no biblical grounds and is rationally unfounded and that Arminianism itself stands or falls on this doctrine.

364 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2016

About the author

James Rutherford serves his Lord Jesus in Sydney Australia. He is married to Nicole and has three children (one of whom is now with his Lord). In addition to writing, James enjoys cooking for and hiking with his family. He holds a PhD from Moore Theological College in Sydney, Australia (thesis: Rightly Defining the Son of God: An Examination of the Definition of Chalcedon's Conceptual Apparatus). Before this, he graduated from Pacific Life Bible College with a Bachelor of Pastoral Leadership and Regent college with a Master of Arts in Theological Studies, majoring in Hebrew, and a Master of Theology (ThM), majoring in Old Testament.

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although familiar with the Calvinist/Arminian debate I'd actually never heard the term, "prevenient grace" before this title. As the key doctrine of Arminian belief it could not be more deserving of a serious examination and that's exactly what we've been given here.

Comprehensive in its scope, the book deals in systematic fashion with all the relevant arguments and scriptural texts put forward, yet manages to stay focused (and as concise as I felt the subject matter would allow).

Proponents of prevenient grace in particular will appreciate the care Mr. Rutherford has given to an honest and fair representation of their positions. A work wholly lacking in straw men must be a refreshing find for those familiar with this topic.

Speaking of audience, this is a book that deals in theological depths, making the footnotes essential. In them the academic is given a diving suit of endless references, and the layman a life jacket of clearly defined terms. Okay, that analogy may need work, but the point is the work is more than done here. I can't think of anyone remotely interested in this discussion who wouldn't find Mr. Rutherford's "Prevenient Grace" a read well worth their time.

5 stars.

[Martin Fong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rutherford explains how prevenient grace is the foundation on which Arminianism is built. He evaluates the biblical and philosophical arguments for and against prevenient grace, concluding that it is unbiblical and philosophically unsound. Instead of prevenient grace, unconditional election and the effectual call fit the biblical data and are philosophically coherent.

I appreciated Rutherford's willingness to explore the arguments for prevenient grace (and therefore Arminianism), since many Calvinist books focus only on arguments for Calvinism without directly addressing Arminian arguments. Rutherford is very precise and clear both exegetically and philosophically. As a Bible college / seminary student, I found this book very engaging and persuasive. I'd thoroughly recommend it.