“Free Will is unable to begin or to perfect any true and spiritual good without Grace. That I may not be said, like Pelagius, to practice delusion with regard to the word “Grace,” I mean by it that which is the Grace of Christ and which belongs to regeneration [i.e., a prevenient enabling grace]: I affirm, therefore, that this grace is simply and absolutely necessary for the illumination of the mind, the due ordering of the affections, and the inclination of the will to that which is good: It is this grace which operates on the mind, the affections, and the will; which infuses good thoughts into the mind, inspires good desires into the affections, and bends the will to carry into execution good thoughts and good desires.” (Works, 2:700)
We also confess to hate any semblance of Pelagianism, which concedes that an inherent ability to believe in and receive Jesus as Savior is truth, “Meanwhile I profess that I detest from my soul the Pelagian dogmas.” (Works, 3:657)
