floyd short research

Did the Early Church Believe the Doctrines of Grace?

There are a number of websites (some quite terrible, others a bit scholarly, yet equally terrible)
that attempt to dissuade investigative readers to believe that, except for Augustine, or at least
until the ―time of Augustine‖, that the early church did not believe in the depravity of man, in
unconditional election and/or a sovereign predestination, a limited atonement in extent of Jesus
Christ, grace that is irresistible, and the final perseverance of the saints. This is a tragedy. Why?
With a hearty consulting of primary sources, readers can certainly find the ―infant stages‖ of all
these Gospel doctrines throughout the writings of the early church. And not only these can be
found in ―infant stages‖ but they can be found quite specifically in many of the early writers.

If you want to study Augustine, and you would like a formal study on this topic, then check out
my Th.D. dissertation on ―Augustine‘s Calvinism: The Doctrines of Grace in Augustine‘s
Writings.‖ It is filled with quotes and citations from a thorough reading and studying of all
Augustine‘s writings in context, (see beleow).

Also take into account that many times the early church fathers must be understood in light of
their wider corpus of material. This means that in the infant stage of the church, the ―fathers‖
used ―infantile‖ definitions, many times which are more general, undefined, or imprecise, for
concepts like free will, predestination, regeneration, sanctification, mortification, and the like.
You, the reader, may believe they didn’t believe in regeneration for example, but instead, in
studying their literature, we come to find out that regeneration meant, for them, both being born
again and included ideas of sanctification. Regeneration for Augustine, for example, included
sanctification of the Christian life. The whole Christian life was being regenerated by the Spirit
of God. That does not discount him from believing in regeneration as John 3 teaches it, or as
Calvin or Westminster defined it, but that their understanding of it was not as defined in
his writings in some places as we would like it to be. We have to search a bit more to see that
they certainly agreed with the teachings of the Reformation.

There are a number of works which show the early church did in fact beleive the Gospel, and this
particular webpage is not meant to be an exhaustive list. If you want to further investigate I
would recommend the 4th book of John Gill‘s work, The Cause of God and Truth, where Gill,
working from primary sources and manuscripts, who was a scholar on languages in his own
right, has compiled almost an exhaustive list of the early church and some of the best quotes on
these doctrines available.

The Fourth Part of his work was published in 1738, and it gives the sense of the ancient writers
of the Christian Church, before the times of Augustine. The importance of this is shown
demonstrating that the Roman Catholics, Pelagians and Arminians have very little reason to
boast on the account that the church fathers never taught such things. They ought not, having
misunderstood these early church writings, not set up deluding websites to that mistaken end; or
in the old days, written weak books about it.
These quotes are partly taken from Gill‘s work, and partly researched, and partly taken from
other Reformed writers who have published some ―quotable‖ works on the early fathers.

There is really no need to quote Augustine on teachings ―proving‖ he believed in the doctrines of
grace. His works are filled with the Doctrines of Grace, as well as justification by faith alone (see
the early church on that topic here). He was known as the Doctor of Grace. People sometimes
ask, Did Augustine believe and teach the doctrines of grace? Or were these doctrines formulated
later? My work Augustine‘s Calvinism is a survey of all Augustine‘s writings demonstrating
that Augustine was no doubt, a Calvinist.

In the citations below, I‘ve chosen the cutoff date of ―around‖ 380 A.D. If you want to read the
myriads of quotes from various men like Arnobius A.D. 290, Epiphanius A.D. 390, Gaudentius
Brixiensis A.D. 390, Joannes Chrysostomus A.D. 390, Ruffinus Aquileiensis A.D. 390.,
Hieronymus A.D. 390, Gregorius Nyssenus A.D. 380, etc, check out Gill‘s work. There are
scores of people listed. Again, this list is by no means exhaustive. It is simply a small sampling
from their works.

LEGEND for the Quotes:

(P) – Predestination / Unconditional Election, (T) Depravity of Man, (L) Limited Atonement, (I)
Irresistible Grace, (Per) Perseverance of the Saints.
 Clemens Romanus. A.D. 69

(P) ―Let us therefore consider, brethren, out of what matter we are made; who and what we were
when we came into the world, as out of the grave and darkness itself; who, having made and
formed us, brought us into his world having first prepared his good things for us, before we were
born,‖ (Epist. ad Corinth. 1:p. 88.).
(P) ―This blessedness comes upon those that are chosen of God by Jesus Christ our Lord,‖ (Epist.
ad Corinth. 1:p. 114).

(T) ―All therefore are glorified and magnified, not by themselves or their own works of righteous
actions, which they have wrought out, but by his will,‖ (Clement, Ep. 1, ad. Corinth. p. 72.).

(T) ―‗not by ourselves, nor by our wisdom, or understanding, or piety, or the works which we
have done in holiness of heart,‘ but by faith by which God Almighty hath justified all from the
beginning, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen,‖ (Ibid).

(I) ―He that is chaste in the flesh, let him not be proud or insolent: knowing that it is another who
furnishes him with the gift of contingence,‖ (Ep. ad Corinth. 1, p. 78.).

(L) ―Making it manifest, that through the blood of the Lord there should be redemption for all
those that believe and hope in God,‖ (Ep. ad Corinth. p. 30).

(P) ―Therefore He (that is, God), being desirous that all his beloved ones should partake of
repentance, confirmed it by his almighty will,‖ (Epist. ad Corinth. 1:p. 20.).

(P) ―God hath chosen the Lord Jesus Christ, and us by him,‖ (Episi. ad Corinth. p. 130, 114.).

(P) ―When he wills, and as he wills, he does all things; none of those things which are decreed by
him, shall pass away,‖ (Epist. ad Corinth. 1:p. 64.)

(L) ―Without love nothing is well-pleasing to God; in love the Lord assumed us to himself;
because of the love which Christ our Lord hath towards us, he hath given his blood for us, his
flesh for our flesh, and his soul for our souls,‖ (Ep. ad Corinth. p. 112.).
(Per.) ―Whereas it is the will of God, that all whom he loves should partake of repentance, and
so not perish with the unbelieving and impenitent, he has established it by his almighty will.‘ But
if any of those whom God wills should partake of the grace of repentance, should afterwards
perish, where is his almighty will? And how is this matter settled and established by such a will
of his?‖ (Ep. 1, ad Cor. p. 20).

Barnabas. A.D. 70.

(L) Speaking of Christ, ―I see that I shall thus offer my flesh, for the sins of the new people;
meaning a special and peculiar people that should be taken out from among the Gentiles under
the New Testament dispensation, called a new people, to distinguish them from God‘s ancient
people the Jews,‖ (Part 1, s. 6, p. 224).

(T) ―When we receive the righteous promise, of sin being no more, being made all new by the
Lord,‘ then shall we be able to sanctify it, being first sanctified ourselves,‖ (Barnab. Ep. Far. 1,
sect. 11. p. 224.).

(Per.) ―He that hopes in Christ, the firm and solid rock, shall live for ever,‖ (Bernal. Ep. par. 1, c.
5, p. 220.).

(Per.) ―Because, the kingdom of Jesus depends upon the tree (he means the cross,) wherefore
they that hope in him shall live for ever,‖ (Bernal. Ep. par. 1, c. 6, p. 227.).

Ignatius. A.D. 110

(P) Ignatius speaks of two sorts of persons, signified by, ―two pieces of money; the one belongs
to God, and the other to the world; which have each their own characters upon them, and every
one shall go to his own place,‖ (Ignat. Epist. p. 32).

(T) ―They that are carnal,‖ says he, ―cannot do the things that are spiritual, nor they that are
spiritual do the things that are carnal, as neither faith the things of unbelief, nor unbelief the
things of faith,‖ (Ep. ad Ephesians p. 22.).

(P) In predestination, ―…there was such a difference between the infidels and the elect,‖ (Apud.
ib. 50:4, c. 15, p. 134.)

(L) That Christ suffered, ―for us, that we might be saved,‖ ―for our sins.‖ ―Jesus Christ died for
us, that believing in his death, you may escape dying,‖ for, ―Jesus is the life of believers,‖ (Ignat.
ep. ad Smyrn. p. 2, 5; ad. Polycarp, p. 12; ad. Ephesians p. 17; ad. Romans p. 59. Ep. ad Tralles,
p. 47. Ep. ad Romans p. 59. Apol. Pro Christ. 1, p. 45.).
 Justin. A.D. 150.

(P) ―I am able to show, that all the things appointed by Moses were types, symbols, and
declarations of what should be done to Christ; and of them that were foreknown to believe in
him: and likewise of those things that were to be done by Christ, ‖ (Dialog. cum. Tryph. p. 261).

We bear, that we may not, ―with our voice deny Christ, by whom we are called unto the
salvation which is before prepared by our Father,‖ (Dialog. cum. Tryph. p. 360).

―The Lord of glory, who exists for ever, would give to them all to enjoy honor and rest, with the
elect,‖ (Epist. ad Zeuam et Sereu. p. 515.)

(T) ―Mankind by Adam fell under death, and the deception of the serpent; that ‗we are born
sinners;‘ and that we are entirely flesh, and no good thing dwells in us; he asserts the weakness
and disability of men either to understand or perform spiritual things, and denies that man, by the
natural sharpness of his wit, can attain to the knowledge of divine things, or by any innate power
in him save himself, and procure eternal life,‖ (Epist. ad Zenam, p. 506.).

(T) ―Having sometime before convinced us to of the impossibility of our nature to obtain life,
hath now shown us the Savior, who is able to save that which otherwise were impossible to be
saved,‖ (Epist. ad Diognet. p. 500.).

(P) ―The great things, which the Father hath in his counsel appointed for all men,‖ that are or
shall be well-pleasing to him, and likewise those that depart from his will, whether angels or
men, he only (Christ) hath most clearly taught, Matthew 8:11, 12, and 7:22, 23; and in other
words, when he will condemn the unworthy that shall not be saved, he will say to them, ―Go ye
into outer darkness, which the Father hath prepared for Satan and his angels,‖ (Dialog. cum.
Tryph. p. 301.)

(P) ―God, out of all nations, took your nation to himself, a nation unprofitable, disobedient, and
unfaithful; thereby pointing out, those that are chosen out of every nation to obey his will, by
Christ, whom also he calls Jacob, and names Israel,‖ (Dialog. cum Tryph, 359, 360.).

(L) ―The offering of fine flour for the leper, was a figure of the bread of the Eucharist, which
Jesus Christ our Lord hath delivered unto us to do in commemoration of his sufferings; which he
endured for those men whose souls are purified from all iniquity, (Dialog. cum Tryph. p. 259,
260.).

(L) Jesus died for men of every kind, not all men. ―As Jacob served Laban for the cattle that
were spotted, and of various forms, so Christ served even to the cross, for men of every kind, of
many and various shapes, procuring them by his blood, and the mystery of the cross,‖ (Dialog.
cum Tryph, p. 364.).
(I) ―Do you think, O men, that we could ever have been able to have understood these things in the Scriptures, unless by the will of him that wills these things, we had
received grace to understand them,‖ (Dialog. cum Tryph. p. 346.).

Minutius Felix. A.D. 170.

(P) ―For what else is fate, but what God says of every one of us? Who, since he can foreknow
matter, even determines the fates according to the merits and qualities of every one; so that not
our nativity (that is, as depending on the position of the stars) but our natural disposition is
punished.‖ (Min. Felix. Octav. p. 397. Ed. Elmenhorst. p. 39; ed. Oxon).

Irenaeus. A.D. 180.

(P) ―God predetermining all things for the perfection of man, and for the bringing about and
manifestation of his dispositions, that goodness may be shown, and righteousness perfected, and
the church be conformed to the image of his Son, and at length become a perfect man, and by
such things be made ripe to see God, and enjoy him,‖ (Irenaeus adv. Haeres. 50:4, c. 72, p. 419.)

(P) ―God is not so poor and indigent as not to give to every body its own soul as its proper form.
Hence, having completed the number which he before determined with himself, all those who are
written, or ordained unto life, shall rise again, having their own bodies, souls, and spirits, in
which they pleased God; but those who are deserving of punishment shall go into it, having also
their own souls and bodies in which they departed from the grace of God,‖ (L. 2, c. 62, inter
Fragment. Graec. ad. calcem).

(P) ―The tower of election being everywhere exalted and glorious,‖ (L. 4, c. 70, p. 412.

(T) Man, ―will be justly condemned, because being made rational, ‗he has lost true reason,‘ and
lives irrationally, is contrary to the justice of God, giving himself up to every earthly spirit, and
serves all pleasure,‖ (Adv. Haeres. 1. 4, c. 16, p. 460.).

(L) ―All things he did for the younger Rachel, who had good eyes, who prefigured the church,
for whom Christ endured, that is, sufferings and death,‖ (Adv. Haeres, c. 47, 1.88, p. 376.).

(L) Clement distinguishes between Christ‘s being a Savior of some, and a Lord of others; for he
says, that he is ―the Savior of them that believe; but the Lord of them that believe not,‖ (Strom.
1.7, p. 703.).
(P) He asserts a preparation of happiness for some, and of punishment for others, upon the
prescience or foreknowledge of God; his words are these, ―God foreknowing all things, has
prepared for both suitable habitations,‖ (Irenaeus adv. Haeres. 50:4, c. 76, p. 423.).

(P) Having cited several passages of Scripture which respect the blinding and hardening of the
heart of Pharaoh, and others, such as Isaiah 6:9, 10, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Romans 1:28, 2
Thessalonians 2:11, 12, which are commonly made use of in handling the doctrine of
reprobation, he thus descants upon them, ―If therefore now, as many as God knows, will not
believe, since he foreknows all things, he hath given them up to their infidelity, and turns his face
from them, leaving them in the darkness which they have chosen for themselves; is it to be
wondered at, that he then gave up Pharaoh, who would never believe, with them that were with
him, to their own infidelity?‖ (L. 4, c. 48, p. 389.)

(I) ―Him we rightly show is known by none, unless by the Son, and such to whom the Son will
reveal him; for the Son reveals him to all to whom the Father would be known,and neither
without the good will and pleasure of the Father, nor without the administration of the Son, can
any one know God,‖ (Adv. Hoeres. 1.4, c. 19, p. 333.).

(I) And as the dry earth, if it receives not moisture, does not ―bring forth fruit, so likewise we,
being first a dry tree, can never bring forth fruit unto life, without the rain which comes freely
from above, that is, the Holy Spirit,‖ (Adv. Hoeres. 1.3, c. 19, p. 280.).

(Per.) Concerning Christians, ―but the Spirit encompasses man within and without, as always
abiding, and never leaves him,‖ (Iren. adv. Haeres. 1. 5, c. 12, p. 450; vide Fragm. Graec. ad
Calcem Ireuaei.).

Clements Alexandrinus. A.D. 190.

(P) ―That virtue which holds the church together is faith, by which the elect of God are saved,‖
(Stromat. 50:2, p. 384.)

(P) ―According to the fitness which every one has, He, that is, God, distributes his benefits both
to the Greeks and to the Barbarians; and to them who are predestinated from among them, and
are in his own time called, faithful, and elect,‖ (Ibid. 50:7, p. 702, 703.).

(I) ―Faith is not to be calumniated, as easy and vulgar, and what every one has. I say, therefore,
that faith, whether it is founded on love or on fear, as the adversaries say, is something divine,‖
(Stromat, 1. 2, p. 372.).
(I) ―It remains, that by divine grace, and by the word alone, which is from God, we understand
that which is unknown,‖ (Stromat. 1.5, p. 588.).

(Per.) Speaking of a devout and religious person, he says, that, ―such a soul shall never at any
time be separated from God,‖ ( Stromat. 1. 6, p. 670).

(Per.) ―We shall not fall, into corruption, who pass through into incorruption, because he sustains
us; for he hath said, and he will do it.‖ And a little after he says,―his, that is, Christ‘s goodness
towards them, who through hearing have believed, is immoveable, and turns neither one way nor
another,‖ (Paedagog. 1. 1, c. 9, p. 125-126.).

(P) ―But how can that be called good which is not done of purpose? And on this account the
world required long periods, until the number of souls which were predestined to fill it should be
completed,, and then that visible heaven should be folded up like a scroll, and that which is
higher should appear, and the souls of the blessed, being restored to their bodies, should be
ushered into light; but the souls of the wicked, for their impure actions being surrounded with
fiery spirit, should be plunged into the abyss of unquenchable fire, to endure punishments
through eternity.‖ (Recognitions of Clement, Book 3, Chap. 26)

(P) ―Jeremiah 1:5, 7, Do not say, I am a child; before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee, etc.,
his note upon it is, this prophecy intimates unto us, that those who before the foundation of the
world are known by God unto faith; that is, are appointed by him to faith, are now babes,
because of the will of God lately fulfilled, as we are new-born unto vocation and salvation,‖
(Paedadog. 50:1, c. 7, p. 111.)

(P) ―It is not becoming, that a friend of God, on whom God has predestinated before the
foundation of the world, to be put into the high adoption of children, should fall into pleasures or
fears, and be unemployed in repressing the passions,‖ (Stromat. 50:6, p. 652.)

Tertullian. A.D. 200.

(P) ―But thine order and thy magistracy, and the name of thy court is the church of Christ: thou
art his, written in the books of life,‖ (De Corona, c. 13, p. 129; ed. Paris, 1634.).
(T) Satan is ―the angel of wickedness, the artificer of every error, the interpolator of every age;
by whom man from the beginning being circumvented, so as to transgress the commands of God,
was therefore delivered unto death, hence he has also made the whole kind, or all mankind,
which springs from his seed, infected, partaker of his damnation,‖ (Tertullian. de Testimon.
Animae, c. 3, p. 82.).

(L) ―Yea, in that body in which he could die through the flesh, he died, not through the church,
but verily for the church, by changing body for body, and that which is fleshly for that which is
spiritual,‖ (Adv. Marcion. 1. 5, c. 19, p, 613.).

(Per.) Tertullian asserts, that the work of God cannot be lost, extinguished, or cease; ―for what is
of God is not so extinguished, as it is overshadowed; for it may be overshadowed,, because it is
not God;. it cannot be extinguished, because it is of God,‖ (de Anima, c. 4,1, p. 342.).

(P) Having cited Isaiah 40:5, 6, he makes this remark, ―he distinguishes the issues of things, not
substances; for who does not place the judgment of God in a twofold sentence of salvation and
punishment? Wherefore all flesh is grass, which is appointed to the fire, and all flesh shall see
the salvation of God; which is ordained to salvation,‖ (De Resurrect. Carnis, c. 59. p. 427.)

(I) ―By whom is truth found out without God? To whom is God known without Christ? By
whom is Christ explored without the Holy Spirit? To whom is the Holy Spirit applied without the
mystery of faith?‖ (De Anima, c. 1, p. 304.).

(I) ―It is one thing to make, and another to create, but both he gives to one; man is the
workmanship of the Creator, the same therefore who hath made, hath created in Christ. With
respect to substance, he hath made him; with respect to grace, he hath created him,‖ (Adv.
Marcio, 1. 5, c. 17, p. 609.).

Origenus Alexandrinus. A.D. 230.

(P) ―Upon casting lots the inheritance is distributed to the people of God, and the lot moved, not
by chance, but according to what is predestinated by God,‖ (In Josuam Homil. 23, fol. 173, H.).

―Not therefore any thing will be because God knows it to be future, but because it is future it is
known by God before it comes to pass,‖ (In Romans 1:7, fol. 199, E.). Which entirely accords
with what we assert, that God did not decree any thing because he foresaw it, but he foresaw it
because he decreed it.

―All that are loved by God the Father, and preserved in Christ Jesus,‖ (In Matthew Homil. 30,
fol. 62, B.).

(T) ―In Adam,56 as saith the word, all die, and are condemned in the likeness of Adam‘s
transgression, which the divine word says not so much of some one, as of all mankind—for the
curse of Adam is common to all,‖ (Contr. Cels. 1. 4, p. 191.).

(T) ―This‖ he says, shows, that through sin the kingdom is given to death; nor could it reign
many, unless it receives the right of reigning from sin; by which seems to be pointed out, that
whereas the soul was created free by God, it could reduce itself into bondage through sin,‖
(Comm. in Joannem, p. 316.).

(T) ―Because our free will is not sufficient to have a clean heart, but we are in need of God, who
creates such an one; therefore it is said by him, who knew how to pray, Create in me a clean
heart, O God!‖(Contr. Cels. 1. 5, 1, 7, p. 354.).

(L) ―The sufferings of Christ, indeed, confer life on them that believe, but death on them that
believe not,‖ (Leviticus homil. 3, fol. 57, D.).

(L) ―The church of Christ is strengthened by the grace of him who was crucified for her,‖ (In
Genesis homil. 3, fol. 8, E.).

(L) ―And to give his life a ransom for many,‖ thus, ―for the many that believed on him,‖ (Com.
in Matthew p. 422.).

(P) ―Whoever dies in his sins, even if he profess to believe in Christ, does not truly believe in
him; and even if that which exists without works be called faith, such faith is dead in itself, as we
read in the epistle bearing the name of James (Commentaries on John 19:6).

(P) We are they ―upon whom the ends of the ages have met, having ended their course.‖ We
have been predestined by God, before the world was, (to arise) in the extreme end of the times.
And so we are trained by God for the purpose of chastising, and (so to say) emasculating, the
world. We are the circumcision–spiritual and carnal–of all things; for both in the spirit and in the
flesh we circumcise worldly principles. (On the apparel of Women–Book II, Chapter 9)

(P) ―It seems that the knowledge of God is greater than to be comprehended by human nature,
hence are so many mistakes in men concerning God, but by the goodness and love of God to
man, and through wondrous and divine grace, the knowledge of God comes to them who were
before comprehended in the foreknowledge of God; or, according to the version of Gelenius,
who to this were predestinated,‖ (Contra cells. 1. 7, p. 361, 362.).

(P) ―All these things look this way, that the apostle may prove this; That if either Isaac or Jacob,
for their merits, had been chosen to those things which they, being in the flesh sought after, and,
by the works of the flesh, had deserved to be justified; then the grace of their merit might belong
to the posterity of flesh and blood also, but now, since, their election does not arise from works,
but from the purpose of God, from the will of him that calleth,‖ (In Rom.l. 7, fol. 195, G.).

(I) ―Those words in Matthew 11:27 manifestly show, that God is known by a certain divine favor
or grace,‘ which is infused into the soul, not without God, but by a sort of an afflatus, or
inspiration,‖ (Contr. Cels. 1. 6, p. 309, 310.).

(I) ―It is the united sense of the whole church, that all the law is indeed spiritual; yet these things
which the law breathes out are not known to all, but to them only to whom the grace of the Holy
Spirit is given, in the word of wisdom and knowledge,‖ (Peri Arcwn, 1. 1, Proem. fol. 112, C.).

(Per.) ―Our soul is enlightened either with the true light, which shall never be put out, which is
Christ; or if it has not in it that light which is eternal, without doubt it is enlightened with a
temporal and extinguishable light, by him who transforms himself into an angel of light,‖ (In
Jud. homil.1, fol. 177, C; et in Malt. homil. 30, fol. 60, E.).

(P) ―Ye have already learned above (in Lecture XLV.) who the sheep are: be ye sheep. They are
sheep through believing, sheep in following the Shepherd, sheep in not despising their
Redeemer, sheep in entering by the door, sheep in going out and finding pasture, sheep in the
enjoyment of eternal life. What did He mean, then, in saying to them, ―Ye are not of my sheep‖?
That He saw them predestined to everlasting destruction, not won to eternal life by the price of
His own blood,‖ (Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John. Tractates XLV to
XLIX, Chapter 10.22-42, par. 4).
(P) And they shall never perish:‖ you may hear the undertone, as if He had said to them, Ye shall
perish for ever, because ye are not of my sheep. ―No one shall pluck them out of my hand.‖ Give
still greater heed to this: ―That which my Father gave me is greater than all.‖What can the wolf
do? What can the thief and the robber? They destroy none but those predestined to destruction.
But of those sheep of which the apostle says, ―The Lord knoweth them that are His;‖ and
―Whom He did foreknow, them He also did predestinate; and whom He did predestinate, them
He also called; and whom He called, them He also justified; and whom He justified, them He
also glorified;‖–there is none of such sheep as these that the wolf seizes, or the thief steals, or the
robber slays.(Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John. Tractates XLV to
XLIX, Chapter 10.22-42, par. 6)

Caecilius Thascius Cyprianus. A.D. 250.

(P) ―It seems that the knowledge of God is greater than to be comprehended by human nature, hence are so many mistakes in men concerning God, but by the
goodness and love of God to man, and through wondrous and divine grace, the knowledge of God comes to them who were before comprehended in the
foreknowledge of God; or, according to the version of Gelenius, who to this were predestinated,‖ (Contra cells. 1. 7, p. 361, 362.).

(P) ―All these things look this way, that the apostle may prove this; That if either Isaac or Jacob,
for their merits, had been chosen to those things which they, being in the flesh sought after, and,
by the works of the flesh, had deserved to be justified; then the grace of their merit might belong
to the posterity of flesh and blood also, but now, since, their election does not arise from works,
but from the purpose of God, from the will of him that calleth,‖ (In Rom.l. 7, fol. 195, G.).

(L) ―Writing to the seven churches, and intimating to each of them their sins and transgressions,
he said repent; to whom? but ―whom he had redeemed with the great price of his blood,‖‖ (In
Epist. ad Novatianum. p. 436, 437.).

(T) Whatsoever, is grateful, is to be ascribed not to man‘s power, but to God‘s gift. It is God‘s, I
say, all is God‘s that we can do;‘ hence we live, hence we excel, etc.‖ (Ep. 2, ad Donat. p. 6.).

(I) ―A new man, a regenerated person, and one restored to his God, through his grace,‘ says, in
the first place, Father, because now he begins to be a son,‖ (De Oratione Dominica, p. 265.).

(I) ―Most beloved brethren,‖ says he, ―we ought to consider and understand not only this, that we
call Father which is in heaven, but we add and say, Our Father, that is, of them that believe; of
them, who being sanctified by him,and repaired through the birth of spiritual grace,‘ begin to be
the children of God,‖ (De Oratione Dominica, p. 266.).

(Per.) ―The strength of believers remains immoveable, and that integrity continues stable and
strong with those who fear and love God with their whole heart,‖ (Epist. 52, ad Antonianum, p.
94.).

Lactantius. A.D. 320.

(L) Speaking of the crucifixion of Christ, he says,‖He stretched out his hands in his passion and
measured the world, that he might at that very time show, that from the rising of sun to the
setting of it, a large people, gathered out of all languages and tribes, should come under his
wings, and receive the most great and sublime sign in their foreheads,‖ (Lactant. Divin. Institut.
c. 26, p. 344.).

(T) ―To undertake a thing is easy, to fulfill is difficult; for when thou committest thyself to a
combat and conflict, the victory lies in the will of God, not in thine own,‖ (Divin. Institut. 1. 6, c.
6, p. 452.).

(T) ―We, who before as blind men, and as shut up in the prison of folly, sat in darkness, ignorant
of God and truth, are enlightened by God, who hath adopted us in his covenant, and being
delivered from evil bonds, and brought into the light of wisdom, he hath took into the inheritance
of the heavenly kingdom,‖ (Divin. Institut. 1. 4, c. 20, p. 328.).

(Per.) ―Virtue is perpetual, without any intermission; nor can it depart from him who has once
received it,‖ (Lactant. Institut. Divin. 1. 7. c. 10, p. 562.).

Novatianus. A.D. 250.

(P) ―For, says he,112 if he is said to be glorious in predestination, and predestination was before
the foundation of the world, the order must be kept, and before him there will be, a large number
of men appointed to glory,‖ (Novotian, de Trinitate, c. 24, p. 755.).

Athanasius. A.D. 350.

(P) ―The apostle, says he, in the first place, gives thanks to God for his piety, and signifies that
faith in Christ was not a new thing, all, but that this was from eternity prepared and promised by
God,‖ (Synops. Sacr. cript, vol. 3. p. 51.).

(P) ―How therefore should he choose us before we were, unless, as he has said, we were before
delineated in him? how verily, before men were created, should he predestinate us,‖ (Athanas.
Contr. Arian. Orat. 3, p. 245, 246, vol. i.)

(P) ―Having life and spiritual blessings prepared, before the world, for us in the word, according
to election,‖ (Athanas. contr. Arian. Orat. 3, p. 447.).

(P) And elsewhere, he affirms that the foundation of true religion is more ancient than the
prophets, and even from eternity; for speaking of the times in which they prophesied he says,
―Not that they laid the foundation of godliness, for it was before them, and always was, yea, even
before the foundation of the world, this God before prepared for us in Christ,‖ (De Synodi
Arimin. & Seleuc. p. 871.).
(T) Concerning being one with God, ――This phrase in us is the same as if it was said, that they
may be made one by the power of the Father and of the Son; or without God it is impossible that
this can be done,‖ (Athanas. de Incarnatione, orat. 4, p. 474.).

(I) ―God being good, hath imparted his image, our Lord Jesus Christ, to men; and hath made
them according to his image and likeness, that they, through such grace,‘ understanding the
image, the Word of the Father, might be able, through him, to receive the knowledge of the
Father; and so knowing the Creator might live a truly happy and blessed life,‖ (De Incarnat.
Verbi Dei, p. 63, 64.

(Per.) ―That phrase, as we are one, referring to John 17:92, means nothing else, than that the
grace of the Spirit which the disciples had, might be never-failing and irrevocable,‖ (Contr.
Arian. orat. 4, p. 477.).

(P) ―Upon casting lots the inheritance is distributed to the people of God, and the lot moved, not
by chance, but according to what is predestinated by God,‖ (In Josuam Homil. 23, fol. 173, H.).

(P) ―Not therefore any thing will be because God knows it to be future, but because it is future it
is known by God before it comes to pass,‖ (In Romans 1:7, fol. 199, E.). Which entirely accords
with what we assert, that God did not decree any thing because he foresaw it, but he foresaw it
because he decreed it.

(P) ―All that are loved by God the Father, and preserved in Christ Jesus,‖ (In Matthew Homil.
30, fol. 62, B.).

(T) ―The devil wrought sin from the beginning in the rational and understanding nature of man;
for which reason it is impossible for nature, being rational, and willing, and being under the
condemnation of death, to restore itself to liberty,‖ Athanas. contr. Arian. orat. 2, vol. 1. p.
358. de Salutar. adv. Jes. Christ. vol. 1. p. 638.).

(I) ―He only is the true and natural image of the Father; for though we are made again after his
image, and are called the glory and image of God, but not because of ourselves; but because that
the true image and glory of God, which is the Word of God, dwells in us, who being at last made
flesh for us, we have the grace of this vocation,‖ (Contr. Arian. orat. 4, p. 463, 472.).
(Per.) ―He received that the gift residing in him, grace might remain firm; for if men only had
received, it was possible that it might be taken away again, which is shown in Adam, for what he
received he lost; now that this grace might not he taken away, but be kept safe from men,‘
therefore he made this gift his own, and says, that he received power as man, which he always
had as God,‖ (contr. Arian. orat. 4, p. 490.).

Hilarius Pictaviensis. A.D. 363.

(T) ―Who will boast that he has a pure heart before God? No, not an infant, though but of one
day, the original and law of sin remaining in us,‖ (Euarr. in Psal. 58:p. 392.).

(L) Christ, ―is appointed a mediator in himself, ad salutem ecclesiae, for the salvation of the
church,‖ which is what he means by the house of David, as the subject of redemption; when
commenting on these words, Hosanna to the son of David, he observes,146 ―The words of praise
express the power of redemption: for by Osanna in the Hebrew language, is signified the
redemption of the house of David,‖ (De Trinitate. 50:9. p. 116.).

(Per.) ―This is the constitution of invariable truth, in the beginning of the words of God is truth,
that the new man, regenerated in Christ, may henceforth live eternal, according to the image of
the eternal God, that is of the heavenly Adam,‖ (In Psalm 119. Res, p. 519, 520.).

(I) ―What room, is left for boasting in us, when we remember that all things are of God?‖ (Enarr.
in Psalm 123, p. 540.).

(I) ―What is so possible to the power of God, than that he can save through faith? That he can
regenerate by it?‖ (In Matthew can. 20, p. 305.).

(Per.) ―We do not depend on uncertain and idle hopes, as mariners, who, sometimes sailing
rather, by wishes than in confidence, the wandering and unstable either drive or leave; but we
have the insuperable spirit of faith, through the gift of the only begotten of God,‘ abiding, and
leading us by an unalterable course to the quiet haven,‖ (De Trinitate 1. 12, p. 182.).

Ambrosius Mediolanensis. A.D. 380.

(P) ―Whom God esteems worthy of honor he calls, and whom he pleases he makes religious,‖
(De bono Persever. 50:2, c. 19.).

(P) ―That in predestination the church of God always has been; and that the fruitfulness of faith
is prepared, whenever the Lord shall command it to break forth, but by the will of the Lord it is
reserved for a certain time,‖ (De Abraham, 50:2. c. 10, p. 265).
(P) ―That the members can cleave to their own head, especially since we are predestinated from
the beginning, unto the adoption of the children of God, by Jesus Christ, in himself; which
predestination he hath proved, asserting that which from the beginning is before declared,
Therefore shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they both shall
be one flesh, to be the mystery of Christ and the church,‖ (Epist. 50:5, epist. 37, p. 283.).

(L) ―Do not trust in riches; for all such things are left here, faith alone will accompany you. And
righteousness indeed will go with you if faith has led the way. Why do riches entice you ? ―Ye
were not redeemed with gold and silver,‖ with possessions, or silk garments, ―from your vain
conversation, but with the precious Blood of Christ. ‖ He then is rich who is an heir of God, a
joint heir with Christ. Despise not the poor man, he has made you rich. ‖ This poor man cried,
and the Lord heard him.‖ Do not reject a poor man, Christ when He was rich became poor, and
became poor because of you, that by His poverty He might make you rich. Do not then as though
rich exalt yourself, He sent forth His apostles without money,‖ (Ambrose, Letter 63, par. 87)

(T) ―Neither can any say, that man can procure more for himself than what is bestowed upon him
by a divine gift,‖ (De Paradiso, c. 5, p. 116.).

(I) ―What is impossible by human desires, that can be possible by divine grace alone, for, who
can change nature, but he who hath created nature?‖ (In Psalm 119. Heth, p. 935.).

(I) ―The grace of the Lord is given, not as from merit of reward, but as of will, according to 1
Corinthians 12:11, as he will, he says, not as is due; wherefore there is no room nor reason for
boasting in the creature,‖ (De Exhort. ad Virgin. p, 437.).

(Per.) ―Perseverance, is neither of man that willeth or runneth; for it is not in the power of man,‘
but it is of God that showeth mercy, that thou canst fulfill what thou hast begun,‖ (In Psalm 119.
Jod, p. 963.).

(L) ―Although Christ suffered for all, yet He suffered for us particularly, because He suffered for
the Church.‖ Saint Ambrose of Milan, Exposition of the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke,
trans. Theodosia Tomkinson (Etna: Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, 1998), Book VI,
§25, p. 201.

Fulgentius, Bishop of Ruspe, A.D. 467-532

(L) Fulgentius, an early church writer, north African bishop, and disciple of Augustine, explains
the meaning of God‘s will to save all men, namely that it means not all men without exception,
but all men without distinction.

Fulgentius, bishop of Ruspe (c. 467-532): For this reason regarding all those whom God wishes
to save, we must understand that we do not think anyone can be saved apart from God who wills
it. Further, let us not imagine that the will of the omnipotent God either is not fulfilled or is in
any way impeded in certain people. For all whom God wishes to save are unquestionably
saved, and they cannot be saved unless God wishes them to be saved, and each person
whom God does not will to be saved is not saved, since our God “has done all things that he
willed.” Therefore, all are saved whom he wishes to be saved, for this salvation is not born of the
human will but is supplied by God‘s good will. Nevertheless, these “all men” whom God
wishes to save include not the entire human race altogether, but rather the totality of those
who are to be saved. So the word “all” is mentioned because the divine kindness saves all
kinds from among all men, that is, from every race, status, and age, from every language
and every region. In all of these people, this message of our Redeemer is fulfilled where he
says, ―When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things to myself.‖ Now he did not say
this because he draws all men whatsoever, but because no one is saved unless he himself draws
him. For he also says: ―No one can come to me unless the Father who has sent me draws him.‖
He also says in another place: ―Everything that the Father has given me will come to me.‖
Therefore, these are all the ones whom God wills to be saved and to come to the knowledge of
the truth. Fathers of the Church, Vol. 126, Fulgentius of Ruspe and the Scythian Monks,
Correspondence on Christology and Grace, trans. Bob Roy McGregor and Donald Fairbairn
(Washington D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 2013), p. 101. See Epistola XVII
in PL 65.
Latin text: Quos omnes homines Deus vult salvos fieri. Per omnes homines non semper totum
genus humanum intelligitur.—61. Quocirca illos omnes quos Deus vult salvos fieri, sic
intelligere debemus, ut nec aliquem putemus salvum fieri posse nisi voluntate Dei, nec
existimemus voluntatem omnipotentis Dei, aut in aliquo non impleri, aut aliquatenus impediri.
Omnes enim quos Deus vult salvos fieri, sine dubitatione salvantur, nec possunt salvari, nisi quos
Deus vult salvos fieri, nec est quisquam quem Deus salvari velit qui (al. et) non salvetur: quia
Deus noster omnia quaecunque voluit fecit. Ipsi omnes utique salvi fiunt, quos omnes vult salvos
fieri: quia haec salus non illis ex humana voluntate nascitur, sed ex Dei bona voluntate
praestatur. Verumtamen in his omnibus hominibus quos Deus vult salvos facere non totum
omnino genus significatur hominum, sed omnium universitas salvandorum. Ideo autem omnes
dicti sunt, quia ex omnibus hominibus omnes istos divina bonitas salvat, id est, ex omni gente,
conditione, aetate, ex omni lingua, ex omni provincia. In his omnibus ille sermo nostri
Redemptoris impletur, quo ait: Cum exaltatus fuero a terra, omnia traham ad meipsum. Quod
non ideo dixit, quia omnes omnino trahit, sed quia nemo salvus fit, nisi quem ipse traxerit. Nam
et alibi dicit: Nemo potest venire ad me, nisi Pater, qui misit me, traxerit eum. Item alibi: Omne
quod dedit mihi Pater ad me veniet.Hi ergo sunt omnes quos vult Deus salvos fieri et ad
agnitionem veritatis venire. Epistola XVII, Caput XXXI, §61, PL 65:489.

He goes on to state in the same letter…

Fulgentius, bishop of Ruspe (c. 467-532): These are all those on whom God has mercy because
they are preceded by his mercy so that they may believe and be freely saved through faith. The
fact that they believe does not take its beginning from the human will, but faith is given to the
will itself in accordance with the free generosity of the merciful God. Blessed Paul recorded
this distinction between different senses of the word “all” (a distinction that a faithful
understanding must preserve completely) at one place in his letter so that even when he says
“all men” without noting any exceptions, he might still indicate all men of a certain kind
while excluding others. Fathers of the Church, Vol. 126, Fulgentius of Ruspe and the Scythian
Monks, Correspondence on Christology and Grace, Fulgentius’s First Letter to the Scythian
Monks, trans. Bob Roy McGregor and Donald Fairbairn (Washington D.C.: The Catholic
University of America Press, 2013), p. 103.
Latin text: Hi sunt ergo omnes quorum Deus miseretur, quia misericordia ipsius praeveniuntur,
ut credant et gratis salvi fiant per fidem. Eorum namque credulitas non ex humana voluntate
sumit initium, sed ipsi voluntati fides gratuita Dei miserantis largitate donatur. Hanc omnium
discretionem, quam fidelis debet intellectus omnino servare, beatus Paulus uno Epistolae suae
loco sic posuit, ut omnes homines sine aliqua exceptione dicens, statim quosdam omnes homines
exceptis aliis intimaret. Epistola XVII, Caput XXXI, §64, PL 65:490.

Other Quotes:
Ambrosiaster: The people of God hath its own fulness. In the elect and foreknown,
distinguished from the generality of all, there is accounted a certain special universality; so that
the whole world seems to be delivered from the whole world, and all men to be taken out of all
men. See Works of John Owen, Vol. 10, p. 423.

Latin text: Habet ergo populus Dei plenitudinem suam, et quamvis magna pars hominum,
salvantis gratiam aut repellat aut negligat, in electis tamen et praescitis, atque ab omnium
generalitate discretis, specialis quaedam censetur universitas, ut de toto mundo totus mundus
liberatus, et de omnibus hominibus omnes homines videantur assumpti: De Vocatione Gentium,
Liber Primus, Caput III, PL 17:1084.

Jerome (347-420) on Matthew 20:28: He does not say that he gave his life for all, but for many,
that is, for all those who would believe. See Turretin, Vol. 2, p. 462.

Latin text: Non dixit animam suam redemptionem dare pro omnibus, sed pro multis, id est, pro
his qui credere voluerint. Commentariorum in Evangelium Matthaei, Liber Tertius, PL 26:144-
145.

Hilary of Arles (c. 401-449) commenting on 1 John 2:2: When John says that Christ died for
the sins of the ―whole world,‖ what he means is that he died for the whole church. Introductory
Commentary on 1 John. Gerald Bray, ed., Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New
Testament, Vol. XI, James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2000),
p. 177.

Latin text: et non pro nostris tantum. set etiam pro totius mundi peccatis; Aecclesiam mundi
nomine appellat. Expositio In Epistolas Catholiicas, Incipit Epistola Sancti Iohannis Apostoli,
Cap. II, v. 2, PL Supp. 3:118.

Chrysostom (349-407) on Hebrews 9:28. ―So Christ was once offered.‖: By whom offered?
evidently by Himself. Here he says that He is not Priest only, but Victim also, and what is
sacrificed. On this account are [the words] ―was offered.‖ ―Was once offered‖ (he says) ―to bear
the sins of many.‖ Why ―of many,‖ and not ―of all‖? Because not all believed, For He died
indeed for all, that is His part: for that death was a counterbalance against the destruction of all
men. But He did not bear the sins of all men, because they were not willing. NPNF1: Vol. XIV,
Epistle to the Hebrews, Homly 17.
Prosper of Aquitaine (d. 463): He is not crucified with Christ who is not a member of the body
of Christ. When, therefore, our Saviour is said to be crucified for the redemption of the whole
world, because of his true assumption of the human nature, yet may he be said to be crucified
only for them unto whom his death was profitable. . . . Diverse from these is their lot who are
reckoned amongst them of whom is is said, ‗the world knew him not.‘

Latin text: Non est autem crucifixus in Christo, qui non est membrum corporis Christi, nec est
membrum corporis Christi, qui non per aquam et Spiritum sanctum induit Christum. Qui ideo in
infirmitate nostra communionem subiit mortis, ut nos in virtute ejus haberemus consortium
resurrectionis. Cum itaque rectissime dicatur Salvator pro totius mundi redemptione crucifixus,
propter veram humanae naturae susceptionem, et propter communem in primo homine omnium
perditionem: potest tamen dici pro his tantum crucifixus quibus mors ipsius profuit. . . . Diversa
ergo ab istis sors eorum est qui inter illos censentur de quibus dicitur; Mundus eum non
cognovit. Responsiones ad Capitula Gallorum, Capitulum IX, Responsio, PL 51:165.

Prosper of Aquitaine (d. 463): Doubtless the propriety of redemption is theirs from whom the
prince of this world is cast out. The death of Christ is not to be so laid out for human-kind, that
they also should belong unto his redemption who were not to be regenerated.

Latin text: Redemptionis proprietas haud dubie penes illos est, de quibus princeps mundi missus
est foras, et jam non vasa diaboli, sed membra sunt Christi. Cujus mors non ita impensa est
humano generi, ut ad redemptionem ejus etiam qui regenerandi non erant pertinerint.
Responsiones ad Capitula Objectionum Vincentianarum, Capitulum Primum, Responsio, PL
51:178.

Theodoret of Cyrrhus (393-466) commenting on Hebrews 9:27-28: As it is appointed for

each human being to die once, and the one who accepts death‘s decree no longer sins but awaits
the examination of what was done in life, so Christ the Lord, after being offered once for us and
taking up our sins, will come to us again, with sin no longer in force, that is, with sin no longer
occupying a place as far as human beings are concerned. He said himself, remember, when he
still had a mortal body, ―He committed no sin, nor was guile found in his mouth.‖ It should be
noted, of course, that he bore the sins of many, not of all: not all came to faith, so he removed the
sins of the believers only. Robert Charles Hill, Theodoret of Cyrus: Commentary on the Letters
of St. Paul, Vol. 2 (Brookline: Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 2001), p. 175.

Bede (672/673-735) commenting on 1 John 2:1: The Lord intercedes for us not by words but
by his dying compassion, because he took upon himself the sins which he was unwilling to
condemn his elect for. On 1 John. Gerald Bray, ed., Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture:
New Testament, Vol. XI, James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press,
2000), p. 177.

Latin text: Interpellat ergo pro nobis Dominus, non voce, sed miseratione, quia quod damnare in
electis noluit, suscipiendo servavit. In Primam Epistolam S. Joannis, Caput II, PL 93:89.

Bede (672/673-735) commenting on 1 John 2:2: In his humanity Christ pleads for our sins
before the Father, but in his divinity he has propitiated them for us with the Father. Furthermore,
he has not done this only for those who were alive at the time of his death, but also for the whole
church which is scattered over the full compass of the world, and it will be valid for everyone,
from the very first among the elect until the last one who will be born at the end of time. This
verse is therefore a rebuke to the Donatists, who thought that the true church was to be found
only in Africa. The Lord pleads for the sins of the whole world, because the church which he has
bought with his blood exists in every corner of the globe. On 1 John. Gerald Bray, ed., Ancient
Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament, Vol. XI, James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude
(Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2000), p. 178.

Latin text: Qui per humanitatem interpellat pro nobis apud Patrem, idem per divinitatem
propitiatur nobis cum Patre. . . . Non pro illis solum propitiatio est Dominus, quibus tunc in carne
viventibus scribebat Joannes, sed etiam pro omni Ecclesia quae per totam mundi latitudinem
diffusa est, primo nimirum electo usque ad ultimum qui in fine mundi nasciturus est porrecta.
Quibus verbis Donatistarum schisma reprobat, qui in Africae solum finibus Ecclesiam Christi
esse dicebant inclusam. Pro totius ergo mundi peccatis interpellat Dominus, quia per totum
mundum est Ecclesia, quam suo sanguine comparavit. In Primam Epistolam S. Joannis, Caput II,
PL 93:90.

Putting Amazing Back into Grace by Michael Horton

The following quotes are taken from the Appendix of Michael Horton’s Book, “Putting Amazing
Back into Grace.” They have no citations. The reader can do their own work in checking these
quotes out; (and yes, Horton included some of Augustine).

TOTAL DEPRAVITY

Barnabas (A.D. 70): ―Learn: before we believed in God, the habitation of our heart was corrupt
and weak.‖

Ignatius (A.D. 110): ―They that are carnal cannot do the things that are spiritual…Nor can the
unbelievers do the things of belief.‖

Justin Martyr (A.D. 150): ―Mankind by Adam fell under death, and the deception of the
serpent; we are born sinners…No good thing dwells in us…For neither by nature, nor by human
understanding is it possible for me to acquire the knowledge of things so great and so divine, but
by the energy of the Divine Spirit…Of ourselves it is impossible to enter the kingdom of
God…He has convicted us of the impossibility of our nature to obtain life…Free will has
destroyed us; we who were free are become slaves and for our sin are sold…Being pressed down
by our sins, we cannot move upward toward God; we are like birds who have wings, but are
unable to fly.‖

Clement Of Alexandria (A.D. 190): ―The soul cannot rise nor fly, nor be lifted up above the
things that are on high, without special grace.‖
Origen: ―Our free will…or human nature is not sufficient to seek God in any manner.‖

Eusebius (A.D. 330): ―The liberty of our will in choosing things that are good is destroyed.‖

Augustine (A.D. 370): ―If, therefore, they are servants of sin (2 Cor. 3:17), why do they boast of
free will?…O, man! Learn from the precept what you ought to do; learn from correction, that it
is your own fault you have not the power…Let human effort, which perished by Adam, here be
silent, and let the grace of God reign by Jesus Christ…What God promises, we ourselves do not
through free will of human nature, but He Himself does by grace within us…Men labor to find in
our own will something that is our own, and not God‘s; how can they find it, I know not.‖

UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION

Clement Of Rome (A.D. 69): ―Let us therefore approach Him in holiness of soul, lifting up pure
and undefiled hands unto Him, with love towards our gentle and compassionate Father because
He made us an elect portion unto Himself…Seeing then that we are the special elect portion of a
Holy God, let us do all things that pertain unto holiness…There was given a declaration of
blessedness upon them that have been elected by God through Jesus Christ our Lord…Jesus
Christ is the hope of the elect…‖

Barnabas (A.D. 70): ―We are elected to hope, committed by God unto faith, appointed to
salvation.‖

Ignatius: ―To the predestined ones before all ages, that is, before the world began, united and
elect in a true passion, by the eternal will of the Father…‖

Justin Martyr: ―In all these discourses I have brought all my proofs out of your own holy and
prophetic writings, hoping that some of you may be found of the elect number which through the
grace that comes from the Lord of Sabaoth, is left or reserved [set apart] for everlasting
salvation.‖

Irenaeus (A.D. 198): ―God hath completed the number which He before determined with
Himself, all those who are written, or ordained unto eternal life…Being predestined indeed
according to the love of the Father that we would belong to Him forever.‖

Clement Of Alexandria (A.D. 190): ―Through faith the elect of God are saved. The generation
of those who seek God is the elect nation, not [an earthly] place, but the congregation of the
elect, which I call the Church…If every person had known the truth, they would all have leaped
into the way, and there would have been no election…You are those who are chosen from
among men and as those who are predestined from among men, and in His own time called,
faithful, and elect, those who before the foundation of the world are known intimately by God
unto faith; that is, are appointed by Him to faith, grow beyond babyhood.‖

Cyprian (A.D. 250): ―This is therefore the predestination which we faithfully and humbly
preach.‖
Ambrose Of Milan (A.D. 380): ―In predestination the Church of God has always existed.‖

Augustine (A.D. 380): ―Here certainly, there is no place for the vain argument of those who
defend the foreknowledge of God against the grace of God, and accordingly maintain that we
were elected before the foundation of the world because God foreknew that we would be good,
not that He Himself would make us good. This is not the language of Him who said, ‗You did
not choose Me, but I chose you‘ (John 15:16).‖

LIMITED ATONEMENT

Barnabas (A.D. 70): ―[Christ speaking] I see that I shall thus offer My flesh for the sins of the
new people.‖

Justin Martyr (A.D. 150): ―He endured the sufferings for those men whose souls are [actually]
purified from all iniquity…As Jacob served Laban for the cattle that were spotted, and of various
forms, so Christ served even to the cross for men of every kind, of many and various shapes,
procuring them by His blood and the mystery of the cross.‖

Irenaeus (A.D. 180): ―He came to save all, all, I say, who through Him are born again unto God,
infants, and little ones, and children, and young men, and old men…Jesus is the Savior of them
that believe; but the Lord of them that believe not. Wherefore, Christ is introduced in the gospel
weary…promising to give His life a ransom, in the room of, many.‖

Tertullian (A.D. 200): ―Christ died for the salvation of His people…for the church.‖

Cyprian (A.D. 250): ―All the sheep which Christ hath sought up by His blood and sufferings are
saved…Whosoever shall be found in the blood, and with the mark of Christ shall only
escape…He redeemed the believers with the price of His own blood…Let him be afraid to die
who is not reckoned to have any part in the cross and sufferings of Christ.‖

Lactantius (A.D. 320): ―He was to suffer and be slain for the salvation of many people…who
having suffered death for us, hath made us heirs of the everlasting kingdom, having abdicated
and disinherited the people of the Jews…He stretched out His hands in the passion and measured
the world, that He might at the very time show that a large people, gathered out of all languages
and tribes, should come under His wings, and receive the most great and sublime sign.‖

Eusebius (A.D. 330): ―To what ‗us‘ does he refer, unless to them that beleive in Him? For to
them that do not believe in Him, He is the author of their fire and burning. The cause of Christ‘s
coming is the redemption of those that were to be saved by Him.‖

Julius (A.D. 350): ―The Son of God, by the pouring out of His precious blood, redeemed His set
apart ones; they are delivered by the blood of Christ.‖

Hilarion (A.D. 363): ―He shall remain in the sight of God forever, having already taken all
whom He hath redeemed to be kings of heaven, and co-heirs of eternity, delivering them as the
kingdom of God to the Father.‖
Ambrose (A.D. 380): ―Before the foundation of the world, it was God‘s will that Christ should
suffer for our salvation…Can He damn thee, whom He hath redeemed from death, for whom He
offered Himself, whose life He knows is the reward of His own death?‖

Pacian (A.D. 380): ―Much more, He will not allow him that is redeemed to be destroyed, nor
will He cast away those whom He has redeemed with a great price.‖

Epiphanius (A.D. 390): ―If you are redeemed…If therefore ye are bought with blood, thou are
not the number of them who were bought with blood, O Manes, because thou deniest the
blood…He gave His life for His own sheep.‖

Jerome (A.D. 390): ―Christ is sacrificed for the salvation of believers…Not all are redeemed,
for not all shall be saved, but the remnant…All those who are redeemed and delivered by Thy
blood return to Zion, which Thou hast prepared for Thyself by Thine own blood…Christ came to
redeem Zion with His blood. But lest we should think that all are Zion or every one is Zion is
truly redeemed of the Lord, who are redeemed by the blood of Christ form the Church…He did
not give His life for every man, but for many, that is, for those who would believe.‖

IRRESISTBLE GRACE

Barnabas (A.D. 70): ―God gives repentance to us, introducing us into the incorruptible temple.‖

Ignatius: ―Pray for them, if so by they may repent, which is very difficult; but Jesus Christ, our
true life, has the power of this.‖

Justin Martyr (A.D. 150): ―Having sometime before convinced us of the impossibility of our
nature to obtain life, hath now shown us the Savior, who is able to save them which otherwise
were impossible to be saved…Free will has destroyed us; we are sold into sin.‖

Irenaeus (A.D. 180): ―Not of ourselves, but of God, is the blessing of our salvation…Man, who
was before led captive, is taken out of the power of the possessor, according to the mercy of God
the Father, and restoring it, gives salvation to it by the Word; that is, by Christ; that many may
experimentally learn that not of himself, but by the gift of God, he receives immortality.‖

Tertullian (A.D. 200): ―Do you think, O men, that we should ever have been able to have
understood these things in the Scriptures unless by the will of Him that wills all things, we had
received grace to understand them?…But by this it is plain, that [faith] is not given to thee by
God, because thou dost not ascribe it to Him alone.‖

Cyprian (A.D. 250): ―Whatsoever is grateful is to be ascribed not to man‘s power, but to God‘s
gift. It is God‘s, I say, all is God‘s that we can do. Yea, that in nothing must we glory, since
nothing is ours.‖

Arnobius (A.D. 303): ―You place the salvation of your souls in yourselves, and trust that you
may be made gods by your inward endeavor, yet it is not our own power to reach things above.‖
Lactantius (A.D. 320): ―The vistory lies in the will of God, not in thine own. To overcome is
not in our power.‖

Athanasius (A.D. 350): ―To believe is not ours, or in our power, but the Spirit‘s who is in us,
and abides in us.‖

Jerome (A.D. 390): ―This is the chief righteousness of man, to reckon that whatsoever power he
can have, is not his own, but the Lord‘s who gives it…See how great is the help of God, and how
frail the condition of man that we cannot by any means fulfill this, that we repent, unless the
Lord first convert us…When [Jesus] says, ‗No man can come to Me,‘ He breaks the proud
liberty of free will; for man can desire nothing, and in vain he endeavors…Where is the proud
boasting of free will?…We pray in vain if it is in our own will. Why should men pray for that
from the Lord which they have in the power of their own free will?‖

Augustine (A.D. 370): ―Faith itself is to be attributed to God…Faith is made a gift. These men,
however, attribute faith to free will, so grace is rendered to faith not as a gratuitous gift, but as a
debt…They must cease from saying this.‖

PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS

Clement Of Rome (A.D. 69): ―It is the will of God that all whom He loves should partake of
repentance, and so not perish with the unbelieving and impenitent. He has established it by His
almighty will. But if any of those whom God wills should partake of the grace of repentance,
should afterwards perish, where is His almighty will? And how is this matter settled and
established by such a will of His?‖

Clement Of Alexandria (A.D. 190): ―Such a soul [of a Christian] shall never at any time be
separated from God…Faith, I say, is something divine, which cannot be pulled asunder by any
other worldly friendship, nor be dissolved by present fear.‖

Tertullian: ―God forbid that we should believe that the soul of any saint should be drawn out by
the devil…For what is of God is never extinguished.‖

Augustine: ―Of these believers no one perishes, because they were all elected. And they were
elected because they were called according to the purpose–the purpose, however, not their own,
but God‘s…Obedience then is God‘s gift…To this, indeed, we are not able to deny, that
perseverance in good, progressing even to the end, is also a great gift of God.‖