Augustinian Preparatory Grace versus Semi-Pelagian Preparation
When people criticize preparatory grace as preparationism, they often confuse the Augustinian and Reformed doctrine of preparation with that of the Roman Catholic Church in its semi-Pelagian tendencies. At the heart of Augustinianism is the belief that man is dead in sin (T)and God’s grace sovereignly (UL)and effectively changes the hearts of those he has chosen (I). Augustine analyzed grace as a series of steps from unbelief to glory: preparing grace to give a knowledge of sin, operating grace to create faith, cooperating grace to join with the renewed will to produce good works, and perfecting grace to enable perseverance（P）. God uses his law “to alarm the unrighteous, so that … they may in faith flee for refuge to the grace that justifies,” a justification that takes place “on account of no antecedent merits of his own works.”10 Similarly, Thomas Aquinas said that man cannot prepare himself to receive grace except by the grace of God preparing him, whether that preparation takes place in an instant or step by step over time.[1]
奧古斯丁預備的恩典與半伯拉糾的預備
當人們批評預備恩典為預備主義時，他們常常將奧古斯丁和改革宗的預備教義與半伯拉糾主義傾向的羅馬天主教會的教義混為一談。奧古斯丁主義的核心是相信人死在罪中(T)，而上帝的恩典主權(UL)且有效地改變他所選擇的人的心(I)。奧古斯丁將恩典分析為從不信到榮耀的一系列步驟：預備的恩典使人認識罪，運作的恩典創造信心，合作恩典與更新的意志結合產生善行，完善的恩典使人能忍耐(P)。上帝用他的律法“警告不義的人，以便……他們可以憑着信心逃往稱義恩典的避難所”，這種稱義的發生“是因為他自己的行為沒有任何先行的功績。”10同樣，托馬斯·阿奎那他說，除非神的恩典預備人，否則人無法預備自己接受恩典，無論這種准備是瞬間發生的，還是隨着時間的推移一步步發生的。
[1] Joel R. Beeke and Paul M. Smalley, Reformed Systematic Theology: Spirit and Salvation, vol. 3, Reformed Systematic Theology (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021), 311–312.
