Preparationism is the belief that God prepares people’s hearts before they can receive the gospel and be saved. It emphasizes God’s sovereignty in salvation and highlights that regeneration precedes faith. Here is an overview of preparationism and what the Bible teaches about this theological concept:
Overview of Preparationism
Preparationism teaches that before someone can respond in faith to the gospel, God must first prepare their heart. This preparation involves God regenerating the person’s heart and enabling them to understand and accept the truth. Supporters of preparationism point to verses which indicate God must open spiritually blind eyes and circumcise hard hearts for people to receive the gospel (Deuteronomy 29:4, Acts 16:14, Romans 2:28-29).
According to preparationism, this preparation is an act of God’s sovereign grace. He alone decides who to prepare. The timing is also in God’s hands. A person cannot prepare themselves – God must initiate the process. Preparationists believe this explains why some people respond to the gospel immediately while others take years. It depends on when God sovereignly chooses to prepare them.
Preparationism is often associated with Calvinism’s doctrine of irresistible grace. This teaches that when God prepares someone’s heart, they will definitely respond in faith. However, not all preparationists adhere to strict irresistible grace. Some argue that while preparation is necessary, people can still resist God’s work in their hearts. Either way, preparationism teaches that regeneration precedes faith. God must first give spiritual life before someone can believe.
Bible Verses on Preparationism
There are several Bible verses that preparationists point to as supporting this view:
1. John 6:44
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”
They see this as teaching that God must draw/prepare someone before they can come to Christ in faith. The drawing enables the coming.
2. Acts 16:14
“One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.”
Preparationists see this verse as an example of God opening Lydia’s heart to prepare her to receive Paul’s message. Her heart had to be opened first.
3. Ephesians 2:1-5
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world…But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.”
This passage teaches people were dead in sin and unable to respond. God had to first make them alive before they could exercise faith.
4. 1 Corinthians 2:14
“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
Preparationists believe this verse indicates that non-believers cannot understand the gospel on their own. God must give them spiritual discernment through regeneration.
5. Jeremiah 31:33
“I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
God writing his law on people’s hearts is seen as an act of preparation. He circumcises their hearts to ready them for faith.
Preparationism and Free Will
One of the major objections to preparationism is that it seems to conflict with free will. Critics argue that by teaching God must first regenerate people before they can believe, it undermines human responsibility and choice. Defenders of preparationism respond with a few points:
1. Preparation enables real free choice. They argue that unprepared hearts are not actually free – they are enslaved by sin. By regenerating hearts, God frees people to make an authentic choice.
2. Preparation doesn’t force faith; it makes faith possible. Regeneration removes spiritual blindness and stubbornness, not freedom. God persuades but doesn’t coerce.
3. Preparation happens at the heart-level, not will-level. God changes people’s desires, not just mental assent. Even with preparation, people still choose freely to follow Christ.
4. No one can believe apart from God’s grace. So in either case, faith relies on God’s initiative. The question is the timing and manner of God’s work, not its necessity.
So preparationists respond that their position still affirms free choice – just not the freedom of those enslaved by sin to positively respond to God without preparation. This preparation then enables true freedom to respond.
Criticisms of Preparationism
There are some common critiques leveled against the preparationist position:
1. It conflicts with the free offer of the gospel. If God must first regenerate people, it is argued that the gospel invitation is not sincerely offered to all.
2. It hinders evangelism. Critics contend preparationism can discourage evangelism since only those prepared by God will believe anyways.
3. It implies eternal life is merited. Since preparation is said to enable faith, critics argue that makes faith a work that merits salvation instead of a gift of God’s grace.
4. It underestimates depravity. Critics say preparationism does not take total depravity seriously enough since unprepared people can still exhibit faith.
5. It is deterministic. Making God solely responsible for preparation leading to faith is seen by critics as deterministic and fatalistic.
6. It lacks explicit biblical evidence. Nowhere does the Bible clearly say God must prepare hearts before they can possibly believe. The doctrine relies on inferences instead of explicit teaching.
Alternatives to Preparationism
Those who have concerns with preparationism instead promote these alternative positions:
1. Prevenient grace – This is a Methodist teaching that God universally grants grace that precedes and enables the free human response of faith. Unlike preparationism, this grace is given to all rather than only to the preselected “elect.”
2. Synergism – This is the belief that regeneration is a cooperative work between God and man. God initiates but the individual’s faith plays an instrumental role in being born again.
3. Evangelical view – People are capable of responding freely to the gospel even in their fallen state through God’s enabling grace at the moment of hearing the gospel. Prior regeneration is not necessary.
Proponents of these views argue they better uphold God’s universal love, the sincerity of the gospel offer, importance of evangelism, and free will. Critics of preparationism advocate one of these alternate positions instead.
Key Points on Preparationism
In summary, here are some key points on the preparationist position:
– Teaches God must prepare hearts before someone can believe the gospel
– Emphasizes God’s sovereignty in salvation
– Sees regeneration as preceding and enabling faith
– Associated with Calvinism and irresistible grace
– Attempts to reconcile with free will through human inability vs. freed will distinctions
– Offers rebuttals to criticisms related to evangelism, gospel offer, depravity
– Contrasted with prevenient grace, synergism, and evangelical views
Preparationism is a theological concept that aims to articulate the biblical teaching on how God interacts with individuals leading up to their salvation. It highlights God’s role in first regenerating person’s hearts while attempting to maintain meaningful human freedom. Understanding preparationism provides helpful insight into an important perspective within historical Christian soteriology.