(Part 1)

JBTM Book Reviews
176
doctrine of prevenient grace holds together four principles of biblical salvation without
contradiction: sinful depravity, salvation by grace, human responsibility, and the universal
offer of salvation” (234). In chapter 6, the author addresses implications of the doctrine for
issues such as the destiny of the unevangelized as well as for baptism and preaching. Shelton
ends the book by summarizing his argument in the form of a 15-question catechism.
Shelton presupposes that the sinful state of every person is such that “human wills are
depraved and unable to perform any spiritually good act” (iii). To this point, Christians should
be in agreement. Biblical texts such as Rom 3:10–18 clarify that people are not righteous,
which is why righteousness attained by faith in Christ (vv. 21–26) is celebrated as good news.
However, Shelton follows both Arminians and Calvinists in presupposing total inability. This
doctrine affirms more than the sinful, unrighteous condition of people. Total inability goes
beyond this basic affirmation that humans are sinful to assert that people are unable to do
that which God has commanded sinners to do, namely to repent of their sin and believe
in Jesus (ii, 2, 13). Because Shelton accepts the Calvinist/Arminian presupposition that
depravity entails the inability to repent and believe, he regards prevenient grace to be the best
way to account for biblical texts which indicate: God’s desire for every person to be saved,
the unlimited extent of Christ’s atonement, and the universal invitations and commands for
people to repent and be saved.
If prevenient grace is true (namely, that God enables every person to respond to the
gospel) then it seems the effects of total inability are canceled out and there was never a time
that a person heard the gospel and was unable to respond. However, if total inability is not
presumed, then prevenient grace is no longer necessary. Perhaps a better theological method
would be to affirm human sinfulness as well as salvation by God’s grace through faith in Christ
(which are clear in Scripture) without adopting total inability and its corresponding doctrine
of prevenient grace—neither of which are perceived clearly in Scripture by Christians outside
the Calvinist-Arminian framework. Of course, such a move would render this book (and all
other writings which presuppose total inability) to be unnecessary.
Shelton should be commended for attempting to fill the theological lacuna due to the
neglect of this doctrine by both Calvinist and Arminian theologians. He has articulated a
peaceable and positive case for the doctrine of prevenient grace. Whether one affirms the
doctrine in question, this monograph’s contribution to the field should be appreciated, and it
is likely to become a key secondary resource for theology students and scholars who consider
whether God has provided all of fallen humanity with prevenient grace.
- Adam Harwood, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans, Louisiana