Did the Early Church Believe the Doctrines of Grace? (Calvinism)

[electedbyHim]

There is much confusion about Calvinism and what the early church taught. I have read many articles saying that the early church fathers did not teach or believe Calvinism.

The Doctrines of Grace is the gospel of Jesus Christ and can be found througout the Bible.

The Gospel of John is the most noteable book in the Bible that teach all 5 points of the Doctrines of Grace.

Roman Catholics, Arminians and Pelagians say that the early church did not teach these doctrines.

There are posters on this website that have said that the early church did not believe in the Doctrines of Grace.

I wanted to know exactly what was being said of these early leaders in the church, so I began research.

Research has led me to this website...... Did the Early Church Believe the Doctrines of Grace?

After reading the article, It made me more curious and the beliefs of the early church.

The author linked his article to a book by John Gill.

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.

Gills book can be found here... The Cause of God and Truth (eBook) for anyone who is interested in knowing exactly what the early Church Fathers believed.

John Gill (1697-1771) was a Reformed Baptist Pastor and Theologian. There are many writings and a commentary on the whole Bible.

Some of his works can be found here..John Gill

Grace and peace to you.