Twenty-Five Advanced Soteriological Questions

This is question number five. What is autosoterism?

B. B. Warfield in his book The Plan of Salvation identifies and exposes autosoterism: “All religions except the Christian are autosoteric... Pelagius, no mean systematizer, built up a complete autosoteric system...” Warfield quotes Pelagius: "I say," declares Pelagius, "that man is able to be without sin, and that he is able to keep the commandments of God." .... This was the first purely autosoteric scheme published in the Church, and it is thoroughly typical of all that has succeeded it from that day to this” (B. B. Warfield. quoted from Monergism https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/WarfieldPlan02.html).

Charles Finney took up Pelagus’ mantel. Finney stated in his Systematic Theology: “Moral depravity cannot consist in any attribute of nature or constitution, nor in any lapsed or fallen state of nature... Moral depravity, as I use the term, does not consist in, nor imply a sinful nature, in the sense that the human soul is sinful in itself. It is not a constitutional sinfulness” Systematic Theology, 245].

God’s Word declares that each of us not only was born sinners but were conceived as sinners (Psalm 51:5), therefore possessing a sin nature. The doctrine of salvation by grace through faith and not of works is clearly taught in Ephesians 2:8-9 strongly refuting autosoterism.