Augustine Versus a Desire of God to Save the Reprobate—Excerpt From His Handbook or Enchiridion on Faith, Hope and Love (94-107)
This excerpt from Augustine's Enchiridion presents the classical theological rationale for God's decrees of election and reprobation, arguing that the eternal distinction between the saved and the reprobate will be fully comprehended and vindicated in the eschaton. Augustine addresses the apparent injustice of God's differential treatment of similar persons by appealing to God's inscrutable wisdom and sovereign will, which will be transparently revealed when all mysteries are made clear in the next world.
Chap. 94. The Saints Shall Know More Fully in the Next World the Benefits They Have Received by Grace Thus, when reprobate angels and men are left to endure everlasting punishment, the saints shall know more fully the benefits they have received by grace. Then, in contemplation of the actual facts, they shall see more clearly the meaning of the expression in the psalms, “I will sing of mercy and judgment” [Ps. 101:1]; for it is only of unmerited mercy that any is redeemed, and only in...