Council of Orange (V)
Canon 9. Concerning the succor of God. It is a mark of divine favor when we are of a right purpose and keep our feet from hypocrisy and unrighteousness; for as often as we do good, God is at work in us and with us, in order that we may so do.
Canon 10. Concerning the succor of God. The succor of God is to be ever sought by the regenerate and converted also, so that they may be able to come to a successful end or persevere in good works.
Canon 11. Concerning the duty to pray. None would make any true prayer to the Lord had he not received from him the object of his prayer, as it is written, "Of thy own have we given thee" (1 Chronicles 29:14).
Canon 12. Of what sort we are whom God loves. God loves us for what we shall be by his gift, and not by our own deserving.
Canon 9, for me, is a particularly hard one to swallow until you think about it. It seems to say that when we are righteous and living well, we know we have divine favor, but when we begin to screw up, then we do not have the mark of divine favor, and must therefore have fallen out of his favor due to our sin. This, however, doesn't add up. Canon 12, being one of the clearest and most concise Canons, is very straightforward in saying that nothing we do merits God's love or favor. Apart from his favor, we are all equally evil and unrighteous. Our ability to be righteous is a mark of his favor, a result of his favor, and not the cause of it. Additionally, it is not the entirety of God's favor, but only a mark of his favor.
The point being made in Canon 9 is nothing to do with a works-salvation, nor the ability to lose our salvation. The point is being made against Pelagianism and its concept of freewill. If we are in fact being righteous, we know we have divine favor, because there is no other explanation for our behavior.
Look at Canon 10, which immediately follows Canon 9 (gasp! no!). If we read Canon 9 with the interpretation I offered before, as if we could fall from divine grace, then Canon 10 doesn't make much sense. It makes clear that being regenerate or converted does not automatically bestow you in this mode of righteousness. Rather, we are all to seek God's succor, seek to be righteous (by his power). However, we are obviously not out of divine favor, because as regenerate, converted, the faithful in Christ, we are already saved by grace, and that is indeed a mark of divine favor as well. God has done for us the impossible, what we cannot do for ourselves. So righteousness and unhypocrisy are marks of divine favor, not the end all and be all of divine favor.
On Canon 11, I am afraid I must stay silent, because I do not apprehend the full meaning, the reason for its presence here in context, or the purpose of stating it at all. If you have any insight, please share it.
Canon 10. Concerning the succor of God. The succor of God is to be ever sought by the regenerate and converted also, so that they may be able to come to a successful end or persevere in good works.
Canon 11. Concerning the duty to pray. None would make any true prayer to the Lord had he not received from him the object of his prayer, as it is written, "Of thy own have we given thee" (1 Chronicles 29:14).
Canon 12. Of what sort we are whom God loves. God loves us for what we shall be by his gift, and not by our own deserving.
Canon 9, for me, is a particularly hard one to swallow until you think about it. It seems to say that when we are righteous and living well, we know we have divine favor, but when we begin to screw up, then we do not have the mark of divine favor, and must therefore have fallen out of his favor due to our sin. This, however, doesn't add up. Canon 12, being one of the clearest and most concise Canons, is very straightforward in saying that nothing we do merits God's love or favor. Apart from his favor, we are all equally evil and unrighteous. Our ability to be righteous is a mark of his favor, a result of his favor, and not the cause of it. Additionally, it is not the entirety of God's favor, but only a mark of his favor.
The point being made in Canon 9 is nothing to do with a works-salvation, nor the ability to lose our salvation. The point is being made against Pelagianism and its concept of freewill. If we are in fact being righteous, we know we have divine favor, because there is no other explanation for our behavior.
Look at Canon 10, which immediately follows Canon 9 (gasp! no!). If we read Canon 9 with the interpretation I offered before, as if we could fall from divine grace, then Canon 10 doesn't make much sense. It makes clear that being regenerate or converted does not automatically bestow you in this mode of righteousness. Rather, we are all to seek God's succor, seek to be righteous (by his power). However, we are obviously not out of divine favor, because as regenerate, converted, the faithful in Christ, we are already saved by grace, and that is indeed a mark of divine favor as well. God has done for us the impossible, what we cannot do for ourselves. So righteousness and unhypocrisy are marks of divine favor, not the end all and be all of divine favor.
On Canon 11, I am afraid I must stay silent, because I do not apprehend the full meaning, the reason for its presence here in context, or the purpose of stating it at all. If you have any insight, please share it.