St. Augustine said that our wills are "free but not freed." He is not playing word games but is trying to say that we are voluntary slaves of sin and do not have liberty. We are either slaves to Satan or to God, there is no middle island of neutrality. We cannot say: "From henceforth, I will only be good!" That is where our freedom ends. We have no inclination to good. God could not say the opposite of that statement and is necessarily good, while the devil is necessarily evil. We have natural freedom but not moral freedom. We retain our natural ability to make choices but make the wrong choices. We can only choose good with God's grace.
The Arminian believes some people desire to be saved and to know God, and that is their explanation for their salvation. Calvinists believe no one seeks God and no one is good or inclined to good. "Paul lumps all men together" according to Luther. When we get to heaven we will have real freedom to the ultimate degree and will not desire evil or have that inclination. The question is where did that desire to choose Christ come from? Arminians believe God woos all men, but cannot explain why some respond other than that they believe of their own free will or merit and have something to boast about.
Our freedom is like being on a train on which God sets the destination and we are free to sin to our heart's content but have to stay on the train, only God can transfer us to the train to heaven.
The key to understanding the TULIP points is in insisting on absolute total depravity if you give man any abilities to please God by himself or by works, the points break down. Pelagius (a 5th-century British monk) insisted that man was basically good and that Adam's sin affected him only.
We don't need a free will, we need wills made free, as I have said before. We are into Satan and his kingdom before being set free by the Son. "If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36). Think of ultimate free will this way: In Heaven, we will be free to be sinless and will not be free to sin, but we don't want to either. Adam was free to sin or not to sin, but we inherit the birthright of a fallen nature.
The Arminian believes some people desire to be saved and to know God, and that is their explanation for their salvation. Calvinists believe no one seeks God and no one is good or inclined to good. "Paul lumps all men together" according to Luther. When we get to heaven we will have real freedom to the ultimate degree and will not desire evil or have that inclination. The question is where did that desire to choose Christ come from? Arminians believe God woos all men, but cannot explain why some respond other than that they believe of their own free will or merit and have something to boast about.
Our freedom is like being on a train on which God sets the destination and we are free to sin to our heart's content but have to stay on the train, only God can transfer us to the train to heaven.
The key to understanding the TULIP points is in insisting on absolute total depravity if you give man any abilities to please God by himself or by works, the points break down. Pelagius (a 5th-century British monk) insisted that man was basically good and that Adam's sin affected him only.
We don't need a free will, we need wills made free, as I have said before. We are into Satan and his kingdom before being set free by the Son. "If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36). Think of ultimate free will this way: In Heaven, we will be free to be sinless and will not be free to sin, but we don't want to either. Adam was free to sin or not to sin, but we inherit the birthright of a fallen nature.
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