The Will Of Man

"Man has not ceased to be man, he has just ceased to be good," according to Martin Luther. The will is not sovereign, but operates subject to the disposition of the person. When we talk of the total depravity of man we are not saying we are as bad as we can be, just that we are as bad off as we can be; all of our nature is sick with sin, including the intellect, will and emotions. "The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint" (cf. Isa. 1:5).

A definition of the will by Jonathan Edwards was that it was that by which the mind chooses. We always choose according to the strongest desire at the time to suit our own best interest, all things considered. God never coerces us to do something we don't want to do. We never do something we don't want to do.

The trouble is no one wants to receive Christ apart from the grace of God. He woos us and makes us willing and able to believe by grace. Arminians think that we cooperate with God in our salvation, but Calvinists maintain that "Salvation is of the Lord." He does it all and gets all the credit--we don't contribute anything to our salvation. "He is at work within you both to do and to do according to His good pleasure." No one can say they came to Christ uninfluenced by the Holy Spirit! There is no such thing as prevenient grace given to all to enable them to make a decision. God is the enabler and is able to overcome the most reluctant, hardened, and sinful heart. (Think of Paul's conversion!)

We are free to choose our own poison, as it were. We are not chatty dolls or automatons but are free moral agents responsible for our choices.

This doctrine according to Luther is the very heart of the gospel. If you fail to realize that you really aren't grace-oriented. There cannot be both free will and sovereign grace at the same time. We don't meet God half-way, but he only rescues us like a lifeguard rescuing a drowning swimmer, when we give up trying to save ourselves. A good example of our will is like the difference between a dove and a raven; the dove has no desire to eat the raven's carrion--it is against his nature.  We did not choose our nature either.

The Council of Trent in the 16th century said that anyone who does not affirm that the freewill cooperates with God in salvation is anathema. This was the Arminian position in opposition to the Reformers (Refer to the Synod of Dort in 1618).

We are voluntary slaves who have lost our inclination to do good at the fall. There is no point of neutrality that we can cling to and have free will. We cannot change our God-given nature. There is no place of "moral equipoise" or neutral territory that we can stand on.  We are not neutral and able to equally choose to be good or evil--we're prone to evil, not inclined to good!   Soli Deo Gloria!

The Law And The Believer II

Watchman Nee explains the meaning of Romans 7 very well and says that God gives us the Law to break, He knew full well we wouldn't keep it. Gal. 3:10 says that those who rely on the Law are under a curse. Eph. 2:15 says that Christ abolished the Law for the believer. The Law is merely a shadow of things to come and is obsolete (Col. 2:17; Heb. 10:1). If the Law could do away with sin, there would be no need for a new covenant, the old covenant was faulted. The Law says we do for God, grace says that God does for us. The Law says we have to, while grace says we want to. The purpose of the Law was to make us knowledgeable of sin (Rom. 7:6-7;3:20), not to be a panacea, but a diagnosis. "...[Indeed] it is the straight-edge of the Law that shows us how crooked we are" (cf. Rom. 3:20 in the J. B. Phillips).

We live not under the Mosaic Law, but we live according to the "Law of the Spirit of life in Christ" (Rom. 8:2). Nowhere in the NT are we exhorted to obey the Law!  When we say to God, "Oh wretched man that I am ...," this is "music to God's ears," according to Nee. "Our end is God's beginning," says Nee. Remember, 1 Tim. 1:9 which says, "The Law is not made for the believer, but for lawbreakers and rebels." Martin Luther called the Law a hammer that smashes our self-righteousness and a mirror that shows us our true nature, and a whip that drives us to the cross. It is meant to drive us to Christ as a tutor (see Gal. 3:25).

The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. The Pharisees were guilty of obeying just the letter of the Law and not the spirit. "As many as are led by the Spirit are not under the Law." We don't have to become "somewhat Jewish" to become Christians or grow in Christ. Christianity is not a branch or wing of Judaism. A good rule of thumb is that if a prohibition or command is not repeated in the New Testament it is probably not valid for the Christian, e.g. observing the Sabbath Day. The ceremonial laws and governmental laws are obsolete and the moral principles are still valid because morality never changes.

God never gives us the right to do what is wrong, or to just do what is right in our own eyes, or to be lawless. Martin Luther wrote a book, Against the Antinomians, which was a polemical book against those who thought they could live as they please after salvation. Today this kind of thinking is close to hedonism.

The Reformers who wrote the Formula of Concord in 1577 had a threefold use of the Law: to convict the unbeliever of sin or as a tutor to drive us to Christ; to bring order in society and restrain evil, and to be a light for what pleases and offends God. The Reformers were not as grace-oriented as modern-day evangelicals tend to be, e.g., they had strict Sabbath laws and rules in Calvin's Geneva and in Puritan New England. Actually, the Christian is under the higher law of love with the higher standard of Christ.  In sum, the Law doesn't save mankind it measures them.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Freewill?

 "... Why then does He still find fault?  For who can resist His will?"  (Rom.9:19, HCSB). 

Martin Luther said that the freedom of the will is too grandiose a term and fit only for God. Our wills are enslaved to the old sin nature, biased toward evil, and prone to do nothing but evil. We cannot do any good apart from God: "Apart from Me you can do nothing" (cf. John 15:5). "All our righteousness is as filthy rags" (cf. Isa. 64:6). Saint Aurelius Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, said that we are "free but not freed."  No mind game--just emphasizing that we don't have liberty, though we are responsible agents. We are free in the sense that we are not coerced from any outside force to do anything we don't want to do, that would be determinism (without our free input).

The trouble is is that we only want to do evil. Augustine also said that we are non posse non peccare, which means unable not to sin--we can only do evil. The freedom of the will is a curse in other words because we only act according to our fallen nature.  That is to say, we don't need a free will; we need wills made free.

God is perfectly free, yet unable to sin!  In glory, we will be ditto.  God's will overrides ours and His sovereignty isn't limited by our freedom (cf. Jer. 20:7).  "For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to will and to act for His good purpose"  (Phil. 2:13, HCSB).  A man in prison is free to play cards, but not free to leave or do as he desires--our freedom has limits and, though we maintain moral ability to choose, we have lost the ability to choose God apart from grace working in our hearts in the wooing ministry.  

There are several Bible verses that come to mind: "It is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God who shows mercy." "Who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." "The way of man is not in himself, it is not in man that walks, to direct his steps" (cf. Jer. 10:23). "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him ..." (Cf. John 6:44). "No one can come to Me unless it has been granted of the Father..." (John 6:65). Does that sound like free will? "Who makes you to differ? What do you have that you didn't receive?" (Cf. 1 Cor. 4:7). (cf. Prov. 16:9; 20:24; Ps. 37:23.)   Soli Deo Gloria!

Freewill Or Power To Choose?

Do you think you came to Christ merely of your own volition? God makes the unwilling willing. Why do you think it says, "You are not willing to come to Me?" (cf. John 5:40). Isa. 63:17 says, "O LORD, why do you make us err from your ways and harden our hearts, so we fear you not." God hardens whomsoever He wills, according to Romans 9:18. So why does He then still find fault? (Cf. Rom. 9:19); we are made culpable. "The elect attained unto it, the rest were hardened" (cf. Rom. 11:7).

The question is not that you were willing and pat yourself on the back, but who or what made you willing? You act according to your nature only and God created your nature. For example, if you are nice, that is God's gift to you of being nice. Whether you are phlegmatic, sanguine, choleric, melancholy, introverted or extroverted, God made you that way. If you have a mental illness also--God is your maker. He is the potter, we are the clay. "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, like rivers of water, He turns it whithersoever he will." (Prov. 21:1) You are only free in the sense that God doesn't force you to do evil, you do it on your own. You can do nothing good to please God (Isa. 64:6; Rom. 8:7-8).

Jesus said, "Apart from Me you can do nothing." So you think you can be saved anytime you want? "For now is the day of salvation...." John 6:44 says, "No one can come to the Father, unless who sent Me He draws him." God must woo us. Arminians can never figure out why God doesn't woo everyone and why some do respond favorably. It is all God's grace. "Salvation is of the Lord" (cf. Jonah 2:9). It is not of the Lord and man, nor of man.

Freewill can do nothing but evil, according to Martin Luther. We are unable to do nothing but evil: Augustine says:  we cannot not sin, or in Latin non posse non peccare.  John 1: 11-13 and Rom. 9:16 clearly say that salvation is not of man's will, but of God ("It is not of him who willeth, nor of him who runneth, but of God who showeth mercy"). "Who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man...." "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts...." Ps. 110:3 says He makes us willing in the day of His power. David prays for a willing spirit in Psalm 51:12.   "He works in us both to do and to will of His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13).   Soli Deo Gloria!

Eternal Security

The best way to think of eternal security (the divine viewpoint as opposed to the human viewpoint of the perseverance of the saints which is really the preservation of God) is by the analogies presented in the Bible. Has anyone ever heard of being unborn, un-adopted, or unjustified? The Bible does not mention this. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit and God doesn't renege on his Word when He gives his divine guarantee and earnest of the Holy Spirit. (The Bible makes it clear that, if you can lose your salvation, there is no gaining it back, according to Hebrews 6:4-6, so let that be a caveat.)

Remember: Once you're in the family, you stay in the family and you're treated like family--that means divine discipline if you need it.--it's a family matter!

We are sealed by the Holy Spirit, who was given as an earnest or down payment of our inheritance and God is the Supreme Promise Keeper who cannot lie. He does not renege on His divine guarantee. He has "inscribed us on the palms of His hands." He is so sure of our salvation and in his mind has already glorified us (cf. Rom. 8:30).

We are "kept by the power of God" (cf. 1 Pet. 1:5) not our own power, and "kept" is the word used by Christ in John 17 and by Jude 24. God is working on us though and always completes what he starts (cf. Phil. 1:6). The joy of the Christian life is enhanced by faith in the permanency of our salvation and our continuity in the state of grace. "For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable" (cf. Rom. 11:29).

It is the ignorance of the believer who believes he can lose permanent work of the Holy Spirit. Have you ever heard of someone being "unborn," "un-sanctified," or "unjustified?" God deals with us as "sons" and when we go astray He disciplines us, for if we are without discipline we are not legit! (Cf. Heb. chapter 12:11-12) All our sins are forgiven, past, present, and future (cf. Psalm 103:3)--there is nothing that will take God by surprise.

If our salvation depended on our performance, we would certainly blow it; but it depends on the grace of God. This does not mean that it doesn't matter how we live, because God has made us responsible to "Keep in the love of God." We persevere as God preserves.

We should be on the same page in talking about perseverance. I do not believe in the kind of eternal security that gives us the right to be lawless or libertines if one has that desire he is not saved because God changes our hearts to desire the things of God--He changes us from the inside out. God preserves us as we persevere. God gets the glory though because our perseverance is His gift. What that means is that we will never absolutely lose our faith or go into total despair finally. It does not mean that we won't sin unto, or sin frequently--but we won't practice sin, and there is a difference. We don't want to sin even if we do--like Rom. 7:24 says, "Oh, wretched man that I am..." "The things that I would not, that I do...." I think every Christian that is real should relate to that.

The Christian who thinks that it is possible for him to go to hell, if he didn't persevere, is living in fear not faith. That is not genuine fear of God, but a lack of faith in God. He should know that God will keep him from temptation that he cannot handle and will make a way of escape, and even if he should the mercy of God is wide enough to forgive him and discipline him to boot. God wants us to "know" (cf. 1 John 5:11, 13) that we are saved, and not think that it depends on our good behavior or even our persevering. That is called "ultimate assurance." Romanists and Arminians deny this but it's biblical nevertheless. Though we believe in perseverance let us not be guilty of presumption on the grace of God: "Let him who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall" (cf. 1 Cor. 10:12).  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Law And The Believer I

The relationship of the believer to the law is analogous to a wife and her husband who bound to him as long as she lives. She has died and has no further obligation. She is exempt from his demands. They hold no authority over her any longer but have been fulfilled. It is also like being discharged from the military and not having to live by the old rules anymore. The Law is obsolete and we live under a higher law, the law of love. Love is the fulfillment of the Law. He who loves has fulfilled the Law, according to Romans 13:8.

We are not lawless but are subject to the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ. The old nature knows no law, while the new nature needs no law.  Because we have the Law written in our hearts and don't need anyone to tell us to live according to the letter of the Law rather than the spirit of the Law. The Pharisees lived according to the letter of the Law and thought that was enough. "The letter kills, but the Spirit is life" (Rom. 7:6). He who is led by the Spirit is not under the Law according to Galatians 5:18. Cursed is anyone who relies on the Law says Gal. 3:10. We have no choice, but to walk in the Spirit! We don't need a to-do list!  Soli Deo Gloria!

Freed From The Law

"Freed from the Law, Oh blessed condition, now I can sin all I want and still have remission!" What nonsense! Being free form the Mosaic Law doesn't mean we are lawless. This libertine approach to living the Christian life is a dangerous heresy and is also called antinomianism (against "lawism" or justification apart from sanctification). Works do play a part in salvation, but not works done in the energy of the flesh. We do works because we want to, not because we have to. The difference is between legalism and true justification. The formula of the Reformers was:  "We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone." True faith always produces bona fide works done in the power of the Spirit. "For we are His workmanship." We are a people "zealous of good works" (Tit. 2:14).

"For faith without works is dead." Mere profession or lip service is not enough--without works, faith is bogus.

"Sin shall have no dominion over you, for you are not under the Law, but under grace." (Rom. 6:14) God didn't give us the Law to keep, but to break. But we don't really break God's Law, we break His heart!  To show us our vulnerability and how exacting His requirements are. We need to be discharged from the Law as well as from sin. The law is but a shadow of things to come (Heb. 10:1) (Col. 2:17) We would not realize our sin and weaknesses if it hadn't been for the Law. (Rom. 7:7).  "By the law is the knowledge of sin" (cf. Rom. 3:23).   When we come to the realization like that of Paul: This anticlimax, "Oh, wretched man that I am ..."(that is music to God's ears).

Law is doing for God, while grace is God doing for us. He gets all the glory. Soli Deo Gloria!  Don't pat yourself on the back! We are no more virtuous because of our faith, which is a gift.
See Rom. 12:3: To each of us is rendered a measure of faith.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Voice Of God

I know of a missionary who heard God say out of the blue, "Go to Mexico!" He wasn't hesitant, but obedient to the heavenly calling and went directly to Mexico without further ado. I believe prophecy is a bona fide spiritual gift and God tells "prophets" messages of exhortation (in agreement with Scripture) to the local church and for edifying of the body. Many Christians claim to be "in touch" with God audibly in the sense of even hearing His voice on occasion, and they seem to have no doubt that it is Him speaking. They are not just having a "hunch" or "getting an impression," but can quote God verbatim (if they can't quote God verbatim something is wrong!).

As for most of us, we have to rely on getting an occasion goose bump or "Aha!" moment in the Word to feel or sense His guidance. God has given us this 6th sense known as faith. David was "a man after God's own heart" who heard God's voice but also depended on the prophet Nathan and others to give him messages from the Lord, and yet he is not any less of a man of God. When God speaks directly to an individual that isn't necessarily meant to be a new revelation or prophecy, it is called "personal address" by theologians.  Though we have the Holy Writ, this doesn't preclude God's audible voice today.

But when Christians rely on hunches or inner voices it gives rise to "fanaticism," as portrayed by Hannah Whitall Smith, the commonsensical Quaker writer. Even though God can speak through the air vents, it is better to seek His voice in His Word.   Soli Deo Gloria!