Jesse
June 21st, 2007, 12:44 PM
The following is a preview of my latest article (http://members.tripod.com/jdlarsenmn/freewill.htm)....
In my article titled The Gift Of God (http://members.tripod.com/jdlarsenmn/gift.htm), I explained that a gift, by it's very nature, is not worked for. But faith in God is not a work, and I also mentioned in that article that a gift is received rather than worked for. It would not be a gift if we did not have the free will to receive it, and the Bible itself even says “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).
It is very clear through that verse that regeneration does not come before faith. You receive Him first, and then you become a child of God. This is what is meant by “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31)! Through that verse, it is very clear that you believe on Him first, and then you are saved. And since faith is not a work, we have no reason to believe that this gives us a reason to be proud.
The Bondage Of The Will?
Many Calvinists claim that man's will is in bondage, and Martin Luther even wrote a book titled "The Bondage of The Will". While I commend Martin Luther for the reformation, and I am also grateful that God used him to write one of my favorite hymns (A Mighty Fortress Is Our God), I have to respectfully disagree with his teaching that man's will is in bondage.
On the contrary, the apostle Paul wrote, “the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good” (Romans 7:19-21).
Throughout that passage, it is very clear that Paul was willing to do good, and willing not to do evil. So his problem wasn't that He could not will to do good, but his problem was that he was in bondage. Although he willed to do good, it was he himself who was in bondage, not his will! He went on to say “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25)
So, although Paul could indeed will do good, his problem was that there was still sin dwelling in him (See Romans 7:20 again). But since he did will to do good, he trusted Jesus to deliver him from his body of death in spite of his current condition. Rather than stating that he could not will to do good, Paul wrote, “to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find” (Romans 7:18). Through that verse, it is clear that his problem was not that he could not will to do good, but his problem was that he had not yet found how to perform what is good.
You can read this entire article through the following link: http://members.tripod.com/jdlarsenmn/freewill.htm
In my article titled The Gift Of God (http://members.tripod.com/jdlarsenmn/gift.htm), I explained that a gift, by it's very nature, is not worked for. But faith in God is not a work, and I also mentioned in that article that a gift is received rather than worked for. It would not be a gift if we did not have the free will to receive it, and the Bible itself even says “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).
It is very clear through that verse that regeneration does not come before faith. You receive Him first, and then you become a child of God. This is what is meant by “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31)! Through that verse, it is very clear that you believe on Him first, and then you are saved. And since faith is not a work, we have no reason to believe that this gives us a reason to be proud.
The Bondage Of The Will?
Many Calvinists claim that man's will is in bondage, and Martin Luther even wrote a book titled "The Bondage of The Will". While I commend Martin Luther for the reformation, and I am also grateful that God used him to write one of my favorite hymns (A Mighty Fortress Is Our God), I have to respectfully disagree with his teaching that man's will is in bondage.
On the contrary, the apostle Paul wrote, “the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good” (Romans 7:19-21).
Throughout that passage, it is very clear that Paul was willing to do good, and willing not to do evil. So his problem wasn't that He could not will to do good, but his problem was that he was in bondage. Although he willed to do good, it was he himself who was in bondage, not his will! He went on to say “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25)
So, although Paul could indeed will do good, his problem was that there was still sin dwelling in him (See Romans 7:20 again). But since he did will to do good, he trusted Jesus to deliver him from his body of death in spite of his current condition. Rather than stating that he could not will to do good, Paul wrote, “to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find” (Romans 7:18). Through that verse, it is clear that his problem was not that he could not will to do good, but his problem was that he had not yet found how to perform what is good.
You can read this entire article through the following link: http://members.tripod.com/jdlarsenmn/freewill.htm