During our trip to Cleveland for the Basics Conference we had a lot of great theological discussion. One of the things that came up was the issue of free will and one of the books we were given at the conference was Martin Luther's "Bondage of the Will". Coincidence? I think not.

Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

They answered him, "We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, 'You will become free'?"

Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

John 8:31-36 (ESV)

Someone recently shared the following quote with me:

"A free will is not the liberty to do whatever one likes, but the power of doing whatever one sees ought to be done, even in the very face of otherwise overwhelming impulse. There lies freedom indeed." - George MacDonald

This is an interesting quote from a very interesting man. Still, I’d want to clarify what we mean by free will and where it comes from. Are we born with it or is it something we are given in and through Christ? I believe scripture, and Jesus in particular in the passage above, is very clear in teaching us that because of the fall we are all born as slaves to sin... our intellect, our desires and our will. It is only when Christ redeems us that we are...

...truly free from our slavery to sin and thus enabled, by His power/grace, to do, as McDonald puts it, “whatever one sees ought to be done”. (cf. Rom 7:7-25, 1 Co 15:10) Until this happen we are free only in the sense that we can do whatever our sinful nature desires. Which is to say that we have the power of choice and we will be held accountable for those choices. The question is... is this really a free will?

The great baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon once said, "I do not come into this pulpit hoping that perhaps somebody will of his own free will return to Christ. My hope lies in another quarter. I hope that my Master will lay hold of some of them and say, 'You are mine, and you shall be mine. I claim you for myself.' My hope arises from the freeness of grace, and not from the freedom of the will."

Walter Chantry, a retired pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Carlisle Pennsylvania, preached a very helpful sermon on this subject based on Matthew 12.33-37. Here is his conclusion:

Our LORD has taught that the tree must be made good. Man must be renewed in his entire character. He must have a new heart to bring forth good fruit; the will cannot make the tree good; it may only exercise liberty to be what the tree already is. The will cannot reload the treasure chest with a new kind of goods; it may only freely bring forth what is there. The will cannot cleanse the fountainhead; it may overflow only with the waters available in the soul.

Any gospel preaching that relies upon an act of the human will for the conversion of sinners has missed the mark. Any sinner who supposes that his will has the strength to do any good accompanying salvation is greatly deluded and far from the kingdom. We are cast back upon the regenerating work of the Spirit of the living GOD to make the tree good. Unless GOD does something in the sinner, unless GOD creates a clean heart and renews a right spirit within man, there is no hope of a saving change.

While we address the wills of men in gospel preaching, they are wills bound in the grave clothes of an evil heart. But as we speak, and the LORD owns His word, sinners are quickened to life by divine power. His people are made willing in the day of His power [Psa 110.3]. All who are adopted as sons of GOD were 'born not of the will of man, but of GOD.' [John 1. 13] We stand to preach with no power to make the tree good. The 'trees' before us cannot make themselves good, so no gimmicks or policies of men can persuade them to make the change. But our glorious GOD, by inward, secret, transforming power, can make the tree good, the treasures good, the fountain good. Thus all glory be to GOD and to the Lamb! Salvation is of the LORD!

I'd encourage you to read the entire sermon here:

http://www.chantry-sermons.com/man%27s_will-free_yet_bound.htm

You can also read an abridged version of Luther's "Bondage of the Will" here:

http://www.reformedreader.org/bow.htm

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