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Saturday, February 4, 2012

Do Commands Presuppose Free Will?

Question: “Doesn’t every command in the Bible pre-suppose free will?”

Response: If the natural man has a free will to believe the gospel, then why does he need grace? If his will is naturally free then it would do away with the need for grace altogether. The need for grace in salvation demonstrates that free will is simply the the extra-biblical unaided logic of man.

“Also, doesn’t every command in the Bible pre-suppose free will?”

If you read Romans 3:19, 20 it declares that the purpose of the divine law is NOT to show man’s ability but his inability.

“Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being[a] will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”

So any Christian who says they believe in free will and not the bondage of the will is simply being inconsistent. Can a person come to faith in Jesus Christ apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. If you say “no” then you acknowledge that fallen man has no free will. Grace is needed to believe. Jesus himself says “…no one can come to me unless God grants it.” (John 6:65).

For a more detailed answer, see this post which quotes Luther's Bondage of the Will

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