Did we choose God or He chose us? FREE WILL!
Free will carried many a soul to hell, but never a soul to heaven. Anyone who believes that man’s will is entirely free and that he can be saved by it does not believe the fall – Charles Spurgeon
I believe that man is endowed with a WILL and that he is free to an extent to choose his own life. But it is a fallacy to say that, by the ‘free will’ one must choose Christ for to be saved, which is what I was preaching and teaching all these years until the Lord enriched my understanding through the Scriptures. I believe within every human being there is a vacuum only God could fill, and the effect of it, is the assortment of religion all around us. If man’s ‘free will’ is the proponent, then the question, why not all get to receive the truth, must have an answer. Without understanding about whom the Scripture verse is talking we often would cite, “When they knew God they glorified Him not as God”, and such…with the notion that it speaks briefly of the general mass, when it isn’t. We shall discuss that later.
People might vary in their understanding of doctrines in the Christendom, which is unavoidable; because God has not given us the complete picture, or we are not in that state to understand things in their entirety. For now, we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known (1 Cor 13:12). BUT having sound dogmas like the Nicene Creed, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Westminster Shorter Catechism and such as a foundation is of paramount importance. God wants us to know about him and His nature – the Christendom is like a garden and all of us in it are like varieties of species of plants and trees. Each emits and produces diverse kinds of fruits and aroma. We are God’s husbandry (1 Corinth 3:9)!
What God has not revealed we are not bound to know. Indeed, it would seem better for us to be in ignorance where the Lord grants no information – C.H. Spurgeon
A great many people in Christendom endorses that our “free will” has something to do with getting saved. Is that really true? Let’s dive into the Scripture and see what it has to say.
I believe men, by Adamic disposition, are dead and weak – the Bible endorses it – Rom 8:3. Otherwise, why would we be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man? (Eph 3:16) – For when we were yet without strength (feeble, weak, powerless – Rom 5:6, sin reigned over/dominion of sin – Rom 7:14/Gal 3:22, through fear of death were all our lifetime subject to bondage – Heb 2:15, having no hope – Eph 2:12 – under the power of Satan – Acts 26:18 – under the power of darkness – Col 1:13)
Just before WILLIAM TYNDALE was to be executed, John Foxe says that he cried out, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes!
Two years after Tyndale prayed, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes,” King Henry VIII required each parish church to have “one book [copy] of the whole Bible of the largest volume in English.”
Question: Would the king had given such an edict if the Lord had not opened his eyes or quickened his will? Could we give king Henry the credit for what the Lord had achieved through him? He could boast about this achievement but the truth is far from it, isn’t it?
For it is God which worketh in you both to WILL and to DO of his good pleasure (Philippians 2:13)
The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will (Proverbs 21:1).
Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth (Romans 9:13-23)
Where is boasting then? (Romans 3:27)
If it is by “free will” then “election” holds no merit – ye cannot say both. Scripture states that we are condemned already. If so where is the morality that we say that we hold within? Can anyone show me the moral might of man? Know that our ways are not God’s ways and our virtuousness is like filthy rags to Him – Isaiah 55:8/64:6. If by your strength or by your “free will” you could choose God, then there was no necessity for a substitute to die in our stead to quicken us. The Bible says even our conscience is defiled and the heart darkened and is blinded; if so, and how on God’s earth are we going to invigorate this “free will” of ours? The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God (he is dead within): God is not in all his thoughts (Psalm 10:4). By His eternal Spirit, God then must quicken us, without which we have no hope of being made right. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly (Rom 5:6) – What does “without strength” mean? When we were dead in sins, hath He quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved – Eph 2:5). I can only say that I am made free because of the ransom of God – 1Tim 2:6/Mark 10:45.
We were powerless to make proper restitution, being both finite and sinful. Only Christ, the God-man could accomplish it through the eternal Spirit. Christ satisfied the requirements by which man is saved. His faith, His righteousness, His obedience had led to the restitution of all things – Acts 3:21, even the precious redemption of souls – Ps 49:8. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God (Eph 2:8).
The Bible specifies whom God chooses and who gets to receive this gift of grace! God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble (James 4:6) – this is not the virtue “humility” that is being mentioned here. How could a branch of the olive tree, which is wild by nature – Rom 11:24 – bring forth good fruits? Humility or meekness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit and one must be born of the eternal Spirit to bring forth good fruit – John 3:6. God gives grace to the “humble” = tapeinos – the depressed/wretched/ oppressed, humiliated in circumstances and disposition, cast down, of low estate, lowly) – For God chooses the foolish things of the world, the weak things of the world (asthenes – strengthless, more feeble, sick, without strength), the base things of the world, and things which are despised hath God chosen (1 Cor 1:27,28). If you were not weak, God would not have chosen you, period! Jesus said they that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick (Luke 5:31) – the spiritually sick – The people which sat in darkness saw great light (Matthew 4:16) – Draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul (Isaiah 58:10). Jesus said, I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32) – a light that shineth in a dark place (2 Peter 1:19). Now you could say that your repentance holds some value! Genuine repentance can only take place within a soul where the Spirit of God has begun His redemptive work of grace.
And when Jesus said, “Repent,” He did not mean (as the Latin Vulgate [the Latin translation of the Bible]) had translated it, “Do penance,” but rather (as Erasmus’ Greek New Testament had shown), he called for a change of heart and mind. He meant for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance – Martin Luther
Tell me now, how a man who is carnal and sold under sin – Rom 7:14 – can change himself? If, on our own, we could change our hearts, which are deceitful and desperately wicked – Jeremiah 17:9 – without the sanctification of the Holy Spirit, why would we ever need a Savior in the first place and what is the purpose of the gift of grace? Wouldn’t that mean we are sound within if we insist that our will is impeccable and that we could do things on our own without the Savior’s mediation? If our will is sound, then aren’t we obliged to please God, and what is that impediment that keeps us from obeying God? We have proved over and over again that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God – Rom 3:23. Let God be true and every man a liar – Rom 3:4. The truth is: our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God (Rom 3:5).
God says, there is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable (achreioo – render useless); there is none that doeth good, no, not one (Rom 3:10-12).
About Israel, the Bible depicts as “dry bones” – Ezekiel 37:4 – and we see that when God’s breath enters into him, that’s the time Israel would come to life. God has to initiate things before one could see any signs of life. That is why it is said, by grace are ye saved through faith and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God – Eph 2:8. When we were dead in sins (a corpse, lifeless, without hope), hath He quickened us together with Christ (Eph 2:5). For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure (Phil 2:13). And unless the Father draws (helkuo – drag) a soul to the life source, which is Christ, one won’t see life – John 6:44. Otherwise, what does “saving grace” means? The haughty and the proud, the strong and mighty God would resist, but them that are weak, sick, downtrodden and the broken-hearted the great Physician would attend to.
I am not at all trivializing the importance of the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ (for the gospel of Jesus Christ is the fishnet into which God draws the fishes in – Mark 1:17 – but the Master must first give the word for the fish to be drawn in – Luke 5:5,6), neither am I propounding that the response from man’s side is impertinent; on the contrary, the seed must be dispersed, they by the mouth should hear the word of the gospel – Acts 15:7, and the soul must respond to benefit; where is the disparity then? I am only saying that the response of a soul to the gospel of Jesus Christ can only take place by the prompting of the Holy Ghost. That is why it is written, by “GRACE” are ye saved (the free gift of “Justification unto life” – Rom 5:18); and that not of yourselves – Eph 2:8! When the seed of the word falls into a good ground of the heart; the unyielding will of man receives vigor (quickens – Eph 2:1,5,13/John 5:21/6:63) to do the will of God, to obey from the heart that form of doctrine – Rom 6:17. One could call it “conviction” of the Holy Ghost. The majority of the modern-day believers, the charlatans had been let in into the sheepfold without such conviction of the Holy Ghost. As a result, as Ishmael (represents that which is born after the flesh) mocked Isaac (represents that which is born after the Spirit), without a change of heart, they (THE TARES) remain in the congregation of the saints (THE WHEAT) and choke the good seeds continually – Genesis 21:9/ Galatians 4:29. The prompting of the Holy Ghost within the heart of man then must precede belief, which is how a genuine conversion takes place. Otherwise, it ain’t the conversion of the soul or the work of regeneration but a mere emotional endeavor. The belief must be of the heart, not the mind. For with the heart/in the spirit – Rom 2:29 – KJV – man believeth unto righteousness – Rom 10:10. If the heart represents the spirit – Rom 2:29, someone tell me how one could believe with the spirit/heart without being born of God first? That which is born of the Spirit is spirit, right! – John 3:6.
The Bible clearly depicts that without Christ the heart of a man or the spirit of man is in a dead state – Col 2:13. Are you suggesting that without the candle of the Lord, which is the spirit of man – Proverbs 20:27 – which alone lights up the whole person was already glowing to receive Christ? If it is already lighted as you presume, why would one need Christ in the first place? If that be the case, aren’t we maintaining that we are sound within and that we have the potential to please God. And wouldn’t that make God a liar when He had said, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked? Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one; They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one – Rom 3:12/ Psalm 53:3/Jeremiah 17:9/Rom 3:23.
Let me reiterate: The dead spirit must be quickened by the Holy Ghost first for the soul to respond according to the will of God. The soul of man must have his spirit revived first without which the soul in which the will is present holds no life whatsoever to respond to good work. To will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not – Rom 7:18 – but after being begat of God, we get to perform that which is good. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world -1 John 5:4 – We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him, not -1 John 5:18 – see, now IN CHRIST, we can overcome the world, we can keep ourselves and we can walk unto all pleasing, etc… which we were unable to accomplish when we were dead in sins and the uncircumcision of the flesh. Understand that outside of Christ we are still deplorable. But because we are being attached to the person of Christ, we could bear good fruits. For, if the root be holy, so are the branches (Rom 11:16).
Jesus said, Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me (John 15:4) – for without me ye can do nothing (John 15:5). Where is the boasting?
Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God -1 John 5:1 – this believing in Jesus is the work of the Holy Ghost within the heart of man and not of yourself – them that have obtained like precious faith with us – 2 Peter 1:1 – God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith – Rom 12:3 – that is why it is called, grace. Bible says, no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost -1Cor 12:3. Now after knowing these truths, isn’t it preposterous to consider that our will has responded to the gospel of Jesus Christ without any ministrations of the Holy Ghost, whatsoever?
Do we get to choose life? The truth is: God must choose us first for us to even respond. Though the will is present with us, to perform that which is good is absent – Rom 7:18 – or the entity which alone is capable of propelling our will to obey is missing – which makes you and me impotent (unfit). The reason why we are deemed deficient is that our spirit, which alone can bring light and life to the whole person, is in a dead state. Unless our spirit is quickened or revived we do not possess the ability to choose anything Godly. God alone is the author of such virtues. God alone can do this operation through His eternal Spirit. And one must be born of the Spirit to receive anything of the Lord.
This work of regeneration or the free gift of justification unto life proffered to man is the direct result of the obedience of One, Jesus Christ – Rom 5. And every one that would thus respond to God is deemed predestined (the elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father – 1Pet 1:2) – whom the Father would draw – John 6:44 – All that the Father giveth me shall come to me (John 6:37). As many as were ordained to eternal life believed – Acts 13:48. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate – Rom 8:29 – Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified – Rom 8:30. You see the procedure!
We were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree – Rom 11:24 – this wasn’t our work, was it? The farmer or the professional alone chooses the buds that need to be grafted and not the contrary. Toward thee, it was goodness shown by the Lord – Rom 11:22 – Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? Romans 2:4 Where is the boasting then? Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by the law of faith – Rom 3: 27,28 – which faith is obtained from God – 2Pet 1:1/Rom 12:3.
Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us to give light (Luke 1:78,79) – the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared (Titus 3:4)
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto (until) obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:2) – you see, sanctification of the Spirit precedes our compliance! Obedience and a sprinkling of the blood follows sanctification of the Spirit and not the other way round! God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us – Rom 5:8.
Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God
1 Thessalonians 1:4
It is absurd to even imagine that a condemned person could choose life. If the judge would grant pardon and justifies the condemned, then alone that soul would be released from the death penalty. Then we could say, now he is judicially free and that the handwriting of ordinances that was against him, which was contrary to him gets rescinded as well (Col 2:14) – now being made right with God the Great Judge – Rom 5:1 – he now can live without any condemnation or fear. But being justified freely doesn’t make the heart of a criminal upright, does it? He must obtain the allotted like precious faith – 2Pet 1:1/Rom 12:3 – for the sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience to kickoff – 2Thess 2:13/1Pet 1:2. It is through the faith of the operation of God – Col 2:12 – KJV. This sanctification is a continuous process and one not only must have the grace of God to apprehend it all, but one must grow in grace as well – 2Pet 3:18. Where is our boasting then? The goodness of God alone leadeth thee to repentance (Romans 2:4/11:22).
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out (John 6:37).
Who does reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment? (John 16:8) – It is the Holy Spirit that does all these work within a soul.
Does a slave get to choose his master? Or the master chooses whom he wants to keep? The latter is proper, right! Don’t ever forget that we are purchased of God – Acts 20:28/Eph 1:14. While we were yet sinners, Christ died – Rom 5:8. He did not ask for your approval to redeem you, did He? Now you know how priceless this grace that is bestowed unto thee!
One who is acquitted by God will be free of any condemnation as long as he/she would walk after the Spirit – Rom 8:1 – KJV. Walking after the Spirit gives you indemnity/immunity. The legal pardon – Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us – Col 2:14 – that gets done away in Christ. Now you have peace with God – Rom 51 – Secondly, the state of our spiritual dearth also gets covered in Christ, when we abide in Him, in total submission to His Spirit and His Word. Thirdly the culmination of these and the trying of our faith would result in attaining “everlasting life”- Rom 6:22/1Pet 1:7/James 1:3.
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us (1 John 4:10) – God sent forth his Son (Gal 4:4) – What for? To redeem those who sat in darkness, who had no strength, already condemned, judicially and spiritually dead, having no hope. How dare such a man like myself who by the grace of God was saved stand before God and man, and boast that I chose God! Some might, but I cannot. I cherish this “so great a salvation” which was given to me from God as a gift – I’am ever so grateful and indebted to God for saving this hopeless, sinful, condemned, unworthy soul of mine. He begat me into His household and hath made me be seated with Christ. I chose God! Are you kidding me?
Would Christ receive all? Would God pardon anyone? Yes, but through Christ alone! It is futile for any man to call upon the Father or the Holy Ghost apart from Christ. For the life of God is in Christ, His Son. Jesus Christ is the only door, the only way to God. Even though I insist that there is an election by grace, I believe there is life for ALL those who come to Christ. This COMING to Christ is vital. All that the Father giveth me SHALL COME to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out (John 6:35-37). But would we come? Are we equipped to COME to life? That’s the question? The Bible says, NO.
Of course, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. BUT the problem is, how shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? Rom 10:13,14 And how can they believe, if God wouldn’t open the eyes of their heart? For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their (Israel’s) unbelief (Rom 11:30). For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all (Rom 11:32). So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy (Rom 9:15,16).
Mercy triumphs over judgment
James 2:13
Our will? If we possess such a will, then we are asserting that we are self-sufficient in some way, isn’t it? But Jesus said, Ye, WILL NOT come to me, that ye might have life (John 5:40) – Why? Because ourselves we are not in a state to come to Christ unless the Spirit of God would draw us to him. When God said, let there be light, the Holy Spirit who was brooding over the waters brought to light and life. Until the word came, the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2). This is exactly the condition of a soul without Christ. The earth without form and void represents the state of the fallen man. God must speak first, “let there be light”. I remember me pleading with one of my friends to accept Christ before he died; you know what he told me? I know the gospel and IF I am saved I will bring my community to this faith, BUT I just can’t submit to Christ. Would someone be able to give me an answer to this?
God the Spirit must draw a person. The conviction must take place within the heart before he could feel penitence. The seared conscience must be softened by the Spirit of God to receive anything of the Lord. The same sun which melts the ice hardens the clay! Before the Lord could save me, for many months precious Holy Ghost was brooding over my soul. I just couldn’t bear the weight of my sin. The Pangs of conscience and the weight of sin was crushing me to the point of giving up on life. But then the mercy of God reached for me and God orchestrated a situation in my life and by His Spirit changed my life forever. Tell me what did I do to save myself? The Spirit of God was continually brooding in my life awaiting the word from heaven, to bring light into my life; that I would seek life and truth – the GRACE of God found me and washed me and clothed me with the robe of the righteousness of Christ; after quickening me through His Spirit – Eph 2:5, He dealt to me the measure of faith and activated my WILL to follow Him – To them that have obtained like precious faith through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ – 2 Pet 1:1.
Faith is the precondition of knowledge – Anselm (one of the most profound thinkers of the Middle Ages) – He simply believed knowledge cannot lead to faith, and knowledge gained outside of faith is untrustworthy.
And this “knowledge” (epignosis) is the antonym of “darkness” (Choshek – ignorance). Without being endowed with the gift of faith, you cannot have access to epignosis. The gift of faith precedes the knowledge of God.
The purpose of knowledge was to strengthen faith; the pursuit of knowledge was “faith seeking understanding” Augustine and Anselm
By doubting, we come to enquire and by enquiring we reach truth – Abelard
First, Christ must open a heart to listen (whose heart the Lord opened to listen to the things which were spoken by Paul – Acts 16:14), then comes the gift of faith, which paves way for the knowledge of God.
When the day-star arises in a heart – 2 Peter 1:19 – he imparts the required faith too – until then, we were shut up unto the faith – Gal 3:23,25 – but when faith came, God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith – Rom 12:3 – obtains like precious faith – 2Pet 1:1 – For Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ – John 1:17.
“I frequently hear persons exhorted to give their hearts to Christ…But that is not the Gospel. Salvation comes from something that Christ gives you, not something that you give to Christ. The giving of your heart to Christ follows are the receiving from Christ of eternal life by faith.” Spurgeon
The reason why it is vital to abide in Christ – John 15:4 – is that He could work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure – Phil 2:13. He which hath begun a good work in us would be able to perform it until the day of Jesus Christ – Phil 1:6. He the Spirit shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver (Malachi 3:3). The reason why we need to be led by God is that we possess a temporal body in which the law of sin and death still reigns – Rom 7. To prevent any takeover by the evil entities this total control of the Spirit of Christ is vital. Things will be different when He will change our vile body and fashion it like unto His glorious body – Phil 3:21. Then we shall be like him (1 John 3:2) – reigning with Him, even judging angels – 2 Tim 2:12/Rev 20:6/1 Col 6:3 – He hath made us kings and priests unto God the Father and we shall reign on earth – Rev 1: 6/5:10
The seed of the word gets sowed everywhere: on the wayside, on good grounds, and where thorns and thistles are covered with. But not all receive the word – that which fell on the wayside, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up – which means, they do hear the word of the kingdom, but because they understand it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catches away that which was sown in his heart (Matthew 13:19/Mark 4:4); some after receiving gladly when afflictions and persecution arise for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended – Mark 4:17; some having received the seed of the word, quickly sprouts but because it fell upon the rock and there is not enough soil for the root to run when the sun comes up or trouble hits, it withers away; and some which fell among thorns are they which hears the word and the love of the world and pleasures of life choke them to unfruitfulness; some which fell on good grounds are they that get to experience life – Mark 4:18-20. This is a naked truth.
Know that there are good seeds and bad seeds – Matt 13: 37-39. The world is the field and in it are children of the kingdom (the elect – the sheep) and the children of darkness (vessels of wrath – the goats) – the wheat and the tares. You cannot transform a tare into wheat, can you? If not, then why do you assert that God is not just in saving all? The tares are sown by the devil – Matt 13:25,37-39. And at the harvest time, the tares will be separated to be burned. Now I understand why God said, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated (Rom 9:13); Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother – 1 John 3:12 – Ye are of your father the devil (John 8:44/1John 3:8,10). Jesus knew they were the TARES. The wheat: like lambs among wolves (Luke 10: 3).
These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear (they grow together – Matt 13:28-30): clouds they are without water, carried about of winds (they resemble the wheat but are empty shells); trees whose fruit withers, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever – Jude 1:12,13
Men by nature, hate light but love darkness – John 3:19. My friend whom I spoke about, who passed away in his early fifties, he loved the world and its pleasures so much that though he knew the truth, which means though the seed already fell inside the heart – I would assume in a thorny and thistle environment or a stony ground, which must have choked the precious seed.
Even after we have come to Christ, our soul needs to be kept by Christ – 1Thess 5:23. Paul said, to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not (Rom 7:18) – We must understand that this was the situation Paul had confronted even after being born of the Spirit of God. We should not forget the fact that, regardless of our stance in Christ, there is a law (of sin and death) in the members of our body, which war against the law of our minds in order to bring us again into captivity – Rom 7. If Paul speaks this as the state of the redeemed, one could imagine the state of those dead in trespasses and sins? – Eph 2:1/Col 2:13. For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure (Phil 2:13).
Compel, not Invite: The Lord said, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled (Luke 14:23). If you invite people they have a propensity to refuse but compel. Because the fall of man broke man in every respect. Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men (2 Cor 5:11). He is LOST – IRRECOVERABLE. But is there anything too hard for the Lord? To God, the redemption of the soul of man is precious (Psalm 49:8). He that hath no rule over his own spirit (the state of man) is like a city that is broken down, and without walls (Pro 25:28). The souls of men have become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
When Christ found us, we were without strength – Rom 5:6. The conscience of man though still show some sign of his goodness, which it possessed before the fall, it has lost its tenderness and is utterly fallen/defiled – Titus 1:15. If that be the case, what is the state of the will of man be? It too is tainted and has gone astray. The fallen nature, means, that which was in order is in a chaotic state or put out of order. Jesus brought “Shalom” = life and peace = Destroyed the authority that established chaos / Jesus Christ destroyed the one that created all chaos – Heb 2:14/Col 2:15/John 16:11/ 1John 3:8/5:19/2Cor 4:4 – which didst weaken the nations – Isaiah 14:12/ Ezek 28: 13-Gan 1:2-Isaiah 14:12
Jesus prayed to the Father: I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were (Predestined – chosen in him before the foundation of the world – Eph 1:4 – whom he did foreknow – Rom 8:29), and thou gavest them me, and they (the elect) have kept thy word (John 17:6) – And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed (Acts 13:48)
When you say that it was by choice or by the free will of man that one comes to Christ, I beg to differ. I believe in choice when it comes to the obedience of faith – Rom 6:17. Even then, it is God that worketh in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure (Phil 2:13). Paul said, Whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which works in me mightily (Col 1:29) – In essence: Christ (that Great Spirit – 2Cor 3:17) that liveth in me (Gal 2:20) – maketh it all happen. The Son quickens whom he will (John 5:21).
The Bible is clear in this: No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost (1 Cor 12:3) not by your free will you choose to say but by the Holy Ghost. A man is justified by faith alone – Rom 3:27,28 – and this faith is ascribed to – God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith (Rom 12:3). Where is the boasting then?
The truth is, a sinner in his condemned state cannot love God unless he is pardoned or justified freely. His heart is hardened by sin, and his mind and conscience is defiled. And unless the grace of God quickens him first, he is not in a state to come to GOD. How can a sinner upon whom the wrath of God rests come to Him without the GRACE of God, which is CHRIST JESUS through whom alone we have forgiveness and acceptance? B.V. Thomas
We chose God! You loved him first and then He loved you! Really? I wouldn’t dare say that. I can only say that the goodness of the Lord alone had led me to seek God.
I did not choose God, but the goodness of the Lord found me and then I followed Him. Even Jesus had to rely on the eternal Spirit to offer himself without spot to God – Heb 9:14 – Why? Because he took upon himself a sinful flesh to condemn sin – Rom 8:3/Phil 2:8/Heb 2:17/4:15
Was it not the Lord that chose the twelve Apostles? And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men (Matthew 4:18,19).
Abraham, a heathen, an idol worshipper was called by God. He never knew about Yahweh until God appeared unto him. And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God (Genesis 17:1).
Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve? (John 6:70) – I have chosen you out of the world (John 15:19) – Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you (John 15:16)
According to as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4)
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate (Rom 8:29).
God hath chosen the foolish things (1 Cor 1:27)
Ye are a chosen generation (1 Pet 2:9)
Ananias told Paul, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth (Acts 22:14)
Whom did God call? Whom he did predestinate (determine in advance by divine will – whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate – Rom 8:29 – God foreknew who would believe on the Son of God – 1John 5:9-12 – and them He chose or predestinate), them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified (Rom 8:30)
Of course, I believe in the choices that we make. As human beings, we have a propensity to choose only evil. For our hearts are desperately wicked. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts (Psalm 10:4) – if that be the case, then how on earth can one seek God? A lost sheep must be found – John 10:15,16. We were LOST, weren’t we? Don’t you understand? Means, apollumi = destroyed fully (reflexively, to perish, or lose), dead, marred, perished.
Well, because I was raised in a Pentecostal background and the seed of the word of God was sown in my heart from childhood; not to mention, my mother’s fervent prayers, I could say that had led to my salvation. Otherwise, I would be dead by now. In India, we have a lot of religions. The Hindus insist that their three hundred million gods are the real ones. If I was raised in such a religious background I would be following their gods; if I was raised in a Muslim background I would believe in Allah only. It is an election or the grace of God that saves people. Maybe there is something within the human heart that triggers God’s hand to draw a person to Himself through Christ. We don’t know that yet. And it’s not our’s to know that for now. I believe it is the tug of the Holy Ghost within the heart of man that causes us to seek God in the first place. Or every soul gets a chance in life to repent or to seek the truth – which is why it is being said, that He commands all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30)! But as I’ve explained before, the state of the heart of man is crucial. And for the TARE, there’s no chance of redemption. They are the vessels of wrath! Rom 9:22
Bible says, For when we were yet without strength (willingly ignorant too), in due time Christ died for the ungodly (Rom 5:6). Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: (Eph 4:18). So, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God (Eph 2:8).
Whether you like it or not: there are vessels of wrath fitted to destruction and there are vessels of mercy – Rom 9:22-23. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off (Rom 11:22). Don’t you know that the goodness of God leads us to repentance? (Rom 2:4)
Salvation was the prerogative, privilege, and potential act of God alone – Athanasius
God subdued and brought my heart to docility God subdued my heart to teachability – John Calvin
When you hear the word of God, faith comes to you to respond – Rom 10:17. How this faith was made available? Through Christ – Faith came – Gal 3:23. It wasn’t present before! When the sower soweth the word – Mark 4:14 – The seed is the word of God – Luke 8:11. And because it is a gift of God and by grace alone, a soul is saved – it is the Spirit of Christ that opens the heart of man to receive – because of the propitiative/redemptive work of Christ, the promise of the Spirit was made available – without the intervention of the Spirit of God in the hearts of men, none could be saved. The convicting or the convincing work is of the Spirit of God. It is purely God’s goodness – Rom 11:22 – and His Mercy – Rom 9:13-27 – shown towards a vessel that results in his/her salvation. God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8).
David said Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputes not iniquity (Psalm 32:2)
Elect of God: choose (someone) in preference to others for salvation – Rom 8:33/Rom 9:11/Col 3:12/1Thess 1:4/Titus 1:1. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father (1 Peter 1:2).
This “is how the Arminian would pray who believes in “FREE WILL”
Lord, I thank thee I am not like those poor presumptuous Calvinists. Lord, I was born with a glorious free-will; I was born with power by which I can turn to thee of myself; I have improved my grace. If everybody had done the same with their grace that I have, they might all have been saved. Lord, I know thou dost not make us willing if we are not willing ourselves. Thou givest grace to everybody; some do not improve it, but I do. There are many that will go to hell as much bought with the blood of Christ as I was; they had as much of the Holy Ghost given to them; they had as good a chance, and were as much blessed as I am. It was not thy grace that made us to differ; I know it did a great deal, still, I turned the point; I made use of what was given me, and others did not—that is the difference between me and them.”
Is it MORAL liberty or SIN domination?
If Jesus Christ saved us from the power/control of Satan and the dominion of sin (total depravity) and from this present evil world – Gal 1:4, it then means that an unsaved man does not possess an iota of moral freedom in his being (he wallows in sin – he is dominated by sin – a sinner do evil a hundred times – Ecclesiastes 8:12 – every imagination of the thoughts of his heart is only evil continually – Genesis 6:5 – God sees the fallen man as a prisoner of the earth – Lamentations 3:34); it then means that the sinner never holds the power of real choice, the ability to determine the course of his thoughts and volitions – because he is under the power of Satan/darkness – Acts 26:18/Col 1:13/Heb 2:15 – and he does only what his father, the devil does – John 8:44 – and willingly are ignorant of (2 Pet 3:5).
We once committed sin, we took pleasure/wallowed in sin. We were once darkness – Eph 5:8 – Sin which is still present in my members once controlled me/reigned over me – Rom 7:23 – sin hath reigned unto death – Rom 5:21 – so death passed upon all men – Rom 5:12,17. But now after coming to Christ, the sin shall not have dominion over you – Rom 6:14 – Why? Because sin got condemned in the body of the flesh of Christ – Rom 8:3 – and the sting of death is sin – 1 Cor 15:56.
Now after coming to Christ, we receive the power to cast down imaginations (we see that we were weak before and that sin had dominated), and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and to bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor 10:5). You had “free will” to choose? What’s the point of bragging about ‘free will’ when a sinner is a bond slave, sold under sin? Rom 7:14
A slave has a master and that master decides everything. The slave is his legal property and is forced to obey him. Likewise, sin was our master once.
I believe the man was created with a “free will” but what I am trying to say is that that capacity to do right and to choose good was lost in Adam when he transgressed. That ‘will’ gets activated in Christ, but still not fully free, because of the mortal body which we are clothed with. Now Christ has to live in us through His Spirit to lead us as a Shepherd so that the inherent sin would not impede and jeopardize the work of God that is begun in us. For God hath begun a good work in us, has He not? (Phil 1:6) Paul said, Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me (1 Tim 1:12). Who enabled him? Not that he chose him, but by the enablement of Christ – according to his working, which worked in him mightily (Col 1:29) – He said, he labored more abundantly than they all: yet not him, but the grace of God which was with him (1 Cor 15:10). Where is the boasting then?
Now the free will of man, which was in some measure lost in Adam gets revived in Christ. We could see its evidence throughout the New Testament – 1Pet 5:2/Philemon 1:14/John 6:21/Heb 13:8/2 Col 8:3,12 etc…
Here’s the big one:
Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: For that, ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice! in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil (James 4:13-16)
If the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well-doing than for evil doing (1 Peter 3:17)
And this will we do, if God permits (Hebrews 6:3) – for the will happens in the head, and the head is Christ.
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God (2 Timothy 1:1)
If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine (John 7:17)
Tell me now where your will stands?
A son is totally dependent on the Father and he can do nothing on his own – John 5:19.
Even the will of the Son of God was totally surrendered to the Father. Peace be, unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so, send I you (John 20:21). And as he is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17). Jesus prayed, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done (Luke 22:42) – The will of the Son of Man held no prominence; so should ours’s be. Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, ‘O’ God (Heb 10:9).
He taught us to pray likewise: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, as in heaven, so in the earth (Luke 11:2)
Now tell me, where does our will fit in?
Why we were called sinners in the first place? Because of the kind of nature we possessed, right? SINFUL NATURE! Wild by nature – Rom 11:24! Why are we now called the righteousness of God in Christ? 2 Col 5:21. Simply because the nature of Christ is now being implanted within us or being grafted into His nature, into a good olive tree, to be precise – Rom 11:16,24. The spirit that we received from God is created after the image of God in righteousness and true holiness – Eph 4:24/John 3:6
“A man’s free will,” “avails for nothing except to sin.” “To will is of nature, but to will aright is of grace” – Augustine
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God (Eph 2:8) – For the grace of God to be operative in a person, first the recipient must be administered with faith. This measured precious faith – 2Pet 1:1/Rom 12:3 – when gets dispensed to a sinner elect, it incites the grace of God, whose effect would be justification unto life and the washing of regeneration by the eternal Spirit.
Furthermore, only the power of God’s grace could restore in some measure the free will lost in the fall of Adam’s race. Grace cannot be received by an act of human will or even cooperated with (synergism)—it must be given as a gift – Augustine
In Christian Theology, the teaching that there is a kind of interplay between human freedom and divine grace, which is known as “synergism” – or those who hold that salvation involves some form of cooperation between divine grace and human freedom – this understanding is in opposition to Monergism, which holds that God works through the Holy Spirit to bring about the salvation of an individual through spiritual regeneration, regardless of the individual’s cooperation.
What does the Bible say about Israel and the New Covenant? The Lord says I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: AND they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn (Zechariah 12:10). Millenniums have passed, yet their “free will” is showing no sign of seeking God. It is clear that they can’t – for within, they are full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness (Matthew 23:27). They are here depicted as not merely dead but mere dry bones, which means beyond the point of being restored. But then, is there anything too hard for the Lord?
The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live?
And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Ezekiel 37:1-3
Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, AND ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon this slain, that they may live.
So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
And ye shall know that I am the Lord when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord. Ezekiel 37:4-14
IF THIS WAS THE STATE OF THE NATURAL BRANCHES – ROMANS 11:21,24 – ONE COULD IMAGINE THE STATE OF THE GENTILE SINNER! WE WERT CUT OUT OF THE OLIVE TREE WHICH IS WILD BY NATURE, BUT ISRAEL WAS PART OF A GOOD OLIVE TREE.
“The Spirit of grace, therefore, causes us to have faith,” he wrote, “in order that through faith we may, upon praying for it, obtain the ability to do what we are commanded.” Augustine of Hippo