DIVIDING THE WILL

 

WHAT PART IS FREE?

 

·        Free to make everyday mundane temporal decisions?

·        Free to make eternal godly spiritual decisions?

·        Free to countermand the will of one's master, the strongman?

·        Free to love that which it hates?

·        Free to sin?

 

We have proven the biblical principle that the will is subject to its master, the heart. The heart, in turn, is subject to reflect the wants, desires and lusts of its father. If, as the Bible teaches, all men are born under the rule of Satan, the god and ruler of this world, who deceives the whole world, then men are born with hearts akin to that of Satan, their carnal father. Their hearts are at enmity with God, enslaved to sin and Satan. (John 8:34-38). These things being so, how is it then that the Romanists and Arminians teach the doctrine of free will?

They allege it to be free by proclaiming their favorite non-biblical proverb, 'God did not make men puppets' to perform His every whim. Chuck Smith, founder of the Calvary Chapel empire, is a prime example of one with much power and authority who preaches this perverted doctrine. Hank Hanegraaff, another Arminian of equal influence, teaches "God is not a Cosmic Rapist" who would force men to love him. We ask the reader to take note that the authors of this present treatise do not deny men have the free will to make non-spiritual, non-salvific choices, e.g., what to eat, where to eat, when to eat, etc., etc. In this the Arminians are correct. As long as sin is not involved in these choices, it is of little or no consequence to our discussion. But their arguments are ill-founded. The Westminster divines have brilliantly shown Christians the two areas in which we are to focus this debate. In rereading the opening statement of this article, you will find contained therein the words, ‘spiritual’ and ‘salvation.’ Christians endeavoring to sort out this issue must stay within the spiritual realm because it is a spiritual issue. We must also distinguish between the unregenerate and regenerate man. The unregenerate man is free to sin, whereas the regenerate man is free not to sin.

 

The State of Unregenerate Man

 

Further proofs he is free to sin & opposed to God

  

            The Lord states the natural, carnal man’s condition in no uncertain terms. Arminians, however, view themselves otherwise. Those who champion freedom of the will have no biblical basis, as we shall now prove.

 

·        We are slaves to sin, Romans 6:16,17; John 8:34.

·        We are blind, unable to perceive the kingdom of God, John 3:3.

·        We are deaf, unable to hear the Word of God, Mark 8:18.

·        We are without strength, Romans 5:6.

·        We are deceived by Satan, Rev.12:9.

·        We are held captive at Satan’s will, 2 Timothy 2:26.

 

Moreover, prior to regeneration, we were enemies of God, (Romans 5:10).

We did not work the works of God, but of Satan, (Gal.5:19-21; Eph.2:2). Nor had we the power to bind the strongman, Satan, who was our master from birth, (Matt.12:29).

 

LET US NOT FORGET - Man is Spiritually Dead

 

            "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it:         for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Gen. 2:17).

 

            "And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins."

                                                                                                            (Eph. 2:1).

 

The fanciful picture often painted by Arminians is one of a man drowning in the sea of sin. He is floundering helplessly in this sea. Unless he comes to Christ, he will surely die. Christ, by His death and resurrection, has thrown out a life preserver to the sinner, they claim, - indeed, to all mankind. Now you must grab it! Take hold of Jesus now and be saved!

            There are many problems with this scenario, not the least of which is the false premise that mankind is floating in the sea of sin. Scripture proclaims that unregenerate man is not floating, but rather is lying dead at the bottom of this great sea. He is completely dead, unable to move, see, hear, or think rightly, while in a state of total darkness. He is both unable and unwilling to do anything to improve his miserable state, (Matt. 23:37). Had Christ not died for His elect, by His own will, (Eph.1:5), reaching down to us in love, mercy and compassion, causing us to live by His resurrecting, quickening Spirit, we would have surely perished, (Romans 8:11; Phil. 3:10; Col. 2:13). For none understand, nor do they seek the true God, (Romans 3:11).

 

THE GOOD NEWS:

Christ is our Deliverer, giving us true freedom by becoming our new Master

 

The Scriptures proclaim Christ as the deliverer of His people, Luke 4:18-21. Strong's Concordance defines the term 'deliver' as, to rescue or release. If Christ then has rescued and released us, it stands to reason that as unregenerate souls we were in grave danger from something, while at the same time enslaved to something. Consider this truth: natural man is enslaved to that which he is in great danger. It can't get worse than that!

Moses typifies Christ as the deliverer who led God's people out of bondage. Had not God intervened, the Israelites would have remained in that hopeless condition. This Old Testament picture of the once born man is a type or shadow of the hard reality facing unregenerate man as presented in the New Testament. The Israelites were bound physically as slaves. They knew not how to more perfectly worship the living God, nor could they in their enslaved condition. But the NT picture of man is far worse than the physical plight of the Israelites. Man's slavery is total, complete. When speaking of salvation, which is obviously a spiritual issue, Scripture does not allow for any freedom in man's will, as we have proven above. Instead, it teaches the freedom of God's will.

 

GOD'S FREE WILL DOES THE CHOOSING IN MATTERS OF SALVATION

 

"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you [for salvation]…."

                                                                                          (John 15:16).

 

"Many be called, but few chosen." (Matt.20:16).

 

"I know whom I have chosen." (John 13:18).

 

"For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." (Romans 9:15).

 

"Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the         election of grace." (Romans 11:5).

 

"Having predestined us unto the adoption of children by Christ Jesus to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will." (Eph. 1:5).

 

"For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." (Eph. 2:8).

 

"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."

                                                                                              (Rev. 4:11)

 

When Christ regenerates our hearts through the Holy Spirit, He says, ‘You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.’ He does not exclude the bondage of our will in our new found emancipation.

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