Are they not more alike than different? Does it not come down to preferences like personalities, if the wife and the children are happy, or if you can profess to be a member of a church?

One area that radically matters when choosing the right church to attend is the teaching. So permit the author to repair to some biblical texts for clarity and illustration.

In Isaiah Chapter 5, God delivers a powerful indictment to his people.

 “So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground. Isaiah 5:5

Well, the vine is Israel, and it was trampled by the armies of Babylon.

But not just because of idolatry.

“Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge; And their honorable men are famished, And their multitude is parched with thirst.” Isaiah 5:13

In other words, Israel failed because their teachers failed. The people were spiritually starved and thirsty. Therefore, teachers matter because of judgment and eternity matter.

Another parallel is in the prophet Malachi.

Malachi tells us that the tribe of Levi has been corrupted (see also Amos 2:11-12). The prophet reminds them of their very own patriarch in an attempt to secure repentance. The strategic importance of this tribe is that they were instructors in the right way. They pointed to the cultus, maintained by the family of Aaron, that has its end-time fulfillment in Jesus Christ.   It is noteworthy that in Malachi it is teachers from within the covenant community that are causing the people to stumble. Notice Malachi’s words to them:

“True instruction was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many back from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by the instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 2:6-8

So Levi “turned many.” Conversely, there is a turning of another sort! The word “stumble” is instructive (cf. Proverbs 4:16). It is noteworthy that the LXX reads to be weak or feeble. In other words, the teachers in the days of Malachi have enfeebled the people with corrupt instruction.

A New Testament parallel to this is 1 Corinthians Chapter 3.

Contextually, Paul is stressing the importance of qualified builders because he knows of coming judgment. He refers to himself in verse three as a wise master builder who knows that others will build upon his work.

Then, he warns these builders. “Let each man be careful how he builds upon it” (3:10).

The metaphor of the building is the end-time temple. Teachers who build upon it use raw materials: some use gold, silver, and precious stones while others use wood, hay, and straw. The reference to gold, silver, and precious stones are items used in the building of the Old Testament temple as specified by Moses. The metaphor is qualified teachers, teaching the word of God.

The wood, hay, and straw are building materials used for common everyday buildings. In other words, the qualified builder is building upon the temple. The unqualified is trying to build upon it but with worldly materials. When the judgment comes, and it will, the students of the teachers qualified or not will be tested. One remains. The other does not.

The temple is not literal and neither are the building materials. They are references to people and church growth. And when unqualified teachers add unregenerate and worldly converts to the church, they will be destroyed. In the case of one unqualified teacher, although a Christian, his product cannot withstand the judgment either. In other words, his converts perish in the judgment too.

Notice what Paul says: “If any man’s work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:14-15)

Again, this teacher is a Christian. I am sure he has pure motives and is sincere and compassionate; yet, he is unqualified as a teacher of the word of God. His “converts” are taken in judgment.

Teachers matter because of the effect on their students. The warning is to teachers and their followers.

Hear it:

“Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

This is what prompted the well-known Anglican Bishop J.C. Ryle (1816-1900) to write in his book, Holiness:

 “It is vain to shut our eyes to the fact that there is a vast quantity of so-called Christianity nowadays which you cannot declare positively unsound, but which, nevertheless, is not full measure, good weight, and sixteen ounces to the pound. It is a Christianity in which there is undeniably ‘something about Christ, and something about grace, and something about faith, and something about repentance, and something about holiness’; but it is not the real ‘thing as it is’ in the Bible. Things are out of place, and out of proportion. As old Latimer would have said, it is a kind of ‘mingle-mangle,’ and does no good. It neither exercises influence on daily conduct, nor comforts in life, nor gives peace in death; and those who hold it, often awake too late to find that they have got nothing solid under their feet.”

Again, Bishop Ryle was lamenting the nominalism of his day. I might add a nominalism caused by unqualified teachers.

A contemporary scholar is David Wells. He too acknowledges that sinister forces are at work in the church. He writes in, The Courage to be Protestant:

“When the (post) modern self becomes religious, it may become liberal, emergent, or loosely evangelical. But when it becomes (post)modern in these ways, it will no longer be historically Protestant. It will not be biblical. It will not be apostolic. It will be Christian in name but not in thought.”

The difference between Ryle and Wells is not merely temporal. In 19^th Century England, the church, according to Ryle, was filled with nominal Christians, but at least the dogma was orthodox. The issue of nominalism is with us today; however, if Wells is correct, we are unorthodox. It is a sad illustration that doctrinal shifts are never static but keep lurching further and further from the truth. It is deception by the installment plan! Wells extrapolates: “In due course, the children of these evangelicals will become full-blown liberals.”

Jesus warns his disciples about the coming destruction of the temple. And what is Jesus doing if not warning his disciples not to get caught up in deception.

“See to it that no one misleads you. . . . And at that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many. And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, it is he who shall be saved.” Matthew 24:4, 10-13.

It is the same with the apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2. The context is one of deception. Paul writes to steady his charges regarding subterfuge within the church:

“So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.” 2 Thessalonians 2:15

In other words, it does matter. It matters because truth matters, theology matters, and teachers and their churches matter because eternity matters.

A benchmark for a true church is given to us in Acts. It is instructive what the church is given to there. And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42

Some statistics from Acts are helpful to amplify this emphasis. The phrase word of God and analogous phrases like ministry or preaching the word and word of salvation, grace, and gospel are used some twenty-six times. See Acts 6:7, 12:24, and 19:20. The word teaching is used some fifteen times in Acts. See Acts 28:31

It is incontestable that God is sending forth his word to affect his eternal purposes in creating a people, in contrast to Israel, who are given to his word. It is just as evident that God’s agents use this word to call and equip God’s people. See Isaiah 45:22-23 and 55:11.

This is evident that the church in Acts is not following the corruption of the teachers in Old Testament Israel. I think that it is evident that many modern teachers and their churches are!

A specific instance in Acts is noteworthy. Paul is in Miletus, and he calls for the Ephesian elders.

“Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.”  Acts 20:26-31

This is more than just a benchmark or example of what approximates true ministry. It is true ministry. It is that Paul has received his calling from the Lord, and he is preserving the content in passing it on to successive generations. See 2 Timothy 2:2

I believe that many churches today have lost their confidence in the word of God. It vainly adopts a youth culture to keep young people and their parents. This is evident in the use of music and programs. This tragedy is played out when the children move away from home; namely, they move away from the church as well.

There is also a decline in preaching evident in short moral homilies at the expense of the redemptive purposes of God found in Scripture. The danger here is that moralizing in the church makes us no different than every other religion in the world. This is played out in a marked decline in church attendance because if the church looks like the world, it has nothing to attract and hold us.

Our commitment at Grace Bible Church is to biblical exposition because God has ordained his word to call and equip his people.

The post Does It Matter Where You Go to Church? appeared first on Grace Bible Church.

The Five Points of Calvinism are often known by the acrostic TULIP.

• T – Total Depravity
• U – Unconditional Election
• L – Limited Atonement (sometimes referred to as definite or particular atonement)
• I – Irresistible Grace
• P – Perseverance of the Saints

The Five Points of Calvinism fall, in the author’s view, under the broader heading of the doctrine of salvation, or soteriology.

In other words, they speak specifically to how we are saved and the results of that salvation.

They also speak to the condition of man (anthropology), and the need for the divine initiative to save, and what occurs when God takes that initiative.

Lastly, the Five Points of Calvinism do not speak to the entirety of Calvinism. Calvinists believe in many things, but they universally believe in these things. In this, the Reformed faith is monolithic.

A Brief History of the Five Points of Calvinism

John Calvin, 1509-1564, is perhaps the best known of the Protestant Reformers. He was a tireless messenger and defender of the faith and advocate for the awesome majesty and sovereignty of God.

The five points of Calvinism are the product of the Dutch Reformed Church. When the followers of Jacobus Arminius presented the Church with their system of theology, the Church met and rejected them in the Synod of Dort (1619). Their answer was the Canons of Dort, which is the doctrinal standard of the Dutch Reformed Church. The Canons of Dort include five points, which have come to be known as the Five Points of Calvinism, and represent the orthodoxy of the Reformed faith throughout the ages.

In other words, these five points are the Church’s reply to the followers of Arminius.

More importantly, the Church rejected, among other things, the five points of Arminianism.

The Five Points of Calvinism are decisively biblical and represent a consistent system. They are a consistent theism in which God is sovereign over all of life.

Additionally, the Five Points of Calvinism are not severable. You cannot renounce one point without affecting all of them­–they are a unified system. Renouncing any part of the system unravels all of them.

Total Depravity

Total depravity references the effects of the fall of man. God judged Adam, and that judgment is imputed to his entire offspring.

There are certainly physical effects as a result of the fall: Disease, violent weather, suffering, death, etc.

However, the particular emphasis is the extensiveness of the spiritual effects.

Specifically, mankind lost communion with God, and our entire nature was corrupted. Hence, total depravity. The human’s will is in bondage to their fallen nature.

Furthermore, mankind was cursed and made liable to eternal damnation. We have an entire absence of holiness and an entire inclination to evil. Our mind’s ability to reason as to the divine realm was totally darkened.

Furthermore, we have absolutely no good within us that is “attractive” to God. God rejects man regardless of his relative contributions to society at large. This is not about culture and civilization. It is about the total loss of Heaven. The corollary to total depravity is total inability. Mankind lost the ability, totally and entirely, to respond to God.

Many Churches and denominations believe in depravity. However, they reject the adjective total. They believe that the effects of the fall are partial, not total­–that there is still some goodness within us to merit divine favor from God; that we have free will and can respond to the things of God; that we need help to be sure, but in our spiritual life, we have the inclinations to know and seek after God; that if we do, God will save us.

What does the Bible say?

“There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.” Romans 3:10-12

“For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:17-19

“But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” 1Corinthians 2:14

“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:3-4

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” Ephesians 2:1-3

Unconditional Election

 Unconditional election is God choosing to save, in eternity past, those whom he sovereignly wills to save.

God has an eternal purpose and plan that includes everything. He foreordains everything that comes to pass. To use a metaphor, He is the architect and the contractor and nothing is left to chance.

In fact, there is no chance. Chance is a denial of the sovereignty of God.

This eternal plan includes everything and by implication includes sovereign election. He chooses His elect, and His election includes the entirety of the means that He will use to turn His elect to Himself.

For one reason, dead men do not choose God. We will always choose in accordance with our nature. Our nature is fallen and corrupt; likewise, so too are our decisions. The adjective “unconditional” means that God’s choice is not based on anything about us or within us. There are no conditions whatsoever. God’s choice is based solely on His sovereign grace and the good pleasure of His will.

The opposite is conditional election– the belief that God chooses based on something about us or within us. For example, God knows who will believe, and he elects them on this condition.

You can see the link between unconditional election and total depravity. If we are fallen and totally depraved, we cannot believe or merit favor with a righteous God. Our nature determines that we will reject God.

Consequently, salvation is irrevocably linked to the divine initiative.

What does the Bible say?

“Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure.’” Isaiah 46:9-10

“All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. . . . “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father.” John 6:37-39, 65

“And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.” Acts 13:48

“For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.” Romans 9:15-16

“Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, . . . also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.” Ephesians 1:4-5, 11

Limited Atonement

 The doctrine of Limited Atonement refers to Christ’s death, and to whom His death makes amends for.

There are two aspects to this position: Specifically, the nature of atonement and the extent of atonement.

To state it differently, what was accomplished on the cross, and for whom was it accomplished?

In this regard, both “sides” limit the atonement. If your position is that Christ died for everybody, then the death of Christ only accomplished the possibility of salvation. If your position is that the atonement actually accomplished the salvation of His people, then you limit the extent.

Again, Christ either died for all of the sins of all people, or all of the sins of some people. The former establishes universal salvation, and the latter establishes a definite atonement or particular redemption. To believe the notion that men must believe it for it to be actualized is to affirm that Christ only died for some of the sins of all men because lack of faith is a sin.

First, what did Christ do on the cross? He was a substitute for His people. He took their place and paid the penalty that was due to the eternal justice of God. Payment made means the debt is liquidated. Notwithstanding that the Spirit will apply the atonement in time to His people, all liability is cured.

It means that the death of Christ satisfied the wrath of God and redeemed His people from sin. The infinite value secured the release for whom it was intended.

Furthermore, He reconciled His people to God because the Father accepts the merits of the work of the Son. In this respect, the atonement was an effective payment, an actual payment. There was nothing contingent about it. It did not depend on our response; rather, it secured our response. Christ did not die for the possibility of salvation; rather, he saved. There was no possibility whatsoever that He could fail. This is the good news of the gospel, and the Church takes this message to the world.

Second, given the nature of the atonement, for whom He made payment was the elect of God. Again, He did not make payment for everybody, or everybody would be saved.

What does the Bible say?

“And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21

“Even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. . . . But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep. . . . Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” John 10:15, 26, and 15:13

“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” Acts 20:28

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her;” Ephesians 5:25

“And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy art Thou to take the book, and to break its seals; for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” Revelation 5:9-10

Irresistible Grace

Irresistible Grace is the awesome power of God to win His people.

This references the call of God to invite, bring, and gather His elect unto Himself. It is a call that is infused with the power of God. The Spirit is “dispatched” to summons and apply the benefits of the resurrected Christ to His people.

In this regard, it is effectual.

A contrast is the general call of the gospel made by “the preacher.” He invites, explains, and encourages, but sometimes without effect to those he preaches to. The preacher can be rejected.

God cannot be. Because God is omnipotent, He secures, in time, His intent and purpose.

The Spirit makes the will willing to come to Christ because of divine power. This call is necessary because of total depravity. We have no ability to come to Christ. Only God has the power to bring. Just like Christ died for the elect, the Spirit gathers all for whom Christ died. This is the confidence and inspiration for the preacher to continue his work.

What does the Bible say?

“No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.” . . . “And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they shall hear My voice; and they shall become one flock with one shepherd.” John 6:44-45 and 10:16

“And a certain woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.” Acts 16:14

“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” Romans 8:29-30

“But when He who had set me apart, even from my mother’s womb, and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood,” Galatians 1:15-16

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus,” Ephesians 2:4-6

Perseverance of the Saints

Perseverance of the Saints is the act of God’s people over time and in degree, continuing in the faith.

This includes the content and practice of faith. This is not to deny that there is a temporary failure (sin) but only affirms that there is recovery based upon the sanctifying ministry of the Holy Spirit.

It also recognizes that there is such a thing as temporary faith that is the product of the human will but absent the divine operations of the Spirit.

This faith eventually fails and falls away.

In contrast, God’s people cannot totally or finally fall away. Perseverance is the necessary response to the internal ministry of the Spirit. We persevere because He perseveres within us. The Spirit does not abandon or forsake any who belong to Christ. It is inconceivable that Christ would die and the Spirit applies the benefits of the atonement to the sons of God only for a son to fall away and be lost. This doctrine implicitly engages that the world and the forces of darkness will oppose us all along the way. It also affirms that we will overcome.

What does the Bible say?

“And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.” Matthew 13:33

“strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” Acts 14:22

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. . . . So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Philippians 1:6, and 2:12-13

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,” Jude 24

“I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos, because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. . . . Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.” Revelation 1:9 and 14:12

Conclusion

It is important to have an understanding of the Five Points of Calvinism and going to a Reformed Church that follows and preaches them for these reasons:

• Having an adherence to Biblical truth
• Protecting the Gospel
• Depending daily upon the grace of God.

The post The Five Points of Calvinism appeared first on Grace Bible Church.

One of the great philosophical debates in the history of the Church was between 16^th Century theologians Martin Luther and Desiderius Erasmus.

Luther had come to the conclusion that the Church of Rome was in need of more than just moral revival, but a theological revival. To contend with Erasmus, Luther wrote what is considered to be his most important work, “The Bondage of the Will.”

Succinctly, he argues that man’s will is under the bondage of sin; therefore, man is not free and does not have free will.

This is consistent with the broader context of the Reformation that held that when Adam fell in the Garden of Eden, he was representing all of mankind. When he fell, man fell with him. More importantly, Adam’s penalty was imputed to all of man.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism addresses the penalty in this way:

“Wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell? The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell, consists in the guilt of Adam’s first sin, the want of original righteousness, and the corruption of his whole nature, which is commonly called original sin; together with all actual transgressions which proceed from it.”

Luther’s own personal nagging question that led to own his salvation was, “have I done enough?” We might add, “can I do enough to make myself good enough?”

The answer is no. No individual can make themselves good enough before the eyes of God to deserve His grace.

Because of the fall, man is not good. He is a sinner. He may be good from a societal standpoint, and he may do good deeds. However, this is not the point.

God says we are not good from His perspective, and we are under His wrath and curse.

Because of the Fall of Adam we are all guilty, and the penalty of that guilt includes the loss of free will, among other things.

The outcome of our fallen state is total inability to know God, and total depravity. We have lost communion with God, and our nature is corrupted. We have lost all righteousness and therefore are totally unacceptable to God.

Furthermore, we have lost all ability to return to God. The Fall affected everything about us; especially, the way we think and reason.

Free will assumes that this biblical assessment is incorrect. It assumes that we are free to choose and determine the path of our lives and that our destiny belongs entirely to the exercise of our own free will.

In the Christian tradition, many churches hold that man has free will. How can God hold man accountable if man does not have free will? And, God is fair. Because man is free, God will judge the outcome of his life fairly. Because man is free, man chooses his own destiny. In the liberal tradition, if man chooses to be good, God will accept man.

Some Christian denominations hold that the Church exists to merely remind us of this and to encourage us to be good.

In the semi-Pelagian or Roman Catholic tradition, man is free and able to determine his fate. If he makes the right choices, God will come and infuse righteousness into him and accept him on the basis of the grace of God, mediated by the Church and its sacramental system.

In the Arminian tradition, man is wounded, but still able to come to God. They hold that man still has free will and that man is depraved, but not totally depraved. They believe that God’s grace comes to all, and man is able to freely choose or reject it. If man chooses it, he is saved.

In both of these two traditions, a saved man can freely opt out of God’s grace and lose his salvation. The Five Solas and the Canons of Dort, which was the Dutch Reformed Church’s response to the followers of Jacob Arminius, refute this claim.

The Reformed Tradition’s Belief of Free Will

In the Reformed tradition, man’s will is not free, but under bondage to his fallen nature and the spiritual forces of darkness. Of course, man is free to make choices in the physical world– this bondage is of the spiritual world.

J.I. Packer, in his introduction to Luther’s “Bondage of the Will”, states, “the denial of free will was to Luther the foundation of the Biblical doctrine of grace, and a hearty endorsement of that denial was the first step for anyone who would understand the gospel and come to faith in God. The man who has not yet practically and experimentally learned the bondage of his will in sin has not yet comprehended any part of the gospel; for this is the hinge on which all turns, the ground on which the gospel rests.”

Scripture that Refutes The Doctrine of Free Will

Romans 3:10-12

 “There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”

1 Corinthians 2:14

“But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”

Ephesians 2:1-3

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”

The Divine Response to the Loss of Freedom

Thankfully, God acts to save his people.

He provides His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty of our sin and to reconcile us to God. He recovers us.

Christ’s righteousness is imputed to our account and is the entire basis of our salvation (The Doctrine of Justification).

God also sends His spirit to regenerate us and apply Christ’s work to our lives. He gives us spiritual life and infuses grace to help us (The Doctrine of Sanctification).

Our spiritual freedom is in part restored, but that freedom will not become total and final until eternity and glorification.

The essential point is that God liberates His people from bondage. Because of man’s bondage to sin, we are unable to liberate ourselves. Therefore, God must act to save His people, and He alone is able to. Men cannot save themselves, and men who are spiritually dead cannot believe.

We cannot make ourselves alive and acceptable to God.

Supporting Scripture of the Divine Response

John 1:12-13

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Ephesians 2:4-9

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.”

Titus 3:4-6

“But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, which He poured upon us richly, through Jesus Christ our Savior.”

Divine Freedom and Sovereignty

The only totally free and independent being in all life is God.

He acts freely, and nothing can stop or prevent him from securing his will. He is sovereign.

The sovereignty of God is the outworking of His total supremacy as King over all. He decrees everything, and he is able to affect what he has decreed.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism defines the decrees of God (as) his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.

Supporting Scripture of Divine Sovereignty

Isaiah 46:9-10

“Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure.”

Romans 9:15-23

“For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.’ So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. You will say to me then, ‘Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?’ On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, ‘Why did you make me like this,’ will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use, and another for common use? What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so in order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory.”

Ephesians 1:3-5, 11

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, . . . also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.”

Conclusion

 
To affirm that man has free will of man is contrary to Scripture, and contrary to the very nature of God who alone is free.

Additionally, it is contrary to the very nature of the Gospel which is entirely by grace alone. It proclaims salvation is entirely attributed to God’s sovereign power, for man is not just unwilling, but unable to come to Christ. To affirm otherwise is to retreat back to the theology of Rome and Erasmus.

When Jesus went to the synagogue in Nazareth in Luke 4, he said:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are downtrodden, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

This is the gospel, and it hinges entirely on the sovereign will, power, and ability of Jesus Christ.

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