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Free Will Isn't So Free or Freeing

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The interesting thing about "free will" is that it's in bondage to our desires. We only choose to do the things that we desire. We may have many things that we desire, and so in our free will, we can choose from the varieties of our desires. However, we never choose to do something we don't desire. Now, I understand many of you would stop right there and say, "What are you talking about? I choose to do many things I don't desire! I choose to get up early in the morning while it's still cold and dark outside just to go to work/class." But just think about this for a second. I'm not saying your desires will always be accompanied by pleasant feelings. Very often, we desire to do many things that are hard, uncomfortable, and sometimes physically and emotionally taxing. Are you willing to say that the last time you made a sacrifice for your grades, your best friend, or your parents was not an act conformed to your desires? The popular saying, "It's the thought that counts" would be meaningless if the things we do are not backed up by our immediate desires to do it.

The truth is, we might not feel like we desire waking up early in the morning to go to class, but the very fact that you pull yourself out of bed, brush your teeth, and stand outside freezing as you wait for the bus is evidence that your desire for a good grade overcame your desire to sleep-in. Whether you have a desire for pleasant feelings or a desire to avoid something you'll regret, your "free" will conforms to what you desire in that moment. There is a desire to avoid undesirable consequences. And sometimes, the consequences don't appear undesirable enough for it to overcome the other list of desires that we ended up choosing from.

So what's my point? My point is, we CANNOT (that is, we don't have the ability to) choose what we don't desire. The human condition after the fall is one that is hopeless because, apart from the sovereign grace of God, we do not desire God. And what we don't desire, we don't choose. Sometimes I think we give ourselves too much credit because we think our free will remains untainted by the fall of man. But the Scriptures say differently. The Scriptures assert that the fall was so serious and so devastating in its extent that our free will can profit nothing because it is in bondage to the desires of the flesh. Here's what the Scriptures say about our condition:

John 6:63a
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profitsnothing

John 6:44
"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.

John 6:65
He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him."

Romans 8:6-8
For the mind set on the flesh [literally: “the mind of the flesh”] is death, but the mind set on the Spirit [literally: “the mind of the Spirit”] is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh [literally: “the mind of the flesh”] is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

John 3:5-7

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”

Ephesians 2:1-5

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. 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.

Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it

Romans 3:10-12
As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."

The Scriptures don't negate the idea of free will; it clarifies the extent of the will. Our will is in bondage to desires that cannot accomplish our salvation. We are entirely dependent on the grace of God. Therefore, I'm begging you to rely on the sovereign choice of God to open the hearts of those He is pleased to show mercy to. What God does is that He gives you a desire for Him and His righteousness. And when we experience that divine initiative, we will be enabled to choose Him. To be sure, there is no injustice with God in his choice here. We all stand condemned already. To some He will give mercy; to others He will give justice (the just penalty of sin). No one receives injustice. God is not obligated to save anyone. It would no longer be grace and mercy if He was obligated to give it. He would remain just even if no one was given a new heart unto salvation. Here are a few more verses showing the sovereign work of God alone to save us:

Ephesians 2:8-9
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, so that no one may boast. (Note: faith = gift of God)

2 Timothy 2:24-26
The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

Acts 11:18
When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.”

Acts 16:14
A 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.

Ezekiel 36:26-27
Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.

We are called and commanded to do the possible: be a witness to the immeasurably rich grace of God. But be at peace to leave the impossible to God: the giving of a new heart filled with a true desire to know and love God. When they desire Him, they will call on His Name in their own free will. But they don't desire him because we are such great evangelists. Or because we are so convincing in our philosophical rhetoric. HE is the one who grants them repentance. HE is the one who breathes new life into them. HE is the one who gives them a true desire to choose the Way, the Truth, and the Life. In this way, all glory goes to Him, and you and I, before the throne of God, will marvel at the riches of his mercy just as much as the one we're trying to win over to Christ. By His grace alone, our will is set free. Only then will we freely worship Him in spirit and in truth.


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