Are Men Possessed By Free Will?

[Webers_Home]

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If I read Rom 7:14-25 correctly: man's will is free enough; but not him. In
other words: man is a slave to his will.

†. Luke 4:18 . .The Spirit of The Lord is upon me, because He has anointed
me to proclaim liberty to the captives

Buen Camino
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"The will is a beast of burden. If God mounts it, it wishes and goes as God wills; if Satan mounts it, it wishes and goes as Satan wills; Nor can it choose its rider... the riders contend for its possession."
- Martin Luther

Nowhere in the pages of the Bible is it even remotely suggested that the human spirit is autonomous.

"Man is lord of nature. God is lord of history."
- Rheinhold Neibuhr

We do err in that we think that because we are able to conquer distance, move mountains, rule all the beasts of the earth, sea and air, and because we can raise momentous structures that we ALSO rule time and history. Nothing could be more fanciful and further from the truth. No empire, no political and no philosophical assembly has been able to long endure the ravages of time. Economic forces, geologic forces and simple human greed and folly combine to raze the mightiest empires to dust (the present American hegemony excluded - Americans think they are immune).

Not for nothing is Jesus called King of King and Lord of Lords.

Jesus rules the destiny of empires and men. He alone determines who will prosper or who will fail.

Christ has revealed that men have been invited to participate in the process of history, but only insofar as we are joined together with Him according to His will. It is God, not us that determines the course of the parade of history. Those that do NOT come willingly to Christ are discarded like chaff, yesterday's garbage and all the sad refuse of human events.

God is not willing that any should perish, but man has different ideas. From chapter 3 of Genesis to this day, man has believed that HE alone was able to discern right from wrong and how things ought to be done. To do so is sin and to work it out is death for such men will ultimately discover that God Himself is opposed to them.

No man is an island sufficient unto himself. All depend upon the good graces of Christ - or be given to the devil who will consume the rebellious.

but that's just me, hollering from the choir loft...

 

[Webers_Home]

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The koiné Greek word for "law" in Rom 7:14-25 is nomos (nom'-os) which
doesn't always refer to a body of rules and/or regulations and stipulations.
It can also refer to principles and core values-- both good principles and core
values and bad principles and core values.

I think that what Paul referred to by the "law of sin" are some of the bad
principles and core values to which we are slaves. For example: Mark
Zuckerberg acquired the rights to Facebook legally; but he did it dishonestly.
No doubt according Zuckerberg's own principles and core values, he wasn't
dishonest. In other words: Zuckerberg is a slave to principles and core
values about which he seems totally unaware are unscrupulous; viz: sinful.

Paul himself was totally unaware that he was a slave to some sinful
principles and core values of his own until he began studying the Old
Testament under a rabbi named Gamaliel. It was while under Gamaliel's
tutelage that Paul was led to discover that some of his very own principles
and core values were leading him astray without him knowing it. Paul-- as
many of us do --regarded his principles and core values as commendable.
But to his dismay; he found out that to God; some of his principles and core
values were reprehensible. I really think that's what David was getting at
when he prayed: "Cleanse thou me from secret faults." (Ps 19:12)

Buen Camino
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[Dodo_David]

Nowhere does the Bible say that God has given sinners unlimited free will.

 

[williemac]

Nowhere does the Bible say that God has given sinners unlimited free will.

That's because the bible does not use that term at all anywhere. But neither does it say anywhere that God is sovereign. These terms are just man's way of describing something he sees in scripture. Unfortunately there is no universally agreed upon definition of free will. It's hard to discuss the subject because of that fact.

I think that it is a mistake to relate our sinfulness exclusively with our will. It has to do with several things. We are unable to produce life or righteousness. But a person might wish to have either of these. Therefore neither free will nor willingness can change his situation. Sin comes into play when a person is trying to fulfill his perceived needs or desires. The drive for these is can often be stronger than man's ability to resist what our conscience is telling us. But not always. There are many people on earth who have strong moral values and self control. Narrowing this subject down to mere free will I think is quite inadequate.

The subject of free will is brought up more often in regards to our acceptance of life and righteousness from God. Anyway, just quipping. Blessings, Howie