CHAPTER IX Of Free Will (Westminster Confession of Faith)
I. God hath endued the will of man with that natural liberty, that it is neither forced, nor,
by any absolute necessity of nature, determined to good, or evil.[205]
II. Man, in his state of innocency, had freedom, and power to will and to do that which
was good and well pleasing to God; but yet, mutably, so that he might fall from it.
III. Man, by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual
good accompanying salvation:[208] so as, a natural man, being altogether averse from
that good,[209] and dead in sin,[210] is not able, by his own strength, to convert himself,
or to prepare himself thereunto.[211]
IV. When God converts a sinner, and translates him into the state of grace, he freeth him
from his natural bondage under sin;[212] and, by his grace alone, enables him freely to
will and to do that which is spiritually good;[213] yet so, as that by reason of his
remaining corruption, he doth not perfectly, nor only, will that which is good, but doth
also will that which is evil.[214]
V. The will of man is made perfectly and immutably free to good alone, in the state of
glory only.[215]
I. God hath endued the will of man with that natural liberty, that it is neither forced, nor,
by any absolute necessity of nature, determined to good, or evil.[205]
II. Man, in his state of innocency, had freedom, and power to will and to do that which
was good and well pleasing to God; but yet, mutably, so that he might fall from it.
III. Man, by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual
good accompanying salvation:[208] so as, a natural man, being altogether averse from
that good,[209] and dead in sin,[210] is not able, by his own strength, to convert himself,
or to prepare himself thereunto.[211]
IV. When God converts a sinner, and translates him into the state of grace, he freeth him
from his natural bondage under sin;[212] and, by his grace alone, enables him freely to
will and to do that which is spiritually good;[213] yet so, as that by reason of his
remaining corruption, he doth not perfectly, nor only, will that which is good, but doth
also will that which is evil.[214]
V. The will of man is made perfectly and immutably free to good alone, in the state of
glory only.[215]
Let’s See What the Bible has to Say:
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. Luke1:5-6
There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. Acts10:1-3
In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. Acts10:34-35
But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. Luke8:15
Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Gen6:9
And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. Gen5:24
The Doctrine above states that ‘Man, by his fall into a state of sin, has WHOLLY LOST ALL Ability to any spiritual good accompanying salvation!’ Granted Man Cannot ‘Convert himself’ BUT he Certainly is capable of DOING the Right thing in God’s Site that accompanies his Salvation.
Cornelius for example, surly didn’t Convert himself, But his devotion to God and prayer hastened his eventual conversion under Peter’s Preaching. And if a Nation or Person can ‘Work Righteousness’ and ‘Fear God’ Wouldn’t that be the Good and Noble heart in which the Seed of God’s Word falls and takes root? Clearly the Parents of John the Baptist were prepared to Meet the Lord. HOW? If they were Born Depraved and incapable as the Doctrine states?
Yet the Reformers embraced a Notion that a Regenerated Person Remains Double-Minded and Serving Two Masters until the day he dies and enters into Glory. (Because he was Born a Sinner!) Consequently they invented an Entire System of Teaching to support their false premise. To Explain the existence of ‘inbred sin’ that remains after conversion and results in a Divided heart (which is forbidden in Scripture) they create a ‘Provisional’ Cleansing at initial Salvation. Saying, ‘In Principle’ you are Crucified with Christ and freed form the bondage of sin, but in Reality you continue to Serve the flesh until you are Sanctified. Accountability to God then is determined wholly on the amount of Light you have received and whether or not the Holy Spirit has directed a changed in your desires at any given point.
As people come into the System and buy into this teaching it fits their Dead religious experience of ‘Receiving Jesus.’ They are told that Salvation consists of Admitting to God you are a sinner and then Trusting that Jesus will forgive and save you in spite of your ongoing sins. Which in Reality has NOTHING to do with Salvation in the Bible! But Millions have set their eternal hopes on it and continue to do so in droves.
Nobody wants to admit they have been scammed. When the Con man shows his hand and his victims are able to see the error of their ways in trusting him, the natural inclination is to deny they have been taken! That’s why it’s almost impossible to expose the lies. The People being Lied to CAN’T except the fact that the VERY ones they have placed their trust in are the liars! But the Scam takes on a Whole New Dimension in the fact that EVERYONE Believes in it and thinks it will see them through to the end.
The Best you can hope for in initial Regeneration is a ‘Partial’ Cleansing of sin, which translates into a Cover for sin, because you Come in Sinning and Divided in heart. But God Cuts you the slack you need in your ‘Sinful’ State because the inbred depravity is NOT Accountable as sin until He grants you the Holy Spirit to enlighten you to your need of further cleansing in Sanctification. This Process can extend over the entire lifetime and never be fully realized this side of glory. But to God you Remain Holy, Pure and Blameless in Christ because you TRUSTED Him in the beginning.
Therefore as the Doctrine Clearly States: ‘You MUST be Saved, Regenerated, brought into the Kingdom, forgiven and cleared’ IN YOUR SINS! There is NO Possibility of you being able to Repent and prepare yourself for the Kingdom. Inbred sin has rendered your nature wholly incapable of responding to God unless He first awakens you through His Grace and Saves you in your sins. Then you can offer Him a meager obedience tainted by the Stain of Corruption that remains inside you. The on going sin in your life is of no consequence from here on and you are assured of heaven when you die.
The Bible Says: ‘We Are WORKERS TOGETHER With Him, so NOT to Receive the Grace of God in Vain!’ 2Cor6:1. WHAT Accompanies Salvation if NOT a Repentant heart and a Clearing of Wrong Doing with Fear? Isn’t that the Good, Honest Ground in which the Seed of God’s Word falls and takes Root? WHY Does Scripture Constantly Call Man to a Repentance PROVEN By Deeds? ….if he is incapable of those VERY Deeds!!!
“Let the Wicked FORSAKE his Ways! The Un-Righteous man his thoughts! Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. Isa55:6-7
What CAN’T you Understand about this? What makes it so DIFFICULT for you to admit that the Sin MUST STOP BEFORE Mercy can be granted? God has NOT Changed!
Now therefore, amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; then the LORD will relent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you. Jer26:13
So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. Jonah3:5-10
In ‘Christian’ La La Land you can ‘Get Saved’ and spend the next thirty years in a church wretched to the bone and NO ONE will ever challenge your notions or rebuke your behavior. If you decide to be a cut above the rest in witness, the System will welcome your service as long as it fits into their agenda of bringing others into the fold in like manner. There is no doubt that you will find a denomination that meets your fancy and a Teacher / Preacher that tickles your ears with just the right amount of congeniality.
The average professing Christian in this System will be carnally minded and wrapped up in the world in various ways. Not all of them will be vile sinners however, but they will be taken up with worldly activities, entertainments and anything but God. They will know very little about the Bible except where they think it defends sin, which is usually summarized by claiming that ‘no one is perfect!’ What makes it so difficult to show these people the fatal error of their ways, is not the false doctrines they are believing in. (they may or may not even understand most of it) BUT the fact that MOST of them are such NICE people on the surface.
As long as you come in among them in need of their fellowship and support they will welcome you with open arms, because it feels like the right thing to do. Remember theirs comfort in numbers and if everyone can feel wanted and needed it’s like one big happy family. Everyone will be treated like a Christian regardless of their behavior. The Pastor especially is NOT going to frighten anyone off by exposing sin or demanding Obedience to the Truth. He will speak about these things, but always in such manner that God is Patient and loving and will receive you into His Kingdom in spite of your performance.
Your personal happiness in this System depends on your acquiescence to the Complacency of your ‘Christian’ experience. If you came in through the standard route of ‘Receiving’ Jesus as your personal Savior, you will have NO sense of urgency whatsoever over the slip shod conditions of the church or standards of conversion. Everything will appear normal and the preaching will sound good. Anything that challenges or opposes the status quo will be considered heresy and un-Christian. Your welcome among (these nice people!) will only extend as far as YO U are willing to accept their Darkness as Light and their hypocrisy as normal.
Description of the so-called Christian Today:
Sin Everyday in Thought, Word and Deed
Lukewarm, Corrupt and Dead
Fat, lazy, Biblically ignorant and self satisfied.
Carnally Minded, No Victory over World, Flesh and Devil!
Roving Evil Eye, coveting and lusting after things of earth.
Double-Minded, Divided Heart, Serving Two Masters, Building on the Sand, obstinate.
Form of godliness with the fashion of Religion, lacking any Power over sin
Spreading the Lie like a Plague and creating more of the same!
We have all heard the saying: ‘If the Shoe Fits Wear it!’ WELL in the Church it’s, ‘IF THE LIE WORKS, USE IT!’ And it Indeed Works, without question, it works very well. BUT the Price of Pleasing Everyone is Going to be VERY HIGH. There is NO LIE of the TRUTH! One Day this Truth is going to GRIND you To Powder….unless FIRST you Fall upon it and be Broken in Repentance!
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