From: hamilton@hydra.cs.gmr.com (William E. Hamilton CS50 CS/50)
Newsgroups: alt.messianic
Subject: Re: Free will (was Re: Armageddon NOW!)
Date: 8 Apr 92 17:58:57 GMT
Reply-To: hamilton@gmr.com (William E. Hamilton CS50 CS/50)
Organization: GM Research Labs, Warren, MI

In article <1992Apr7.141642.15132@portland.mdc.unisys.com> tom@portland.mdc.unisys.com (Tom Albrecht) writes:
>In article <81734@rphroy.ph.gmr.com> hamilton@gmr.com (William E. Hamilton CS50 CS/50) writes:
>>I don't have a Westminster Confession here at work, but the Westminster 
>>Confession does say some things about free will and has scripture references 
>>to back them up. The one that seems applicable here is that when people come
>>to Christ it says something like "They come freely. They are not coerced."
>
(Chapter IX of the Westminster Confession Deleted)
...

Tom,

The passage I was thinking of was in Chapter X, "On effectual calling".
The phrase "they are not coerced" is not there - it was probably inserted
by the mind of a (formerly) convinced Arminian (me) 
trying to understand the Confession, 
when he hit that passage and realized "Wow, that says God doesn't force
salvation on people" :-). Chapter X also talks about regeneration - that
the Holy Spirit must work in a person to bring him to the point where he
is capable of "coming freely". No question about it (in my mind): God takes
the initiative and brings about a process of regeneration in an individual
which brings him to a point where he can "come freely". In other words, He
restores the free will that existed before the fall. For which I praise
Him!

>Bill,
>
>You will note from the teaching of the Confession that what we think of as
>"free will" only existed before the fall of man in Genesis.  (I personally
>think this chapter of the Confession should be titled "Of Human Will".) 

"Of Human Will" would, I think, be a good title. Man can make choices,
no question about it. But without the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit,
man is spiritually dead and cannot make the one choice that's important: to
trust Christ.

>Adam and Eve were absolutely free to obey God; to do good works.  But after
>the fall man's nature was changed.  He became a sinner, and every area of
>his being, including his will, was infected by sin.  He was no longer free
>to do good towards God.  The Confession goes on to explain that the Holy
>Spirit needs to change the heart of man through the process of regeneration
>so that he is able to respond to God.  Without this vital work of the
>Spirit, no man can, of his own "free will," turn to Christ.
>
OK. Good. I think Calvinists miss a real opportunity when they dwell
on eternal decrees and spiritual death and don't talk much about regeneration
- a real example of the mercy of God at work.

>That's why the concept of "free will" in the context of an unsaved person
>is meaningless.  No unsaved person has "free will" to accept or reject
>Christ.  As Luther taught, man's will is in bondage to his sin nature. 
>Without the regenerating act of the Spirit, no one will choose Christ.  The
>only people who "choose Christ" are those who have been chosen by Him, and
>made alive by His Spirit.
>
made alive by His Spirit because man himself is totally incapable of making
himself spiritually alive. So the Lord lovingly does it for him. If you
have been made spiritually alive, then how could you reject the free 
gift of salvation?

Bill Hamilton
my own opinions...
>-- 
>Tom Albrecht