Anyway, this is what your words assert; that there is strength within us; there is such a thing as striving with all one’s strength; there is mercy in God; there are ways of compassing that mercy…But if one does not know what this ‘strength’ is—what men can do, and what is done to them—what this ‘striving’ is, what men can do, and what is done to them—then what should he do? What will you tell him to do?…For as long as they do not know the limits of their ability, they will not know what they should do; and as long as they do not know what they should do, they cannot repent when they err; and impenitence is the unpardonable sin…So it is not irreligious, idle, or superfluous, but in the highest degree wholesome and necessary, for a Christian to know whether of not his will has anything to do in matters pertaining to salvation. Indeed, let me tell you, this is the hinge on which our discussion turns, the crucial issue between us; our aim is, simply, to investigate what ability ‘free-will’ has, in what respect it is the subject of Divine action and how it stands related to the grace of God. If we know nothing of these things, we shall know nothing whatsoever of Christianity, and shall be in worse case than any people on earth. (The Bondage of the Will, Luther’s Reply to Erasmus)
Luther the Reformer told Erasmus the Roman Catholic that the crucial issue between them was the ability of free-will and what “respect it is the subject of Divine action and how it stands related to the grace of God.” Here Luther sets out three vital points in the issue: 1) The ability that ‘free-will’ has. 2) In what respect the will is the subject of Divine action. 3) How the will stands in relation to the grace of God. These are still the main issues of the day. True enough it is no longer between the pioneer Reformers and the Roman Catholics, but regardless of the names used these are vital issues in relation to the Gospel. This is also why some Reformed people think of Arminians as having given up the essence of the Gospel that shone so brightly during the Reformation and have in essence returned to Rome. Below is a quote from Wilhelmus a Brakel.
There is an infinite difference between the corrupt intellect of man—that is, the Arminians and other proponents of free will—and the Holy Scriptures. The question is: Does the obtaining salvation proceed from man? Is he the only and essential cause of his salvation, or is God the only essential cause and can man, being absolutely incapable, do nothing to obtain salvation? The Arminians will readily admit that God has prepared and accomplished salvation and that God has given and revealed Christ the Mediator. However, they attribute this acceptance and entering in upon that way to the good will and power of man. This could be likened to what transpires on a race track. The government has put the prize on display and has prepared the track. The acquisition of the prize, however, is contingent upon the runners themselves.
In order to protect the idol of man’s own ability and of his good will as being the cause of his own salvation, the Arminians would prefer to do away with the distinction between the external and internal call, between the noneffectual and the effectual call. They would view them as being the same, and thus recognize only one calling. The effect would then not be due to the efficacious operation of God working more in one person than in another. Instead, it would be related to the outcome; namely, that the one person obeys the call by his free will (which enables him either to respond or to reject this call) and thus be saved. Another person will despise and reject this call by the same neutral free will. Scripture, however, rebukes and refutes such foolish thoughts and demonstrates first of all that the calling is effectual unto salvation as a result of God’s purpose, “…who are called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28); “for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Rom 11:29). The actual exercise of faith in those who are called proceeds from this purpose. “And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48).
A Brakel refers to the Arminian idea of free will and ability as an idol. This sounds harsh to modern ears that are raised on gracious words that call out peace, peace when there is no peace. However, the Arminian idea of the will has the will free from God and His grace. That idea of the will that is free from God at that point has the will with power that only God has and doing things that only God can do. Assigning to something other than God that power and ability is an act of idolatry. The idea of the will being free from God and applying the grace of God to itself is a hideous notion that is truly nothing short of idolatry. If we think of salvation as being obtained by Christ but now needing to be applied, it is either applied by God or by the man himself. If we say it is the man we are saying that it is a free-will doing the application rather than God. That is idolatry at a high level.
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