You describe the power of ‘free-will’ as small, and wholly ineffective apart from the grace of God. Agreed? Now then, I ask you; if God’s grace is wanting [lacking], if it is taken away from that small power, what can it do? It is ineffective, you say, and can do nothing good. So it will not do what God or His grace wills. Why? Because we have now taken God’s grace away from it, and what the grace of God does not do is not good. Hence it follows that ‘free-will’ without God’s grace is not free at all, but is the permanent prisoner and bondslave of evil, since it cannot turn itself to good. This being so, I give you full permission to enlarge the power of ‘free-will’ as much as you like; make it angelic, make it divine, if you can!—but when once you add this doleful transcript, that it is ineffective apart from God’s grace, straightaway you rob it of all its power. What is ineffective power but (in plain language) no power? So to say that ‘free-will’ exists and has power, albeit ineffective power, is, in the Sophists’ phrase, a contradiction in terms. It is like saying ‘“free-will” is something which is not free’—as if you said that fire is cold and earth hot. Fire certainly has power to hear; but if hell-fire (even) was cold and chilling instead of burning and scorching, I would not call it ‘fire’, let alone ‘hot’ (unless you meant to refer to an imaginary fire, or a painted one). Martin Luther, Bondage of the Will
Luther thought of the will apart from grace as an ineffective power which, as he so clearly says, is not power at all. The will that is free is free from the grace of God which is the same thing as being free from any power to do good. The will is free from any effective power to do good and so is powerless to do good. The will is not free to do good and so it is constantly and consistently in the power of that which is not good. The will that is not free to do good is always going to do that which is, shall we say, non-good. The soul that trusts in the will to do good is trusting in something that is totally without power and without effect. The soul must trust in grace alone or it is not trusting in the promise of the Gospel and in Christ alone.
As Jesus said (in John 6:44): “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” The word “can” is the word for ability. No one has the ability to come to the Father unless the Father draws that person. No has the ability or power to come to the Father unless the Father exercises power and ability to do so. There is no effective power in the human will that can come to the Father and so the human will is totally ineffective in coming to the Father. The only effective power there is in a human going to the Father is the grace of God in bringing the sinner to Himself. This is the glory of grace. It is grace alone that stands exalted and magnified in the Gospel. It is grace alone that brings the sinner to the Father rather than a will having any power in and of itself to contribute any power or goodness.
If John 6:44 is not persuasive, verses 63-65 are. “63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64 “But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” 66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.
Jesus was teaching things that were hard for the people to receive. He told them that the flesh profits nothing. Once again, the flesh and all that is from the nature of man has no profit at all. But instead of the profit being from the flesh, it is the Spirit who gives life. In v. 64 Jesus taught them that there were some who did not believe. Verse 65 starts off with the word “for” which shows us why the people in v. 64 do not believe. It is because no one can (has the ability or power) come to the Father unless it has been granted to him by the Father. This is a hard teaching and is rejected in the modern day. But here we have Jesus teaching election and the drawing power of God. It is God who must bring sinners to Himself. Jesus taught them specifically and clearly that their will had no power in the slightest to come to the Father.
Verse 66 shows us what many of the followers (disciples) of Jesus thought about that. They withdrew from Him and did not walk with Him anymore. That is the same reaction that so many people have today. They hear this teaching that they don’t have the power to come to God when they want to and as they please and they go on their way. Many people who profess to be Reformed today will not teach this clear teaching of Jesus as they do not think it is important enough or at least they won’t teach it until they think the people are mature. But Jesus taught it to unbelievers and we see it here. Jesus taught that no man has the power of his own will to come to the Father, but instead all power is with the Father to draw them. That is grace and grace alone and it is hated by so many today even among those who call themselves “Reformed.” It appears that they too will not walk with Jesus anymore on this one. They will stand for certain morals and certain things about God, but they will not walk with Jesus anymore when it comes to this teaching. Can we claim to follow Christ if we do not follow Him?
God Loves... Himself 
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