For if we are justified without works, all works are condemned, whether small or great; Paul exempts none, but thunders impartially against all. (Luther, Bondage of the Will)
One of the great dangers of ‘free-will’ is that it demands that salvation is by grace plus one little work. Over and over the Scripture speaks of souls being justified by faith. Do the Scriptures mean that it is faith that justifies or that it is the person who has faith is justified by Christ alone and grace alone? It is clearly the latter. For the will to be truly free and so come up with faith itself it must have the ability to manufacture one work or one part of one work apart from grace. It is that little work that goes against the whole of Scripture. When Scripture defines or sets out that to be justified by faith means to be justified by faith apart from works, we must not then go on to say that when Scripture says in other places that a person is justified by faith that we can simply forget the “no works” part. Faith for justification is opposed to one or many works at all for justification. A true faith will lead to works, but one is not saved or justified by those works. The faith that saves or is the instrument God uses to justify sinners is opposed to any and all works that are for salvation or that try to help in salvation. The glory is all His and just on e smallest work spoils grace alone.
Romans 3:28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.
Romans 4:5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,Galatians 2:16 nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.
Gal 3:24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
While many good (at least outwardly) people try to cry out that salvation is by grace alone and Christ alone, they spoil that with their staunch defense of ‘free-will.’ Not only do they spoil it, they totally ruin it at least in terms of concept. God justifies sinners on the basis of faith because He justifies sinners by grace alone and Christ alone. There is no act of the human will that is apart from grace that one can add to grace and still think that it is grace alone that saves. There is no act of the human will that is apart from the power of Christ and the cross of Christ that one can add to the work of Christ and still think that salvation is by Christ alone. The Law was given for the purpose of showing men that they could not do works to be saved, but that has left so many who now just trust in the one work of the will in choosing or in coming up with faith in order to be saved. This little bit of the human will is like leaven which works itself all through the dough. Instead of this one little bit of the human will pointing to grace, it spoils grace because it demands something for itself.
There are many professing believers today who would cry out with vigor if someone tried to bring in one work that man is to do to be saved. They would be indignant if someone said that one is saved by grace plus tithing. They would be indignant if people cried out that people are saved by grace plus attending church. But there is barely a peep (if that) heard when people assert that one is saved by grace that requires an act of the ‘free-will.’ What does grace require of human souls? It does not require an act of the ‘free-will’ because the will is not free to do anything. The whole soul must be regenerated by grace alone before there will be faith. The grace of God is not dependent on the ‘free-will’ of man for it to act, but instead the will of man is dependent on the grace of God to enable it to act. In that case, then, the will is not free but instead it is totally dependent on grace. The ‘free-will’ position leaves man in a position of depending on his own will and that makes it a work. Paul, as Luther said, thundered against many works or one work because he said the soul was justified apart from works. ‘Free-will’ is a work of the human will and so Paul thundered against it as well. The Gospel of Christ is of grace alone through faith alone which means that it is apart from the works of the will or one work of the will. ‘Free-will’ is a work that is brought in to the Gospel and as such makes it a different gospel. Paul and then Luther stood against that.
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