What, pray, can be said for grace against ‘free-will’ clearly and plainly, if Paul’s discourse here is not clear and plain? He exalts grace against ‘free-will’ in categorical terms; using the clearest and simplest words, he says that we are justified freely, and that grace is not grace if procured by works. With the greatest plainness he excludes all works in the matter of justification, and so sets up grace alone, and justification that is free. Yet in this light we still seek darkness, and because we cannot give ourselves great credit, yes, all the credit, for justification, we try to give ourselves some tiny little credit—solely in order that we may gain that point that justification by the grace of God is not free and without works! As though Paul’s denial that any of our greater works contributes to our justification were not much more a denial that our tiny little works do so! Especially when he has laid it down that we are justified only by God’s grace, without any works—indeed, without the law, in which all works, great, small, congruently or condignly meritorious, are contained. (Luther, Bondage of the Will)
Luther had a very strong position for grace and against ‘free-will’ and was bold in setting it out. He did not play games on this issue and he was certainly not what people thought of as gracious when it came to grace and ‘free-will.’ He stood for grace and simply thought that if you stood for true grace you would be against ‘free-will’ since there was no middle ground. The Gospel of grace alone meant what it said that that no ‘free-will’ could be mixed with grace and that one would still have grace alone. Below are some positions that Luther took in the famed Heidelberg Disputation. His view of ‘free-will’ can be seen in these.
1. Free will, after the fall, exists in name only, and as long as it does what it is able to do, it commits a mortal sin.
2. Free will, after the fall, has power to do good only in a passive capacity, but it can always do evil in an active capacity.
3. Nor could free will remain in a state of innocence, much less do good, in an active capacity, but only in its passive capacity.
4. The person who believes that he can obtain grace by doing what is in him adds sin to sin so that he becomes doubly guilty.
5. Nor does speaking in this manner give cause for despair, but for arousing the desire to humble oneself and seek the grace of Christ.
6. It is certain that man must utterly despair of his own ability before he is prepared to receive the grace of Christ.
Can grace be obtained by a ‘free-will’ in any way if the only thing the will can do is sin? Can the ‘free-will’ do anything acceptable to God since the only power it has is to do evil? Can grace be obtained by a ‘free-will’ when by acting on that will adds to the debt and guilt of the person? Can grace be obtained by an act of the ‘free-will’ if it is true that a man must utterly despair of his own ability before he is prepared to receive grace? As long as sinners do not give up hope in their ‘free-wills’ they will hope in their will which makes it impossible to rest in grace alone. As long as sinners do not give up hope in the ability of their ‘free-wills’ they will trust in their own ability which makes it impossible to rest in grace alone.
For Luther, and I would argue Paul also, to speak of keeping the Law or works of the Law would necessarily involve speaking or at least implying something of the working of the will. The Law came to show men their sin and show them their inability so that they would go to Christ. The Law did not come to show men that they can kept it, but that they are wicked and vile sinners and cannot keep it. When Paul said that sinners were justified by faith apart from the Law the inescapable conclusion is that sinners are justified by faith apart from the ‘free-will’ as well. In other words, this fits with #6 above. Human souls must despair of any hope in themselves, of their own ability and their own will in order to rest in grace alone. It is not good enough for the Gospel of grace alone for the sinner to trust in his own will and ability to do one thing, but instead it is by grace alone. It is not good enough for a sinner to mostly rest in Christ and even 99.999% in Christ. The Gospel is of Christ alone and grace alone to the glory of God alone. As Paul wrote and Luther points to, this would make “grace to be not grace.” Paul was so clear that to trust in one work was to fall from grace as a way of salvation in Galatians. Luther has echoed Paul in this matter. The modern professing Church as not echoed Paul or Luther, and that includes many of the professing Reformed. The doctrine of ‘free-will’ cannot be reconciled to the Gospel of the Reformation nor with the Gospel of grace alone in the Bible. People must be awakened to this or in the name of ‘free-will’ or being gracious to others the door of hell will remain wide open in the name of a false gospel.
God Loves... Himself 
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