If the source of grace is the predestinating purpose of God, then it comes by necessity, and not by any effort or endeavour on our part, as I showed above. Again: If God promised grace before the law, as Paul argues here and in Galatians, then it does not come by works or by law, else the promise would come to nothing; and faith also (by which Abraham was justified before the law was given) would come to nothing, should works prevail. Again: since the law is the strength of sin, displaying it without removing it, it makes the conscience guilty before God and threatens wrath. This is Paul’s meaning when he says; ‘the law worketh wrath’ (Rom 4:15). How then could righteousness be procured by the law? And if we get no help from the law, how can we get help from the power of our will alone? (Luther, Bondage of the Will)
Luther makes another devastating point. The source of grace is either the sovereign God or ourselves. Clearly, the law has no way of bringing grace since the purpose of the law was not to bring grace or give grace but to show people their sin and their helplessness in sin. Now if the source of grace is from God, then God must determine what the conditions are for it to be received and not man. If grace is from man, then man determines the conditions that he is able to obtain grace. But there is no question that Scripture teaches that the source of grace is all from God and man can do nothing as a source to obtain it.
This next question is whether God gave man one thing to do in order to obtain grace. Did God, as the source of grace, give man something to do apart from grace so man could obtain grace for himself? Did God purchase grace through Christ and leave man one thing to do to obtain grace for himself? The question reveals the absurdity of ‘free-will.’ God promised grace before the law was given and He gave no condition for His grace. Grace, in order to be grace, must always be without cause or worth in the individual that receives it. Any work makes grace no longer to be grace (Rom 11:6). The promise of grace did not depend on the law and it did not depend on the fallen human will to do something in order to obtain it. Grace depends on nothing and not one but the sovereign character of God who gives grace at He mere pleasure to the praise of the glory of His grace (Eph 1:5-7).
The promise was based on the character of God and before the law was given. The promise was not based on any act of man. Abraham was declared just before the law was given and before arguments for ‘free-will.’ God told Abraham what He was going to do and Abraham believed it. Abraham either believed by grace or he believed on the basis of a ‘free-will.’ If we say that the faith of Abraham was by grace, then we can be consistent when we assert that Abraham was declared just on the basis of grace alone. But if we assert that Abraham was declared just on the basis of God’s promise plus Abraham’s ‘free-will’ in choosing to believe that promise, then salvation is conditioned on something apart from grace alone and in effect Abraham would have been declared just on the basis of grace plus one work of the will of Abraham. If grace is contingent on the will of man that is free from grace rather than the grace of God, then grace comes by something other than grace and so is no longer grace at all.
Romans 4:15 tells us that “the Law brings about wrath.” That is in line with Romans 3:19 which tells us that “we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; 20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.” Even more, Romans 5:20 sets out that “The Law came in so that the transgression would increase.” The Law brings wrath, it is meant to shut every mouth so all the world will become accountable to God, and to give the knowledge of sin and even so that transgression would increase. There is no intent and no power in the Law to help the sinner in the slightest. All that the Law does is to show sinners their utter inability instead of their ability. The Law declares that there is no hope from man.
If we look through the haze of all the things that have been thrown up and simply look at what Scripture teaches and of the nature of grace, there is no doubt that grace has no rivals and will have not help from the human will. The human will depends on grace to do one thing right and to have the freedom to do one right act rather than grace depending on the human will to do one act by itself in order to receive grace. The human will has utterly no help from the Law and so it must receive grace by an act of God or by an act of its ‘free-will.’ But if the grace of God must wait on the human will to act, that is a grace that is no longer grace. That also leaves the will operating apart from grace for one choice in order to obtain grace. So the Law reveals the helplessness of the will to obey the Law and grace reveals that it is always from the sovereign hand of God. In a very real sense, the case is closed.
God Loves... Himself 
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