But our question is this: whether he has ‘free-will’ God-ward, that God should obey man and what man wills, or whether God has nor rather a free will with respect to man, that man should will and do what God wills, and be able to do nothing but what He wills and does. The Baptist [John the Baptist] says here that man ‘can receive nothing, except it be given him from above’, which means that ‘free-will’ must be nothing! (Luther, The Bondage of the Will)
Here is another gem of an argument from Luther that human beings who live in the presence of an omnipotent and omniscient God must deal with. What exactly can it mean for human beings to be free to do as they please if God is free in His sovereignty to decree what He in accordance with His good pleasure wants to have happen? Does God just set His sovereignty to the side in order to enable sinners to be free? Would that be in accordance with His omniscience and His wisdom?
The battle over ‘free-will’ is really over who will run each person’s life. The heart of the argument for ‘free-will’ is really what happened in the Garden of Eden when Satan tempted Eve and she sinned. “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate” (Gen 3:5-6). The word for “knowing” in Genesis 3:5 is the same word used for “God knows” earlier in the verse and in Genesis 4:1 where the text says (NAS) that “Adam had relations with Eve and she conceived.” The KJV rendered this as “Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived.”
As one looks at the above text it becomes obvious that the Hebrew word translated as “know” has more meaning that just know about something. The promise from Satan was that the woman would be able to decide or will what was right and wrong for themselves and in that way would be like God. This was a promise, then, of ‘free-will’ in a way that would make them able to decide the path of right and wrong or of self-determination for themselves. In reality, this is precisely what the teaching of ‘free-will’ does. In concept it sets people on the path of deciding for themselves or of being self-determined in many ways. In theory, once examined, it is the promise that man can decide for himself and then carry that out.
Some of the insidious nature of ‘free-will’ can be seen for what it is. John Owen thought of ‘free-will’ as being an idol raised up in the house of God because human beings trusted in their own wills to decide or do religious activities rather than God. If we look at the nature of God can it even be a possibility? Can the God who is free to do as He pleases and will always do according to His own wisdom allow foolish human beings to do as they please in accordance with the desires of their wicked hearts? Human beings want to be free of restraints in order to do as they please, but that is not Theism and that cannot take into account the sovereign Lord of this universe. Even in such things as traveling on business James tells us to say “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that” (James 4:15). While we think we are making decisions with a self-determining power, it is actually the Lord who is determining all things. The degree of freedom we may think we have is just an illusion of a rebellious heart.
King Nebuchadnezzar thought very highly of himself and thought of himself as free. But God saw his pride over the extent of his kingdom and Nebuchadnezzar lost his reason and ate grass with the animals for a few years. “But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation. 35 “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’” (Daniel 4:34-35). There is no one among the inhabitants of the earth who are free from God. He hardens hearts and softens hearts as He pleases. The supposed freedom that some think they have is really an illusion, but with some their supposed freedom is the illusion of a hardened heart. God is God and will always be God. No man has the right to a self-determining will because that is to be like God. The teaching of ‘free-will’ in its essence is really man wanting God to be his own servant. This is ludicrous and wicked.
God Loves... Himself 
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