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)
While it may seem rather ridiculous to some that the assertion of ‘free-will’ means that God must obey man what man wills, a little thought makes this obvious. God alone upholds the breath and life of man (In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind? Job 12:10) It is God who is sovereignly superintends the world. But if ‘free-will’ is true, then it is God who while upholding the world and giving men their every breath must do so in order that man could do as he pleased. Ephesians 1:11 tells us that believers are predestined according to His purpose: “having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.” What is God’s purpose? He works all things (not just some) after the counsel of His will. The text does not say that He works some things after the counsel of His will and leaves man free to do some other things. The text does not say that God works some things after the counsel of man’s will. This means that all things that happen are in accordance with the counsel of His will.
The doctrine of ‘free-will’ would have God at the service of the whims and sin of human beings. It would have God protect the person and give that person breath while that person carried out his or her own desires for sin at his or her own pleasure. It would have God to carry out this sinful person’s desires in that He has to concur with the person in order for that person’s desires to be carried out. The difference between that view and that of the Bible is that God “allows” or “permits” or concurs with sin as it fits in with His own divine wisdom and will. In other words, He does not make the person sin, but He concurs with it in accordance with His own will. If He wants to restrain sin, He does so as He pleases. In other words, the sinner does not use God to serve self when the sinner sins, but instead when God concurs and so the sinner sins it is in accordance with His own will. Even when sinners are in pursuit of their sin, they are fulfilling the sovereign will of God in accordance with His good pleasure.
Despite the fact that this may be hard for some to swallow, the Bible is quite clear that God hardens hearts and turns people over to sin as He pleases (cf., Pharaoh in Exodus and then Romans 1:18-31). When those God hardens and turns over to sin, they are sinning according to their bound will and are not using God to carry out their purposes. But instead, when those sinners sin under the just punishment of God, they are carrying out His will and they are being judged. This is not to say that God puts sin in the hearts of men and makes them carry out His desires, but instead He hardens their hearts and then withdraws His sovereign hand and they carry out the desires of their hearts under His judicial punishment and only to the degree He concurs with.
The doctrine of ‘free-will’ is, once again, an attack on the sovereignty of God and on the kingly rule of Jesus Christ. All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him (Mat 28:18) and there is nothing left for this valued idol of ‘free-will’ to claim or practice. The freedom of God is absolute and man is only free to operate within the absolute freedom of God. Satan is more powerful than man by far and yet he can only go as far as God allows him to go. Who is man to think that he can do as he pleases in all ways and yet Satan who is far more powerful than man is ruled over by God at every turn? If God did give man ‘free-will’ out of concern for man’s freedom, then surely He would give Satan the same freedom as well. But if God gave Satan his freedom, then he would completely overwhelm all of mankind in an instance. The doctrine of ‘free-will’ is said to be an essential part of a moral being, but Satan is a moral being as well. If we really think we have ‘free-will’ and that it is an essential part and right of a moral being, then we should pray that God would take back that right immediately.
If we would but think for a moment we would realize how ludicrous it is to think we have ‘free-will’ or anything like it. It is really man’s attempt to be a god of some type just like Satan tried to do and then tried to convince Eve of. It is man’s attempt to be guided by his own wisdom and follow his own desires rather than to follow God. It is man’s attempt at being sovereign and self-sufficient rather than trust and rest in God alone. If what preceded this is true, then it is really man’s attempt at being god to himself. All of this shows the horrible nature of ‘free-will’ in man trying to participate in the work of Father in choosing who will be saved and when, trying to participate in the finished work of Christ in salvation, and then in the work of the Holy Spirit in applying salvation. The doctrine of ‘free-will’ is not just a small error, it is man trying to be god to himself. It is idolatry and nothing less.
God Loves... Himself 
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