Everything good is from above
1 Cor. 4:7 For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
From where did you receive your free will? There are some who believe that the free will that humans possess is independent of any and all causes. However, this is not true at all. The will in the human being can be traced to the brain. The workings of the brain can be categorized into things such as the conscience, the heart, the emotions, and such. We routinely trace all kinds of human attributes to genetics and ultimately back to God as the creator of the universe. Why is the will of human beings any different? The answer of course is that it is not any different. The will like all natural gifts such as athletic ability, intelligence, etc. are all from God. The Bible is clear in many places that this is fact. Paul in 1 Cor. 4:7 shown above asks three questions and the answers are simple and clear. The answer to question one is God, to question two is nothing, and to question three is pride.
Conclusion: Everything a human being has, including his will, can be traced to God. When a person says that they are so glad that they made this or that decision, they should thank God for the gift of their will that made the decision. For some reason people, that have no problem thanking God and giving him credit for all kinds of talents, think their decision-making ability is of their own creation. However, while human beings have a free will, every good decision that they make can be traced back to God. James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. For those that claim that their free will made the crucial and final decision in coming to faith in Jesus Christ, they should consider from whence their will came from. Salvation through grace alone by faith alone is from God any way you want to look at it.
6 comments:
Everything Jazzy has came from God. This includes her humble servant W.H.
W.H.
There is a circle of friends here who, reading this would say, "Of course; it couldn't be any other way." So why is it such a difficult thing for others--even Christians to grasp? Wellp, that too, must be given from above, yes?
Craver vii,
So true. I am amazed at how we humans want to cling to the "self made" view of ourselves.
Hi Jazzy.
As always nice, succinct post.
It seems to me, however, that an assumption made here is very wobbly. If coming to faith in Christ is really a decision, that implies that beliefs, the things we trust are true--like that Jesus is the Lord of Life who provides eternal life, like that He is the Judges of all mankind, etc--are actually, as Billy Graham would say, decisions. Whether you believe God gave that decision to you as a gift, or that as Graham might say, that a person must make that decision on his or her own, both see it as a decision.
Here's my challenge, name any belief you could change at will. If you can provide an example, than that would show that beliefs are under the power of our will, or at least yours.
I think life would be a lot easier if this were true--that our wills controlled our beliefs.
Warmly in Chirst,
Jodie
Jodie,
One point of this post was to illustrate that even if one believed one’s free will apart from the Holy Spirit’s work was the deciding factor in coming to faith, salvation would still be from God because one’s brain and everything else can still be traced back to God as the source. I can and do change my mind about things with my will, brain, etc. However, the will, brain, etc. came from God just as surely as Babe Ruth’s baseball talent came from God. So, my point is that even if one believes in faith before regeneration, the source of what it took to make that decision comes from God. IOW it would be de-facto election. I think that is what 1 Cor. 4:7 makes clear.
W.H.
Jodie,
In a few days I will be posting on "What the Bible says about grace." I hope you will check it out as kind of a response to Antonio's UOG post....
W.H.
Post a Comment