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Well, you can turn to chapter 
9 in your confession of faith, of free will. Chapters 7 to 20 
deal with the covenant, the covenant of grace specifically. It's defined 
in chapter 7. The mediator is set forth in 
chapter 8. And then chapter 9 provides the covenantal setting, man in 
a state of depravity and necessitating the grace of God in order to 
save him from his sins. So I'll read chapter 9, and then 
we'll look at it in some detail. So beginning in paragraph 1. 
God hath endued the will of man with that natural liberty and 
power of acting upon choice that it is neither forced nor by any 
necessity of nature determined to do good or evil. Man in his 
state of innocency had freedom and power to will and to do that 
which was good and well-pleasing to God, but yet was mutable so 
that he might fall from it. Man, by his fall into a state 
of sin, hath wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual 
good accompanying salvation. And so, as a natural man, being 
altogether averse from that good and dead in sin, is not able 
by his own strength to convert himself or to prepare himself 
thereunto. When God converts a sinner and 
translates him into the state of grace, he freeth him from 
his natural bondage under sin, and by his grace alone enables 
him freely to will and to do that which is spiritually good. 
Yet so as that by reason of his remaining corruptions, he doth 
not perfectly nor only will that which is good, but doth also 
will that which is evil. This will of man is made perfectly 
and immutably free to good alone in the state of glory only. Amen. Well, last week in the sermon 
from John, John chapter 5, if you want to turn there, we can 
see what Jesus says to the opponents that he faces off with concerning 
his equality with the Father. In John chapter 5, he says in 
verse 39, you search the scriptures, for in them you think you have 
eternal life, and these are they which testify of me. So they 
have a willingness to search the scripture. They have a willingness 
to go through the Bible, because they think that the Bible sets 
forth, they think correctly, that the Bible sets forth the 
way of eternal life. But the Bible is that which testifies 
of Jesus. So they come up short there. 
And then he underscores their unwillingness to come to him 
in verse 40. He says, but you are not willing 
to come to me that you may have life. With reference to that 
particular text, I made this observation. The Reformed do 
not deny the existence of free will, nor do they neglect this 
crucial teaching of Jesus. You are not willing. But we recognize 
that free will is conditioned by the state of man. Wherever 
man finds himself as God's creature, his free will is conditioned 
by his heart in that particular state. So we have man in his 
original integrity, man in the fall, man in grace, and man in 
glory. And that is precisely what this 
chapter of the Confession sets forth. So free will is a biblical 
concept. But free will, the way that Arminians 
or Pelagians tried to describe it, is not a biblical concept. We need to understand that free 
will does not operate in some neutral sort of a way, but the 
will ultimately is governed by the heart. And if the heart is 
bad, then that's going to affect everything else. And we know 
that the heart is bad. For instance, in Jeremiah 17, the prophet says, 
the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. 
So with the heart messed up, that then affects the will of 
man. And that, again, is precisely 
what we find in this particular chapter of the Confession and 
what the Scripture teaches us. I mentioned a quote from John 
Gill. He says, in such the depravity, perverseness, and stubbornness 
of their wills, that they had no inclination, desire, and will 
to come to Christ, any more than power, which is an argument against 
and not for the free will of man, unless it be be to that 
which is evil. So the idea that 540 teaches 
the unadulterated free will of man and the ability of all people 
without divine grace to come to Jesus, that's not what John 
540 teaches. Turn back to the prophet Jonah 
for just a moment to set the stage for what the confession 
deals with here under the doctrine of free will. The book of Jonah In chapter 2, Joda makes this 
statement. It's when he's in the belly of 
the great fish, God saves him, and in verse 9 he says, but I 
will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving, I will 
pay what I have vowed, salvation is of the Lord. So if free will 
is the way that the Arminian or Pelagian describes, then this 
statement makes no sense. Salvation is of the Lord. Ultimately 
it would be salvation is of the man if in fact his free will 
is not affected by his heart and he can choose for Jesus. 
Turn over to Romans chapter 9. Romans chapter 9 underscores 
the same reality. Romans 9 obviously deals with 
election, predestination, the sovereignty of God in terms of 
who is saved and who isn't. And in 9.16 he makes this statement 
that does kibosh the Pelagian and Arminian notion of free will. 
Verse 16, so then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who 
runs, but of God who shows mercy. Very similarly to John's prologue 
in John chapter 1. After saying that as he came 
to his own, his own received him not, in verse 12 the apostle 
says, but as many as received him, to them he gave the right 
to become children of God. to those who believe in his name, 
who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, 
nor of the will of man, but of God." And then if you turn to 
the book of Revelation in chapter 7, we get one of those visions 
of the saints before the throne, praising God most high. And in 
Revelation 7, 9, we read, after these things I looked, and behold, 
a great multitude which no one can number. of all nations, tribes, 
peoples, and tongues standing before the throne and before 
the Lamb." It's a great and encouraging verse, isn't it? There is a great 
multitude. It may not seem like that right 
now. It may seem like there's a lot of challenges and a lot 
of issues and a lot of obstacles in terms of kingdom advancement, 
but with reference to that eternal state, there will be a great 
multitude, which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, 
peoples, and tongues standing before the throne and before 
the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in 
their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, Salvation 
belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." 
Again, curious verses if it is ultimately the free will of man 
that determines his place with reference to Jesus Christ. So 
we need to understand free will, we need to understand what it 
is, and we need to understand what it isn't, and we also need 
to understand that it is appropriate or rather conditioned upon where 
man is in the continuum of creation. So if you look specifically at 
Chapter 9, Paragraph 1, it gives us a general statement concerning 
free will. Basically, it tells us that man 
does choose. Man, when he wakes up in the 
morning, he can either have bacon or eggs, or he can have Wheaties. 
He doesn't have some external pressure upon him affecting his 
choice one for the other. So paragraph one says, God hath 
endued the will of man with that natural liberty and power of 
acting upon choice that it is neither forced nor by any necessity 
of nature determined to do good or evil. So again, a general 
statement. God's creation of the creature, 
he differentiates us from the dog, he differentiates us from 
the cat, he differentiates us from those that don't bear his 
image that are nevertheless creatures. We have free will, we have rationality, 
we have the capability to choose, we have those things set before 
us. So in terms of the author of 
this free will, it is God. God gave us this. God made us 
to be this way. And so in any discussion of free 
will, if we say, oh no, there's no such thing as free will, we're 
ultimately calling into question the goodness of God. It's something 
beneficial and blessed that he gave to us. Notice the essence 
of free will. He's endued the will of man with 
that natural liberty and power of acting upon choice. Again, 
when we choose something, it's because we want it. If we don't 
choose it, it's because we don't want it. So this is an overview. 
Notice the positive considerations. We have natural liberty of acting 
upon choice. We have natural power of acting 
upon choice. And again, this given to us by 
God most high. And then it goes about the middle 
of the way that gives us some negative connotations or considerations, 
that it is neither forced nor by any necessity of nature determined 
to do good or evil. Again, this is a general statement. If we ask, what is free will? 
Paragraph 1 defines for us what free will is. And I would suggest 
that at this place, Pelagians and Arminians and Calvinists 
and humanists and atheists and Christians of all sorts and all 
stripes would agree. When we talk about free will, 
that's what it means. I want to have bacon and eggs. 
I don't want to have Wheaties. I want to go for a run. I'd rather 
lay on the couch, whatever it is. There's no sort of external 
pressure placed upon us by God. So this is a general statement. 
Now notice, as the confession continues, it conditions free 
will relative to where man is, whether he's in original integrity, 
whether he's in a state of sin, whether he's in a state of grace, 
or whether he's in a state of glory. That's what the rest of 
the chapter deals with, and that's what is essential when we discuss 
free will with, say, a Pelagian or an Arminian. It's not just 
paragraph one that we have to take into consideration. It's 
the positive statements that we just looked at in Jonah 2.9, 
salvation is of the Lord. Romans 9.16, it doesn't depend 
upon him who wills or runs, but upon him who shows mercy. And 
the saints enthroned in heaven. They say salvation belongs to 
our God and to the Lamb who sits upon the throne. No Pelagian 
can consistently say that with Jonah, with Jesus, or with Paul 
rather, and with the saints in heaven. They have to see, to 
some degree, that their decision affected this particular transaction. They have to see, if they have 
this unadulterated, paragraph one only idea of free will, they 
have to take a little bit of the praise for themselves in 
terms of their wisdom, in terms of their goodness, in terms of 
their decision to come forward and to embrace the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Incidentally, this chapter sets the stage as to what happens 
when God does save a sinner. We are dead in our trespasses 
and sins. He makes us alive together with Christ through regeneration, 
our effectual calling. He justifies us freely by his 
grace. He sanctifies us with the promise 
and intention to glorify us. So what God is dealing with are 
people that have free will, but that free will again is qualified. 
Now notice in the first place the state of innocence. Paragraph 
two. Man, in his state of innocency, 
had freedom and power to will and to do that which was good 
and well-pleasing to God, but yet was mutable so that he might 
fall from it. If you turn to Ecclesiastes chapter 
7, you see Solomon confessed that very thing. Ecclesiastes 
7. Ecclesiastes 7 specifically at, 
I'm sorry, hang on, 29. 29a, truly this only I have found, 
that God made man upright. That's what paragraph two tells 
us. Man in his state of innocency had freedom and power to will 
and to do that which was good and well-pleasing to God. But 
notice what continues in the paragraph, but yet was mutable 
so that he might fall from it. What does mutable mean? Changeable. He had a changeability about 
him. God made him as a creature bearing 
the image of God, but that was not a communicable attribute 
in terms of creation. It's not the case that we are 
immutable. It's not the case that we are 
unchangeable in this particular state of creation. Now, interestingly, 
do you know when free will is actually obliterated, if we take 
the Pelagian and the Arminian definition? It's obliterated 
in the state of glory. when we are confirmed in righteousness 
and we have no free will to choose that which is evil and contrary 
to God's law. So in paragraph two, man in his 
state of innocence, he had freedom and power to will and to do that 
which was good and well-pleasing to God. That's what's in view 
in the confession. It's not Wheaties or bacon for 
breakfast. It is that which is good and 
well-pleasing to God. yet was mutable so that he might 
fall from it. That's what Solomon goes on to 
say in Ecclesiastes 7, 29. Truly this only I have found, 
that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes. So that mutability is seen when 
the devil comes in the form of a cunning serpent And he tempts 
Eve, and Eve engages in transgression and gives the fruit to Adam and 
rebels against his God and plunges the race into sin. So paragraph 
two says that in the original state of creation, man's free 
will was such that he was able to do, he had both freedom and 
power to will and to do that which was good and well-pleasing 
to God, yet he was mutable so that he might fall from it. One 
man, Van Dixhorn, says, we have a natural liberty that our wills 
are free in a genuine sense, although not in an unqualified 
sense. That's the point. When you deal 
with free will, when you're talking to a Pelagian, or you're talking 
to an Arminian, they want free will in an unqualified sense. 
You don't have it in an unqualified sense, except at the original 
creation, when man, having come from the hand of God in creation, 
was able to do that which was pleasing and good in the sight 
of God. Yet, nevertheless, he had a mutability 
about him. He had the potential within him 
to transgress against God's law, and that is precisely what he 
does. Now, notice, secondly, the state of sin in paragraph 
three. So if in paragraph two we have 
the state of innocence where a man has the ability to do that 
which is good and well-pleasing to God, after the fall into sin, 
that is no longer the case. He still has free will, he still 
chooses bacon or Wheaties, he still chooses sin, but he does 
not have the capacity anymore to choose that which is good 
and well-pleasing to God. Notice in paragraph three. Man, 
by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost all ability 
of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation. So again, 
it's in a qualified sense. When we talk about free will, 
can you be a cowboy or a doctor? Sure, you have the free will 
to choose either one of those things. But can you believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ without supernatural grace, without the 
aid of the Holy Spirit, without regeneration by the power of 
God? No. The Confession says no, and 
the Bible says no. So man, by his fall into a state 
of sin, hath wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual 
good accompanying salvation. So as a natural man, being altogether 
averse from that good and dead in sin, is not able, by his own 
strength, to convert himself or to prepare himself thereunto. So this question has to do with 
what's called lapsarianism. Lapsarian refers to the fall 
of Adam in the garden. So you have the pre-lapsarian 
state, which indicates man in a state of innocency, wherein 
he is able to do that which is good and pleasing to God. But 
in this post-lapsarian state after the fall, what chapter 
9, paragraph 3 tells us is true. Man, by his fall into a state 
of sin, has wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good 
accompanying salvation. Turn to John's gospel, John chapter 
6, just to see this fleshed out in the pages of the New Testament. 
It's fleshed out in the pages of the Old Testament as well, 
the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, 
Jeremiah 17. Can the Ethiopian change its 
color? Can the leopard change its spots? 
Can there be that kind of a radical transformation when someone is 
a rebel against God when he's dead in Adam? And never forget 
that language that the New Testament uses, for in Adam what? All die. Right? It's not that we're just 
a little hindered, it's not that we're just a little crippled, 
it's not that we're in the ICU, but we're dead. Ephesians chapter 
2 verses 1 to 3, you are dead in your trespasses and sins. 
In order for that dead sinner to be made alive, the emphasis 
is not upon his free will, because as a dead sinner, his free will 
will only ever choose that which is opposed to God, opposed to 
his son. But it must be God's grace that 
brings him out of darkness into marvelous light. So notice in 
John 6 at verse 43, Jesus therefore answered and said to them, Do 
not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to me unless 
the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up 
at the last day. Again, a definitive statement, 
no one can come to me. This is Jesus Christ, who later 
in John 14, 6, says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. 
And yet here he is saying and declaring that no one can come 
to me. But notice, that's not a hopeless 
statement unless the Father who sent me draws him. We know the 
purpose of the Father because we just saw it in Revelation 
chapter 7, a great multitude that no man can number from every 
tribe, tongue, people, and nation. It's not that the Father is miserly, 
it's not that the Father is Hebenezer's Scrooge. It's that the Father 
is the efficient cause for those who come to faith in our Lord 
Jesus Christ. Notice in Romans chapter 8. Romans 
chapter 8 gives us two doctrines. One is called total depravity 
and one is called total inability. And this is essentially what 
we're discussing. Man in a state of sin is totally 
depraved. That does not mean that he's 
as bad as he can possibly be. It does not mean that every man 
that is outside of Jesus Christ is a Joseph Stalin, is a Pol 
Pot, is an Adolf Hitler. It does not mean that. It means, 
however, that every faculty of his being, his heart, his mind, 
his will, his affections, everything is affected by sin. So he is 
totally depraved. But a corollary doctrine to total 
depravity is total inability. Because man is in that depraved 
state and he has no power within himself to choose that which 
is good and pleasing to God, therefore we say that he's totally 
unable. There's an inability about him. 
Jesus teaches that in John 6, 44. No one can come to me. Notice 
the can-come. There's an emphasis there. It's 
an idea of ability, of power, of do-ability. And the same thing 
comes out in Romans 8, 7. Notice, because the carnal mind 
is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of 
God. So that's total depravity. You 
want to know what total depravity is? That's what it is. Because 
the carnal mind is enmity against God. Think about the Jews that 
we're going to look at in John chapter 5 who are upset because 
Jesus made himself equal with God. Jesus answers their charge 
in a whole host of ways. And this morning we're going 
to see 41 to 47. What do they do? They reject Him. And they're 
standing in the presence of the word incarnate. They're standing 
in the presence of the second person of the Trinity. They're 
standing in the presence of He who is truth and yet they reject 
Him and they ultimately deliver Him up to be crucified. So there 
is this depravity that is inherent in man as a result of the fall 
of Adam. But notice what he goes on to 
say in verse 7. Nor indeed can be. So it's not 
only the case that presently the carnal mind is enmity against 
God, it is not only the case that presently it is not subject 
to the law of God, but it's also the case presently unaided by 
divine grace, nor indeed can be. He cannot by his own persuasion, 
by his own sort of moral response, by his own bowing the head and 
closing the eye and shooting up the hand and accepting Jesus 
into his heart. If somebody actually is converted 
in that sort of a setting, it's because God and grace gave him 
a new heart. And then he raised his hand, he closed his eyes, 
he bowed his head, and he accepted Jesus into his heart. Not to 
say that no one ever is saved in that scheme, but if they are, 
it's because of the truth of Reformed theology, and not because 
of the practice of Arminianism, Arminian evangelism. And then notice in Ephesians 
chapter 2, God willing, we're going to start the book of Ephesians 
tonight, and eventually we'll be in chapter 2. But before chapter 
2, notice the strong emphasis that we see in verses 3 and 4 
in chapter 1, or verses 3 to 5. So it's the same sort of Jonah 
2.9 thing. It's the same sort of Romans 
9.16 thing. It's the same sort of John 1.12 
and 13 thing. The same sort of Revelation 7 
thing. Notice, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, 1 3, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing 
in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before 
the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without 
blame before Him in love. having predestined us to adoption 
as sons by Jesus Christ, to himself according to the good pleasure 
of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which 
he made us accepted in the beloved. John Gill correctly says, election 
does not find men in Christ, but puts them there. It gives them a being in him 
and union to him. It's not that we believe and 
therefore it's because of that God elected. We believe because 
God elected. We believe because we were appointed 
unto eternal life. So notice that huge emphasis 
on the sovereign purpose of God with reference to choosing, with 
reference to predestination, unto adoption as sons. Notice 
there in verse four. He chose us in him before the 
foundation of the world, not because we were holy and without 
blame, not because we did the right thing, not because we chose 
for Jesus, not because we shot up our hand in the Arminian evangelism 
scene, but it was unto holiness and without blame. And that is 
necessitated by what Paul says in Ephesians 2. Notice in verses 
1 to 3. And you, he made alive, who were 
dead in trespasses and sins. Again, we need to feel the full 
import of that. Can a dead man in the physical 
realm jump into a pool and swim? No, he can't. In order for that 
to happen, he must be made alive. Can a dead man in the spiritual 
realm believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? No, John 6, 44. No one 
can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. So notice, 
you he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which 
you once walked according to the course of this world, according 
to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works 
in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted 
ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires 
of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of 
wrath, just as the others. See, Paul includes himself in 
this lot. He doesn't say, oh, you know, 
you wretched Gentiles, or you wretched not good Jews. No, he 
includes himself, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves. So where does the efficient power 
come in terms of the salvation of sinners? It's in verse 4. 
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with 
which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made 
us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved. 
So when we look at these particular passages, we see that what the 
confession is saying is true. Man, by his state into a fall, 
fall into a state of sin, has wholly lost all ability of will 
to any spiritual good accompanying salvation. Think about that clause. It's not saying that a dead sinner 
can't walk an old lady across the street, that a dead sinner 
can't contribute to the Red Cross, that a dead sinner can't do morally 
upright things in the sight of men. It's not saying that. It's 
not saying that dead sinners only ever commit evil always. No, I mean there is a sense where 
that's true because everything we don't do out of love for God 
and love for man isn't genuinely good as the Bible tells us, but 
with reference to this emphasis, the free will affects with reference 
to this spiritual good accompanying salvation. Now notice, or before 
that, Hodge says the moral condition of the heart determines the act 
of the will. But the act of the will cannot 
change the moral condition of the heart. If you get that, you 
get it. If you don't get it, then please 
keep paying attention. If you want an extended treatment 
on this, read Martin Luther's The Bondage of the Will. In that 
particular book, he discusses these things, discusses may not 
be the most choice words, he levels the arguments of Erasmus, 
who taught free will in sort of an unqualified sense. So Luther 
deals with Erasmus in great detail at the level of free will, in 
the bondage of the will. But again, Hodge, the moral condition 
of the heart, Remember, in Adam all died. So what happens to 
the dead sinner? His heart is dead. You were dead 
in your trespasses and sins. Again, dead in terms of doing 
that which is pleasing to God. Doing that which is efficacious 
to bring us to salvation in Christ. But good in terms of keeping 
our lawn cut, paying our taxes, doing those things which are 
good in the civil realm. That's not what's being condemned 
here. That's not what's being castigated here. It's this idea 
of free will that brings us to a blessed condition with our 
Savior. So the moral condition of the 
heart determines the act of the will, but the act of the will 
cannot change the moral condition of the heart. It cannot. Romans 
8, 7. It can't be. No one can come. No man in the 
state of sin has the power to open his own heart. No man in 
the state of sin has the power to choose for Jesus. No man in 
the state of sin has the power to do that which is pleasing 
to God. That's what the scripture teaches in those various passages. Now notice it goes on in the 
state of sin, paragraph 3, to describe the natural man. It 
says, he is being altogether averse from that good. Again, good, qualified, with 
reference to what is approved by God. Not good with reference 
to what is approved by the next-door neighbor. If I pick up trash 
off the next-door neighbor's grass, he's going to say, wow, 
that was a good deed. And I can say, yes, and my free 
will led me to that. But I don't have the free will 
that can lead me to safety, security, and salvation in our blessed 
Savior. Notice he goes on and it says, 
dead in sin. We've seen that in Ephesians 
chapter 2. Problem with man is not that he's got a little bit 
of problem. The problem with man is not that 
he's got a little bit of a hindrance. The problem with man is not that 
he's got a limp. The problem with man is that 
he's dead in his trespasses and sins. And then notice, is not 
able by his own strength. He doesn't have it in him to 
convert himself. You cannot prevail upon a dead 
sinner in such a way as for him or her to say, wow, you make 
good points. I think I'm going to believe 
the gospel. If they do say, wow, you make good points. I think 
I'm going to believe the gospel. You can rest assured that God 
regenerated them. that God made them alive, that 
God gave them the graces of faith and repentance. It's another 
thing we need to appreciate in this connection. With reference 
to this deadness and sin, go back to Ephesians 2, hopefully 
you're still there. Notice what Paul goes on to say 
after saying, God who is rich in mercy made us alive together 
with Christ. And then in verse 8, notice, 
for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of 
yourselves, it is the gift of God. There's a difference between 
some of the language or the, what's the word I'm looking for? 
It's a neuter word here with a feminine, sort of an antecedent. So, for by grace you have been 
saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. So people 
say, that not of yourselves is the grace, not the faith. No, the not of yourselves applies 
to the entirety of the verse. So verse 8, for by grace you 
have been saved through faith. And that sort of complex of ideas, 
this grace you have been saved through faith, is not of yourselves. Rather, it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest anyone should 
boast. And then notice, even the good 
things we do in terms of sanctification are God's work. Verse 10, for 
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, 
which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. 
So the things that we even do in the state of grace that are 
good for, with reference to God, is in fact from God. So we have this emphasis on the 
gift nature of faith. Turn over to Philippians 1, same 
sort of a thing. Which I think leads to the question, 
if faith and repentance are gifts given by God, why do we suppose 
they're natural in man? That man unaided by God's grace 
can just believe, or man unaided by God's grace can just repent. 
Notice in Philippians 127, only let your conduct be worthy of 
the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or 
am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you may stand fast 
in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith 
of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, 
which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation and that 
from God. Notice verse 29, "...for to you it has been granted on 
behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer 
for His sake." It's incidental, the believe in Him. You'd think 
that would be the main point of the Apostle's argument. I 
want you to understand that you're dead in your trespasses and sins. 
I want you to understand that if you have faith in Jesus Christ, 
it's not because that was a natural resource in the depths of your 
wretched heart, but rather, faith is a gift from God. He just appeals 
to this as an almost incidental thing to show that just as it 
has been given to you to believe in Christ, so it has been given 
to you to suffer for Christ. That's the emphasis. For to you 
it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe 
in Him, but also to suffer for His sake. The emphasis is on 
suffering for his sake. The illustration is, by way of 
almost an incidental illusion, is to believe in him. And then 
2 Timothy chapter 2 indicates or underscores for us that repentance 
is a gift. See, if faith and repentance 
were native in the heart of the sinner, they wouldn't be gifts. 
They wouldn't be graces. It wouldn't be the case that 
God has to supply that. We'd only need to appeal to people 
to use their minds, to use their wills, to use their hearts, and 
to activate that faith and repentance that is in their wheelhouse to 
activate in order to have closure, saving closure, with our Lord 
Jesus. But the New Testament emphasis 
is on the fact that these are graces. Notice in 2 Timothy 2 
at verse 23, avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that 
they generate strife. Twitter's a great illustration 
of that, isn't it? I imagine Facebook, too. And 
a servant of the Lord must not quarrel, but be gentle to all, 
able to teach, patient in humility, correcting those who are in opposition, 
if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may 
know the truth, and that they may come to their senses, and 
escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by 
him to do his will. Turn back to Acts chapter 5. 
Acts chapter 5, again, looking at the graciousness, the gift 
character of faith and repentance. You see faith in Ephesians 2, 
you see faith in Philippians 1, we see repentance in 2 Timothy 
2. Notice Acts chapter 5, verse 
31. Him, God, has exalted to his right hand 
to be prince and savior to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness 
of sins. And then over in Acts chapter 
11, Acts chapter 11, after Peter rehearses God's grace given to 
the Gentiles vis-a-vis Cornelius and his household, he goes back 
and he has to speak to the church in Jerusalem to explain to them 
the outpouring of the Spirit upon this Gentile church. Notice 
in verse 17 of chapter 11, if therefore God gave them the same 
gift as he gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, in 
context, the Holy Spirit, who was I, that I could withstand 
God. When they heard these things, 
they became silent, and they glorified God, saying, then God 
has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life. See, if we 
were not dead in our trespasses and sins, if there was a square 
inch of us that wasn't affected by Adam's fall into sin, we might 
be able to say with the Pelagian and the Arminian, exercise your 
free will and come to Jesus in faith. But because the Bible 
teaches us otherwise, we emphasize the grace of God, the sovereignty 
of God, and still we press upon people the necessity of faith 
in Christ. We don't shrink back from declaring 
that because we trust in the God who calls us to preach, believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ, to enable the dead sinner to awaken, 
and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember Jesus at the 
graveside of Lazarus. If you and I went there in John 
11 and we said to Lazarus, Lazarus come forth, nothing would have 
happened. But the one who issues the command to Lazarus to come 
forth has the power to enable compliance with the command. 
This is where hyper-Calvinism is wrong. Oh, we can't tell sinners 
to believe. That's precisely what we tell 
them. But we don't tell them it's in their wheelhouse, that 
they have unaffected hearts of free will that are just teeming 
with faith and repentance. They just need to tap into it. 
But the instrumental means by which sinners come to a saving 
knowledge of Jesus Christ is to believe the gospel. So, of 
course, we preach the gospel indiscriminately to all creatures 
everywhere. Whoever believes in him shall 
have everlasting life. But that's a far cry different 
from the Pelagian saying, oh, it's in you. It's all about you. 
Just make that decision. Come forward. Say the prayer. 
Sign the card. Put your name on the membership 
roll and never question your salvation. See, there's a different 
approach in terms of our understanding at the level of theology. Turn 
over to Acts 13. Acts 13, specifically at verse 
48, after Paul preaches in Pisidian Antioch, and the Jews rebuff 
him, the Jews reject him, the Jews say, we want nothing to 
do with you. Notice in verse 46, then Paul 
and Barnabas grew bold and said, it was necessary that the word 
of God should be spoken to you first. But since you reject it 
and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, 
we turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded 
us. I have set you as a light to the Gentiles that you should 
be for salvation to the ends of the earth. Now when the Gentiles 
heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. 
And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed." It's 
a conspicuous order of events. It's not, they believed, therefore, 
they were appointed to eternal life. No, they had been appointed 
to eternal life, and as a result, they believed. See, there's a 
consequence of God's predetermination, a consequence of God's election, 
a consequence of predestination. It's not the cause, it's the 
consequence. So all those, or as many as had 
been appointed to eternal life, believed. So we see this emphasis 
throughout. So he is averse from that which 
is good, he is dead in his sin, and he is unable to convert himself. 
That's what it says at the end of paragraph 3. Or to prepare 
himself thereunto. There's not anything he can do 
to make himself more conducive for the salvation of God. in 
a specific sense. Now, I would argue that, you 
know, if it's a windy day, we open the windows to get the wind 
blowing in. There are certain means that 
we should use in terms of our calling upon God to send the 
Holy Spirit. We preach the gospel. We use 
those means. We call sinners to faith and 
repentance, trusting that God is pleased through the foolishness 
of the message preached to save those who believe. So we use 
means in terms of trying to go after sinners under the grace 
of God in terms of his sovereignty. But with reference to the individual 
sinner, this idea of preparationism, this idea that he can put himself 
in a more blessed posture or in a more privileged position 
such that God will then have mercy on him, that's not possible 
because, again, of this deadness in sin. Now notice the third 
state, the state of grace, and that's paragraph four. So notice 
the theme. In the state of innocence, man 
has the potential to do that, which is good. He only does that 
which is good in that state of innocency, yet he has immutability 
about him such that he can defect from God, which Adam does. Now, 
upon defection from God, we read in Romans 5, for instance, and 
1 Corinthians 15, that in Adam all die. And so in that deadness, 
that spiritual deadness, that's what paragraph 3 speaks to. Now 
in paragraph 4, with reference to the state of grace, we find 
something intriguing here. We still have remaining corruption 
and do that which is evil, but now we have the ability, by God's 
grace, to do that which is good. You see that in Ephesians 2.10. 
We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, 
which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. 
You see it in Revelation 2 and 3. The Lord Jesus comes to the 
churches of Asia Minor and He knows their works. He condemns 
them for the bad, but He commends them for the good. And so we 
have that sort of an issue going on in paragraph 4. Notice. When 
God converts a sinner, notice the emphasis there, it's not 
when the sinner converts himself or the sinner helps God convert 
him, but when God converts a sinner and translates him into the state 
of grace, he freeth him from his natural bondage under sin, 
and by his grace alone enables him freely to will and to do 
that which is spiritually good." Again, the good in view is not 
walking old ladies across the street. It's not cutting your 
neighbor's grass. It is spiritual good. It has 
to do with Christ. It has to do with good works, 
as the Bible defines or describes them. And it has to do with those 
things that are pleasing in the sight of God. So by His grace 
alone, He enables the sinner freely to will and to do that 
which is spiritually good. Turn to Philippians chapter 2. 
Philippians chapter 2, another passage that emphasizes this 
dynamic. Philippians chapter 2 at verse 
12. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as 
in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work 
out your own salvation. Not work for your own salvation, 
but work out that which God has freely given you. work for, you 
don't work to achieve, you don't work to secure, but you work 
out that which God gave you. So work out your own salvation 
with fear and trembling. Now notice in verse 13. So a basic rule of thumb is that 
as Christians, when we do something bad, we blame ourselves. When 
we do something good, we give glory to God. And if you say, 
well, that doesn't seem fair, you don't understand the gospel. 
That is precisely the issue. It is God's grace at work in 
us that made us alive together with Christ. It is God's grace 
that has given us the, or God in His grace has given us faith 
and repentance to close with Christ, and it's God in His grace 
that enables us to continue to persevere and do those things 
which are spiritually good. So man in a state of grace has 
the potential for good, but man in a state of grace has a potential 
for bad too, and the Bible speaks to that, as does the confession. Notice, after that statement 
concerning goodness, at the end in paragraph four, it says, Yet, 
so as that by reason of his remaining corruptions, he doth not perfectly, 
nor only will that which is good, but doth also will that which 
is evil. So in the state of grace, or 
in the state of innocency, he only does that which is good, 
but he has the potential for change. In the state of sin, 
again with reference to God, not our next door neighbor, he 
only does that which is evil. In a state of grace, he has remaining 
evil, remaining corruption, but he now by grace has the potential 
to do those things which are pleasing to God. And I think 
the end of paragraph four here is quite helpful for the believer. 
Because if the believer understands what's happening in terms of 
this particular chapter, he or she might be inclined to say, 
well, if I've experienced paragraph four A, and God has translated 
me into a state of grace, he's freed me from my natural bondage 
under sin, and by his grace he enables me freely to will and 
to do that which is spiritually good, why is there still such 
a mess in my heart? Why is there still these problems 
in my heart? Well, paragraph 4 tells us, Yet 
so as that, by reason of his remaining corruptions, he doesn't 
do it perfectly, nor only will that which is good, but does 
also will that which is evil. Notice the proof text there. 
He's got Romans, or they've got Romans chapter 7. Romans 7 is 
an extended discussion by Paul concerning remaining corruption. In fact, look at Romans chapter 
7. So everybody tracking, being in a state of grace doesn't mean 
you're perfect. Being in a state of grace means 
you're justified freely by his grace, you've been forgiven of 
your sin, and you've received the righteousness of Jesus. Another 
just sideline note, why do we need the righteousness of Jesus? 
Because we're unrighteousness. Why do we not only need His blood 
to cleanse us, but His righteousness to clothe us? Because we're messed 
up. Even in the state of grace, we 
still have this remaining corruption. Notice Paul in verse 13 of Romans 
7. Has then what is good become 
death to me? Certainly not. But sin that it 
might appear sin was producing death in me through what is good, 
so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. 
Now, this is a densely argued package of Pauline theology. 
I think 6, 7, and 8 in the Book of Romans are as tight and as 
dense as an area of Christian theology as one can get. So when 
you just sort of fly over, you get the big ideas and the main 
concepts. But he's working out some things 
here that are quite detailed. So we're going to just fly over. 
Notice what he says, verse 15. For what I am doing I do not 
understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice. But what I hate, that I do. If 
then I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that 
it is good. But now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that 
dwells in me. For I know that in me, that is 
in my flesh, nothing good dwells. For to will is present with me, 
but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that 
I will to do I do not do, but the evil I will not to do, that 
I practice. Now if I do what I will not to 
do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me." 
Now he's not using that in some charismatic sort of way to, you 
know, get rid of his responsibility. Again, densely argued. But then 
notice, verse 21, when do we find this principle of remaining 
corruption? I think verse 21 is instructive. Do you find that 
remaining corruption when you read the Chilwack Progress? Actually, 
I do. I get incensed and outraged. 
Maybe that's not the best thing. Do I find that principle when 
I'm just taking a walk? No, I'm usually praying when 
I'm walking. That doesn't mean, that's not meant to be sounding 
holy, but when is it that we see that remaining corruption 
come to a rupture? It's when we do, when we attempt 
to do that which is good. Look at verse 21. I find then 
a law that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. You don't really consciously 
appreciate or see the degree of your remaining corruption 
until it's time to read your Bible. until it's time to pray. There's a million reasons why, 
you know, I'll pray in 10 more minutes, I should look at the 
computer and see what's going on in Eastern Europe before I 
pray. There's all these things that challenge you at the level 
of pursuing spiritual good, right? Or church, I mean, things that 
you would, you know, happily soldier through with reference 
to work or entertainment. You know, I've got this hangnail, 
I probably shouldn't go to church today. I hear those things are 
contagious, so I just don't think I'm going to do it. The remaining 
corruption is most obvious at those times when you want to 
will that which is good, and that's what he's saying. I find 
that Allah, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to 
do good. When I'm willing to do bad, or I'm willing to be 
neutral, or I'm willing just to kind of chill out and not 
do anything, I don't really see that principle. But I see that 
principle when I need to fast and pray. I see that principle 
when I need to pursue holiness without which no one will see 
the Lord. I see that principle when there's all these challenges 
against me. Verse 22, I delight in the law 
of God according to the inward man, but I see another law in 
my members, warring against the law of my mind, bringing me into 
captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched 
man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death? I 
thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind 
I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of 
sin. And then turn over to Galatians 
5. Galatians 5, same principle, remaining corruption. So in a 
state of grace, we have the unique situation where we can do that 
which is good, but we also have the ability to do that which 
is bad. Galatians 5, 7, well, 16. I say then, walk in the spirit, 
and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh 
lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, 
and these are contrary to one another so that you do not do 
the things that you wish. The spirit checks your lawlessness, 
but the lawlessness in your heart still, you know, bucks against 
the spirits leading in your life. So there is this remaining corruption 
that persons have in this state of grace. And then the final 
state is the state of glory. Notice in paragraph five. The 
state of glory, paragraph five, this will of man is made perfectly 
and immutably free to good alone in the state of glory only. Curious, isn't that? Free will, 
as it's commonly understood today, well I can choose to do the good 
or I can choose to do the evil, is not what's the state of glory. 
The state of glory is a confirmation in that which is good. The state 
of glory is a confirmation in that which is upright. This will 
of man is made perfectly and immutably. Notice. Adam didn't 
possess that in the garden. Through the work of the second 
Adam, we are confirmed, we are stabilized, we are secured, we 
are immutably free in that state of glory to good alone. There is no remaining corruption, 
there is no unrighteousness, there is no tendency to sin, 
there is no filth in the heart, there is no battle between the 
You know, within our own soul, I want to do the good and I don't 
find myself doing it. I don't want to do the evil, 
but I find myself doing that. Brethren, we have a lot to look 
forward to in terms of the state of glory, not least of which 
is no more sin, no more unrighteousness, no more godlessness that we experience 
now in the state of grace. So Hodge summarizes. He says, 
Adam was holy and stable. Unregenerate men are unholy and 
stable. That is fixed in unholiness. Regenerate men have two opposite 
moral tendencies contesting for empire in their hearts. They 
are cast about between them, yet the tendency graciously implanted 
gradually in the end perfectly prevails. Glorified men are holy 
and stable. All are free and therefore responsible. I think that summarizes the issue 
of free will splendidly. It gives us where man is. State 
of innocence, state of sin, state of grace, state of glory. The 
free will that Adam possessed before the fall is not the free 
will of your next door neighbor, if he's unconverted now, that 
is possessed after the fall. You just can't. It's like an 
apples and oranges thing. It's a category error. You have 
to account for sin. You have to account for depraved 
hearts. You have to account for deadness 
in sin and trespass with reference to the question of free will. 
So again, Reformed people have no problem with free will, but 
they have a problem with Arminians and Pelagians that have this 
sort of unqualified free will that simply means we can do whatever 
we want at any time we want, irrespective of where we find 
ourselves in the continuum that God sets forth in Holy Scripture. Well, I'll pray, and then if 
there's any questions, we can deal with those. Our Father in 
heaven, we thank you for the state of grace. We thank you 
for your mercy. We know it is an impossibility 
for a man to bring himself to Christ, for a man to believe 
on his own, unaided by the power of the Holy Spirit. So we give 
praise to you, God in heaven, that there is faith and repentance 
in our hearts. We thank you that you made us 
alive together with him. And we thank you, God, that you 
are in the business of building a massive church. from every 
tribe, tongue, people, and nation, a great multitude that no man 
can number. And may we confess always, with 
the prophet, salvation is of the Lord, with the apostle, that 
it does not depend upon him who wills or runs, but upon God who 
shows mercy. And may we, understanding this, 
preach the gospel to every creature and call that to belief in the 
Lord Jesus Christ. And we pray in his blessed name. 
Amen. Any questions or comments? Yes, 
sir. Yeah. Yeah, I haven't done enough 
study in that. I got a book a few years ago. 
It was by Beakey, Joel Beakey, and it's on that. I think there's 
a big, what's the word I'm thinking of, debate, discussion, discrepancy 
between those who believe in preparationism and those who 
do not. And I have not been persuaded 
of preparationism, but I haven't looked into it that much. That's confusing? No. What do 
you mean by preparationism? Oh, for sure. I don't think that's 
what that means by preparationism. No. No, it's not a mitigation 
or not encourage people to use the means. Of course, in the 
wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God. It pleased 
God through the foolishness of the message preached. force on 
unbelievers the use of the means. Best thing you can do, tell unbelievers 
to read the Bible. Best thing you can do, tell unbelievers 
to come to church. Best thing you can do, preach 
the gospel. I don't think that's what's in view there, and I don't 
think that's what beaky means by preparationism. I think it's 
a category in theology that probably lends itself to a heavy experientialism 
in religion, probably lends itself to some hyper-Calvinism, and 
probably lends itself to some things that are not altogether 
good or helpful. So it's not a discounting of 
the use of means. That's absolutely positively 
what we want to encourage, but it's a discounting of this, you 
know, you've got to have two years of misery. That might be 
a good example of that. Well, I haven't had enough misery, 
so I can't come to the Savior yet. That would be a classic 
form of preparationism. You have to have this many units 
of conviction for your sin before you ever come for the remedy. Yeah, I think he dealt with it 
a bit. He has a whole chapter on preparation. It's excellent. It really deals with that, and 
just how that's just not logically possible, given what we talked 
about today. You can't, when you're dead in sin, when you're 
in enmity with God, you hate God, you can't do those things, 
or have those things, which are fruits of regeneration and repentance. I just looked it up quickly. Well Wikipedia, I'd probably 
want to read Beaky and hear what he has to say. But just in my 
head, I would think it goes along with that kind of introspection. 
You need to qualify before you come to Jesus. How do I qualify? I've got to really feel bad about 
my sins. Stuff that ultimately comes as a result of the Spirit, 
really. Yes, Noel. It is only at the time when we 
are in the state of glory that we actually say that we will, 
but not because we are in one world. I would suggest that the fallen 
angels found themselves in a position like Adam. Adam had the ability 
to do that which was pleasing and good to God. But he had a 
changeability about him. As a creature of God, he had 
that changeability, as did the fallen angels. They were the 
ones that they chose rebellion against God. And when I say in 
the state of glory we won't have free will, I don't mean it quite 
like that. I mean that our free will will 
be confirmed in the way of God only, right? We think about freedom 
today. What's freedom ultimately? I 
don't mean, you know, no COVID restrictions. But freedom, ultimately, 
as a creature of God, is doing that which is pleasing to God. 
Right? As God's creatures, we are to 
think His thoughts after Him. We are to love Him. We are to 
love our fellow creatures. Freedom genuinely and strictly 
defined is doing that which is pleasing to God. So free will 
is the same sort of thing, using that free will for the service 
and the glory of God. I guess I would suggest instead 
of no free will in heaven, it's confirmed to only do that which 
it was originally intended to do in the creation account. And 
I think it was a, you know, when I say that, it's not like God 
got it wrong. God always had in the mind of 
God to see, you know, have sinners fall in Adam such that they could 
be redeemed by the last Adam or the Lord Jesus Christ. There 
was somebody, yes. Sinners can do good if we define 
good the way sinners define good. It's good for you to help your 
neighbor. If you're unconverted or she's 
unconverted and you buy her groceries, that's a good thing. But when 
we ask the Bible, and there's a chapter later on in the Confession 
on good works, when we talk about good works, They are such as 
are in obedience to God's law and they bring glory to God and 
genuine good for the creature. Sometimes sinner does something 
for sinner, not so much because he's altruistic and wants to 
serve sinner, but there's pride or you know, what's the word 
they call it today? we say it all the time, virtue 
signaling, right? So that's not a good work biblically 
defined, but it's better to help your neighbor than not. So yeah, 
good works are conditioned and defined and described in scripture 
as those things that are pleasing to God done from a regenerate 
heart. So the argument is not that totally 
depraved, totally unable sinners, the society is just going to 
reflect that. I mean, it's starting to reflect 
that more and more. But what we don't mean by total 
depravity is that everybody is as bad as they can be. That's 
not the doctrine. Just everything is affected. 
So in chapter 2, paragraph, or chapter 2, verses 1 to 3 in Ephesians, 
I mean, again, notice, in which you once walked according to 
the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of 
the air. And then he says, among whom also we all once conducted 
ourselves in lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the 
flesh and of the mind. So it's not just, oh, my hands, 
my feet take me into sinful paths. No, it's your mind. It's your 
heart. It's everything. You have this orientation. to 
that which is bad our righteousnesses are like filthy rags in the sight 
of God yeah that's right without faith absolutely and those who 
come to him must believe that he is and a rewarder of them 
that diligently seek him yeah it's an impossibility to come 
to him without faith oh yeah dead in her sins, but alive to 
be an enemy of God until she's rejected. Yeah, before COVID, I would go 
to the old folks' home, right? And you see these old blue-haired 
ladies and old dudes. And I would always treat them 
like the sinners they were, man. You may not be engaged in that 
lawlessness when you're 85, but you certainly were when you were 
45. And you still got those seeds and those desires in there. What 
the body is incapable of, the mind can still pursue. And that 
was something I heard about Lloyd-Jones. It was some higher up in London 
at the time. Somebody, maybe royalty or political 
power, she really loved his preaching because he preaches to us like 
we're sinners. Right? Oh, you poor person. No. This 
is the most helpful thing, right? Unless we know our sin, we'll 
never see our need for the Savior. All right.