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Chapter 9 in the Confession of 
Free Will. Essentially what the Confession 
does in this particular section is give us a general statement 
concerning free will, and then it illustrates or highlights 
or qualifies free will in the various states that man finds 
himself. So we'll look at the general 
statement this morning, and then the fourfold state of man, and 
notice how free will acts or how free will is treated in those 
particular states. So I'll just begin reading in 
chapter 9 at paragraph 1. God has endued the will of man 
with that natural liberty and power of acting upon choice that 
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, has 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. 
When God converts a sinner and translates him into the state 
of grace, he frees 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 does not perfectly nor only will that 
which is good, but does 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. So as I said, a general 
statement and then a description or a qualification of how free 
will is to be viewed in each of these particulars. Notice 
that the confession of faith affirms free will. And basically what that means 
is that we have natural liberty. Chad Van Dixhorn makes this statement. We have a natural liberty that 
our wills are free in a genuine sense, although not in an unqualified 
sense. This is the problem of all non-reformed 
systems when it comes to this matter of free will. They believe 
that it is unqualified, that if a man has free will, then 
he is freely able to determine and choose that which he wants. But the Bible does not indicate 
that. The Bible does tell us we have 
natural liberty. That when we go out and sin, 
it's not as if there is compulsion. It's not as if there is a gun 
to our head. It's not as if we're being forced 
into that. We willingly sin. But the fact 
is, is that it's qualified, and that's what the confession takes 
pains to illustrate. Now certainly, as I said, non-reformed 
theology has a skewed view of the doctrine of free will. Pelagianism 
basically teaches that man can do anything man wants. Semi-Pelagianism 
essentially teaches the same thing. It maybe is not as brazen 
as the full Pelagian system, but it nevertheless believes, 
or they believe, that a man who is dead in his trespasses and 
sins, has the ability and freedom to choose for God. And as we 
see in the Confession, and as we see more importantly in the 
Bible, that this certainly is not the case. Whenever I consider 
free will, I think about the subtitle, not whenever, probably 
80% of the time, 60% of the time. To use a chemism, maybe it's 
48.9% of the time. I think of the subtitle to John 
Owens, A Display of Arminianism. This is the subtitle. I think 
there's more theology in Owen's subtitle than there probably 
is in modern Christian bookstores today. a discovery of the old 
Pelagian idol of free will, with the new goddess contingency advancing 
themselves into the throne of the God of heaven, to the prejudice 
of his grace, providence, and supreme dominion over the children 
of men." I think Owen is absolutely spot on with that description. 
Because you see, when it comes right down to it, there is only 
one of two alternatives. Either God's will is supreme 
in the matter of salvation, or man's will is supreme in the 
matter of salvation. You can't have a tertian quid. 
You can't have a third option or a third position. It is either 
of the Lord, as Jonah confesses in Jonah 2.9, or it is of man. 
Paul tells us very clearly in Romans chapter 9 verse 16. In 
fact, if you want a verse that indicates how you can destroy 
an Arminian or a Pelagian argument, 9.16 in Romans is definitely 
a showstopper. it couldn't be any clearer. If 
somebody were to ask the question, whose will reigns supreme in 
the matter of salvation? Well, Paul tells us that in Romans 
9, 16. So then, it is not of him who wills, nor of him who 
runs, but of God who shows mercy. For the scripture says to the 
pharaoh, for this very purpose I have raised you up, that I 
may show my power in you, and that my name may be declared 
in all the earth. Therefore, he has mercy on whom 
he wills, and whom he wills he hardens." So you see, it just 
doesn't get any clearer. If you ask the Bible, whose will 
reigns supreme in the matter of salvation, Paul tells you, 
the rest of the scripture tells you, the doctrine of sin indicates 
the reality with reference to this. So let's look at the confession. Remember, we are in a covenantal 
setting. In chapter 7, we have of God's 
covenant. And that, to a large degree, 
controls the remaining portion of the confession of faith. But 
prior to that covenantal setting, We have man as a creature, so 
man's will is created, according to chapter 4. In chapter 6, we 
have the fall, which necessitates the grace of the covenant. Chapter 
7, as I said, describes God's covenantal dealings with his 
people. Chapter 8 introduces us to the mediator of the covenant, 
even our Lord Jesus. And here chapter 9 deals with 
that most important section or that most important discussion 
of free will. And I think if you understand 
what the Bible says concerning free will and you get this confessional 
doctrine down, you can appreciate amazing grace. You can appreciate 
the reality that we are By nature, dead in our trespasses and sins, 
there is none good, no not one. There is none who seeks after 
God. There is no fear of God before 
our eyes. If we are going to come to a 
position of acceptance with God, we confess with Jonah that salvation 
is of the Lord. It is amazing grace, t'was grace 
that taught our hearts to fear. It wasn't our good decision. 
It wasn't our wisdom. It wasn't our ability. It wasn't 
that we woke up one day and said, you know, I think I've decided 
to follow Jesus. And wherever He says, I'm going 
to go. No, the idea is that God reached 
down into a grave and He pulled us out and He gave us the grace 
and enabled us to believe and enabled us to repent from our 
sin. So let's look at the general 
statement in paragraph 1. God has endued the will of man 
with that natural liberty and power of acting upon choice. That is, in its barest form, 
the definition of free will. Basically, we have a natural 
liberty of acting upon a choice. We have a natural liberty, or 
power, rather, of acting upon a choice. As I said, when we 
go through each of these particular states of man, and we see man 
in his various states, if he's doing that which is pleasing 
to God, It is because he chooses to. God has put it in him to 
do those things which are pleasing. Philippians 2, work out your 
own salvation with fear and trembling. Why? Because God is at work in 
you both to will and to do according to his good pleasure. But nevertheless, 
we will it and we do it. Conversely, if we see man in 
a state of sin and depravity, when he goes out and gets drunk 
and commits rape, he does that because he wants to. If a man 
goes out and embezzles money or he robs a bank, it's not as 
if there is some cosmic force out there that's put a 45 to 
his head and has constrained him to act in that particular 
manner. You know this as well as I do. When you sin, it's because 
you've chosen to sin. When, by the grace of God, you've 
done good, you actually do want to do good, because God has put 
it in you to do those particular things. It's almost as if you, 
you know, when we look at the particular situation, men do 
what they want to do. So we agree that there is free 
will in that particular sense. But as we will see, it's not 
unqualified. It is not without qualification 
in the Bible, and that's where this becomes very important. 
So if you have a discussion with a Pelagian, or if you have a 
discussion with an Arminian, which is a semi-Pelagian, and 
they say, well, do you believe in free will? You need to define 
your terms because you'll see that you're talking past each 
other. You ever seen on a blog and you go into the comments 
section and to me it's like, you know, one guy on this side 
of Wellington and the other guy on this side of Wellington, they're 
going in opposite directions and they're screaming at each 
other. No one's listening. No one cares to listen. They 
just want to scream what they have to say. Well, the same thing 
is true when we start to discuss theology with persons who do 
not embrace reform theology. We need to define our terms. 
Have you ever talked to a Mormon? They are quite conversant with 
the language of being born again. They use salvation. They'll use 
justification. By the same token, the Jehovah's 
Witnesses use that vocabulary as well. But they mean something 
completely different by it. So if you want to do theology 
properly, you need to define your terms. You need to understand. 
what you're talking about. If you tell an Arminian, yes, 
I believe in free will, that Arminian believes at that point 
that you think that a man who is in sin can choose for Jesus. 
That's not what you mean if you're Reformed, is it? Absolutely not, 
because you know that man is dead in his trespasses and sins, 
and that he cannot believe, he cannot choose for Jesus, because 
he's dead in his trespasses and sins. As someone who's Reformed, 
you know that God needs to make us alive, God needs to regenerate 
us, God needs to cause us to be born again, and then grant 
us the gifts of faith and repentance so that we in conversion can 
close with the Lord Jesus. So you see, it's very important 
that you understand what you're dealing with. If you ask an Arminian 
or a Pelagian and you say, do you believe in free will? They 
mean something a whole lot more than what we mean. They believe 
that free will means that a man in sin can choose for Jesus. Now, does the Bible teach that? 
No. John 6, 44, no one can come to 
me unless the Father who sent me draws him. It is that cut 
and dry. Sin doesn't just hinder us a 
little bit. Sin doesn't just lame us or maim 
us. Sin doesn't promote just a little 
bit of a crippled walk in your spiritual gate. Sin is destructive 
to the uttermost. We are dead in our trespasses 
and sins. That is the clear testimony of 
scripture. Look at the language of John 
3. You must be born again. Why? Because you are dead in 
your trespasses and sins. If you are not born from above, 
then you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. It is just that clear. It's one of these debates that 
I wonder how we got into this because the Bible is so crystal 
clear on this particular situation. I suspect that something that 
drives it is that ultimately man wants to share glory with 
God. Ultimately man wants to congratulate himself for a job 
well done or for having made a good decision. Man wants to 
be able to claw back some of the praise and the glory, and 
to think himself a little smarter, a little wiser, a little better 
than those wretches that go off into hell. So we need to understand 
that it's there, but it's qualified in the Bible. Notice in paragraph 
as well. that it is neither forced nor 
by any necessity of nature determined to do good or evil." Again, general 
statement. When the fall comes and man is 
estranged from God, that affects him. In other words, he still 
has a freedom to choose, but because his heart now is deceitful 
above all things and desperately wicked, he will only choose that 
which is consistent with his heart. He will only choose that 
which is consistent with his nature. So we need to get that. 
We have it, but qualified. We need to understand each of 
these fourfold states of man. Note first, the state of innocency. Paragraph 2, man in his state 
of innocency. Of course, this refers to Adam 
in the garden. This refers to our federal and 
covenant head. This refers to that arrangement 
in Genesis chapter 2. wherein God imposed upon Adam 
a covenant of works, promised him life for obedience and death 
in disobedience. So man in his state of innocency 
had freedom and power to will and to do that which was good 
and well-pleasing to God. He certainly did. Coming from 
the hand of God, Adam had the ability to do those things which 
were pleasing to God. When Adam, prior to the fall, 
went about his daily chores, when Adam, before the fall, went 
about his daily whatever his routine was, God was pleased 
with them. God had affection, or God had 
communion with this particular man. But notice that he was not 
confirmed in that particular state. There was a probation 
introduced. Specifically, the day you eat 
from this tree, dying you shall die. So the threat is negative, 
but we imply a positive. If he hadn't have taken of the 
fruit, then he wouldn't have died. He would have been confirmed. 
And, you know, there's a big debate on Whether that meant 
life in the garden or the garden earth or into the new heavens 
and the new earth, that's another topic for another day. But he 
had that ability. Notice what it goes on to say, 
but yet was mutable so that he might fall from it. Now, immutability 
is an attribute of God. Immutability is a perfection 
of God. Immutability means that God cannot 
change. If you've paid attention over 
the last several months, you'll realize that immutability also 
includes impassibility. A little shot in the arm for 
everybody who might have forgot the debate that's going on. God 
is unchanging and unchanged, not man. This is not a communicable 
attribute. We do not have this from God 
in the sense that we are immutable. This is one of those things that 
distinguishes the Creator from the creature. There are things 
that are true only of God and that are not true of us. They're 
true only of God because he's of a different order. He is God. He is Creator. And we are man. 
We are creatures. So we are mutable. And that's 
how Adam came from the hand of God. Again, if somebody were 
to ask the question, well, why did God do all this if he knew 
that Adam was going to sin? Because he was bent on saving 
his people by the Lord Jesus Christ and bringing glory and 
honor and praise to the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. God 
had a purpose, God had a plan, God had a decree, and God executes 
that decree through creation, through providence, and ultimately 
in redemption. So people say, well, that doesn't 
seem fair that he make Adam and make him mutable so that he could 
sin against God. God purposed all these things, 
again, for his glory in the salvation of his elect in and by and through 
the Lord Jesus Christ. And as a reminder, we ought to 
be the last ones to actually call into question what is fair 
with respect to God. We are not the arbiters of fairness 
in this universe. We can hardly function for a 
day without killing each other. And we want to say what is fair 
and true for God. We need to be very careful. The 
prophet Ezekiel, or God through the prophet, said, the sons of 
the children of Israel say, the way of the Lord is not fair. And God says to Ezekiel, but 
it is their way that is not fair. We, like sheep, have departed. I don't mean we physically kill 
each other, but if we think about the epistle of John, hatred in 
our hearts is as the sin of Cain toward Abel. So we see. There 
is even a qualification here with reference to free will. 
Man had free will in this state of innocency. Man was made upright. Ecclesiastes 729a. Doesn't Solomon say that? God 
made man upright. But when we get to chapter 3 
and Adam sins against the Lord God Almighty, we conclude and 
we realize he was not immutable. He certainly had a mutability. 
In fact, the giving of the prohibition by God assumes this mutability. When God prohibits him from eating 
from this tree, the assumption is that Adam can And Adam cannot. Adam can obey, and Adam cannot 
obey. So God, even in giving the prohibition, 
tells us that there is immutability within Adam as he came from the 
hand of God. So that's the state of innocency. God made man upright. Of course, 
in Ecclesiastes 7.29b, Solomon goes on to say, but they have 
sought out many devices. And that brings us to paragraph 
3, the state of sin. Notice, man by his fall into 
a state of sin. For the budding theologians, 
this is called post-lapsarian state, the fall or after the 
fall into sin. We have a pre-lapsarian state, 
Adam before he fell, and we have a post-lapsarian state. lapsarian 
state, Adam after he fell. And that's what this is describing. 
Man by his fall into a state of sin has wholly lost all ability 
of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation. Notice 
the qualification. He has lost all ability of will 
to any spiritual good accompanying salvation. The fall ruined man 
spiritually. The fall ruined man with reference 
to his place before God. Again, when we miss the enormity 
and the gravity of sin, it affects the way that we understand the 
entirety of God's redemptive plan. As Gershner said, with 
reference to the tulip, if you mess up on the tea, the oolip 
does not follow. If you mess up on the doctrine 
of sin, you cannot fully appreciate Newton's hymn. If you mess up 
on the doctrine of sin, you cannot fully appreciate the Apostle's 
argument in Romans 9. If you cannot understand or take 
in the doctrine of sin, the whole system of grace is skewed because 
it seems to allow for man apart with his God in the matter of 
redemption. So we don't want to do that. 
So in his post-lapsarian state, Adam lost the ability to will 
to any spiritual good accompanying salvation. Just a few texts. 
Notice at Romans 6.6. Romans 6, 6, the apostles' argument, 
knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that 
the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no 
longer be slaves of sin. What's Paul's argument? That 
prior to redemption, prior to salvation, prior to our reconciliation 
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, we were slaves. Tonight, 
at the Lord's Supper meditation, we're going to consider that 
a bit further. In John 8, Jesus said, whoever commits sin is 
a slave of sin. You see, this is a comprehensive 
effect. Notice as well, in Romans chapter 
8, at verse 7. Romans chapter 8, verse 7, Because 
the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to 
the law of God, nor indeed can be. So he has wholly lost all 
ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation. Now he still has free will if 
we go back to paragraph one. He has a natural liberty and 
power of acting upon a choice. But that will is governed by 
the heart. And if the heart is plunged into 
depravity, and if the heart is bound in sin, the will does what 
the heart wants it to do. Right? You don't hand a dog a 
piece of lettuce and watch him gobble it up. It's not his nature 
to do that. By the same token, you don't 
tell a dead sinner, you need to go out and glorify God with 
your body, heart, soul, and mind. No, we preach that to him as 
law to show him his inability so that he'll call out to God 
for his grace. but it's not consistent with 
his nature. Jeremiah 17, another very clear 
passage. The heart is deceitful above 
all things and desperately wicked. Who can understand it? The Lord 
tests the heart. So you see, the will is affected 
or the use of the will is qualified by the state of a man's heart. 
So prior to the fall, before Adam sinned, he had the will 
to do that which was spiritually good. But after the fall, because 
of this depravity and this total inability, he has now lost the 
ability. Yes, for various reasons, one 
of them being because his heart is bound in sin and his will 
follows suit. 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. You see, 
the heart is the seat. It's the control center. It is 
that sum and substance of man. And whatever the heart says, 
the will does. But the will doesn't have the 
power to change the heart. The heart has the power to govern 
the will. And if the heart is bound in 
sin, it is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, 
what do you think the man is going to choose? If a man's heart 
is blackened with sin, does he choose those things that are 
bright and white and glorious and lustrous? No, when his heart 
is blackened by sin, he chooses perversity, he chooses wickedness, 
he chooses evil and vile things. But he's still choosing. So you 
see, there is a sense where he has free will. Behold, God made 
man upright, but they have sought out many devices. You can see 
the freedom of the will with reference to the devices that 
men seek out. Some men seek out drugs. Some 
men seek out money. Some men seek out sex. Some men seek out white-collar 
crimes. Some men seek out whatever. But 
the fundamental underlying disposition is that their hearts are deceitful 
above all things and desperately wicked. So you see, the heart 
is the control center, and the will follows suit. And I already mentioned John 
6, 44, and also Ephesians 2, you being dead in your trespasses 
and sins. You see, this is, I think, a 
good place to talk to Arminians and Pelagians. What does Paul 
mean by dead? Right? If I wander through the 
Chilliwack Cemetery and I start calling out to the people buried 
there to come and, you know, to join me for lunch, people 
would think, wow, that's pretty bizarre. Well, there's no supposition 
whatsoever that I actually think they're going to do that. Well, 
apart from the grace of God, I wouldn't preach the gospel. 
Apart from the reality that there is a Holy Spirit and God has 
purposed through the foolishness of the message preached to save 
those who believe, it is a supernatural work of the living and true God. 
How does a man go from the state of having a heart that is deceitful 
above all things and desperately wicked to actually singing 402 
and meaning it? It was grace that taught my heart 
to fear. It was grace that caused me to 
see and respond. You know that Wesley hymn. Unfortunately, 
the brother wasn't consistent in his theology, but he certainly 
nailed it. With long my imprisoned spirit 
lay, fast bound in sin in nature's night. Thine eye diffused a quickening 
ray. I woke the dungeon flamed with 
light. My chains fell off. My heart 
was free. I rose, went forth, and followed 
Thee. That's a beautiful description 
of Calvinistic soteriology written by an Arminian. Praise God that 
as Packer says, people are Calvinist at the throne of grace. And we 
might also suggest that some of them are Calvinist when they 
write hymns. You see, this state of sin then goes on or goes on 
to indicate what we have here. So he's in a state where he's 
not able not to sin. He's not able not to sin. You 
see, in that first state of innocency, he had the ability to do that 
was right, to do that which was right. And he also had the ability 
to sin. But in this state, he does not 
have the ability not to sin. OK, get that? I know it sounds 
like two negatives, and it probably is, but it does mean that it'll 
only ever sin. That's the point. The Latin term 
is non passe, non peccari. And then notice it goes on to 
describe him. So as a natural man, right about 
the middle of paragraph three. being altogether averse from 
that good and dead in sin. Now, I realize that people say, 
well, you know, there's a lot of nice people in this world. 
There are happy pagans that cut their grass, they pay their taxes, 
they take their kids to soccer, they drive minivans, they go 
to the Rotary Club, and they're just well-adjusted, well-meaning 
specimens in society. Well, God in his common grace 
restrains men from the absolute utter chaos that they could actually 
create. You know, we're talking about 
spiritual good. We're talking about pleasing 
God. We're talking about that which is acceptable to our God. and just kind of towing the line 
does not follow suit there. So he's dead in sin. Now notice 
the doctrine of total inability. I think when it comes to this 
state of sin, we need to remember total depravity, TD, and total 
inability, Ti. Those two go hand in hand. If 
a man is totally depraved, it follows that he is totally unable 
to merit God's favor. And this fleshes it out a little 
bit here. He is not able by his own strength 
to convert himself or to prepare himself thereunto. So total depravity, total inability, 
both concepts taught in Romans 8, 7, if you're still there, 
because the carnal mind is enmity against God. That's total depravity. Now, total depravity doesn't 
mean that man is as bad as man could possibly be. Not all men 
are Charles Manson. Not all men are Hitler. Not all 
men are Mao. Not all men are Paul Pott. Not 
all men are Mussolini. It's just not the case that we're 
all that bad. But we are all that bad. Because 
when it comes to spiritual good and spiritual ability before 
the Lord God, you and Hitler are on the same ground. Neither 
of you can merit God's favor in your own strength. You say, 
but I didn't, you know, put into the gas chamber, you know, those 
several millions of people. Yeah, but your heart is deceitful 
above all things and desperately wicked. This obviously will produce 
in the hearts of some. Well, that doesn't sound fair. 
Well, remember, God does not accept a kind of righteousness. It must be a perfect righteousness. And when we don't love God, with 
all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love our neighbors 
as ourselves, spiritually we're on the same ground as Adolf himself. Again, this is not typically 
the most popular thing in the world, but that's okay. The Bible 
teaches it. So the doctrine of total depravity, 
the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to 
the law of God, nor indeed can be." You see, there's total inability. It cannot be. Man in a state 
of sin, man polluted, man in Adam. Man cannot do those things 
which are pleasing to God by our words, by our thoughts, by 
our words, whatever the case may be. We cannot earn God's 
favor when we are in this state. But nevertheless, we have freedom 
of choice. We go out and sin. We go out 
and do wicked things. We do all those things without 
a gun pointed to our particular head. So that's the state of 
sin, paragraph three. Now notice paragraph four, the 
state of grace. You see, we have free will as 
it's defined. in paragraph one, that natural 
liberty and power that is free from coercion, that is free from 
external factors. But in paragraph four, there's 
a further qualification, or rather I should say another qualification. 
We move from the state of innocency, man in the garden in his prelapsarian 
state. We move to the state of sin, 
man in the garden or expelled from the garden in his state 
of sin. But thankfully man was not left 
in that condition. God purposed by the Redeemer 
to save his people from their sins. And that brings them to 
this state of grace. Notice, when God converts a sinner 
and translates him into the state of grace. Isn't that beautiful? 
It's monergism. It's God alone who works. He doesn't say, or they don't 
say, when God and the sinner convert themselves, based on 
what we just read in paragraph 3, that would be an impossibility, 
wouldn't it? God and sinners don't shake hands. for the salvation of sinners. 
The Father and the Son, as it were, shook hands in the matter 
of the salvation of sinners. And what's called the Covenant 
of Redemption, or the Pactum Salutis, that eternal transaction 
compacted by the Father, Son, and Spirit to save His people 
from their sins. It's not us. It's not like God 
says, you know, I want to enter into this with you, and I want 
you to be saved, and I'm going to do my part, and you do your 
part. That's just not it. I mean, sometimes evangelism 
has been presented that way. God's done all he can. It's up 
to you. Will a dead sinner ever choose 
for God? Absolutely not. I mean, there 
have been famous evangelists who have said things like God 
has done everything he can possibly do. Now it is all up to you. You might as well just start 
digging your grave into the pit of hell if it's all up to you. 
What a miserable presentation of what should be good news. The good news is that God has 
undertaken to do everything. God has sent His Son. God has 
laid upon Him the chastisement for our peace. God was pleased 
to bruise Him, putting Him to grief. The Son came in our stead. The Son satisfied divine justice 
by His own death. The Son rose again for our justification. The Spirit convicts. The Spirit 
converts. The Spirit rots those things 
necessary so that we can close with the Son of His love. Isn't 
that better news? Isn't that good news? Isn't that 
the best news ever? that God undertakes to convert 
a sinner, and He translates him into the state of grace. And 
when He does this, notice what goes on to say, He frees him 
from his natural bondage under sin. Colossians 1.13, he transferred 
us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the son of 
his love. And then as well in there is 
John 8.36, if the son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. What's Jesus talking about there? 
You have been transferred from this state of sin to this state 
of grace. Now 402 matters to you. Now Romans 9 is a delight to 
you. Now the thought of God is something 
that brings joy to your heart. Now the realization of what you've 
done. But what Christ has done causes 
you to praise and worship and glorify. So we have been freed 
from this natural bondage under sin, and by His grace alone, 
God enables him freely to will and to do that which is spiritually 
good. Isn't that beautiful? You know, 
when we look at the churches in Asia Minor and Revelation 
chapters 2 and 3, Jesus brings condemnation to them. Jesus brings 
rebuke. Jesus brings a reproof to them. 
But you know what? Jesus also commends them. Jesus 
says, I know your works. Jesus says to the church in Ephesus, 
yeah, you've lost your first love. Jesus isn't thrilled about 
that, but he goes on to say, but I know this, you have tested 
those who have said that they are apostles and they are not. 
In other words, Jesus commends them for this. There are two 
churches where there's no condemnation whatsoever. So the Lord God Most 
High accepts our works, not because of us, but because of His grace, 
because His Spirit is at work in us, so that when we use this 
natural liberty and we go out and we choose to do something 
that is not miserable and wretched, but is actually good in the sight 
of God, He is pleased with that. That's a beautiful concept. You 
know, I think Calvinism sometimes emphasizes how wicked and horrible 
and miserable and wretched we are. You're probably saying, 
yeah, Jim, you as a Calvinist do this a lot. But you know what? 
God does accept us in the beloved. And this whole issue of good 
works, when you do something good because God has willed it, 
God has prepared it beforehand that you should walk into it, 
you can trust that God is pleased with that, right? We don't have 
to say, you know, my good works are, you know, I know you hate 
them. No, God purpose that you walk 
in them. He doesn't hate them. He wants 
you to do that. So we've been transferred into 
the kingdom, the son of his love. We are in a straight state of 
grace. We have been enabled freely to will and to do that which 
is spiritually good. Now notice a further qualification 
in the middle of paragraph four, yet so as that by reason of his 
remaining corruptions, He does not perfectly, nor only will 
that which is good, but does also that which is evil. So in this particular state, 
we have an ability not to sin. We have an ability not to sin, 
but we also have the ability to sin, and that's what remaining 
corruptions means. Notice that phrase, or those 
two words. Yet so as that by reason of his 
remaining corruptions. So we find ourselves in this 
state of grace, having been delivered from bondage, knowing the blessed 
liberty of the sons of God, having in us this desire, because God 
wrought it, having this longing to do those things which are 
pleasing to the Lord, yet nevertheless I find a law in me. I find this 
battle in me. I find what Paul says in Romans 
7, 13 to 25. I find what Paul says in Galatians 
5. Verse 17, the flesh lusts against the spirit, the spirit 
lusts against the flesh. And these two are contrary to 
one another so that you do not do the things that you want. 
There is this battle that rages on, but praise God, there is 
a battle. You see, sometimes people say, wow, I have such 
opposition. I have such difficulties and 
struggles. Praise God. Do you think pagans, 
God haters? Those who are blackened in their 
sin have a struggle? Do they wage war? Do they have 
an issue with these things? No, they're given fully to do 
evil. I love what Owen says concerning this issue in Hebrews. I'm sorry, 
I have my note written in Hebrews. It's not John Owen writing in 
Hebrews. I thought it was Hebrews. It's 
Galatians. Again, it's not John Owen writing in Galatians. Let 
me just make sure that we all understand that. Owen says, your 
state is not at all to be measured by the opposition that sin makes 
to you. Listen to this. This is profound. This is good. You haven't been 
paying attention. May I encourage you to pay attention. 
Again. Man, I'm tempted. I go out into 
the world. I've got this issue. I've got 
this struggle. I've got this problem. I drive down the road 
and I see slow people and I just want to explode. It drives me 
bananas. Your state is not at all to be 
measured by the opposition that sin makes to you, but by the 
opposition you make to it. The fact that there is a battle, 
that there is a struggle, that there is a war going on is a 
good sign that God's grace is operative in your heart. Because 
when you're dead in your trespasses and sins, you have no war, you 
have no struggle. You might want to quit a particular 
activity because it's not beneficial to my overall health. Sometimes 
people that smoke crack say, I probably shouldn't do that 
anymore because it's taking a toll on my body and certainly on my 
pocketbook. I cannot afford to do this anymore. 
Well, that's not the same thing. That's moralistic, trying to 
fix someone's life. But with reference to the believer 
that's striving to do those things which are pleasing to God, but 
sees this contrary position going on in him, but cries with the 
Apostle in Romans 7, O wretched man that I am, who will deliver 
me from this body of death? And he finds joy and comfort 
and stability in his Lord Jesus. That's a different thing altogether. 
The presence of a battle does not necessarily mean that you 
are not in the battle. The presence of the battle means 
you're there. So don't be discouraged because you're battling against 
sin. Be discouraged when you're not 
battling against sin. Be discouraged when you're not 
killing sin. Be discouraged when Romans 8.13 
doesn't matter to you. If by the Spirit you do put to 
death the deeds of the body, you will live. Well, when men 
are putting to death the deeds of the body, this is an indicator 
that the Spirit of God is present with them. So we need to understand 
there is this idea, this doctrine of remaining corruption taught 
to us in the scriptures, but as well, it's repeated several 
times in our confession of faith. It's given us here in chapter 
9, paragraph 4. Look at chapter 13, paragraphs 
2 and 3. Chapter 13, paragraphs 2 and 
3 of Sanctification. The sanctification is throughout 
in the whole man, yet imperfect in this life. There abides still 
some remnants of corruption in every part, whence arises a continual 
and irreconcilable war, the flesh lusting against the spirit and 
the spirit against the flesh, in which war, although the remaining 
corruption for a time may much prevail, This is beautiful. These 
men knew. See, this is what really bugs 
me when people say, oh, that confession of faith, that's just 
dry-headed theology. This is the most experimental, 
experiential, most heartfelt stuff that you can ever get. 
Look at what they're acknowledging. Get this from a Benny Hinn, or 
get this from a Joel Osteen, or get this from some celebrity 
preacher who all he wants to do is show his narcissism. Look what they say. In which 
war, although the remaining corruption for a time may much prevail. 
Can you relate to that? I certainly can. Have you ever 
had it where remaining corruption seems to be prevailing? You're 
ready to conclude that you're not a believer? You're ready 
to conclude that, you know, I'm done, it's over, I'm gone? Look 
at what they go on to say. Yet, through the continual supply 
of strength from the sanctifying Spirit of Christ, the regenerate 
part does overcome. And so the saints grow in grace, 
perfecting holiness in the fear of God. pressing after in heavenly 
life, in evangelical obedience to all the commands which Christ, 
as head and king in his word, has prescribed to them." In our 
desire, at least in the 20th and 21st centuries, to be relevant, 
and we've neglected these doctrinal expressions of Christianity, 
we have become irrelevant. What is more relevant than that 
paragraph for the Christian? Notice in chapter 17. Chapter 70, Paragraph 3. This is of the perseverance of 
the Saints and though they may through the temptation of Satan 
and of the world the prevalency of corruption remaining in them 
and the neglect of the means of their preservation fall into 
grievous sins and for a time continue therein whereby they 
incur God's displeasure and grievous Holy Spirit come to have their 
graces and comforts impaired have their hearts hardened and 
their consciences wounded hurt and scandalize others and bring 
temporal judgments upon themselves yet They shall renew their repentance 
and be preserved through faith in Christ Jesus to the end Before 
you start to suspect that this may not be accurate biblically 
King David of Israel you can write them in your margin that 
if that is not a description of King David of Israel or a 
multitude of Saints ever since the Lord Jesus Has paragraph 
3 of ever been true of you. You don't 
need to nod or raise your hand or say, Well, yes, actually, 
it's happening to me right now. How about 18 for? See, we are in a state of grace. We have the ability by God's 
grace, an ability not to sin. But there is that remaining corruption. 18 for true believers may have 
the assurance of their salvation diverse ways, shaken, diminished, 
and intermitted, as by negligence in preserving of it, by falling 
into some special sin which wounds the conscience and grieves the 
spirit, by some sudden or vehement temptation, by God's withdrawing 
the light of his countenance and suffering even such as fear 
him, to walk in darkness and to have no light, Yet are they 
never destitute of the seed of God and life of faith, that love 
of Christ and the brethren, that sincerity of heart and conscience 
of duty out of which by the operation of the spirit, this assurance 
may in due time be revived and by the which in the meantime 
they are preserved. from utter despair. You see, 
when God purposes to save, when God transfers us from the kingdom 
of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of His love, God will 
see it to completion. Paul says in Philippians 1, I 
am confident that he who began this good work in you will complete 
it unto the day of Christ. Unfortunately, very often, that 
means battle, warfare, struggle, trial, difficulty. Sometimes 
people say, why is it the case that when God regenerates us, 
or when we're born again, why aren't we just made perfect? 
Because God didn't purpose it that way. God made it this way, 
according to his plan, according to his decree. And I suspect 
there are very valid and good reasons why that is the case, 
but it's probably outside the scope of our study this morning. 
But notice the last paragraph, the last state of man that he 
finds himself in. Now, not all men always find 
themselves in each of these four states. We are certainly not 
back to the prelapsarian state. None of us are there. Adam and 
Eve were there. And I don't know how long they 
were there. Reading the text doesn't seem 
like they were there a whole long time. All men are in a state 
of sin. That's inescapable. But not all 
men are in a state of grace. Not all men, by God's grace, 
are transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom 
of Son of God. And by the same token, not all men have this 
paragraph 5 true of them. Notice, this will of man is made 
perfectly and immutably free to good alone in the state of 
glory only. The state wherein man is unable 
to sin. Isn't that beautiful? hasten the day Lord Jesus Christ 
the time when we are unable to sin. So you see the various stages 
of the various states of the various places that men find 
themselves in qualifies this whole idea of free will. So yes, 
the confession affirms free will. We as Christians affirm free 
will. It is very important, however, 
to define what we mean by free will. And I think the confession 
satisfactorily answers, with reference to man in these various 
states, what free will looks like. In the garden, he had the 
ability not to sin, but he wasn't immutable, or he was mutable. In the state of sin, he only 
has the ability to sin. In the state of grace, he can 
sin, but he's also got an ability not to sin, and in the state 
of glory, he is unable to sin. Now, as I'm reflecting on that 
posse non peccari, able not to sin, well, we need to make sure 
we understand I am not teaching perfectionism. at all. I do not believe that one bit. 
I believe with the confession that there is remaining corruption. 
But at least theoretically, I'm just trying to think of my own 
quasi so-called good works. Are they without sin? I don't 
think so. But theoretically, a Christian 
man has the ability to do that. I don't think they mean without 
sin at all. The idea is that we can do those 
things that are acceptable and pleasing to God. Why don't I 
pray and if there's questions and comments, we can deal with 
that. Father, we thank you for this expression of our faith. We thank you for the scriptures 
as our authority. We thank you that they are infallible 
and inerrant in all their parts and are trustworthy in all that 
they affirm. We thank you as well that we 
are on the shoulders or we are benefactors of good saints, good 
divines that have gone before us. We thank you for this good 
expression. confession of faith, and help us to understand these 
things, and help us to see that theology is intensely practical, 
that this doctrine is the stuff of the Christian life. Grant 
us grace to receive these things and to think clearly through 
them, and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.