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Christus
Rex
The Testimony of the
Human Will
Robert Nash
"As
it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that
understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone
out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that
doeth good, no not one." (Romans 3: 10-12 KJV)
The
experiential knowledge given the Christian during his term of discipleship
in the School of Christ testifies with a resounding voice, 'I am but carnal,
sold under sin.' By 'experiential knowledge' we simply mean; that knowledge
which is an affirmation of spiritual truth, revealed and proven by the
Holy Sprit through the daily experiences of the Christian.
The Apostle Paul gives us a clear example of how the Holy Spirit uses
our experiences to teach and lead us into Truth; Romans 5: 3-5. "And
not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation
worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope…"
That being said, that the Holy Spirit uses experiences to teach his revealed
truth, let us examine one experience common to every believer: The Incapability
of the Human Will.
The Biblical doctrine of the incapability of the human is opposed to the
doctrines which underlie much present day Evangelical teaching, namely,
Arminianism. One may ask, "Well what exactly is the will incapable
of doing?" And our answer should be as clear as God's word; the will
is incapable, inept and powerless of choosing any good. Without a doubt,
the Bible is clear to the utmost degree that man cannot choose good! (Ro.
3) The clear inference of this statement should be recognized immediately;
then by no means of our will can we choose God! It is the very 'desire
of our hearts' to do evil rather than good. Is this not true in your experience?
Is this not true even since you have become a follower of Christ? The
honest person admits with a broken heart that his experience testifies
that he would often times rather despise and hate God than to love and
worship him. It was to this end that the Apostle Paul cried out, 'O wretched
man that I am! Who shall deliverer me from this body of death?"
A quick word needs to be said to those who will object to the notion that
man can do no 'good.' We are not suggesting that the 'natural man', forever
and always, is incapable of doing anything that is morally good. Rather,
the use of the word 'good' in this sense is that the natural man never
does anything that is wholly pleasing or good in the sight of God. i.e.
The natural man might love his wife, or he might give to the poor, he
may even work for the Gideon's but, he never does any of those things
for God, or unto God's glory; he only does 'good' works to serve his self
interests.
The natural man will often do 'morally good things' in order to feel good
about himself, or to gain the recognition of the world, but he never does
these 'good' things for God's glory. The logical inference form this precept
is: The only things that are good in God's sight are those things in which
he is glorified. And the ratiocination of the latter is that we can only
do good if enabled by God.
So, dear Christian, I ask you now, If you have found it to be the testimony
of your own heart, even since you have been converted, that you can by
no means of your own love Christ; what then makes you think you ever had
any ability to come to him, let alone to love him? Do you not acknowledge
that you could not even choose good? How then did you choose God? The
answer is simple: You never did choose God, He chose you. You never longed
to know God, He longed to know you. You never desired to love God, He
loved you!
One should well ask then, "How does any man love Christ and do good
works for his kingdom?" In this question lies the power of the Gospel!
The Gospel does not come to you to see if you are willing, the Gospel
comes to you and makes you willing. The Gospel does not ask for a place
in your heart, the Gospel comes in power and takes dominion of your heart.
It is in this moment that a new nature is born within your soul. At this
moment nothing could be more precious to you than the fragrance of Christ.
You have gone from an enemy of God, to a child of God. You once fought
against Christ with all of your might, but now you ask "How may I
love him with all of my soul?" This transformation is no less than
Justification, no less than the power of the Gospel. This God-initiated
transformation is the answer to our question.
The Bible says, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will
and to do of his good pleasure." And again, "You were bought
with a price, you are no longer your own but Christ's." Yet again,
"We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." And
again, and again, we see that we are all in all Christ's, even a slave
to him. And what a wonderful thing this has become, and what a freedom
there is in being bound to Christ!
Has your experiential knowledge as a Christian not testified to this truth?
Are you so deceived that you believe the power of sanctification is in
your control? Do you embrace, like the Wesleyans of yesterday, that by
the same power with which you supposedly 'chose' Christ, is the same power
that you will exert to walk in him? Would you also with a clever smile
look upon your soul and cheerfully embrace the foolish doctrine of "Perfectionism?"
If so, you are unlike the saints of the past, who cried out in one voice,
"O wretched man that I am!"
I know of some dear brothers who hold vehemently that we must be 'able
to choose.' They cry that their will has been 'violated,' and that it
is 'just not fair.' But who are you, O man, to question whether or not
God is just? Will you, a sinner, point your finger at the nose of Holy
God and demand a retrial? I think not! Do you really believe that it was
the 'Calvinists' who have invented this doctrine of incapability? Does
the scripture not scream out at you that you are totally depraved? Will
you continue to cling to your fallen sense of 'fairness' instead of believing
what God has said? I pray not!
If you are among the elect whose hearts have come to know and love these
truths, then rejoice in them, and take heart that God will save many more
in the future. We are assured that God will save, for Christ has already
purchased his flock through his precious blood. We long for the day when
the Great Shepherd will call many unto Himself; and we rejoice in this
call, knowing with out a doubt that it is already destined to be effectual.
.
Volume
One - Issue One
Christ
the King - Gregory Soderberg
The Testimony of the Human Will - Robert Nash
Shepherding Family and Church - Marcus
Rench
Presuppositional Primer - Maurice Hagar
Verbi - Various Reformers
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