Bondage or Freedom of the Will

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, �But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered-down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn�t for you. By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we�re called by the Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King.

Here�s our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.

Luther, the Reformation, and the Bondage of the Will

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry. Mike Abendroth here. Glad you listened to the show. We like to say that unless you�re a millionaire, we would just ask that you know that you don�t have to give to the show, but you just need to tell your friends about the show.

That�s all we ask. Isn�t that simple? Just tell your friends, �Hey, you should go to nocompromiseradio .com and download some of the shows and listen at 1 .5 speed. So I�m going to talk really fast now because if you have it at 1 .5 speed, you won�t be able to keep up.

You�ll have to slow it down back to regular. You can write us info at nocompromiseradio .com or hello at nocompromiseradio .com. I have in front of me all kinds of things and several days when I come and record the shows, I just like to think to myself, �What should I talk about today

Now six, seven years ago when we first started, everything was scripted, professional, well thought out. And then now it�s shoot from the hip, right? And if we had a beard, it would be shoot from the hipster.

Maybe that�s a new show, shoot from the hipster. We are going to Germany and to Geneva, which is in Switzerland for the Reformation tour. That�s through livingpassages .com. Just tell them you�re with No Compromise Radio, May 20th through 30th.

It is not too late for you to go. We�d love to hang out for 10 days on the bus and we will drink some espresso together. We�ll eat some fine cheese. We will hang out with Mike Gendron and his wife. My wife will be there, probably one or two of my kids.

And we will go to Geneva, Zurich, Eisenleben, Wittenberg, Wartburg, did I say Zurich? And so, you got the cash and the time, we�d love to have you go with us. Now, I�ve been studying a lot of Martin Luther�s writings these days.

And of course, immediately people think of Luther when it comes to the Reformation and rightfully so that God would use this particular man, 15, 17, 500 years. And we think of justification by faith alone.

We think of Luther translating the Bible into the German language of the people, vernacular where people would be able to understand the Bible. But if you don�t understand the bondage of the will that Luther wrote, contra Erasmus�s freedom of the will, I don�t think you really grasp the Reformation like you should or you could.

I have the new book by Erwin Lutzer about the Reformation. I don�t remember the title. Easy to read summary. Lutzer writes in a very dynamic style, dynamic equivalent style. His book on Divine Doctrines that Divide, it�s excellent.

His book on Hitler is The Cross and Something. We�ve got Lutzer, we�ve got Luther, we�ve got all kinds of things. I haven�t had lunch today, so I think that�s maybe why I�m amped up. Anyway, a couple of quotes from The Bondage of the Will.

It�s a difficult book to get through, but very picey, very spicy. Here�s a quote, �That God foreknows nothing by contingency, but that he foresees purposes and does all things according to his immutable, eternal, and infallible will.

By this thunderbolt, free will is thrown prostrate. No, prostrate. It says here, they�ve made a typo, prostrate. So, this particular little flyer that I have, I won�t tell you, well, it�s from Still Water Revival Books.

It says prostrate. Now, when I see the word prostrate and prostate, especially in light of my condition, I purposely try to say things correctly. And so I slow down so I can say it rightly. And so here, I look at the words, I�m trying to say it properly, and it is a typo.

So, I want you to know, it�s not my fault. �By this thunderbolt, free will is thrown prostrate and utterly dashed to pieces. Those therefore who would assert free will must either deny this thunderbolt or pretend not to see it or push it from them.

Very fascinating. Adam�s will before the fall, Adam�s will after the fall, you have to work through all these issues. And I just think, I can�t remember the person who said that free will is, maybe it was Edwards, is an innocuous term, it�s a vacuous term, it doesn�t really mean anything.

What does free will actually mean? And when I hear the word free will, which almost everyone these days in mainstream living mainstream churches, mainstream evangelicalism, if I were to ask them, �Do you believe in free will

�Yes. �Do people have free will �Yes, that�s the knee-jerk, that�s the gut reaction. But Luther knows that Rome is teaching free will. He knows that Erasmus is teaching free will as a spokesperson, essentially, for Roman Catholicism.

So if I ask you, �Are you Protestant or Catholic Maybe we should start off with, �Do you think the will is in bondage because of the fall or do you think it�s free So the best thing you can do when it comes to free will is to ask the question, because there�s a sense that maybe somebody might think about it properly, but just say, �Oh, what do you mean by free will

And then they�ll be able to tell you. I think that�s the best way to go about it. Free from external influences, free from indwelling sin, Romans 6, free from how about this one? �And the Lord�s servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.

God may perhaps grant them repentance, leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil after being captured by him to do his, the devil�s will.

2 Timothy 2 says that unbelievers are slaves to do the will of Satan. Now, what do you mean by free? Free from Satan�s influence? Free from indwelling sin? Free from the effects of the fall on the mind, conscience, soul, spirit, and will?

Free from God�s sovereign influence to save or harden? That�s why you have to ask the question. If man is free, then what happened at the fall? Of course, if you think of the fall, before the fall, Adam was able to obey.

He had the power to do it. And he, what? He had the responsibility to obey. You obey me, and this is what God said in terms of pre-fall Eden. Well, after the fall, right? Remember the New England Primer?

A. In Adam�s fall, we, what? Sinned all. And then we have to add in federal headship as well, that Adam�s first sin was credited to Eve and everyone else, except the Lord Jesus. Now, after the fall, we are still responsible to obey.

Whatever God says, he�s the creator. We�re created beings. We are to obey God. But are we able? And if you understand that, you understand the difference between free will and enslaved will, or as Luther would call it, the bondage of the will.

If Satan binds people, if sin binds people, how can they be free? Now, of course, if you think you say, �I�m free to, as an unbeliever, to choose apples versus oranges you�re free to do that. But you�re not free to do things that your nature will not allow.

And the first thing we can do when we think about free will for the unbeliever, our bondage of the will, what do you mean by free? And then tell me about the person�s nature, because the will is tied to the nature.

If you say, �Well, I�d like to have the nature of Superman. I can then fly down to the store and freely buy something. Well, you just don�t have the nature of Superman. You don�t have the nature of a lion or a tiger or something else or an angel.

Your will is tied to your nature, and your nature is sinful and fallen. And you make choices based on that. I guess what we�re really after is this. Can an unbeliever freely that means no external influences, no internal influences like sinful slavery influences can a person, an unbeliever, freely, without any influence at all, say, �I am going to repent of my sins and no longer trust in my own righteousness, but I�m going to trust in the righteousness provided for me at Calvary and trust that my sins are delivered based on the Word of God confirmed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I believe. No person could do that. If you believe that a person could do that, you believe in free will. But it�s mist. It�s smoke and mirrors. It�s the nature of the universe. It�s Roman Catholicism.

Luther knew that. Luther knew what the battle was, and everything comes down to the fall. How do you understand the fall? Luther also says in the book, �Moreover, I give you. He�s talking about Erasmus, the Roman Catholic humanist who writes that man�s will is free.

�I give you great praise and proclaim it, you alone in preeminent distinction from all others have entered upon the thing itself, that is, the grand turning point of the cause, and have not wearied me with those irreverent points about potpourri, purgatory, indulgences, and other like baubles rather than causes, with which all have hitherto tied to hunt me down, though in vain.

You, Erasmus, and you alone, saw what was the grand hinge upon which the whole turned, and therefore you attack the vital part at once, for which from my heart I thank you. Erasmus, I commend you. Erasmus, I applaud you that you know what the real issue is.

The issue is the will. The issue is the will. When it comes to the Reformation, are you free or is your will bound? That, by the way, if you ever hear the word total depravity, you must not think utter depravity.

People are as bad as they could be. The way I always respond to that is, well, they're not as bad as they could be. Even Hitler was nice to his dog until he killed it. But that's true. You know, Hitler was nice to some children, and there were other things that he would do.

So what does it mean, total depravity? It does not mean utter depravity. It means everything about the person. Anybody except Jesus Christ, everything about that person, all those peoples, persons, places, everyone, their whole person, their total person, hence total depravity, is affected by the fall.

Their mind is affected. Their emotions are affected. Wouldn't it be great if you had emotions that weren't affected by the fall? Their conscience is affected. Their soul-slash-spirit is affected. If you're a trichotomist, soul and spirit, if you're a dichotomist, your soul-slash-spirit, your body is affected.

And, drum roll, no compromise radio, your will is affected. Total depravity. And that means, since everything's affected by the fall, you need help from the outside. You can't save yourself. You can't cooperate with God.

See where this is going when it comes to Roman Catholicism and Synergism? There's no cooperation because you're spiritually dead. You are unable, spiritually inable, to do anything because you're slaved to sin, slaved to Satan's will, slaved to—I mean, think about how we're influenced.

Freed from influences? Even unbelievers, think about, okay, what influences them? You watch a commercial for two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.

Now, I don't eat at McDonald's. Hardly ever. But if I'm in a third-world country, I do because then that's first-rate food. It's just weird how that works. Here, McDonald's is fast food. It's food for people, usually, that are more blue-collar or lower income.

And someplace else in India, you have to have money to get in. You have guards at the door, and they don't let people who are of, essentially, a lower class—a caste, or lower class. Total depravity. Something has to be done from the outside.

And God is going to have to choose. God is going to have to die for. God is going to have to regenerate. If the will isn't really that affected, if there's still a free will, then maybe you can entice that will.

Maybe you can coerce that will. Maybe that will can cooperate. Maybe that will can involve synergistic motions, taking steps toward God, so He takes steps towards you. Maybe it is faith plus the sacraments.

Maybe a lot of things happen. But Luther knew that it was all about the will. So if you're thinking about the Reformation, and you're thinking about coming on the trip, if you believe in free will, you can still come on the trip.

I will try to fix that on the trip by teaching at certain spots and certain things. But the Reformation, really, of course, back to the Bible, sola scriptura. Yes, that must be discussed as part of the Reformation.

Sola gratia. It's by grace alone, not grace plus sacraments. Sola fide. Same thing. It's all about faith in what God has done and who He is. It's faith plus nothing. Works follow, but they are not the instrumental means, the non-meritorious instrumental means of salvation.

And you can look at the other ones. Sola Christos. So it's Christ alone. It's no one else. And of course, sola Deo Gloria. That's what we understand. That's so true. And if you don't understand those, you don't really have a cursory view or overview of the Reformation.

But you also need to remember that the will is bound. And when you get that, then you see where Luther was going, and he even understood it. Quote, therefore, it is not irreligious, curious, or superfluous, but essentially wholesome and necessary for a Christian to know, whether or not the will does anything in those things which pertain to salvation.

Now see where Luther's going? If you do say yes, somehow, my will is involved in any other way except for stiff-arming and resisting and saying no to, then you're going to end up taking some credit, even though maybe you don't want to take credit for it.

You have to be careful. Luther goes on, nay, let me tell you, this is the very hinge upon which our discussion turns. It is the very heart of the subject, for our objection is this, to inquire what free will can do in what it is passive and how it stands with reference to the grace of God.

If we know nothing of these things, we shall know nothing whatever of Christian matters, and shall be far behind all people upon the earth. He that does not feel this, let him confess that he is no Christian.

And he that despises and laughs at it, let him know that he is in, he is the Christian's greatest enemy, Martin Luther. We praise the Lord because even though we were slaves to sin, even though we were slaves and in the snare of Satan, even though the world affected us, I mean, I can't even watch a commercial about ribs without getting hungry.

I mean, I am an influenced person, a person who is easily influenced, influenceable. That's what I was trying to find, influenceable. Roger Patterson, how do you like that? Influenceable. I don't think that'll get past my editors.

Luther, this book is most needful at the present day. The teachings of many so-called Protestants are more in accordance with the dogma of the papist. Oh, this is the preface by J. H. Atherton. Or the ideas of Erasmus than with the principles of the reformers.

They are more in harmony with the canons and decrees of the Council of Trent than with the Protestant or Reformed confessions of faith. Free will for the unbeliever is, it doesn't exist. God is sovereign over man's will.

That's a better way to look at it. True or false, class? God is sovereign over the will of the unbeliever. Well, if you say yes, that person doesn't have free will. Because you mean free from the external influence of God, the triune God himself?

God can do whatever he wants. And if God wants to regenerate an unbeliever's heart, he doesn't ask for permission. He just does it. Saul is on his way to Damascus, and he's on the road. And there was no negotiation with free will.

It was done to him. Saul, the battleground of the Reformation. If you want the early battleground, I guess we could say it like that. It's the bondage of the will. Who rules their will? God's omnipotent hand?

Who's more sovereign? If man is responsible, God's sovereign, which one trumps the other one? Well, we have to know. We can't say that God isn't sovereign over people's wills. He's sovereign over everything, but until he gets them to consent, then he can't save the person.

See where that goes? You have to be very careful. My name is Mike Abendroth. This is No Compromise Radio. The shows are about 24 and a half minutes because we used to be on the air here until we realized for $12 ,000 to $15 ,000 a year, we could just go to podcasts.

And I wish we were on here locally, but the game to get the money to be on more stations, it just never ends. And then we have to go to the next one and the next one and the next one. So, at No Compromise Radio, we just record shows, put them up, and allow you to listen.

If we got a dollar a download, that'd be amazing. Remember the days when you had to pay for sermons, pay for downloads? That was amazing. Glad we don't have to do that anymore. Working on the S. Lewis Johnson Colossians Commentary, and that should be out sometime this year.

I will be in Europe for a sabbatical part of this year, and then California for the rest of that sabbatical. I don't really know what I'm going to get done. I've had working sabbaticals in my life, and this is probably going to be more of a non-working sabbatical.

For some health reasons, we're just going to go do some things and live it up over there. I do have, I hope it comes through, but we have the Red Bull skydiving team in California. They're going to hook up my son and I and literally hook us up, hook us in during the Shepherds Conference.

I think during MacArthur's main session, we're going to go skydiving. Now, I've already been. I was really foolish and I went skydiving before I was regenerate. That was really a dumb idea, and I didn't want to take Luke until I was positive he was going to get saved.

I meant to say positive he was saved. Now that he shows fruit, fruit inspection is cleared, grade A, not his faith but the object of his faith, we can proceed. We're just going to milk this whole make-a-wish thing as much as possible to do these things.

The only thing I'm missing, I mean, in my life as I look at my life, it has been a great life. I hope to live another 10, 15, 20 years or whatever the Lord might allow. It might be today, might be soon when I meet him face-to-face, but I think I'd like a trip down the Nile.

Wouldn't that be cool? I was supposed to be in Egypt to see the pyramids, and then three days before my flight into Cairo, the Muslim Brotherhood took over and that kind of put the kibosh on it, squashed it.

But going down the Nile, first you see the pyramids and then down the Nile, I mean, I would think I was a Teddy Roosevelt kind of guy or something like that. I would like nice accommodations, some mosquito nets, otherwise it would be very, very difficult.

If you are listening and you want more about the radio show or if you've got some questions, we get questions every week, No Compromise Radio, just info at No Compromise Radio. If you're in the area close to central Massachusetts, we're one hour outside of Boston, and we'd love to have you attend Bethlehem Bible Church.

It's a joy to pastor people here at Bethlehem Bible Church, and they love the Bible, they love the Lord Jesus Christ, and they love to talk about grace. We'll see you then.

No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible-teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life-transforming power of God's Word through verse-by-verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6. We're right on Route 110 in West Boylston. You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.

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