In Sunday School this week, the topic of free will came up and I wasn’t as articulate as I had hoped in the moment, so I’ve taken time to refine my thoughts.
I believe the will is the faculty by which we choose, and our nature determines what we love—and what we love most is what we choose most freely. The will, insofar as it is free, is not autonomous or neutral, but is bound to the desires of one’s nature. Every human will is tethered either to:
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the fallen nature in Adam; or to
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the renewed nature given through regeneration by the Holy Spirit.
Accordingly, the will always acts in accord with its governing nature: the unregenerate will is inclined toward sin and self, leading to damnation; the regenerate will is inclined toward trusting in Christ and hungering for righteousness. True moral liberty, therefore, is the freedom to act according to righteousness, which is only possible in a regenerate nature. (Jeremiah 13:23; John 6:44; and Romans 8:7-8)
This is my understanding of the Reformed view in the tradition of Augustine, Luther, Calvin and Edwards.
Below I have summarized my understanding from the four preeminent theologians noted.
Augustine's view of the will was fourfold:
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Before the Fall: posse peccare (able to sin) and posse non peccare (able not to sin)
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After the Fall: non posse non peccare (not able not to sin)
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After Regeneration: posse non peccare (able not to sin)
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In Glory: non posse peccare (not able to sin)
Luther's view from the "Bondage of the Will" was:
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The will is not free in spiritual matters.
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The unregenerate man “cannot will” righteousness unless changed by God.
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Will follows nature like a horse follows its rider—either God or Satan.
Calvin's view from "The Institutes" was:
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Will is voluntary but not free in the Arminian sense.
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Regeneration restores the will to desire the good.
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Grace is not a mere assistance, but a total transformation of the heart.
Edwards view from "Freedom of the Will" was:
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The will follows the strongest inclination.
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The heart determines the inclination; thus, unless the heart is changed, the will is bound.
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Regeneration does not coerce—it liberates the will by renewing the nature.
Soli Deo Gloria,
bryan