"In the Salvation of Sinners, God Alone Gets All the Glory"

[KenH]

What About “Free Will”?

The problem with those who believe that salvation is attained and/or maintained by their “free will” is that they deny what God’s Word says about the nature of salvation by God’s grace, and what God’s Word says about all people by nature as fallen in Adam and born spiritually dead in trespasses and sin. The Bible says that salvation is attained and maintained by the sovereign will of God – “For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” (Rom. 9:15-16). The Bible also says that by nature man has no will to believe the things of the Gospel wherein God’s glory is revealed in salvation by His grace and power through the Lord Jesus Christ – “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14). This is the nature of spiritual death, i.e. if left to ourselves, we will not choose God (Rom. 3:10-12). The Bible teaches that in order for sinners to choose the right way of salvation by God’s grace in Christ, we must be born again by the Holy Spirit and given the gifts of faith, and this is not by the will of man. It is by the will of God – “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13). Why is it so important that we understand these things? It is because in the salvation of sinners, God alone gets all the glory in and by the Lord Jesus Christ! Saved sinners, those who choose to believe in Christ for salvation and eternal life, know that they did not make the difference between lost and saved. They know that God alone in Christ made the difference. They know that if they believe in and follow Christ as the Lord their righteousness, it is God alone Who made them willing and gave them the desire to receive and believe in Him. They know that ALL of salvation, including faith, is of the Lord and not of themselves.

—Pastor Bill Parker, Eager Avenue Grace Church, Albany, Georgia

 

[tyndale1946]

The sinner, who is dead in sin and in bondage to sin, must somehow shed his chains, revive his spiritual vitality, and exercise faith, so that he or she maybe born again... In a very real sense, regeneration is not so much a gift in this schema as it is a reward for responding to grace... R. C. Sproul... Brother Glen

Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved

6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

 

[Dave G]

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God

Amen.
The above tells us who the ones were that received Christ...that our will was not involved in the entire process, and that our will ( or "committing one's life to Christ" or choosing to believe on Him ) does not lead to anyone being born again...that is the Lord's domain, and His to administer as He sees fit.
It is His right and prerogative to save one, and damn another.

We are all spiritually bankrupt before Him, there is none righteous, and none that lifts themselves up to seek Him in their hearts.

Because of election, no man can share in the grace of God in salvation.
The saved were written in the Book of Life from the ( at the time of ) the foundation of the world ( Revelation 13:8, Revelation 17:8 ).

Salvation is entirely of God and He gets all the glory in what was and is an operative act on His part.