Contrary to perception, Scripture teaches that people are not after all free to choose God: Unless set free by the gospel, our wills are in bondage to sin. How then do we become “willing to believe”?
In the new Renewing Your Mind teaching series from Ligonier Ministries, WILLING TO BELIEVE (Sn 2000, Wd 1600, Fr 200), Dr RC Sproul examines the idea of “free will” throughout history in the views of Augustine, Pelagius, Luther, Calvin, Arminius, Edwards, Finney, and others. He compares them to what Jesus had to say about the effect of sin on our souls. Later in the 12-lecture series, we study the dynamic between divine sovereignty and man’s agency, and how certain well-meaning teachings have in fact undermined the Gospel and concealed God’s glory in salvation.
“If God is sovereign then manifestly, no creature can be autonomous. To be autonomous is to be a law unto yourself, and to be a law unto yourself precludes the possibility of anything or anyone sovereignly over you. These two concepts cannot co-exist. If God is sovereign, we are manifestly not autonomous. On the other hand, if we are autonomous then that’s the end of any idea of a sovereign God.”
RC SPROUL
Episodes in this series:
The Truth Shall Make You Free
Free Will and Divine Sovereignty
Are We Born Free?
The Loss of Liberty
Sovereign Grace
Is Grace Irresistible?
A Divided Will
Bondage of the Will
Voluntary Slaves
Is Grace Cooperative
Born to Sin
The Pelagian Captivity of the Church
