27 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
27 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
## Chapter 9 - Free Will
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1. God has endowed human will with natural liberty and power to act on choices so that it is neither forced nor inherently bound by nature to do good or evil.<sup>1</sup>
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<sup>1</sup>[Matthew 17:12](/get-passage/Matthew+17:12); [James 1:14](/get-passage/James+1:14); [Deuteronomy 30:19](/get-passage/Deuteronomy+30:19)
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2. Humanity in the state of innocence had freedom and power to will and to do what was good and well-pleasing to God.<sup>2</sup> Yet this condition was unstable, so that humanity could fall from it.<sup>3</sup>
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<sup>2</sup>[Ecclesiastes 7:29](/get-passage/Ecclesiastes+7:29)
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<sup>3</sup>[Genesis 3:6](/get-passage/Genesis+3:6)
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3. Humanity, by falling into a state of sin, has completely lost all ability to choose any spiritual good that accompanies salvation.<sup>4</sup> Thus, people in their naturala state are absolutely opposed to spiritual good and dead in sin,<sup>5</sup> so that they cannot convert themselves by their own strength or prepare themselves for conversion.<sup>6</sup>
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awithout the Spirit
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<sup>4</sup>[Romans 5:6](/get-passage/Romans+5:6); [Romans 8:7](/get-passage/Romans+8:7)
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<sup>5</sup>[Ephesians 2:1-5](/get-passage/Ephesians+2:1-5)
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<sup>6</sup>[Titus 3:3-5](/get-passage/Titus+3:3-5); [John 6:44](/get-passage/John+6:44)
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4. When God converts sinners and transforms them into the state of grace, he frees them from their natural bondage to sin<sup>7</sup> and by his grace alone enables them to will and to do freely what is spiritually good.<sup>8</sup> Yet because of their remaining corruption, they do not perfectly nor exclusively will what is good but also will what is evil.<sup>9</sup>
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<sup>7</sup>[Colossians 1:13](/get-passage/Colossians+1:13); [John 8:36](/get-passage/John+8:36)
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<sup>8</sup>[Philippians 2:13](/get-passage/Philippians+2:13)
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<sup>9</sup>[Romans 7:15-23](/get-passage/Romans+7:15-23)
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5. Only in the state of glory is the will made perfectly and unchangeably free toward good alone.<sup>10</sup>
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<sup>10</sup>[Ephesians 4:13](/get-passage/Ephesians+4:13) |