- I meditated upon “An Interpretation of Luther’s The Bondage of the Will”, Nebraska Lutherans for Confessional Study – March 22, 2012. This was authored by Rev Philip Hale – St Paul Lutheran, Bancroft, NE
- He writes, “The Bondage of the Will” is troubling precisely because it does not have an academic or theoretical subject matter. It forces us to face the real God, who is involved in our daily lives including our disappointments, sorrows and pain.”
- Luther as always had no time separating concept from the Person of Christ. For him, ontology and teleology are held together by Christ. For him, sharing the effects of Christ wasn’t sufficient. He shared the whole of Christ and all the benefits a believer enjoys in their union with Christ. He exemplified Eph 1:3. He lived in the reality of his identity and union with Christ.
- Justification wasn’t just a theological concept to wax lyrical about, and to have polemics with others. Luther lived out the outcome of a life that displayed and demonstrated the vibrant faith of a soul that had received grace of regeneration, grace of justification, grace of sanctification, and grace for glorification.
- The Bondage of the Will is Luther’s “thunderbolt” against the Humanist Manifesto’s insistence that man’s reason alone is the measure of all things. In their insistence to exalt man’s reason and “freedom of choice/will” they provided proof of what the Scriptures referred to as man’s wisdom being the foolishness of God.
- The Rev Hale makes this profound observation of Luther’s point that “God hides Himself” in human suffering and “promises tribulation to the believer”, and quotes Matt 16:24 – 25 for good effect.
- Inevitably, suffering and the adversities of life bring out the core of what a person truly holds on to as their greatest importance. And since man is an eternal creation, only eternal values provide satisfaction to the human heart.
- Where is “free-will” and man’s “free agency” in Christ’s life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension? Christ Himself said in a verse often quoted by Luther regarding God’s sovereign grace, ““I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”123. (John 15:5).
- And again, in Matt 16:24 – 25, Jesus said emphatically, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
- How does one fight for their “free-will”, and “free choice” when Christ Himself says that one must “deny himself”? To take up the cross IS to deny oneself. It is about dying to anything, and everything that is contrary to Jesus, His kingdom, and His righteousness. There is only one Supreme King. And free-will keeps a soul under the delusion of the man-made salvation project, salvation by works, by self.
- There two verses are Jesus’s “thunderbolt” against any and all pretense a believer might have as having a will to do their own independent thing apart from the Lordship of Christ. These two verses are simply another two verses of Scripture beginning from Genesis and following all of God’s dealings with man to show them His sovereign grace. This calls for total commitment and surrender in order to live in the freedom that comes from sharing His authority over all of life.
- Ultimately, Jesus promises His abundant life of freedom to all His children and followers when they live as “doulos” of God; bondslaves in union with the Living Word who offers Himself to His people through the written word of Scriptures, and when received through grace by faith, they share in His overcoming life.
Free-will, free agency, and man’s delusion
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About the author
Franklin Morais
A follower of Christ for 48 years, Franklin is an itinerant gospel preacher and teacher, and a part-time lecturer in Counseling, Psychology and Education at HELP University, Kuala Lumpur. He worships at Holy Trinity Bukit Bintang.
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