The Bondage of Free Will

(Article for publication week of 6-5- AD 2014)

"And ye will not come to me that ye might have life" (John 5:40).

In John 6:44 our Lord declared that no man can come to Him without the drawing power of the Holy Spirit. Man is unable to come to Christ by his so-called " free" will. In our text this week, our Lord says that men will not come to Him. Man's plight is desperate, he will not come to Christ, and he cannot come to Christ; and if he does not come to Christ he will perish eternally.

Now, I want you to be sure you understand that God is not going to send you to hell for your inability. God is going to send you to hell for your rebellion, for that is exactly what refusing to believe in Christ is- it is utter rebellion. The reason you will not come to Christ is that you are a rebel intent on having your own way. When you come to the Judgment Seat of Christ you will not be able to plead your inability as a reason for not believing on Christ as Lord and Saviour. That would be like a thief coming before the judge and pleading as a reason he should not be convicted of a crime that he could not help stealing. The judge would likely say that he should receive the full penalty of the law in such a case. And so dear reader, if you refuse to heed the gospel and come to Christ for salvation you are doubly indicted by the High King of Glory: first for breaking God's law, and secondly for refusing to accept God's appointed remedy for sinners- His Son.

In reality man's will is not free, but enslaved. Your will is enslaved to your pride, your self- love, your carnality, your fascination with the world, the opinions of your fellows, the fashions of the day and a thousand other things. Pelagians and Arminians will scream, "but I believe whosoever will may come"! So do I. But what good is that when the world is full of "whosoever won'ts". That is exactly what our text here in John 5:40 says, "whosoever won't"! "Ye will not come to me that ye might have life."

So how can a rebellious sinner ever come to Christ? It is only by the sovereign grace of God! Those that God purposes to save He changes their will so that they gladly and willingly come to Christ. So we read in Psalm 110:3," Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power." When the Holy Spirit calls a sinner out of darkness into the marvelous light of the Lord Jesus Christ, that sinner then comes most freely to Christ. I wonder if that has ever happened to you? Has your stubborn, rebellious nature been conquered by God's exceptional grace? Have you come by faith to Christ for life? Our text says that is the only way you may have life. While our Lord plainly shows the enmity of our natural, fallen will, He also implies that if we are willing to come to Him, we will have life and be saved. I pray the Lord will make you willing in the day of His power and that you will come to Christ without delay.