Thoughts on the Doctrines of Grace Pastor Rob Wilkerson

Free-Willery III
Understanding Slavery to Sin and Biblical Freedom
May 9, 2003

Introduction You guessed it correctly. As with every boring sequel that has a family atmosphere while promoting humanistic, thematic elements, FreeWilly had a another sequel. The movie opens with greedy whalers, racing engines, and scraping metal as the boats surround their target in firing range. Showers of harpoons pepper the water, turning it from its beautiful blue-green color to an awful, murky reddish color. This tainted water surface is broken once more as the dead whales are hoisted and tethered to the side of the boat, and the sailors return home leaving no sign of their greed except the murky water. But coming home for the summer is Free-Willy and his peppy band of orca buddies who will eventually take on these tough no-gooders and teach them a lesson theyll never forget. In this story, the young boy who has starred in the previous two movies is now working a summer job tracking whales on an oceanic research vessel. His ten-year old buddy Max and his father are also about to launch into the deep blue on their first trip out on a commercial fishing boat. The plot is obvious. Maxs dad is actually an illegal whaler. Max eventually hooks with Jesse, the human star of the Free-Willy movies. And together they embark on an extremely dangerous mission to save Willy and his pod. Max has to stand up to his father, and Jesse rediscovers the extraordinary bond of friendship that exists between he and Willy. I couldnt help but think of the movie as a picture of the problem we have appropriately named Free-Willery, in these series of articles. The whale hunters represent the traditional preachers, teachers and theologians of solid biblical theology on the doctrines of grace. Their mission is to protect the glory of God from theological Free-Willeries, those pesty theological orcas that keep popping up and forming bonds of friendship with Christians everywhere. And as it was in this movie, so also in reality, these Free-Willery hunters are always portrayed as the bad guys, always out to ruin everyones theological fun. I also couldnt help but think that the two young boys represent young Christians and budding theologians who would do well to listen to their elders
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on matters that have to do with Free-Willery. Instead, as in the movie, Christians often shun the counsel and advice of their elders those present as their pastors and those deceased as theological giants. For centuries FreeWillery has been shown to be an unbiblical nuisance to biblical grace. Yet also throughout church history, those who love Free-Willery continue to meet up and band together in an effort to keep Free-Willery free. The sequels will not stop, unfortunately. But thank goodness, neither will the Free-Willery hunters! I am proud to be one of those hunters, using sound theological, patient discussion, and hopefully humble attitudes, instead of harpoons! In the first article I tried to outline some modern reflections on FreeWillery. I examined them from Scripture and concluded that true freedom is defined by freedom from sin in Christ. And I also attempted to show that freedom can still exist even though a person is bound to sin. They are bound to sin yet free to roam about within those boundaries of sin. In the second article I dealt with the premise of Free-Willery: when God commands we must have the ability to obey, else God would unjust in judging those who disobey. I hope I was successful in convincing you that such a premise is not found in Scripture. Instead, grace is grace because it does for us what we cannot do for ourselves obey God. So if I could obey Gods commands on my own, I would not need grace. And since grace comes from Christs death, I wouldnt need that either. I realize thats overstating the case, but it still gets at the heart of the matter. In this article I want to continue on the theme that every believer is a slave to sin. I believe that when the biblical teaching is made clear on the fact that man is a slave to sin, Christians will see that their will is not so free after all. So in the first part of this article, I offer a simple outline to help you see the biblical teaching on slavery to sin. And in the second half of the article, I offer to you what is the biblical teaching on freedom. PART 1: A Biblical Outline on Slavery to Sin Jesus made it clear that true freedom only exists when one has discovered the truth (John 8:32). This means man isnt really free in the way that Free-Willery lovers believe. This truth that Jesus presents should be a guide to us when we are tempted to see the modern concept of free-will in the Bible. It just isnt there. The Bible actually speaks of man as being either a slave of sin or a slave of righteousness. This concept is clearly reflected in Romans 6. Other synonymous ideas are used elsewhere. In light of this truth I have attempted a small compilation of the various Scriptures which all add up to the conclusion that man is a slave to sin, and that therefore his will is not free after all. While these Scripture references were never used initially to rebuke ole Free-Willery, each passage is sure to

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illumine Gods mind on the matter of the natural mans will, and ultimately build a solid foundation on which to build ones theology of man and his will. 1. Corruption begins at conception . A. Psalm 51:5 - David teaches that all men are born having first been conceived and then shaped in iniquity in their mother's wombs. This is the theological concept known as organic sin: man is conceived and born naturally, by natural means, in sin. B. Psalm 58:3 The Bible also teaches that all men go astray as soon as they are born and speak lies as soon as they are able to speak. C. Isaiah 48:8 Isaiahs prophecy indicates that men are rebels from birth, having been born with a mind set in rebellion to the things of God. As soon as they are able to actually commit sin they go for it. D. Job 14:4 - Everyone is born a rebel against God because according to Job's testimony, none are born pure and clean. Or we may observe it the other way around: none are born clean and pure and so all are born rebels. E. John 3:6 - Christ gives us the reason for these factors. Whatever is born of flesh is always going to be flesh. If a man and a woman procreate then a human will be born rather than an animal or plant. The logical reason is that each species reproduces their own kind. The same applies also to the spiritual realm. From Job 14:4 we saw that none are born clean and/or pure, which includes our parents as well as their parents including all our ancestors. If they are born as rebels, then we are born that way as well, because whatever is born of flesh is flesh. A clean thing cannot be brought from an unclean thing. And so if all men came from one man, and if the one man's blood is tainted with sin, then so is every other man born by natural means. Rebellion, selfishness, and sinfulness is the first way children A. We have already established that: children lie as soon as they can speak (Psalm 58:3), and that they also seek sin and commit sin as soon as they are able (Isaiah 48:8). B. Proverbs 22:15 - Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child. It is solidified in the stony heart with which he was born. C. Proverbs 12:15 - A child is born with foolishness in his heart and the foolishness seems right to him. If it seems right to him the child continues in it. D. Proverbs 15:5 - If these things are true then we now know why children spurn, neglect, or rebel against their father's discipline and also why they are a disgrace to their mothers when acting this way (Proverbs 10:1; 15:20; 17:25). 3. Corruption is solidified; the corrupt will remain in their ways.

2. go.

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A. Proverbs 26:11 - As a dog returns to his vomit, so also will a fool return to his folly. What other possible choice does he have after all? If he is a fool then he cannot be something else. B. Proverbs 27:22 - Though you grind the fool in a mortar like grain, you will never be able to remove his folly from him. C. Isaiah 57:17 - Punishment won't even do any good because he will keep on in his willfully sinful ways. D. Jeremiah 13:23 - A man can't change his nature any more than an Ethiopian can change his skin color or a leopard can change his spots. E. Daniel 12:10 - The wicked man is going to continue to be wicked. F. Hosea 6:4 - As a morning cloud that promises rain disappears and as the morning dew that covers the ground quickly evaporates, so does the attempted and supposed good that a sinful man does. G. Acts 14:16 - As God lets him, the unsaved man goes his own way. 4. Sin's Consequential Effect on Man - Romans 3:10-18 Though there are many consequences of sin on the human race, Romans gives perhaps the best overall view of its effects. A. Spiritual Consequences 1. 3:10 - No one is righteous, not even one 2. 3:11 - No one understands the things of God or even seeks after God or the things of God. 3. 3:12 - They have all turned away and as a whole become worthless. B. Physical Consequences (See also Romans 6:12,13,19; 7:24; James 3:3-12) 1. 3:13 - Their throats and tongues practice lying, deceitfulness, slander, malice, etc. The poison of vipers is on their lips because they words they speak are sharp, cutting, and hurtful. 2. 3:14 - Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. 3. 3:15 - Their feet are swift in running to shed blood or hurt someone or they make premeditated plans to hurt others. C. Intellectual and Emotional Consequences 1. 3:16 - Ruin and Misery mark their ways and their life. 2. 3:17 - They don't know the way of peace -the way to Christ. 3. 3:18 - There is no fear of God before their eyes - in their minds. 5. James rightly teaches us, in his discourse on the tongue, that the things we do and say must come from what we think - our motives, desires, intellect, will. A. 3:11 - Can fresh and salt water flow from the same spring? B. 3:12 - Can a fig tree produce olives or can a grapevine bear figs?

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C.

Matthew 15:19 - Christ taught it first here that the things we say come from our heart and it is these things within the heart that makes a man unclean.

6.

As a result of all this we may conclude then that all men born are under the guilt, pollution, and dominion of sin. Romans 3:9 - "...We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin..." It is because of this that man's will is naturally intent toward a rebellious and evil course by his very nature of existence. A. Jeremiah 8:6 - No one repents of his wickedness but everyone pursues their own course like a horse charging into battle. B. Ezekiel 36:26 - They all have a stony heart. What else can a stone do but be hard and rocky. A stone is just there and can't be changed, but only worn down and weathered or else completely removed and replaced. C. Psalm 14:1-3 - These men are fools. They talk and live as if there were no God. They have all turned aside to do their own things.

7.

8. Man's will operates contrary to God's chief and highest goal for him. A. I Corinthians 10:31 - The natural man seeks only his own glory rather than the glory of God. B. 2 Timothy 3:2 - They are lovers of themselves rather than lovers of God. C. Hosea 5:1 - All the moral deeds he does are not from a heart wishing to glorify God but from his own heart. These deeds simply set a snare for themselves. D. Matthew 19:16-22 - Even their supposed salvation is to save themselves from hell and God's wrath rather than to make it their primary goal in life to give God the glory that is due Him. 9. Because of this last verse we also observe that it is the nature of man to be selfish which is why he feels he must work to earn his salvation. In so doing he turns free grace into law. This is a flagrant abuse of God's law and plan of redemption. A. Romans 11:6 - Salvation is of free-grace and not of his works. B. Galatians 3:10,12 - The man who follows the law lives by the law and so he will die by the law, because according to the law he must obey all that is written in the law. He cannot do this and so he will die. C. Ephesians 2:8-9 - Salvation comes by free grace and not by our works.

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Thoughts on the Doctrines of Grace Pastor Rob Wilkerson

10.

In his working to earn his own salvation he evidences the fact that there is a natural contrariety, direct opposition and enmity in his will to God Himself and towards the things of God. A. They are enemies in their minds towards both God and His Will 1. Romans 8:7 - The carnal mind is at enmity with God. 2. Colossians 1:21 - They are enemies to God in their minds. 3. Job 21:14 - They are enemies to God's nature. 4. Psalm 14:1 - They even deny God's existence either verbally or actually by living as if there were none. 5. Psalm 81:11 - They won't listen to God or submit to Him. B. They are enemies to the Law of God. 1. Romans 7:9 - Sin was revived when the commandment was given because of the natural enmity to God in the unregenerate man's heart. 2. Romans 8:7 - The natural man's will is not subject to God's law and cannot be. They are enemies to the Son of God. 1. Luke 19:14 - They don't wish for him to be king of their 2. 3. 4. 5. D. John 5:40 - They refuse to come to Christ to have life. I Corinthians 1:18 - The message of Christ's cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. Titus 3:3 - They are foolish, disobedient, and deceived and enslaved because of sin to the things of Christ. John 8:44-45 - They don't believe in Christ but are enemies of Him because they are of their father the Devil.

C. hearts.

They are enemies to the Holy Spirit 1. John 16:8 - The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of conviction, regeneration, and sanctification. It is His work to enable us to subdue lusts and burn up the corruption within us. How then can the natural man, whose lusts are to him as his body parts, even as his life, fail in being His enemy? The Holy Spirit will convict man of that very thing. 2. Acts 7:51 - They always will resist the Holy Spirit because that is their nature.

In conclusion of Part 1, I trust that you are now able to see the extent to which the entire human race has fallen. I also pray that the unfolding of these Scriptures has shed some light on the matter of Free-Willery. It should be evident from this outline that man indeed is so depraved that he will not, and even cannot come to Christ on his own or of his own strength. Free-Willery is in retreat now!

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Thoughts on the Doctrines of Grace Pastor Rob Wilkerson

Part 2: Explaining the Concept of Freedom from the Scriptures On the basis of what has been said before, we still are left to establish the biblical concept of freedom. We made a conclusion previously that while man is in slavery to sin, he is still free in the sense that he can freely choose whatever he desires within his circle of enslavement. In short, man is free to do what his mind, will and emotions tell him to do. Yet we still must develop this more and define exactly how man is free and what this means for him. If we do not consider this factor then we are left with no answer as to how God can hold man responsible for the sin that he commits. This is a serious question indeed, because if man is not responsible, then on his way to hell he may justly curse God for sending him to a place which he did not deserve, thus making God to be a liar and deceiver. So here we will observe some ways in which Scripture speaks of freedom in an attempt to develop and define it. I offer these passages with their explanation. 1. Genesis 2:16

God told Adam and Eve that they were completely free to eat of any tree in the Garden of Eden but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil they were not free to eat because in the day that they ate of it they would surely die. The actual rendering of the latter part of the verse should be "and in the day that you eat of it in dying you shall surely die..." In other words spiritual death would occur immediately and the process of physical death would eventually happen later. Now concerning the first point, both Adam and Eve certainly had the ability to eat of that forbidden tree. Remember the dictionary definitions we observed in the first Free-Willery article? As it would apply here, part of the definition would be true: Adam and Eve had the ability to choose between good and evil, and were entirely unrestricted in their choices pertaining to the trees they could eat of. However, the other part is not true: their wills were not free from the constraints or inclinations of their wills. If their wills were not inclined or constrained to eat of one tree or the other they would starve. They had to choose of some tree to eat and they did so for whatever reasons they were inclined to do so - i.e. looked good, tasted good, felt good, smelt good, etc. Adam and Eve ate of all the trees with exception of one because their wills were inclined at all previous moments to obey God in that area (Romans 6:16). And they chose freely to eat of the tree they were instructed not to eat because their wills were obviously inclined at that point in time to disobey God. Hence Adam and Eve before their sin were the first and only two humans on earth in the history of the world who had the ability to choose evil or good. Where that prior constraint and inclination of the will to choose evil came from is not and I think cannot be known. But notice anyway that Adam and Eve were free to eat, run, work, play, and virtually do anything that was
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within their natural ability to do. But they were constrained and limited and restrained. They could not fly if they wanted to because they had no wings. They could not run the fastest of any creature on the earth because there were animals that had the ability to run faster. They could not control the weather or temperature because it wasn't within their ability to change or alter it. So even though they were limited by and subject to what they did not have the ability to do they were still free. They could work anywhere they desired. Adam could name the animals whatever he wanted to name them. They could name and choose whatever fruit they wanted to eat. They could rest, laugh, play, and have fun anytime they wanted. The point here is that they were restrained and limited by what they could not do but they were still free in regards to those things they could do. Thus, they were subjects with respect to certain inabilities and free in respects to other abilities. 2. Psalm 118:5

David cried in anguish to God and God answered David by setting him free, free from his anguish. He was still limited by many things he could not do but was free from that anguish. Look closely at the key here also: God set David free and David didn't set himself free. Only God, the biblically free and sovereign being could give biblical freedom to David. 3. Psalm 119:32

David ran in the path of God's commands because God had set his heart free. If he was set free to obey God's commands then there logically has to be bondage or slavery in not obeying God's commands. Though still limited, this heart was free because God had set it free and the result was that he could run in the path of God's commands. David was free to obey because God had set him free from the bondage of disobedience. 4. Psalm 146:7 - In this chapter there are ten things God does that only God can do. The third of these is setting prisoners free. David is speaking spiritually here because physically, other people can set other people free. So David speaks of being a prisoner of sin and evil and of not obeying God's commands as mentioned previously, with God setting him free. Notice again, only God can set free the prisoners of sin. 5. Isaiah 61:1 - This is the passage that Christ quoted in Luke chapter 4:18-19. Christ began his earthly ministry by preaching himself as the fulfillment of that passage. Two phrases of great interest should be noted here. The first is "to proclaim freedom for the captives" and the second "and release from darkness for the prisoners." The question immediately arises what are the captives captive to? The answer based on the interpretation and life of Christ that the captives were captive to sin which is what Christ set them free of in his death on the cross and resurrection. The darkness then
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must also be referring to the darkness of a spiritual nature, in that those who are captive are in the dark as to what else is going on with God. So put together, these phrases teach us that Christ is the one who came to set slaves to sin free from the captivity and prison of darkness and sin. 6. John 8:32, 34-36 - Christ said here that if his disciples continued obeying his teaching, which is the truth (John 17:17), then that truth would set them free, free from the lie as opposed to the truth. Possessing the good by obedience to Scripture would then release them from the evil. Christ goes on to teach that everyone who sins on a continual basis is a slave to sin. Now we must ask why. He is a slave to it, he is subject to it because he is limited by it and can do nothing to get himself out of it. In fact the progressive present use of the verb here indicates that he is and forever will be in the state of habitual persistence in sin which in the Greek means there is no beginning to his sin and there is no end to his sin. He has no other option but to sin. This is why he is a slave, or in bondage to sin. He can't be free from what he cannot control. So someone else must control that sin and set man free from it since man cannot do it himself. And as seen in the verses in Psalms, only God can set one free from sin. Since a slave doesn't have a permanent place in a family (8:35), a slave to sin has no permanent place in God's family. Only a son has a permanent place in a family, and thus only a son of God has a permanent place in God's family. So if one is a slave to sin, with no part in God's family, then the only way to have a part and become a son is for God to set free the slaves to sin in order that they may become his sons (John 1:12,13). Since it is God who does all the setting free from sin, also if the Son sets one free he will indeed be free (8:36). That Son is limited spiritually by what he cannot do spiritually, namely setting himself free from sin, but a son is also free to do whatever righteousness he pleases to do within his ability to do so. 7. Romans 6:18 - We have already identified this as being one of the verses in the chief passage containing our argument for freedom within limitations and constraints. The arguments for the preceding verse would apply here, but we must look at another factor in relation to this verse found in the same passage. 6:16 teaches that one is either a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness. There is no middle ground here. Remembering that slave means a person held in bondage, or one who cannot be master of himself, man is totally captive to sin. A slave is a person subject to do his master's bidding and he must obey his master because he has no other alternative. So now, the reason that men are slaves to sin is because they have no choice but to do sin's bidding. They must obey sin's bidding because they have no other choice. Their wills and desires are what is in complete bondage here because the will to act and choose is the will and that will is captive to do sin's bidding. It's almost as if it were a "Catch 22" situation. Only a master can set his slaves free. Here is where a little spiritual equation may assist in understanding:
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GOD - MASTER OF ALL (Psalm 24:1) SATAN - MASTER OF SIN AND DISOBEDIENCE (Ephesians 2:2) MAN - SLAVE TO SIN AND SLAVE TO SATAN The Equation goes as follows: If Satan is master over all slaves to sin and if God is master over all that exists, which necessarily includes Satan and Man since he made both, then God is master over the slaves to sin. Mathematically stated: Satan is greater than Man. God is greater than Satan. So God is greater than Man. Conclusion: until God sets free a slave to sin he will forever remain a slave to sin. If these things be true, the King of all, may bypass the prince of the power of the air to set those slaves free whom he chooses to set free. Man is a slave to sin because of Adam's fall (Romans 5:12). He must be a slave because of Adam's fall. Slaves may be treated however the master desires to treat them and so God is just in allowing Satan to master his slaves to sin as he wills, particularly in relation to their eternal destiny. But God, being the master of all is free to do as he pleases in accordance with his nature with no constraints or limitations except that nature. If he so freely chooses to set some of the prisoners of sin free is he wrong in not setting them all free? They all certainly deserve their wages but is not God free to do with those slaves of sin, of which he is the ultimate master, as he wishes? Is not the master free to set some of his slaves free but not all? Certainly. And so is not God then free to set some of the slaves of sin free and not all? The answer is the same as in the physical analogy, certainly! God is just in letting all the slaves suffer for and in their sin, and God is just in saving some of the slaves from the punishment that awaits them. Putting this together with our previous verses, God is the one who sets the man and the heart of the man free. God is the one who sets prisoners of sin free. When he sets them free they can follow the teaching of Scripture and obey God (6:17). Only when he sets them free can they do this. Christians have been set free from sin and its master; they are no longer slaves to sin but slaves to righteousness (6:18). Again this setting free is not done by the slave but by God the master of all. 8. Romans 6:20,22 - A contrast is set forth here between slaves to sin and slaves to righteousness. Slaves to sin are free from the control of righteousness (v.20). Since one is a slave at all times, whether to sin or to righteousness, slavery to one means freedom from the other. A slave does not have two masters but one (Matt. 6:24). A slave is free from the control of a master other than his own. So also are slaves to sin free from the control of righteousness. Slaves to sin are free yet limited. They are limited because they cannot set themselves free from sin. They are free in that they may do whatever sin they desire to do. They are limited in that they may only do sin, yet they are free in their choice of which sin or sins to commit. Granted, the slave to sin can do some moral things. Most slaves to sin do have some
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morals. But positionally he is a slave and must be treated as a slave to sin, though he may occasionally do good things. He is limited in that he can only do some morality and opposed to good works all the time. He is limited in his spiritual strength to obey what he knows to be good and righteous. But, nevertheless he is free to do whatever he wants to do while all that he can do is mostly evil and sinful. Now, conversely, a Christian has been freed from the control of sin. He no longer is under the control of that master but of another master. He has the ability to do sinful things but the majority of the things he does are righteous good works. HE is limited in that he can only do righteousness most all of the time, yet he is completely free to do all the righteousness he desires to do. All things being equal now, both the slave to sin and the slave to righteousness are free to move and act within their limited spiritual abilities. Both are positionally limited and both are practically free within their corresponding limitations. 9. Romans 8:2 - Here the idea again is stated as in the previous verses. But this time it tells us who is actually setting free the slaves to sin. The verse tells us that it is the Spirit of life who has set Christians free from the law of sin and death. The law of sin and death is simply that law stating that since Adam fell, all are fallen when born and consequently are born in sin and unto death. The Law also moves us to see that since all are born in sin unto death then all are help captive as slaves to sin unto death. Thus, it is Christ through the law of the Spirit of life who sets us free from the preceding law of sin unto death. Verses 3-17 then deal with the explanations and implications of those two laws and how each one works. The cross-reference used in order to better and further explain this concept is found in Galatians 3:26-4:7. 10. 2 Corinthians 3:17 - This simple little verse teaches us the simple fact that where the Lord is present in his Spirit then freedom is present also, because where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. Freedom from sin and disobedience and freedom to righteousness is what Paul is teaching here in the context. If one has been set free from sin and death by the Lord and the Lord takes that individual and places him in sonship under Himself then there is constantly going to be freedom day in and day out because he is in the presence of the Lord. 11. Galatians 5:1 - This tells us that freedom is the result desired in Christ setting Christians free. Christ set free the slaves to sin in order that they might be free and have freedom, and that freedom is to be expressly used for obedience. These former slaves now set free are freed from the law of sin and death (see previous explanation of Romans 8:2) and unto spiritual liberty. The freedom to do sin freely has been put to death and the freedom to obey Christ and live righteously has been put in its place. Christians, then, have the complete freedom to act freely in all matters pertaining to life and godliness.

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12. I Peter 2:16 - Peter commands his readers to live as free men. Christians are free from sin and death and so are to live like it. However, they're also instructed not to use their new Spirit-given freedom as a cover-up for sinning but rather Christians are to live as servants of God. Obedience characterizes slaves to righteousness who will not use their freedom as a mask for their sinful behavior. 13. James 1:25 - here the perfect law that gives freedom is, of course, the Scriptures. Looking intently into this perfect law means basically to obey, which is supported by the next phrase "Continues to do this." Since Christians have been freed from slavery to sin they are free, as stated before, in regards to all things pertaining to life and godliness. Also, remembering Romans 6:16 and its teaching on whoever or whatever receives our obedience is our master and we the slaves of that master (and that obedience being a continuous obedience) proves the new freedom received by the new slaves to righteousness. In essence then, obedience to Scriptures produces or gives freedom because it allows or rather compels us to obey more and more of Scripture, thus that freedom of which we are speaking. 14. Revelation 1:5 - Lastly, John is reinstating what has already been taught; Christ with his death on the cross, is the initiator of love and choice by choosing those whom he wants to be free and dying for those slaves whom he wants set free. We are then freed from our sins by Christ's blood, namely his death on the cross. Now observe the conclusions based upon these verses: 1. Adam and Eve had a complete free will in that they had the unique ability to choose good or evil, obedience or disobedience. Because of their fall, the rest of mankind's will is now restricted only to sin because of his sinful nature by birth. Their freedom in the garden of Eden existed within the realm of their natural abilities which applies even today except within a spiritual sense. 2. God is the one who sets people free from this captivity and bondage to sin into which persons are born. 3. God is the one who sets a man's heart free from this sin so that his newly freed heart will run in the path of obedience to God's commands. 4. 5. Only God can set free these prisoners of sin and not man himself. Again God is the source of freedom for captives in sin.

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Thoughts on the Doctrines of Grace Pastor Rob Wilkerson

6. If Christ has set a man free then indeed he is free and will be free. This new freedom gives man the ability he didn't have before to obey fully Christ's teaching. This act of freedom frees a slave of sin to become a son of God. 7. Only when God has set free a slave of sin can that slave follow and obey the teaching of Scripture. This means he is now a slave to/of righteousness. 8. Slaves to sin are free from the control of righteousness. Likewise slaves to righteousness are free from the control of sin. The slave to sin has the ability to do some morality. Likewise the slave to righteousness is positionally made like Christ and does good works though he has he ability to do evil. 9. Christ through the Spirit of life sets men free from the law of sin and death. 10. Where the Spirit of the Lord is present the freedom the Spirit gives is also present. 11. Freedom to obedience is the desired and achieved result in Christ's setting man free. 12. The freedom now in Christ produces obedience to Christ. Spiritually free men are to live like spiritually free men. These men do not follow sin because sin is no longer their master. And this new freedom is not to be a mask for sinful behavior. 13. Continual obedience to the Scriptures gives a continuing and everincreasing freedom. 14. Christ's death on the cross accomplished this freedom from sin for us.

Man is a free being whether he is in slavery to sin or slavery to righteousness. He will be in one of the two camps and never in the middle for there is no middle ground. When he is born he is born as a slave to sin. He can only obey his master's voice - his master being Satan and sin -yet he is free to obey his master's voice in any way he pleases. He is bound by sin, free from righteousness, yet he is free within the boundaries of his nature to do all the sin he chooses to do. There are consequences, of course. If he chooses to spend his time doing drugs, drinking alcohol, and smoking (which according to 2 Corinthians 6:19-20 are sins) then he will have to pay the price -a damaged body closer to physical death than ever before. He is free to choose to commit murder or to steal but since it is against the governmental law (as well as God's law who established the governmental law) he will pay the price - his life will be taken and/or prison. He can do some moral things, but, while

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Thoughts on the Doctrines of Grace Pastor Rob Wilkerson

remembering our discussion on morality and good works, he can never do good works. The one who is in slavery to righteousness, however, will obey his master's voice - that of the Savior. He is bound by the dominion of salvation but he is yet free to be as obedient as he wants to be. He is, of course, commanded to obey, but he is free to obey. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free, freedom to obey, of which we had no ability to do before we were saved. The saved man can do sinful things, but his nature is habitually inclined to the things of God and he will evidence this the majority of his life. Now this is not a lead-in to the "Lordship Salvation" argument but it leaves much to be said of those who say that they are in the dominion and slavery of righteousness and yet show no signs of obedience to their supposed Master. We must remember that a profession of dwelling in righteousness without any obedience to prove it is a dead profession and is worthless.

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