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To: CCWoody
Previous Sermons:

Spurgeon:

For Whom did Christ Die? - Romans 5:6
Particular Redemption - Matthew 20:28
His Name - the Mighty God - Isaiah 9:6

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The Effects of Regeneration

2 posted on 02/13/2002 5:31:32 PM PST by CCWoody
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To: CCWoody; RnMomof7; OrthodoxPresbyterian; the_doc; sea oats; xzins
I have only had a chance to glance at this, but it looks good.

I did want to introduce another thought for us to ruminate on: Many of our "Calvinist v. non-Calvinist" discussions have contained a considerable about of wrangling about "free-will". Oft times, the non-Calvinists accuse the Calvinists of denying "free-will", yet they never do give (in my opinion) a satisfactory definition of exactly what "free-will" is. We Calvinists have many times given our definition of "free-will", to wit: "man is free to do that which he wants".

Now, with that preface out of the way, I would ask this question: Will a saved, glorified man who has entered into the eternal presence of God have the ability to sin? If not, then doesn't this violate his "free-will", as defined by the non-Calvinist? After all, how could that man be "free indeed" in Christ if he is not allowed the choice to sin?

I will give the Calvinist answer. The saved, glorified man has the same "free-will" that the lost, unregenerate man has. The saved, glorified man wants to glorify God, and is free to do so, and will do so forever. The lost, unregenerate man wants to sin, and is free to do so, and will continue to do so until he is either regenerated or stands before God in judgment. However, neither man is free to do that for which he has no ability. The man who is dead in trespasses and sins has no ability to perform God pleasing actions, but this does not restrict his "free-will". The man who is glorified in the presence of Christ has no ability to sin against God, but this does not restrict his "free-will". (Let me just mention that this is exactly the same type of "free-will" that God posesses.)

The only ones who can both sin and perform God pleasing actions simultaneously are those regenerated believers who are not yet glorified. We are the ones who know that "in our flesh dwells no good thing". We are the ones faced with the difficulty described in Romans Seven.

12 posted on 02/14/2002 5:21:58 AM PST by Jerry_M
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