The Significance of the "Free Will" Debate

Luther did not mess around when it came to defending God’s freedom in grace:

I condemn and reject as nothing but error all doctrines which exalt our “free will” as being directly opposed to this mediation and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. For since, apart from Christ, sin and death are our masters and the devil is our god and prince, there can be no strength or power, no wit or wisdom, by which we can fit or fashion ourselves for righteousness and life. On the contrary, blinded and captivated, we are bound to be the subjects of Satan and sin, doing and thinking what pleases him and is opposed to God and His commandments.”

(Plass, What Luther Says, vol. 3, pp. 1376-1377).

Luther had little patience for anyone who would rob God of his glory by upholding man’s will as the ultimate determining factor in salvation. In opposition to such people, he was quick to reveal God as the all-powerful, grace-giving benefactor, and man as the powerless, grace-needing beneficiary. John Piper writes:

This is why prayer is the root of Luther’s approach to studying God’s Word. Prayer is the echo of the freedom and sufficiency of God in the heart of powerless man. It is the way Luther conceived of his theology and the way he pursued his studies. And it is the way he died…His last recorded words were, ‘Wir sein Bettler. Hoc est verum.’ ‘We are beggars. This is true.’ God is free—utterly free—in his grace. And we are beggars—pray-ers. That is how we live, that is how we die, and that is how we study, so that God gets the glory and we get the grace.

(Legacy of Sovereign Joy, 110-111)

Where one stands in the free-will debate inevitably affects their doctrine of God and man. It affects how we think, how we pray, how we read our Bibles, how we evangelize, and much more. This was quite evident this past week when two friends were grieving.

Cory and Heather Wessman lost Micah, their 9-month old baby, less than two weeks ago. How he died was nothing less than a “freak” incident. It started on a Thursday when he fell off his high chair and inhaled a pea while crying (which they didn’t find out until later). The next day he developed pneumonia. After many hospital visits and an x-ray with no findings, Micah stopped breathing on Sunday at their home. Heather and a few others did CPR for quite some time, but he was without oxygen for about an hour when he reached the hospital. Micah was kept alive by machines until Monday, when his parents had to make the horrific decision to take him off life support since he was completely brain dead.

As one would guess, Cory and Heather are going through much grief. But I must say, even with all the weeping, that they are acting as mirrors used by God to display His glory. My wife and I, along with two other couples in our small group (Cory and Heather are in our small group), brought dinner over to their house last Thursday and visited with them for a few hours. Throughout our conversation it was clear that they are clinging to a sovereign God, which can be shown in two ways.

1) It has been said to the Wessman’s that God is not to blame in this incident. In other words, God is somehow not in control, or didn’t ordain Micah’s death. This is a prominent view in modern evangelicalism. We want to somehow get God “off the hook.” But the Wessman’s are not clinging to a God who simply sets the clock in motion and removes himself from everyday events. They are clinging to the God who “works all things according to the counsel of his will,” and know that “for those who love God all things work together for good” (Ephesians 1:11 and Romans 8:28). In fact, right after Cory and Heather pulled Micah off life-support, Cory’s brother read this from Rom. 11, to which the Wessman’s whole-heartily agreed:

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has become His counselor?"
Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?"

For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

2) Others who know the Wessman’s—or simply their story—have wondered how they still have faith…or how they are so strong. Cory and Heather respond in the same manner as above. Heather has told people, “It’s God, all from Him.” They are more than willing to vocalize their dependency upon Jesus, knowing that he gives strength. Although in grief daily, they love verses such as Psalm 30:5,

For his anger is but for a moment,
And his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
But joy comes with the morning.

The same God who “works all things according to the counsel of his will,” is the one who is carrying them through the night, and will give joy in the morning. And they also know that the most prominent way this occurs is by giving faith. Like Luther, they see faith as a merciful gift of God that is sustained by His sovereign grace (Philippians 1:6). And they are glad that their faith is not dependent on their strength of will, but on His mercy. They find joy in magnifying Christ by boasting of their need for Him, knowing that in this He is seen as the merciful sustainer who upholds His people at all times.

The precious doctrines of grace become all the more significant when we see the impact they have on living a God-glorifying life. Luther saw this, and considered his Bondage of the Will to be, perhaps, his most important work. Cory and Heather have also seen this, and now feel it all the more. They are quick to proclaim God’s free grace in all that He does, which was crystal clear in the songs they chose for the funeral. I’ll end with the first verse one of them:

Day By Day

Day by day and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
He whose heart is kind beyond all measure,
Give unto each day what He deems best;
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.