LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Research Paper: Grace and Free Will
Submitted to Dr. Smith, in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the completion of the course
CHHI 510-B01
Church History Paper
by
Tina E. Carter
February 05, 2017
Contents
Thesis ......................................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 1
What is Grace ........................................................................................................................... 2
What is Free will ...................................................................................................................... 2
God’s Relationship between Grace and Free will ................................................................... 3
The Bondage of the Will and Sinful Social Structure ............................................................. 4
Why it Was So Important to Augustinian and Cyprian to Explain the Lord’s Prayer .........5
The Reformation, Calvinism, and Arminianism Approaches to Grace and Free
Will ........................................................................................................................................... 6
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 7
Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 8
i1
Thesis
The author’s thesis is to prove that until the contemporary escalation of Exposed Theism
no significant theologian in the Church had ever examined the presence of God’s wide-ranging
and all-inclusive foresight in relation to the inquiry of grace and free will.
Introduction
In this paper the author will give an explanation of what Grace is and what Free will is.
She will explain God’s relationship between the two. The bondage of the will and sinful social
structure. Why it was so important to Augustinian and Cyprian to explain the Lord’s Prayer. Then
lastly, the Reformation, Calvinism, and Arminianism approaches to grace and free will.
1
2
What is Grace?
Grace is the approval found in the Lord according to the Old Testament Genesis
6:8.1 According to the New Testament 1 Corinthinians 1:3 it is the unjustified and plentiful gift
of God’s love and approval to man, particularly made effective in Jesus Christ for the Christian.2
Per the author Grace is God’s love and mercy of man to help him along the way to get to the
right path. Man has come through many things to be able to worship God and through Grace this
is possible. Which the author will show in more depth later on in this paper.
What is Free will?
Free will is the indication thatour choices and thoughts are separate of anything vaguely
similar to the physical process. Free will is contemplated to be related to the conception of the
soul this concept that us and our views and emotions, develop from a being that is isolated and
discrete from the carnal structures that create our essence. Per Montague “your choices are not
caused by physical events, but instead emerges wholly formed from somewhere indescribable
and outside the purview of physical descriptions. This would imply that free will cannot have
evolved by natural selection, as that would place it directly in a stream of causally connected
physical events.3
1 Unless otherwise stated, all biblical references will be from the King James Version Bible (Thomas
Nelson Publishers, 1982),3.
2 Ibid., 657.
3 P. Read Montague, “Free Will.” Current Biology Journal 18, no. 14 (July 2008): 584-585. Accessed
February 04, 2017 retrieved from
http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/science/article/pii/S0960982208005393
3
God’s Relationship between Grace and Free Will
In Boyd’s book we learn that “God is the author of our lives and makes it possible for us
to choose which path we will go down on a daily basis. The choices we make are possible
plotlines within the structure of the story that were are creating even though God is the author.”4
We are writing it because he has given us free will but he created us in his image because he is
the God of the possible and the creator of all. God’s grace is that he cared enough to give us free
will to make our own decisions to choose Him and spread His word. God is not always happy
with the way our stories are developing especially when we are sinning but, he does not interfere
without our permission in prayer. He does test us with trials and tribulations to see if we will love
him as His grace and free will are the goal of His love and fidelity.
According to Rice “Christians fail to capture the biblical emphasis of the interpretation of
love in the Bible which is God’s most important attribute and fundamental.”5 Which means that
the statement “God is love” integrates all there is to state about God. We find “the goodness,
grace, righteousness, faithfulness, wisdom, and patience of God do not take us beyond the
thought of divine love but describe different aspects of its reality.” He went on to mention how
he was not surprised that the topic of divine love had received so much theological mention. In
Exodus 34:6 “and the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord, God,
merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth.”6
4 Gregory A. Boyd, “God of the Possible: Does God ever Change His Mind?” (Grand Rapids: Baker
Books, 2000), 47.
5 Richard Rice, “Biblical Support for a New Perspective.” Pinnock, Clark, Rice, Richard, Sanders, Hasker,
William, and Basinger, David. “The Openness of God: A Biblical Challenge to the Traditional Understanding of
God.” (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1994), 11-58.
6 Unless otherwise stated, all biblical references will be from the King James Version Bible (Thomas
Nelson Publishers, 1982), 52.
4
The Bondage of the Will
In Luther’s response to Erasmus he gives concern to Erasmus classifying “free will as a
useless doctrine that can be done without.”7 Luther believed that “man’s will was active matters
relating to eternal salvation, or whether it was merely the passive subject of the work of grace;
whether we do our good and evil deeds of mere necessity or if it is in us passively waiting to
come out.”8 He goes on to say that Christians must know the reason of the divine will which is
to be humble of our pride and the understanding of the grace of God first of all. The second is the
Christian faith’s nature. See a human cannot be humble unless he or she mourns over despair of
himself or herself. The belief is that free will without grace is not free because it has no power
without the power of our omnipotent God.
In the article “What is a Sinful Social Structure?” Finn states how sinful social structures
show the Church’s wisdom and how it points to the presence of the original sin in social
conditions and the structure of society. Finn explored the meaning of “sinful” as it was applied to
social structures, it employed theological awareness into original sin as a precondition for free
will as well as the social scientific classification of and including or withdrawal of institutions.
While understanding how the structures can make these sinful outcomes more likely. The second
concern is “culture which is considered the sum total of what people think,”9
8 Boyd, Gregory A. “God of the Possible: Does God ever Change His Mind?” (Grand Rapids: Baker
Books, 2000): 47-108.
9 Daniel K. Finn, “What is a Sinful Social Structure?” Theological Studies 77, no. 1 (March 2016), 136-
164.
5
Why it Was So Important to Augustinian and Cyprian to Explain the Lord’s Prayer
Augustine used Cyprian as a witness on his behalf because it was a great benefit not only
politically but wise and advantageous when you consider who he had to go up against to make
his point. The Pelagius admired Cyprian and seeked to imitate him. Cyprian was admired
throughout the Eastern, Wester, and African Churches. He was the most blessed, most glorious
man with the crown of martyrdom. How could Augustine go wrong by choosing his teacher for
his witness against the Pelagians? Augustine insisted that Cyprian’s the Lord’s Prayer supported
his case against the Pelagian view of grace in three key areas: “the conditions for the possibility
of obedience, the persistence of sin, and the limits of human willing.”10 Which is all based on
Cyprian’s belief that man needs divine aid to do that which is right. The petition of the Lord’s
Prayer which will keep man humble, remind us that we are weak and frail, remind us not be
arrogant, remain submissive unto God and give God our reverrance.
10 Komline, Han-luen Kantzer. “Grace, Free Will, and the Lord’s Prayer: Cyprian’s Importance for the
“Augustinian” Doctrine of Grace.” Western Theological Seminary Augustinian Studies Journal 45, no. 2 (2014):
247-279. Accessed February 04, 2017 retrieved from https://www-pdcnet-
org.ezproxy.liberty.edu//pdc/bvdb.nsf/purchase?
openform&fp=augstudies&id=augstudies_2014_0045_0002_0247_0279&onlyautologin=true
6
The Reformation, Calvinism, and Arminianism Approaches to Grace and Free Will
In the Reformation approach to grace and free will was Martin Luther and Erasmus
which was mentioned above. There was also Zwingli who preached reform in Zurich. He like
Luther was a magisterial reformer (cooperated reform with the magistrate or ruler) the link
between church and state. John Calvin took over upon Zwingli’s death as the leading Reformed
theologian. This reformed faith is known as Calvanism. Arminius who was a Calvanist disagreed
with the Augustinian and Calvinist view that God chooses people for salvation in spite of any
anticipated skill in them. Per Lane “In his lapsed and sinful state, man is not capable of and by
himself , either to think or to will or to do that which is really good. But it is necessary for him to
be regenerated and renewed in his intellect, affections or will and in all his powers, by God in
Christ through the Holy Spirit, that he may be qualified rightly to understand , esteem, consider,
will and perform whatever is truly good.”11
Upon Arminius’ death the Arminian pastors made a Remonstrance with five points. There
was an argument until the response from the Synod of Dort. The response was the ‘canons’ of
Dort which were later named the five points of Calvinism. Jonathan Edwards was a determined
opponent of Arminianism and he accepts freedom of the will in a extremely regulated perception.
Humans are free to behave as they choose. But what one chooses is governed by the most
compelling reasons that challenges them.
11 Tony Lane, “A Concise History of Christian Thought” (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006): 148-196.
7
Conclusion
In conclusion even though we all have free will it means nothing without God’s
redeeming Grace. For without his power guiding and supporting us we are nothing. We can try to
take the credit but anything we do without Him will fail. That is shown in the scriptures of Isaiah
55:11 when it says “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return
unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, it shall prosper in the thing whereto I
sent it.”12 Everytime we read our lessons and our Bible we learn that God is always showing us
his grace and mercy. His compassion and love with the many ways he blesses us throughout our
day in our lives and with our families. Everythime we pray and those prayers are answered we
know of his grace. We know free will is working everytime we choose to pray, go to church, take
a left instead of going right, and listening to the voice in your head. More than anything we must
remember to always pray every single day and if we are not sure how we must just open our
bible and read the Lord’s prayer out loud.
12 Unless otherwise stated, all biblical references will be from the King James Version Bible (Thomas
Nelson Publishers, 1982), 418.
8
Bibliography
Boyd, Gregory A. “God of the Possible: Does God ever Change His Mind?” (Grand Rapids:
Baker Books, 2000): 47-108.
Finn, Daniel K. “What is a Sinful Social Structure?” Theological Studies 77, no. 1 (March 2016):
136-164.
Komline, Han-luen Kantzer. “Grace, Free Will, and the Lord’s Prayer: Cyprian’s Importance for
the “Augustinian” Doctrine of Grace.” Western Theological Seminary Augustinian
Studies Journal 45, no. 2 (2014): 247-279. Accessed February 04, 2017 retrieved from
https://www-pdcnet-org.ezproxy.liberty.edu//pdc/bvdb.nsf/purchase?
openform&fp=augstudies&id=augstudies_2014_0045_0002_0247_0279&onlyautologin
=true
Lane, Tony “A Concise History of Christian Thought” (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006):
148-196.
Montague, P., Read. “Free Will.” Current Biology Journal 18, no. 14 (July 2008): 584-585.
Accessed February 04, 2017 retrieved from
http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/science/article/pii/S0960982208005393
Rice, Richard. “Biblical Support for a New Perspective.” Pinnock, Clark, Rice, Richard, Sanders,
Hasker, William, and Basinger, David. “The Openness of God: A Biblical Challenge to
the Traditional Understanding of God.” (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1994): 11-
58.
