Part 8 – Free Will
The Sixth Session of the Council of Trent took up the topic of Justification. In the first chapter of the Decrees, they write:
The holy Synod declares first, that, for the correct and sound understanding of the doctrine of Justification, it is necessary that each one recognise and confess, that, whereas all men had lost their innocence in the prevarication of Adam-having become unclean, and, as the apostle says, by nature children of wrath, as (this Synod) has set forth in the decree on original sin,-they were so far the servants of sin, and under the power of the devil and of death, that not the Gentiles only by the force of nature, but not even the Jews by the very letter itself of the law of Moses, were able to be liberated, or to arise, therefrom; (Trent 31)
This would be fine, if it weren’t for the fact that the Council had a completely insufficient understanding of just how sinful the nature of Man really is, as displayed by their insufficient view of Regeneration. They then go on to write:
… although free will, attenuated as it was in its powers, and bent down, was by no means extinguished in them. (Trent 31)
No wonder the Council had such an unbiblical view of Regeneration, as we saw previously. Despite claiming that people are “by nature children of wrath”, “servants of sin”, and “under the power of the devil”, this sentence shows that they still did not understand the truly wicked and sinful nature of Man. But the truth is that the will of man is not merely ‘attenuated’, it is absolutely enslaved to sin:
Then God, seeing that the wickedness of men was great upon the earth and that every thought of their heart was intent upon evil at all times, (Gen 6:5, CPDV)
Sinners have become foreigners from the womb; they have gone astray from conception. They have been speaking falsehoods. (Psa 57:4, CPDV)
And we have all become like the unclean. And all our justices are like a rag of menstruation. And we have all fallen away, like a leaf. And our iniquities have carried us away, like the wind. (Isa 64:6, CPDV)
And this is the judgment: that the Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness more than light. For their works were evil. (Joh 3:19, CPDV)
… just as it was written: “There is no one who is just. There is no one who understands. There is no one who seeks God. All have gone astray; together they have become useless. There is no one who does good; there is not even one. (Rom 3:10-12, CPDV)
And the wisdom of the flesh is inimical to God. For it is not subject to the law of God, nor can it be. So those who are in the flesh are not able to please God. (Rom 8:7-8, CPDV)
And you were once dead in your sins and offenses, (Eph 2:1, CPDV)
The will of the unregenerate Man is by no means ‘attenuated’. It is not ‘free’ to do good, but ‘free’ only to do evil. Even the ‘good works’ of the wicked are filthy and worthless in the sight of God (Pro 21:27, Isa 64:6, Amo 5:21, Rom 10:2, Php 3:4-7). As the Christian Confession of Faith teaches:
The truth of total depravity does not mean that all men are as outwardly immoral as they possibly could be. It means that every faculty of the soul of every natural (that is, unregenerate) descendant of Adam is completely polluted with hatred to the true and living God, and all of the natural man’s thoughts, words, and deeds (even his kindness, morality, and religion) are dead works, evil deeds, and fruit unto death. It means that every natural descendent of Adam owes a debt to God’s law and justice that he cannot pay. It means that every natural descendent of Adam is spiritually dead, having no spiritual understanding, a lover of darkness rather than light, a slave of sin, unable and unwilling to obey God and come to Jesus Christ for salvation. This truth is contrary to the damnable poison known as “free will,” which seeks to make the creature independent of the Creator and seeks to make the Potter depend on the clay, according to the devil’s lie, “You shall be as God.” [Gen 3:5; Psa 14:2-3; Pro 12:10; 15:8; Isa 45:20; 64:6; Jer 13:23; 17:9; Mat 7:18; Joh 3:19-20; 6:44-45; Rom 1:20-23; 3:9-12,20; 5:12; 6:16-23; 7:5; 8:5-8; 10:2-3; 1Co 2:14; 2Co 4:3-4; Eph 2:5; 4:18; Col 1:21; 2:13; Heb 9:14; 11:6] (Christian Confession of Faith, III.B.3)
A correct understanding of the sinful nature of Man is indeed necessary to a correct understanding of Justification. If we do not have a correct understanding of what it means to be lost, then we shall never have a correct understanding of what it means to be saved. But Trent’s understanding of the sinful nature of Man was not only incorrect, the Council actually put forth a view of human nature that is damnable poison. The doctrine of Free Will makes God to depend entirely on the choices made by Man. It sees human nature as something bad, to be sure, but not something that defiles the whole person, body and soul. It elevates Man to a level of independence from God, and even exalts Man above God, because it forces God to submit to the decisions of Man. This is blasphemous.
As we shall see, the Lord willing, this unbiblical view of human nature will result in an unbiblical view of Justification. The ‘damnable poison’ will actually infect the entire rest of their theological system.
References
Catholic Public Domain Version of the Holy Bible. Ed and trans. Ronald L. Conte Jr. 2009. Web. SacredBible.org
Christian Confession of Faith. True Gospel Ministry, 2003. Web. The Gospel & Its Enemies.
Trent, The Council of: The canons and decrees of the sacred and oecumenical Council of Trent. Ed. and trans. J. Waterworth. London: Dolman, 1848. Web. Hanover Historical Texts Project.
The Gospel & Its Enemies 