Free Will - Part II

When Adam fell, like the fallen angels, he lost the ability to choose salvation since he died in his trespasses.

There is no greater picture of this than the vision God gave to the prophet Ezekiel in the valley of the dry bones.

EZE 37:1-14 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'" So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet--a vast army. Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.'"

You will notice that the prophet was commanded to preach to dead bones. By nature these bones could not respond to that preaching. They were scattered and dead. There was no INNATE ability to respond. A dead corpse cannot respond unless the nature is changed, unless a miracle is worked from an external force to change the nature of death into one of life. It was only when the "breath entered them" (that is, the Holy Spirit) that the ability of the bones to respond and come together was given.

Tomorrow: Thus, man's will is in bondage, that is, free only in one direction, to do works that are insufficient for salvation.

Click here for Reformed Faith Resources...

In His Grip,
PB