Ep 14 - Do We Have Free Will? - Finding Truth in a Confused World

Do we have free will? Pastor Zach walks through what the Bible and the Reformation actually say about the will — and why the effects of sin are the main reason our freedom is broken. Most of us can choose a mug or a shirt. The harder question is whether a fallen person can choose God. Drawing on Martin Luther’s Bondage of the Will and Augustine’s four states of man, this episode argues that we still choose, but after the fall the will is bound. Adam and Eve alone stood able to sin and able not to sin. Everyone since is either bound to sin or, in Christ, freed to will what is good — and only in glory is the will safe. Four states covered: • Innocence — able to sin, able not to sin (Adam and Eve) • Fallen nature — not able not to sin • Grace — able not to sin, still able to sin • Glory — not able to sin Correction: when the video mentions Romans 5 on being a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness, the passage is Romans 6:16–23. Romans 5 is the Adam and Christ parallel. Finding Truth in a Confused World is a weekly series from Pastor Zach Hummer of The Chapel at Warren Valley. Timestamps 0:00 New setup and why the videos felt stiff 0:56 Do we have free will? 1:29 Choosing a mug — ordinary freedom 2:26 Can we choose the most important thing? 3:07 What “libertarian free will” usually means 4:38 Luther and the bondage of the will 5:36 No third kingdom (see Romans 6, not 5) 6:41 Augustine’s four states of man 8:00 Innocence: Adam and Eve 9:00 Fallen nature 9:30 Grace 10:20 Glory 11:50 Tug-of-war picture 14:25 Closing and what’s next