What is Reddit's opinion of The Bondage of the Will?

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> So are you saying the same thing as me?

Perhaps, but we’d have have more conversation to flesh out your statements. This is why I defined it and generally explained why I believe it no longer exists.

Note: I try to capitalize the term and explain the origins whenever I use it so that differentiates it from limited human will. I find in the other subs users tend to assume because we choose among earthly things that means free and willful aka Free Will.

> Even when we are called by the Holy Spirit we can choose to turn away.

Yes generally speaking but I’m hesitant to say we can just assume that means we can restrict or stop the HS’s “unction” or call. We have the opportunity to submit (or not) until at some point we reject so much we’re just given over by God to our rebellious rejection.

> But we cannot choose to go to the Holy Spirit

Again yes generally speaking but I’m not totally comfortable with limiting God altogether. If I remember right the Bible does say He has a chosen elect and that he’s reserved for himself vessels of mercy.

Hebrews 11 has a laundry list of Old Testament saints who lived in a season of Law before Christ manifested and pre-Pentecost. Yet they’re presented as giants of faith. Did they submit to grace in the same sense we do today post-Pentecost?

So we have to be somewhat careful when making short statements that draw a hard line especially when we’re speaking to a large general audience who perhaps doesn’t have some sense of biblical context.

Again it’s been years since I’ve read Bondage of the Will and perhaps I should read it again and make notes. I highly recommend the book of you haven’t read it.

When discussing free will it’s best to first define it.

Free Will is the liberty to see and discern all matters both divine and earthly to make a free and willful decision about one’s eternal fate.

Adam had Free Will, knew God, understood the eternal consequences and chose wrong. The consequences e.g. “Because you have done this ...”are man’s Fallen nature and a cursed fallen world.

Man now inherits Adam’s fallen nature, is hostile to God and retains an earthly will losing his proverbial divine goggles: is spiritually deaf, dumb and blind.

We can discern:choose among material earthly matters but not divine matters. There’s a season for everything and today we exist in the season of grace (God’s unmerited favor.) Unmerited = not by the merits of our works or discernment.

In this season we have the earthly vision to see and discern the evidence of the manifested earthly Christ (scripture, hearing/reading the Gospel, and the earthly parts of the sacraments aka means of grace) and make an earthly decision: submit to grace— or not.

> So for Lutherans is free will one way where we cannot come to God on our own but we can actively resist him if we choose?

Free Will no longer exists. A liberty lost is no longer a liberty. If one today could see all the divine consequences for rejecting grace who would reasonably reject it and choose the horrors of Hell?All are called to God by the unction of the Holy Spirit but individuals can ignore it and reject grace.

It’s been awhile since I’ve read Bondage of the Will by Luther and I’m willing to be corrected. Peace.