Chapter 30.—Men are Not Saved by Good Works, Nor by the Free
Determination of Their Own Will, But by the Grace of God Through Faith.
“But
this part of the human race to which God has promised pardon and a share in His
eternal kingdom, can they be restored through the merit of their own works? God
forbid! For what good work can a lost man perform, except so far as he has been
delivered from perdition? Can they do anything by the free determination of
their own will? Again I say, God forbid. For it was by the evil use of his
free-will that man destroyed both it and himself. For, as a man who kills
himself must, of course, be alive when he kills himself, but after he has
killed himself ceases to live, and cannot restore himself to life; so, when man
by his own free-will sinned, then sin being victorious over him, the freedom of
his will was lost. “For of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in
bondage.”
(2 Peter 2:19) This is the judgment of the Apostle Peter.
And as it is certainly true, what kind of liberty, I ask, can the bond-slave
possess, except when it pleases him to sin? For he is freely in bondage who
does with pleasure the will of his master. Accordingly, he who is the servant
of sin is free to sin. And hence he will not be free to do right, until, being
freed from sin, he shall begin to be the servant of righteousness. And this is
true liberty, for he has pleasure in the righteous deed; and it is at the same
time a holy bondage, for he is obedient to the will of God. But whence comes this
liberty to do right to the man who is in bondage and sold under sin, except he
be redeemed by Him who has said, “If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be
free indeed?” (John 8:36) And before this redemption is wrought in a
man, when he is not yet free to do what is right, how can he talk of the
freedom of his will and his good works, except he be inflated by that foolish
pride of boasting which the apostle restrains when he says, “By grace are ye
saved, through faith.” (Ephesians 2:8)
Chapter 31.—Faith Itself is the Gift of God; And Good Works Will
Not Be Wanting in Those Who Believe.
And lest men should arrogate to themselves the merit of their
own faith at least, not understanding that this too is the gift of God, this
same apostle, who says in another place that he had “obtained mercy of the Lord
to be faithful”, (1 Corinthians 7:25) here also adds: “and that not of yourselves; it is
the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) And lest it should be thought that good works
will be wanting in those who believe, he adds further: “For we are His
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10) We shall be made truly free, then, when God
fashions us, that is, forms and creates us anew, not as men—for He has done
that already—but as good men, which His grace is now doing, that we may be a
new creation in Christ Jesus, according as it is said: “Create in me a clean heart,
O God.” (Psalm 51:10) For God had
already created his heart, so far as the physical structure of the human heart
is concerned; but the psalmist prays for the renewal of the life which was
still lingering in his heart.”
Augustine, Enchiridion 30-31 (My own emphasis)
John 8:34 - Jesus said, "Truly I say to you whoever commits sin is the slave of sin."
Romans 6:22 - "But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life."
"If you abide in My word, then you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the Truth will set you free" Jesus John 8:31-32
On this Fourth of July, 2012 - we celebrate and are thankful to God for our political freedom, but even more, we believers in Jesus Christ are grateful to God and celebrate our true spiritual freedom from sin and the slavery to sin. (Romans 6:6-7)
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