Article 9

Of the free will or power of man before and after the fall; and of the saving grace of God. Of this we confess: that God Almighty in the beginning created the man Adam and his wife in His image and likeness, endowing them, above all creatures, with virtues, knowledge, speech, reason, and a free will or power; so that they could know, love, fear, and obediently serve their Creator, or could willingly and disobediently forsake their God; as appeared in the first transgression, when Adam and his wife, through the subtlety of the devil, who appeared in the form of a deceitful serpent, departed from the commandment of God. So they did not sin through the foreordination or the will of God; but since they had been created with a free will, and to do as they would, they sinned through their own voluntary desire, and transgressed the command of God contrary to His will.

The man Adam and his wife, having thus through their own sin fallen under the wrath and disfavor of God, whereby they became sinful and mortal, were received into favor again by God their Creator; so that they were not entirely stripped of their former wisdom, speech, and knowledge, above all other creatures, nor of their previous free will or power, as may be seen from their willingly accepting God's gracious promises to life, and obeying the voice of the Lord; and as also clearly appears from the fact that God the Lord very strictly appointed an angel with a flaming sword to keep the tree of life from Adam, lest through his free will or power he should eat of the tree of life and live forever; which would have been in Adam's power. And this free will or power has been passed on to all their descendants, who come from them as branches from their stem; so that even as men are endowed by God with knowledge, reason and voluntary power, by which they can do many kinds of works, and seek and desire from God the health of their diseased and weakened bodies, and are not without action, like the irrational creatures, blocks and stones, so likewise man, through the grace of God, and the moving of the Spirit, by which men live and are moved, may open the door of the heart to the saving grace of God which through the Gospel is offered to all men, and through which death and life is set before man, and seek the health of his wounded soul; or he may willingly resist, reject and neglect this offered grace and moving of the Spirit. So also, as men have eyes and ears, to see and to hear, yet not of themselves, but only from God the Giver, so they also, through the grace of God, have a free will or power to do the good and to leave the evil.

But men, considered in themselves, since they are without the grace of God, are of themselves unable to think anything that is good, much less are they able to do it. But it is Almighty God who through His Spirit of grace works in man both to will and to do, who moves, draws, and chooses them, and accepts them as His children, so that men are only receivers of God's saving grace. Therefore all Christians are bound in duty to ascribe the beginning, middle and end of their faith, with all the good fruits of it, not to themselves, but only to the unmerited grace of God in Christ Jesus.

We confess moreover: that this saving grace of God is not limited to a few particular men, but even as Almighty God lets His sun rise and shine on the evil and on the good, so He has extended His grace to all of Adam's race; as it is also evident that God, in His goodness, did not leave Himself without witness among the heathen, doing them good, and so moving their hearts, that their thoughts and consciences accused and excused them, so that they could do by nature, without hearing the law of Moses, the things contained in the law. This appears with still greater clearness in the coming of Christ: that Almighty God has proclaimed the saving grace through the Gospel to the whole world, for a witness to all nations, by which all excuse is taken from men, and as evidence that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should repent and be saved. According to the meaning of the holy and everlasting Gospel, a righteous, eternal, and irrevocable judgment shall be pronounced, in the last day, through Christ Jesus, the blessed, over all nations. Therefore all men who now in this time of grace believe and accept the Gospel attain to life; but all who do not believe the Gospel, but willingly reject it, will receive death as their portion.

On the other hand, we reject the belief of those who say that Almighty God has indeed caused the word of reconciliation to be preached to all, or to many, but nevertheless withholds His grace from many of them, so that the greater part of mankind cannot accept the word of reconciliation and be saved, but will, through the purpose or eternal counsel and will of God, inevitably have to perish forever, and be damned.

On this subject, read the various Scripture passages that ascribe a will to man. And the Holy Spirit does not speak in vain in the Scriptures: "He himself made man from the beginning, and left him in the hand of his counsel; if you will, to keep the commandments, and to perform acceptable faithfulness. He has set fire and water before you; stretch out your hand to whichever you will. Before man is life and death; and whichever he likes shall be given him." Sirach 15, verses 14 to 17; Deuteronomy 11, verse 26; Deuteronomy 30, verse 15; Second Esdras 7, verse 59. [n534-1]

God the Lord said to Cain: "If you do not do well, sin lies at the door; and to you shall be his desire, and you shall rule over him." Genesis 4, verse 7.

Concerning man's free will, read: "Let him do what he will, he does not sin; let them marry. Nevertheless he who stands steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but has power over his own will." First Corinthians 7, verses 36 to 38.

"And whoever offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord to accomplish his vow, or a free will offering." Leviticus 22, verses 21 and 23.

"Who might offend, and has not offended? or done evil, and has not done it?" Sirach 31, verse 10.

And Paul also says: "For to their power, I bear witness, and indeed beyond their power they were willing of themselves. Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also." Second Corinthians 8, verses 3 and 11; Philemon, verse 14; Mark 14, verse 7; First Corinthians 7, verse 36.

Man can do nothing good of himself, by his own power; but through the grace of God he is able, in his imperfectness, to keep God's commandments. "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Philippians 2, verse 13.

"You dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, and do not see; they have ears to hear, and do not hear." Ezekiel 12, verse 2.

"For to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I do not find." Romans 7, verses 18 to 21.

Read here all the Scriptures which unanimously testify that God does not desire the death of the sinner, but that he be converted, and live. Ezekiel 18, verse 32; Ezekiel 33, verse 11; Wisdom 1, verse 13; Isaiah 55, verse 7.

And that God has extended His saving grace not only to the elect, but to all of Adam's race; and that He also died for those who perish. Concerning this, read: "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men." Titus 2, verse 11.

"Look to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth." Isaiah 45, verse 22.

"Therefore, as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men to justification of life." Romans 5, verse 18.

"Who in times past allowed all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless he did not leave himself without witness," and so on. Acts 14, verses 16 and 17; Romans 1, verse 19; Romans 2, verse 15.

"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction." Second Peter 2, verse 1.

"And that he died for all, that those who live should not from now on live for themselves, but for him who died for them, and rose again." Second Corinthians 5, verse 15. [n534-2] "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son," and so on. John 3, verse 16.

"Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1, verse 29.

"For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who will have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth." First Timothy 2, verses 3 and 4.

"He is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Second Peter 3, verse 9; Romans 2, verse 4; James 4, verse 6; Acts 13, verse 46. Read also: Matthew 23, verses 36 and 37; Luke 13, verse 34; Second Esdras 1, verse 30.

As to how God the righteous judge will pronounce the final judgment upon those who disobey* the Gospel, read: [n534-3] "When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." Second Thessalonians 1, verses 7 and 8; Mark 16, verse 16. "This is the book of the commandments of God, and the law that endures forever: all who keep it shall come to life; but those who leave it shall die." Baruch 4, verse 1.