Free-Will Or Free-Grace?
Romans 9:16
The great contest between the religion of
the world and the religion of Jesus Christ is just this - Who is entitled to
the praise and glory of the sinner's salvation? Your answer to that question
will be deter- mined by your answer to this one - Is
salvation by free-will, or by free-grace? To answer these questions, I make no
appeal to the preachers and theologians of the past, though I thank God for
what he has taught me through the writings of those faithful men who served him
in past generations. And I make no appeal to the preachers and theologians of
the present, though I truly thank God for his faithful witnesses who minister
to my soul. To find the answer to these questions, I turn to the Book of God,
the Bible, our solitary rule of faith and practice. "If they speak not
according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."
Who is entitled to have the praise and
glory of salvation? What does the Bible say? "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto
us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake."
"He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." "Thou art worthy,
O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power."
Is salvation by the free-will of man, or
by the free-grace of God? What does the Bible say? "It is not of him that
willeth,nor of him that runneth, but of God that
showeth mercy." Salvation is "not by might, nor by power, but by my
Spirit, saith the LORD of hosts."
What does that vile, ugly, reprehensible
term, "free-will" represent? Free-willism is the religion of man. It
represents anything decided,determined, or done by man
to attain salvation.Free-willism is the religion of satan. Lucifer was the
first free-willer (Isa.14:13- 14).Free-willism was the religion of those men
who cru- cified the Lord of glory (Mk. 15:9-15). Free-willism is the religion
of
What is represented by that glorious,God-honoring, Christ exalting
term,"free-grace"?Free-grace represents everything decided,
determined and done by almighty God to bestow salvation upon his elect.
Free-grace is the sovereign, voluntary,eternal,
immutable, unconditional, uncaused,uncontrolled, gratuitous bounty of God's
good- ness,by which salvation,in all its branches, is accomp- lished. It is
this grace that reigns unto the eternal life of chosen sinners through Christ
(Rom.
Don Fortner