What does the Bible say about free will and grace?
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The Bible teaches that true salvation is entirely by God's grace, not by the free will of man.
Scripture clearly establishes that human will is incapable of turning to Christ without divine intervention. Martin Luther asserted that any notion of salvation attributed to human free-will undermines the very nature of grace. This aligns with passages such as Ephesians 2:8-9, which state that we are saved by grace through faith, and not of ourselves; it is a gift of God. This reinforces the belief that salvation is wholly the work of God, the Alpha and Omega, rather than a collaborative effort with human will.
When God begins His work in a person's heart, He demonstrates that we possess neither the inclination nor the power to choose Him without His enabling grace. Therefore, the doctrine of free grace highlights that all aspects of salvation, including the initial desire to believe, are gifts from God. This foundational principle is essential for understanding the depth of God's mercy and the true nature of salvation as revealed throughout scripture.
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