Now, as we looked at last time,
we looked at the introduction of the study of the will. We
determined that whether the concept of the will is used as a verb
or a noun is best defined as a choice, as the choice. The will is choice. And that's
the title of the message. Will is choice. Will is choice. And that simply means that to
will is to choose. We also determine that the wheel
is not independent, or not an independent actor, or even an
actor at all, but is a revelation of the intent, affinity, inclination,
and determination of the mind. or the inward man, or the nature,
however you want to put it. But it is a product of a determination
of the mind, an inclination, an affinity, a desire, a wish,
whatever you want to call it. The will is consistent with that
motivation, whatever it might be. We saw that last week. Now,
the mind is the seat of motive, that is, the inward man, the
whole man, and it's where motivation arises. Now, the will or choice
is thus a revelation of the mind's strongest motive. The will is
a revelation of the mind's strongest motive. Now, understanding this
is important in consideration of the numerous admonitions given
in the Word of God. It's important on that basis
because we're admonished to do a great number of things in the
Scripture. If the will or choice were independent
of the mind, or independent of motive, if the will or choice
was self-determining, then exhortation or admonition, which is persuading
the mind, would be useless. There would be no use for admonitions
or exhortation if the will were not dependent upon the mind,
or was free from the mind, or self-determining. However, if
the will or choice is subject to the mind or the motive, then
exhortation or admonition, which is persuading the mind, That's
what it's doing, persuading the mind. It is both reasonable and
useful because it's consistent with the mind determining the
choice. We tell men to love one another. We approach their mind
and their will or their heart. We don't approach their will,
we approach their mind and their heart to love one another. If
they love one another, if they choose to love, it's because
their mind is motivated to do so. That's the strongest motivation
of the mind. When we seek to persuade men,
we do not approach the choice. We don't talk to their choice
or approach the choice they might make, but rather we approach
the mind which determines the choice. That's why I preach. I'm preaching to your minds,
to your hearts. I'm not preaching to your wills. Because you only
got one will, it will follow whatever your strongest motivation
of mind is, whatever it is. So the act of willing or choosing
is an act of the mind, the inward man. It's not an act of the hand
or the foot. It's an act of the mind. And
we may choose that which we may never possess. But there is no
doubt that if we have taken possession of a thing, we have chosen to
do so. Thus, the will is always equated
or consistent with desire, or wish, or affinity, or inclination. Now we may at times choose what
is termed the lesser of two evils. We may choose the lesser of two
evils. But that is merely a judgment
of which of the two evils is more desirable as to the outcome
we are pursuing. Say if we have a disease, our
desire, our wish, our choice is to get better. I would think
in most cases. It would be to get better. That's
what we would choose. We would choose health over being
sick. Now we may have to choose to
undergo treatment that is not desirable to gain our true desire. If I have cancer, I don't want
to have cancer. But in order to get rid of my
cancer, I might have to go through chemotherapy. I don't want to
go through chemotherapy, but I don't want more to have cancer. I want to be healthy. So I make
the choice of the lesser of two evils, but it doesn't change
the intent or the goal overall, because my desire is healthy.
I have to go through this and choose this in order to get there.
You see what I'm saying? So we may choose the lesser of
two evils. To regain our health, we may
have to choose to undergo treatment in order to achieve that goal.
Now, we have chosen what is not desirable to gain our true desire. And sometimes we do that. Intelligent
beings always choose what they desire. They always choose what
they desire because their desire is always consistent with their
choice and vice versa. Man will never choose what he
does not ultimately desire. He will never choose that. Never
choose that. If He did, then He would choose
what He did not choose. It doesn't make any sense, does
it? He would be willing to do what He would not be willing
to do. He would be willing to do what He would not be willing
to do, which doesn't make any sense either, does it? It doesn't
make any sense. Man may be forced to do something. He may be forced
to do something he does not want, but he can never be forced to
choose that thing. He may be forced at a gunpoint
to do something, but you can't force him to choose that thing.
Because choice has to do with what you want, and what you desire,
and what the strongest motivation of your mind is. The will of
man, and this is important to understand, is the voluntary
choice of the man. The voluntary choice of the man,
and it's determined by the mind. The motivation of the individual.
That's what determines the will. Man may be hindered from obtaining
what he chooses, but he cannot be hindered from choosing to
obtain it. It's that simple. You may want
something and not get it, but you cannot be hindered from wanting
it. You cannot be hindered from choosing it. If that's what you
want, if that's where you're at, in here and in here, that's
what you'll always choose. Now when the Lord said things
like, if any man will be my disciple, any man will be my disciple,
He was saying, if any man chooses to be my disciple. choose to
be my disciple. The same way may be applied to
what is attached to the numerous uses of the words whosoever will. There are many of them in Scripture.
Most of the time it's whosoever will not, but a number of times
it is whosoever will. What that means, that means is
that whosoever is willing or whosoever chooses whosoever chooses. Every instance of choice is a
result of the mind's strongest motivation, inclination, intent,
determination, and affinity. Now, keeping that in mind, I
want us to look at the words of our Lord in John chapter 5
and verse 39 and 40. I quoted them this morning. Our Lord said to those Pharisees
and those who love the Scriptures, Search the Scriptures, for in
them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which
testify of Me. And ye will not come to Me that
ye might have life. Now our Lord here is declaring
that these to whom He is speaking do not choose Him for life. They do not choose Him for life.
It is evident in verse 39 that they do, however, choose something.
They make a choice. They do will to do something.
They will not come to Him, but they will come to something.
They will come to something. They choose to equate knowledge
of Scripture with having life, but they do not choose to come
to Christ who is evidently the source of life. But they do choose.
They do choose. The strongest motivation of their
mind, the desire of their mind, is this, that by reading this
book, I'll be saved. That's the motivation of the
mind. Christ said, I'm life. You don't have life unless you
come into me. But they do not choose that. It's that simple.
It's that simple. The ramifications of that wretched
choice they make are manifold and at least are a revelation
that they believe that there is life apart from Jesus Christ.
They don't believe He's life. This is the basic error of those
who embrace the false doctrine of free will or the will acting
independently of the mind. They believe they possess life
without the benefit of actual life. They believe they can choose
what they do not and will not choose. And that's just stupid.
But that's what they think. They can choose what they will
not choose. And we're not going to get into where that leads.
And I'm taking this piece by piece. And that's why I said,
if you want the copies, you can take them and read and follow
along with me. Because it's a pretty intense subject, this matter
of the will of man and the will of God. It's a pretty big deal. Keeping that in mind, read John
5.40 in conjunction with our text in John 1.13. He says, You
will not come to me that you might have life. And then we
read over in 1 John 1.13, speaking of the new birth, which is life,
which were born, not of blood, that is ancestry, not of the
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man. but of the will
of God. That's how they're born. They're
made alive. Now, they won't come to Christ for life. But He's
life. Well, how will they come to Christ
for life? If they're born of the will of God. Because it says
here, as many as received Him, gave He the privilege to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. So
that's what we're dealing with today. Birth is analogous with
life. So our text concerning spiritual
life, by new birth, life that is Christ and is found only in
Him, is not by the will of the flesh. It says that. So what
does that mean? That means that it's not by the
choice of the flesh. It's not by the desire of the
flesh. It's not by the intent of the
flesh. It's not by the inclination of
the flesh. It's not by the voluntary action
of the flesh. It's not by the strongest motive
of the flesh. When it says, not of the will
of the flesh, that means the flesh does not choose it. Doesn't
want it. Doesn't want it whatsoever. Nor
is life by new birth, by the choice, desire, intent, inclination,
or voluntary action of man. Spiritual life is by what? By
the will of God, but of God. So, what does that mean? If you
have spiritual life, and it's by God's will, which is a revelation
of God's mind and intent and desire, what does that mean? It means You are born by the choice, desire,
intent, and inclination, and voluntary action of God. That's what that means. In the
first, the primary, the preliminary and necessary aspect of salvation,
which is life, life precedes all things. I know some old primitive
friends of mine like to put life here, and regeneration down the
road, and life here, and faith down the road, and all this stuff.
Don't do that. Don't do that. The Bible doesn't do it, so you
don't do it either. I know human logic would come up with scenarios
like that. But here in verse 12 of chapter
1, it says that they became sons of God as they received Christ,
and they are those who believe on His name. So the Lord doesn't
separate this receiving life from faith, even though we know
life is first. Just like we know when we throw
the light switch, there is an electrical connection before
it reaches that light and turns it on. We know that. But we can't
tell the time span between the two. We cut it on and there it
is. We're talking about life. So, life, that's the preliminary,
the necessary aspect of salvation. In that preliminary, the primary
and necessary act of salvation, man does not choose it. For it says, which were born,
not of blood, not of the will of the flesh, not of the will
of man. Man does not choose it. And if
he does not, it is because he does not desire it. It's because
it is not consistent. To choose it would not be consistent
with the strongest motivation of his mind. He don't want it.
He don't motivate it toward, so He don't choose it. It's not
by the will of man. Thank God that God's desire is
always fulfilled and consequently, those that He wills to life receive
the privilege of becoming the sons of God. Those who are alive
to God have a different mind than those who are dead to Him.
They have a different mind. Now, if they have a different
mind, what will follow? Their will. Their choice will
be different than those who don't know God. Those who know God,
their mind is different. Our Lord says that in Scripture. Having a different mind, they
will make different voluntary choices.
Different things motivate them. They desire and therefore choose
different things. Our Lord said, that which is
born of the flesh is flesh. and can never leave that realm.
And that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. That's two
different realms. Now both of those principles
live within every child of God. He's flesh and He is spirit.
But these two are always contrary together. Now He only has one
will. He doesn't have two wills. He's
got one will. And whatever, whether it be the
flesh or the spirit, there's a strong motivation at the point
in time, that's what He will choose. He just will. because it's the strongest motivation
of the mind. However, the spiritual mind will choose certain things,
and the flesh will choose certain things. They desire and therefore choose
different things. Our Lord said in Romans 8.5, He says, They
that are of the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, and
they that are of the Spirit do mind the things of the Spirit.
He even goes to speak of inability, he says, for the carnal mind
is enmity against God, is not subject to the law of God, and
neither indeed can be. So he addresses somewhat of inability,
which we'll look at in a different study. What do we have? We have only what we have received,
and if we have received what we should, most of us have not
received it. If God has made us alive in Jesus Christ, He
has given us life in Jesus Christ. He has given us a mind. And that
mind, the spiritual mind, will always have a strong motivation
and desire and want to please God. It will always be there. Now it's interrupted. It is contrary
to and often finds itself in a fist fight with the flesh.
But that mind will always choose Christ. And when God gives a
person life by His will, that person's life will then choose
that which that life is strongly motivated by. And that's the
Lord Jesus Christ. One final thing, and this is
paramount to understanding will. This is just a small little lesson.
But I don't want to take this in big chunks because I want
you to take time to think about these things. One final thing. Now it may seem obvious, but
there is no need to distinguish between man or humankind and
inanimate or irrational creatures as it pertains to the will. It
may seem obvious that there is no need to do that. I know what
a dog is. I know what a person is. I know what a stone and a
flower is. I know what a person is. It may not distinguish between
man and inanimate or non-human things on the earth. But there
is a reason that they need to be distinguished. An inanimate
thing, such as a stone or a flower, is not capable of choice. Not capable of choice. And it's
not capable of being governed by moral law. It's simply not
capable. Natural laws may act upon it,
but it does not act according to natural laws. It is acted
upon by natural laws. Now whether stone or flower,
neither is capable of voluntary action. I know people say, well,
the flower follows the sunlight. No, it doesn't. It doesn't follow. The flower doesn't do anything.
God made the flower with certain types of helio and photosensitive
cells in the outward bark of the flower, the outward skin
of the flower. These cells shrink or elongate by one thing. if there is light or heat on
them. If there is light and heat on this side, the cells shrink.
The flower bends toward the light. If light is on this side, the
cells shrink. These extend. The flower bends
toward the light. The flower does nothing. It is
acted upon. So it is subject to laws of nature,
but it doesn't act upon laws of nature. A flower or stone
is not capable of voluntary action. Concerning animals, which nowadays
people are calling children, this is my family. This is my
child, my little child dog. People are talking like, I know
it's crazy, but they do it anyway. Concerning non-humans, and when
I'm talking about animals, I'm talking about non-humans. You
say, well, a human being is an animal. If you want to put him
in the animal kingdom with the the breath of animal life or
animate life with the Ruach, what was given to Adam and given
to all other creatures, the breath of life. human life or animate
life, you can say he's an animal, but you're going to have to put
him at the top of the rug. However, God makes a very particular distinction
between human beings and animals with a different kind of breadth
of life, and that is the neshamah. The neshamah is the ability of
one not only to hear, but to understand and to reply in kind
from a rational thought process. And that word, neshama, breath
of life, is never used in reference to an animal anywhere in Scripture.
It's simply not there. God makes the difference. So
when we're talking about non-humans, they are capable of voluntary
action. We have a cat. We have a cat
named Jonesy who just recently started to fetch. I've never
seen a cat fetch before, but this cat fetches. Debbie will
wind up a little piece of paper and throw it. She'll play with
it for a while and she'll pick it up with her mouth and come
and give it to Debbie. So Debbie will throw it again. That's a
voluntary action on the part of the cat. He wants to do that. Evidently he likes to do that,
so he does that. But that cat is not capable of
a moral choice. Human beings are. That cat's
not just capable of distinguishing and acting upon a rational assessment
of right and wrong. There's no right and wrong for
that cat. It's just survival. Pain or keeping away from it.
That's it. That's all it is. But man is
capable of being governed by moral and civil laws. Man is
capable of being influenced by family and society and the church.
Influenced by God's law and the gospel. Man's different than
the animals. Man is capable of moral choice between right and
wrong. We do it every day. And I did
it a long time before I was saved, before the Lord saved me. I still
made choices between right and wrong. Now I had the influence
of being governed by parents and by moral law and the community
law society. They said they taught me certain
things and that influenced me. But I made moral choices between
right and wrong and man is capable of that. And he is capable of
voluntary action or choosing what he wants. He's capable of
voluntary action. Now this is important because
we preach the gospel to men. And we must be careful not to
think of men as incapable of voluntary action. I know they're
dead in trespasses and sin, but they're capable of voluntary
action. If they come to Christ, they do it voluntarily. If they
don't, they do it voluntarily. If they do it voluntarily, something
has happened to them from on high. Now, even though men will not
choose what they do not desire, we must never think of them as
incapable of voluntary action. They are. So in our next study,
we'll consider matters of cannot and will not, in reference to
the will, as they apply to man's capability of making a voluntary
choice. because each of those things
is important. I know I'm only dealing with snippets in each
lesson, but I want to give us something to think about all
week so we have a little bit so I can add a little bit to it because at
the end of this thing, I believe we'll understand to some degree
the will of man and the will of God. Okay, that's it for today.
Lord bless you.