"Calvin on the will"

       "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent M

            Me draws him,  I will raise him up at the last day."

                                        John 6:44

       John Calvin is the theilogian most closely associated in popular thought with the denial of the Semi-Pelagian view of free will. The reason is his strong emphasis on the doctrine of predestination. Actually, however, ther is nothing in Calvin's view of election and the associated issues of original sin and free will that was not also in the teaching of Augustine and Martin Luther. But Calvin gets the rap.

       What precisely did Calvin believe about the human will? The popular summary of his teaching known as five Points of Calvinism forn an acronym, TULIP; the T and the U help us answer this question. The T stands for Total Depravity. This description of the condition of fallen beings does not mean that man is as bad as he possibly could be. It dies not mean utter depravity. Rather, it means that man is fallen in every aspect of being; spirit, body, mind, and will. On a hotizontal plane, Calivn said, people can do good for one another. But when it comes to the vertical plane, Calvin said fallen man can do nothing please to God. That leads us to the U, which stands for unconditional Election. Because people can do nothing to please God, they cannot earn His favor. That rules out the view that election is based on God's foreknowledge of people  choosing Him. On the contrary. Cakvin said, if anyone is saved it is stricly on the basis of God's pleasure. He must regenerate the human spirit before it will turn to Him for liberation from sin.

        Calvin was an outstanding Bible scholar and cited many passages of scripture to support his teaching. John 6:63 says, "it is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profit nothing."'Here Jesus is asserting that the Holy Spirit regenerates those who believe for they have no power in themselves to choose God. He said the same in an even more explicit way in John6:44: "'No one come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him."'No one" rules out al, fallen people; "can" speak of ability abd power; come to Me" refers not to a meeting on the roads of judea, but to Christ for sakvation; "unless" speak of a necessary condition; and "the Father draws him" spells out the condition-- the Father must act. This was Calvin's conviction: the human will is absolutely unable to choose God unless He effects a change in the hearts of those He choose.

        How did God draws you to Himself?was it a dlow awakening to your need of Him? Or was it more sudden. Each salvation experience is different, but all are alike in that God is at worm. Drawing to Himself sinful people who never would come otherwise. Thank and praise Him today that He acted upon your heart out of His live ans mercy.