Does God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery?
God doth not leave all men to perish in the estate of sin and misery, into which they fell by the breach of the first covenant, commonly called the Covenant of Works; but of his mere love and mercy delivereth his elect out of it, and bringeth them into an estate of salvation by the second covenant, commonly called the Covenant of Grace.
One might say, “I don’t feel like I’m in a state of sin and misery.” The easy way out would be to simply deny there’s a problem. Then it would all disappear, right? But we all know that doesn’t work. Reality eventually hits, often in the form of tragedy or, ultimately, death – the unavoidable end we all face.
So, how do we deal with this looming reality? This is the biggest question of life… DEATH.
Our beliefs about death shape how we try to address it. If we see it as a natural end, we may accept its inevitability and simply say, “Que sera, sera – whatever will be, will be.” But is this truly the biblical perspective? If we take God at His word, the answer is no.
Fatalism is not a biblical concept, but predestination is. Scripture teaches:
“For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9)
“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:4-7)
This brings us to the concept of election, which is a difficult topic for many. Some may ask, “How dare you say God chooses some and not others?” While it’s a challenging concept, Scripture clearly supports it. We will explore this further in the weeks to come. As Martin Luther said, it’s not complicated, but it does challenge our understanding of God’s sovereignty and grace.
The perplexing question is how does one come to desire Christ and the gospel? Is this something we initiate ourselves? Good for you if you think so, but the truth is, we can’t. Don’t deceive yourself into believing you have abilities that no one else descended from Adam possesses. This is the crux of the issue. If you think you’ve prepared yourself to come to Christ and taken the necessary steps toward repentance through your own corrupt and darkened heart, then you’re still under the delusion of your own corruption.
As Romans 8:8-9 states, “Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.”
John Calvin extensively discussed the concept of free will, but he wasn’t the first to glean this understanding from Scripture. He championed the truths found in Scripture regarding grace and the gospel.
We play no active role in our redemption; God accomplishes it all, including electing some to salvation.
Calvin explains the theological understanding of free will:
“The schools, however, have adopted a distinction which enumerates three kinds of freedom… the first, a freedom from necessity; the second, a freedom from sin; and the third, a freedom from misery: the first naturally so inherent in man, that he cannot possibly be deprived of it; while through sin the other two have been lost…
All this being admitted, it will be beyond dispute, that free will does not enable any man to perform good works, unless he is assisted by grace; indeed, the special grace which the elect alone receive through regeneration…
In this way, then, man is said to have free will, not because he has a free choice of good and evil, but because he acts voluntarily, and not by compulsion. This is perfectly true: but why should so small a matter have been dignified with so proud a title? An admirable freedom! that man is not forced to be the servant of sin, while he is, however, ἐθελοδουλος (a voluntary slave); his will being bound by the fetters of sin.”
In essence, grace (God’s work) stands in contrast to the law (man’s effort). Attempting to earn salvation through the law is futile unless one is perfect from the start. Jesus Christ, the second Adam, was perfect and sinless, fulfilling the Law and earning eternal life.
However, for us, descendants of the fallen Adam, the truth about the Law is this:
“For as many as are of the works of the Laware under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.’ But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for ‘the just shall live by faith’…
because by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Galatians 3:10, 12, 21; Romans 3:20)
This passage underscores the limitations of the law and our inability to achieve righteousness through our own works.
Dwight is right! We are all born sinners, destined for judgment, damnation, and the ultimate death of both body and soul—unless God intervenes. The gospel is the story of that divine intervention, a story of redemption and the necessary change of heart that leads to salvation. This transformation is the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those whom the Father has given to the Son, those for whom Christ sacrificed Himself.
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