Do You Have Free Will to Love God and Love Your Neighbor?

Many of these new Seeker-Driven churches ape the practices of the corporate world and have created their own mission and vision statements¹. I've noticed a trend among these churches, that trend being the fact many of these new fangled mission and visions statement are nothing other than a two point summary of the Mosaic law, "Love God and Love People". As a result of their mission and vision focus on fulfilling the law² rather than the great commission the sermons preached in these churches amount to nothing more than tips, principles and advice for "loving God and loving people". But, there is just one problem...they're not preaching the obedience that flows from faith in Jesus Christ as a fruit of a faith that abides in Jesus Christ and tenaciously clings to Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. No. Instead, they preach nothing but raw naked man-powered obedience. When you add into this equation the fact that the vast majority of these churches deny the doctrine of total depravity by ascribing to mankind the ability to exercise free will in making a decision for God then you've no choice but to conclude that the vast majority of these Seeker-Driven churches are really nothing more than bacterial breeding grounds for one of the most pernicious doctrinal diseases known to the Church, the Pelegian Heresy.

In ancient times the Church battled this heresy and God graciously provided men who contended for the faith and overcame this stubborn doctrinal infection. The man most famous in proclaiming the cure for the Pelegian cancer was St. Augustine. His work, On Nature and Grace should be required reading for any Christian scholar or layman that seeks to participate in helping to cure those infected by Pelegianism.

In Chapter 47 of On Nature and Grace, Augustine writes:

“If natural capacity with the help of free will is in itself sufficient both for learning how one ought to live and for leading a holy life, then Christ died for nothing (Gal. 2:21), and then the scandal of the cross (Gal. 5:11) has been removed. Why should I also not cry out here? Yes, with a Christian’s sorrow I will cry out and I will chide them: ‘You who want to be justified by nature have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace’ (Gal. 5:4); for ‘being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish your own, you have not submitted to God’s righteousness’ (Rom. 10:3). For just as Christ is the ‘end of the law,’ so Christ is the Savior of corrupted human nature, for the righteousness to ‘all who believe’ (Rom. 10:4).”

Another work that will greatly aid those wishing to join this battle is Article IV of the Apology of the Augsburg Confession. This work is both edifying and lucid in its defense of the chief article of the Christian faith, Salvation by Grace Through Faith. Regarding whether or not man has a natural capacity to 'love God and love people' Philip Melancthon writes:

And John 8:36 says, “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” Therefore reason cannot free us from sins and merit the forgiveness of sins. And in John 3:5 it is written, “No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.” But if we must be born anew through the Holy Spirit, then the righteousness of reason does not justify us before God; it does not keep the law. And Romans 3:23 says: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” that is, they lack the wisdom and righteousness of God, which acknowledges and glorifies God. Again Romans 8:7–8, “The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” These witnesses are so clear that, to use the words of Augustine as he used them in discussing this case, they do not require an acute intellect, only attentive listening.

If the mind set on the flesh is hostile to God, the flesh certainly does not love God. If it cannot submit to the law of God, it cannot love God. If the mind set on the flesh is hostile to God, the flesh sins even when we perform outward civil works. If it cannot submit to the law of God, it certainly sins even when we perform works that are excellent and praiseworthy in human eyes. The opponents consider only the commandments of the second table, which entail the civil righteousness that reason understands. Being content with this they suppose that they satisfy the law of God. Meanwhile they fail to notice the first table, which instructs us to love God, to conclude that God is angry with sin, truly to fear God, truly to conclude that God hears our prayers. But without the Holy Spirit the human heart either despises the judgment of God in its complacency or in the face of punishment flees and hates God who judges them. Thus it does not obey the first table. Therefore since these things (contempt for God, doubt about the Word of God and about its threats and promises) cling to human nature, people truly sin even when they do respectable works without the Holy Spirit, because they do them with a godless heart, according to the text Rom. 14:23, “Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” Such people perform their works with contempt for God, just as when Epicurus did not think that God cared for him, paid attention to him, or heard his prayer. This contempt for God corrupts works that appear to be honorable, because God judges the heart.

My advice...study and show yourself approved and get into the fight. There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions infected with the Pelegian disease who need the Righteousness of Christ.

***

1. This makes you wonder how on earth the Church has survived for millennia without Mission and Vision statements? Laying all sarcasm aside, The Church already has a mission and vision statement given by Jesus Christ. They are "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Matt 28:19-20) and "repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem (Luke 24:47). No true Christian Church has the freedom to supplant Jesus' stated mission and vision statements with their own home brewed versions.

2. The Gospel is NOT "Love God and Love Neighbor" that is plain and simply the summary of the Mosaic Law (Matt 22:35-39) and no one can be saved through the law (Rom 3:20). The Gospel on the other hand is the good news, that "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us". Christianity does not offer us a regimen whereby we morally improve ourselves and earn browny points with God. Instead, Christ's perfect righteousness is imputed to us by faith.

Comments

[T]

"This makes you wonder how on earth the Church has survived for millennia without Mission and Vision statements?"

Sure it had Mission and Vision statements...

• The Apostles' Creed

• The Nicene Creed

• The Athanasian Creed

• The Definition of Chalcedon

• The Anathemas of the Second Council of Constantinople (553 A.D.)

[Brian of the Hill People]

Are creeds mission statements?

I thought creeds categorized and delineated doctrinal stance and mission statements stated purpose.

For example, within a company, a simple mission statement may be: We vigorously work together as team to provide the best customer satisfaction and service in the market.

But surely they will have employee manuals that categorize and dilineate the framework in which the company operates to achieve the goal of its mission staement (creeds).

[pastorharold]

For me (and I know I aint much) a creed is nessary in a day when everybody "teaches the Bible" and "a church is a church" and "we all serve the same God anyway". A defined view of ones belief is needed to show the differecnes.

A mission statement is simple summary of what one hopes to acomplish. Chris is right, this "simple view" has become the theology of many churches. The Power that is required to accoplish this is all to often neglected. So, purpose has become the driving force and this is no substitute the Holy Spirit.

So do we teach purpose or Christ?

We teach Christ! And he that has ears to hear-will hear and do! Purpose takes care of itself. That is sanctification and that is the work of the Holy Spirit in the "Believer" molding him into Christ's image.