The Whole Body of Religion, Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII. What free-will was left unto Man after his Fall.
DOCTRINE I. What we underſtand by the name of free-will.
SEeing that all men ſince the Fall and by reaſon of the Fall of Adam areaPſalm. …1.5. conceived inſinne, and arebEph. 2.…. by nature the children of wrath, having no inclination at all to that which is good, butcGen. 6.….….21. altogether prone to that which is evil: This is our belief and confeſſion concerning the free-will of a man not regenerate. By the name of free-will, we underſtand the will of man ſo to be free; that from it we do not ſeparate the facultie of underſtanding, by which we judge, what is good, and what bad; what to be choſen, and what to be refuſed.
DOCT. II. That the queſtion concerning free-will is two-fold; either concerning the nature, or elſe concerning the power thereof.
IN the queſtion concerning free-will we diſtinguiſh between the power and ſtrength of free-will, and the nature of mans will. The nature we call, the naturall and eſſentiall propertie thereof created in it by God, that whatſoever it willeth, whether it be good or bad, it willeth freely, voluntarily, willingly, and free-from all manner of coaction. By the name of power we underſtand a power or facultie either innate, that is by nature; or elſe conferred, that is of grace, by which we are enabled by our underſtanding to know, what is good, and what evil; and by our will to chooſe the good and refuſe the evil.
DOCT. III. That free-will is alwayes free from coaction.
AS therefore the ſubſtance of free-will periſhed not by reaſon of ſinne (for the underſtanding, and will, and the whole ſubſtance of the ſoul remained) ſo neither do we believe that the nature thereof periſhed, that whatſoever it willeth, as well evil as good, it willeth it freely, and without all manner of coaction. That it is true which Augustine ſaith, That free-will is alwayes free (that is from coaction) but yet that it is not alwayes good.
DOCT. IV. That there are three ranks or ſorts of things and actions about which the power of free-will is exerciſed.
COncerning our power in chooſing of good, and refuſing evil, we are of this opinion. We diſtinguiſh good and evil into three kinds thoſe which pertain to the Animall or naturall life, the rationall or humane life, the divine or Chriſtian life. Of the firſt kind are thoſe which are common to us almoſt with beaſts, and belong to the ſoul by which we live and increaſe, and have ſenſe and motion: Of the ſecond kind are thoſe, which are proper to man, and belong to mans underſtanding; as Arts as well Mechanicall as liberall, virtues morall and politicall, and laſt of all ſciences of all ſorts, and all Philoſophie: The third kind contains onelyonly thoſe things which are good, and good actions, which are ordained for the kingdome of God, and a Chriſtian life; As the true knowledge of God, faith, and the effects thereof, regeneration, obedience, charitie, and others of the like kind.
DOCT. V. That the power and ſtrength of a man unregenerate is very weak, even in things belonging to this life.
TO ſay nothing then of the power & ſtrength of man ſince the Fall, in knowing and deſiring ſuch things as make for the preſervation of this preſent life, and living here happily, as alſo in making choiſe of them and purſuing after them, if they be offered unto him; and in eſchewing and avoiding the contrary: To ſay nothing, I ſay, of this; becauſe it nothing belongs to religion and manners (although as concerning even this, dayly experience teacheth us, how great a depravation of judgement and appetite is in man, following as a puniſhment upon the Fall) We believe, that, although by the mercy of God there is yet left ſome light in mans underſtanding, partly in diſcerning between right & wrong, good and bad in humane affaires; and partly in acquiring the knowledge of many things, arts, ſciences, and divers other virtues: Yet the light, that is in the underſtanding, is ſo little, and the will ſo depraved, that unleſſe the one be enlightened from above, and the other be inclined by Gods ſpeciall grace to chooſe the good propounded and to refuſe the bad, he cannot acquire the knowledge of Arts and ſciences, and other virtues, which may be in men even unregenerate. And not without cauſe ſaith St. Auguſtine, aAuguſt. Tom. 7. cont. Iul. Pel. lib. 4. cap. 3.That all the Arts ſciences and other virtues, or rather ſhadowes and reſemblances of virtues, which were in the Romanes, and others not converted unto the faith, were in them the ſingular gifts of God.
DOCT. VI. The Confirmation of the fore-going opinion.
FOr all infidels or unbelievers are not indued with the ſame or alike equall virtues & ſciences: That even from thence it may manifeſtly appear that they are not the gifts of nature, but the gifts of God added unto nature.
DOCT. VII. That in things belonging unto God and true pietie the unregenerate man can do nothing.
BUt as concerning things belonging unto God; true pietie and religion and a Chriſtian life, we believe that the mind of an unregenerate man is ſo blinded, and his heart ſo depraved, and all his powers and faculties ſo weak or none at all, that he can neither truely know God, nor the things of God; neither love him, nor deſire things pleaſing unto him, much leſſe obey his will as he ought. For according to the Apoſtle,a1 Cor. 2.14. The naturall man perceiveth not the things of God; neither can he perceive or underſtand them: How can he then of himſelf either will or do any thing?bIohn 15.5. Without me, ſaith our Saviour, ye can do nothing.
DOCT. VIII. The confirmation of the fore-going opinion.
FOr, even as a man dead to men and nature can perform no action belonging unto men and nature: So neither can he, which isaP…. 2.…. dead to God in treſpaſſes and ſinnes, truely know thoſe things which belong unto God and true pietie, much leſſe can he do them; but he lies rotting and ſtinking in his ſinnes, unleſs he be delivered from them by the grace of God through Chriſt, and ſo be reſtored again unto life. But all men that are without Chriſt, and not regenerated by the Spirit of Chriſt, are truely dead: and therefore they are truely ſaid to bebIohn ….21. quickned, to be raiſed from the dead, and to be regenerated, or born again, whoſoever are by faith in Chriſt delivered from their ſinnes, and ingrafted into Chriſt.
DOCT. IX. Errours condemned.
THerefore we condemne all Pelagians, which teach the contrarie, lifting up the power and ſtrength of free-will againſt the grace of Chriſt: And we deteſt and abhorre the opinion of the Manichees and all others, which will have a man to be like a ſtock, as if he had no judgement or libertie of will at all in civil matters.