To the Right Worshipful, Sir Edward Dennie, Knight
A Treatise on God's Free Grace and Man's Free Will by William Perkins
Table of Contents To the Right Worshipful, Sir Edward Dennie, Knight A Treatise on God's Free Grace and Man's Free Will
To the Right Worshipful, Sir Edward Dennie, Knight Right Worshipful, it is a thing most evident that the present religion of the Church of Rome is an enemy to the grace of God, two ways.
First, because it exalts the liberty of man's will and extenuates the
grace of God, and this it does in five respects. For first of all, it teaches that natural free will of man has in it not only a passive or potential but also an active power or imperfect strength in duties of godliness, and so much the less power is ascribed to the grace of God.
This doctrine of theirs is flat against reason. For the will of man in itself is a natural thing, and therefore it is neither fit nor able to effect any supernatural action (as all actions of godliness are) unless it be first of all (as they say) elevated above his condition by the impressions of a supernatural habit. And the Scripture is utterly against this doctrine when it says, "Ye were once darkness" (Eph.
5:8). We are not sufficient of ourselves, to think anything of ourselves (2 Cor. 3:5). The natural man—that is, he that wants the Spirit of God—cannot perceive of the things of God (1 Cor. 2:14). You were dead in sins and trespasses (Eph. 2:1), without Christ and without God in the world (v. 12). Again, Scripture says further that the heart of man is slow (Luke 24:25) and vain (Ps. 5:9) and hard that cannot repent (Rom. 2:5) and stony (Ezek. 36:26); and that the Jews were obstinate, their neck as an iron sinew, and their brow brass (Isa. 48:4); and that it is God who gives eyes to see and a heart to understand (Deut. 29:4). By these testimonies it is manifest that grace does not only help and assist our weak nature, but altogether change the perverse qualities thereof and bring it from darkness to light (Acts 26:18) and from death to life (Eph. 2:1). Which grace whoever does not so far forth acknowledge never yet knew what the gospel means, neither did he ever consider the words of our Savior
Christ: "No man comes to me, unless the Father draw him" (John 6:44). Prosper, the scholar of St. Augustine, has a notable saying, which I marvel the Papists of our time do not consider. "We have, says he, "free will by nature, but for quality and condition it must be changed by our Lord Jesus Christ."
Secondly, some of the Romish religion avouch that the efficacy of God's preventing grace depends upon the cooperation of man's will, and they affirm that the Council of Trent is of this mind. But then to the question of Paul, "Who has separated thee?" (1 Cor. 4:7), the answer may be made, "I myself have done it by my own will." And that shall be false which Paul teaches that beside possible, the power of well-willing, ipsum velle—that is, the act of well-willing is of God
(Phil. 2:13). Others therefore place the efficacy of grace in the congruity of fit objects and persuasion, as though it were sufficient to stir up the heart and to incline the will in spiritual matters, and our weakness might be cured with so easy a medicine; but God is further said to soften the heart (Ezek. 36:26), to turn the heart (Luke 1:17), to open the heart (Acts 16:14). And because our hearts are over hard,
He wounds them (Song 4:9); He circumcises them (Deut. 30:6)— nay, He bruises them (Ezek. 6:9). And when nothing will do good, at length God is said to take away the stony heart (11:19), to quicken them that are contrite (Isa. 57:15; Eph. 2:5), to give a new heart
(Ezek. 36:26; Eph. 4:23)—nay, to create a new heart (2:10; 4:28).
Thirdly, they give to God in all contingent actions a depending will whereby God wills and determines nothing but according as before sees that the will of man will determine itself. And thus to maintain the supposed liberty of the will—that is, the indifferency and indetermination thereof—they deprive God of His honor and sovereignty. For by this means, not God but the will itself is the first mover and beginner of her own actions. And there are even of the papists themselves that condemn this doctrine as a conceit.
Fourthly, they teach that the grace which makes us acceptable and grateful to God stands in the inward gifts of the mind, especially in the gifts of charity. But this is most false which they teach, for charity is the fulfilling of the law. And Paul says we are not under the law but
under grace (Rom. 6:14). And again, as many as are justified by the law are fallen from grace (Gal. 5:4). Now the grace that does indeed make us grateful to God is the free favor and mercy of God, pardoning our sins in Christ and accepting us to eternal life—and not any quality in us, as Paul signifies when he says we are saved not according to our works, but according to His purpose and grace, which is given to us in Christ before all times (2 Tim. 1:9).
Lastly, they teach that the renewed will of man by the general direction and cooperation of God can perform the duties of godliness without any special help from God by new grace. But the Scripture speaks otherwise. "By the grace of God, I am that I am. I have labored yet not I, but the grace of God which is with me" (1 Cor.
15:10). "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost" (12:3). "Without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5). "After ye believed, ye were sealed with the Spirit" (Eph. 1:13). "He which has begun this good work in you, will finish it until the day of Christ"
(Phil. 1:6). "That ye may abound with hope by the virtue of the Spirit"
(Rom. 15:13). "It is God that works in you the will and the deed"
(Phil. 2:13). "Though the righteous fall, he shall not be cast off, for the Lord puts under his hand" (Ps. 37:24). "Incline my heart to thy testimonies: turn away mine eyes from beholding of vanity, and quicken me in the way" (119:36–37). "Teach me to do thy will, because thou art my God: let thy good spirit lead me in the land of righteousness" (143:10). "Create in me a new heart, renew a right spirit in me—; and establish me by thy free spirit" (51:10, 12). "draw me and I will run after thee." By these and many other places it is evident that God, after He has endued us with His Spirit, does not leave us to be guided by ourselves (for then we should fall again to our former misery); but He directs us, He lifts us up, He leads us, He confirms and sustains us by the same grace and by the same Spirit
dwelling in us, that walking in the way of His commandments we may at length attain to everlasting happiness.
The second way whereby the papist shows himself to be an enemy of the grace of God is that he joins the merit of works as a co-cause with the grace of God in that which they call the second justification and in the procurement of eternal life—whereas on the contrary, Paul in the article of justification opposes grace to works, yea to such as are the gifts and fruits of the Spirit. For Abraham did good works not by natural free will, but by faith (Heb. 11:8). And Paul opposes justifying grace to the works of Abraham when he says, "To him that worketh, the wages is not imputed according to grace." And Titus 3:5: "Not of the works of righteousness, which we have done, but of his mercy he saved us." Romans 11:6: "If by grace, then not of works, or else were grace no more grace." Augustine said well that grace is no way grace, unless it be freely given every way.
Thus then, all things considered, it is the best to ascribe all we have or can do that is good wholly to the grace of God. Excellent is the speech of Augustine: "Only hold this as a sure point of godliness, that no good thing can come either to the sense or mind or be any way conceived which is not of God." And Bernard: "The church shows herself to be full of grace when she gives all she has to grace— namely, by ascribing to it both the first and last place. Otherwise, how is she full of grace, if she have anything which is not of grace?
Again, I tremble to think anything my own, that I may be my own."
This doctrine is the safest and the surest in respect of peace of conscience and the salvation of our souls. So much the papists themselves (betraying their own cause) say and confess. Bellarmine, the Jesuit says, "By reason of the uncertainty of our own justice and for fear of falling into vain glory, it is the safest to put our whole confidence in the alone mercy and goodness of God." Cassander cites