Man Sins of Necessity, His Will Being Held Captive

The will, ensnared in the bonds of sin and subjected to slavery, is rendered incapable of inclining towards goodness, much less aspiring towards it. This movement marks the inception of our return to God—a conversion that Scripture attributes entirely to the grace of the Holy Spirit. Just as Jeremiah implores the Lord to "restore him if He wills restoration" (Jeremiah 31:18), the spiritual liberation of the faithful is depicted in the same chapter. The prophet underscores their deliverance from the grasp of a stronger adversary, symbolizing the sinner's captivity under Satan's yoke during periods of divine abandonment. Yet, the will persists within humanity, an innate yearning inclined towards sin. When plunged into this condition, individuals were not stripped of their will, but of a virtuous one. Hence, the assertion by St. Bernard that the will resides in all people holds true; however, desiring the good signifies an advancement, while pursuing evil becomes our culpability. The act of willing belongs to an individual, desiring evil is characteristic of a corrupted nature, and aspiring to good emanates from grace.

Expressing that the will is bereft of freedom and inevitably drawn towards evil might perplex some, but this mode of expression holds merit. It is not illogical; indeed, early church theologians employed this perspective. Some are perturbed due to an inability to discern between necessity and constraint. Yet, if asked whether God's inherent goodness is necessary or constrained, or whether the devil's inherent wickedness is necessary or constrained, what would they answer? Without doubt, God's goodness is so intertwined with His divinity that being good is as inherent to Him as being God. Following his fall, the devil's estrangement from all good is so profound that he can only perpetrate evil. If any should blaspheme, contending that God's goodness merits lesser praise since He is compelled to sustain it, the response is straightforward. His intrinsic goodness prevents Him from engaging in evil, a trait emanating from His boundless goodness, not coercion. The necessity of doing good does not encumber God's free will; similarly, the devil, though unable to act otherwise, remains engaged in voluntary sin. Thus, to argue that sin is not voluntary in humans due to the necessity of sinning is untenable. St. Augustine consistently expounded this necessity, unswayed even when Celestius attempted to vilify this doctrine. In this context, Augustine affirmed, "By human free will, people fell into sin; yet the corruption ensuing from this fall into sin transformed freedom into necessity." A distinction must be observed: corrupted by the fall, individuals sin voluntarily, not against their own hearts, nor under compulsion. They sin with a predisposition, not external coercion; their nature is so corroded that they are inclined, propelled, and led solely towards evil. Hence, it is evident that they are bound to sin by necessity.