Without Heart Renewal, the Will is Powerless

There might be those who acknowledge, "Human will turns towards righteousness and uprightness only through God's power; it has inherently turned away from these attributes. Yet, through preparation by God, the will also engages." St. Augustine expounds that "grace precedes every virtuous action, and in doing good, the will is guided by grace rather than vice versa; the will follows and does not lead." However, I perceive that the prophet's words yield two outcomes: firstly, the Lord reforms—or rather, dismantles—our corrupt choices; then, He imparts a benevolent will from Himself. Thus, since our choices are anticipated by grace, I concede that they could be deemed as servants. Yet, in their transformation, this is the work of God. Thus, it is inappropriate to attribute to humans that they, through their will, obey prevenient grace. Therefore, St. Chrysostom's assertion that "grace is ineffective without the will, just as the will is ineffective without grace" is not fitting. As for St. Augustine, when he dubbed human will the servant of grace, his intention was not to allot partial praise to the will for good deeds. Instead, he sought to refute the misguided teaching of Pelagius, who made human merit the prime cause of salvation. Thus, St. Augustine demonstrated that grace supersedes all merits, leaving aside the subsequent effect of grace within us—a topic he addresses thoroughly elsewhere. When he repeatedly states, "The Lord precedes the unwilling so they may be willing; He aids the willing so their willingness does not falter," he attributes authorship of all goodness to Him.