CHAPTER I
it to its own power. Although man's will uses its own power, it does nothing which God by His grace does not cause in good actions, and which in evil actions
He causes not by His grace but by the fault of the human will. As I promised, these things will become clearer when we speak of grace. Now just as foreknow ledge cannot be mistaken and foreknows only what will really occur--whether freely or by necessity--so also predestination cannot be altered and prede termines only in accordance with foreknowledge. And just as what is foreknown is immutable in eternity but can nevertheless be changed in time at any moment before it comes to be, the same is true of all things which are predestined.
It should be clear now to anyone who carefully considers what I have said that predestination does not exclude free choice and that free choice is not opposed to predestination. Indeed, all the foregoing arguments that were used to show that free choice is not inconsistent with foreknowledge show equally clearly that free choice is compatible with predestination. Thus, when some thing happens through the free operation of the will, such as the infliction of a fatal injury by one man on another, we see how unreasonable it is for people to say, as they do so often and with such clamor, "God foreknew and pre destined that this act should occur in the way it did; so it was committed by necessity and couldn't have been otherwise." After all, neither the man who inflicts the injury nor the one who defends himself acts from necessity. Both act solely through the will, for had they not willed freely what they did, neither would have done what he did.
Question III: Concerning Grace and Free Choice
CHAPTER I
We must now consider the question of grace and free choice, and we must do so with the help of this very grace. The question arises from the fact that
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Holy Scripture speaks in places as if free choice could contribute nothing to salvation, intimating that salvation comes through grace alone; while in other passages it speaks as if our salvation depended entirely upon our free will.
For example, the Lord says concerning grace, 'Without me ye can do nothing'
(John 15:5) > and 'No one comes to me unless my Father draws him.' (John 6:44) And the apostle Paul says, 'What do you have that you have not received?'
(I Cor. 4:7) He also says, speaking of God, 'He has mercy on whom He wills to have mercy and whom He will He hardens.* (Rom. 9:18) Also, 'It is not of him who wills nor of him who runs, but of God, who shows mercy.' (Rom. 9:16)
Besides these there are many other passages which seem to attribute our good works and our salvation to grace alone apart from free choice. Moreover, meny people even claim that they can show by experience that man is not at all kept upright through free choice. They see a great many individuals who make an immense effort of body and mind but are hindered by some difficulty, or even impossibility, so that they either make no progress, or having made great progress, suddenly and irretrievably fall back.
Scripture, however, teaches that we do have free choice. For God says through Isaiah, 'If you are willing and will hearken unto me, you shall eat the good things of the land.' (Isaiah 1:19) And David says, 'Who is the man who wishes life, who loves many days so that he may see good things? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking quile; turn away from evil and do good.' (Ps. 3^:12-14) And the Lord says in the Gospel, 'Come unto me all ye who are laboring and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls.' (Matt. 11:28,29) There are countless other passages which seem to urge free choice to good works and to reproach it for