A Faith to Confess: The Baptist Confession
of Faith of 1689
Rewritten in Modern English
©1975, Carey Publications, Ltd.,
75 Woodhill Road, Leeds, U.K., LS16 7BZ
IN the natural order God has endued man's will with liberty
and the power to act upon choice, so that it is neither forced from
without, nor by any necessity arising from within itself, compelled
to do good or evil.
Deut. 30:19; Mat. 17:12; Jas. 1:14.
In his state of innocency man had freedom and power to will
and to do what was good and acceptable to God.Yet, being
unstable, it was possible for him to fall from his uprightness.
Gen. 3:6; Eccles. 7:29.
As the consequence of his fall into a state of sin, man has lost
all ability to will the performance of any of those works, spiritually
good, that accompany salvation. As a natural (unspiritual) man
he is dead in sin and altogether opposed to that which is good.
Hence he is not able, by any strength of his own, to turn himself
to God, or even to prepare himself to turn to God.
John 6:44; Rom. 5:6; 8:7; Eph. 2:1,5; Titus 3:3-5.
When God converts a sinner, and brings him out of sin into
the state of grace, He frees him from his natural bondage to sin
and, by His grace alone, He enables him freely to will and to do
that which is spiritually good. Nevertheless certain corruptions
remain in the sinner, so that his will is never completely and
perfectly held in captivity to that which is good, but it also
entertains evil.
John 8:36; Rom. 7:15,18,19,21,23; Phil. 2:13; Col.1:13.
It is not until man enters the state of glory that he is made
perfectly and immutably free to will that which is good, and that
alone.
Eph. 4:13.
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