Summary6 min read

Defenders Podcast

Doctrine of Man (Part 28): Freedom of the Will and Romans 10

Host: Dr. William Lane Craig
Date: July 29, 2020

Overview

In this episode, Dr. William Lane Craig continues his Sunday school series by exploring the interplay between human freedom, God's grace, and salvation, particularly focusing on Romans 9 and 10. He contrasts Protestant and Catholic perspectives, clarifies misunderstandings about faith and works, and outlines a five-step process in the doctrine of salvation, emphasizing the necessity of human free response within God’s sovereign grace.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Summary of Previous Arguments and Context ([00:18])

Dr. Craig reiterates that both Protestants and Catholics affirm the necessity of God’s prevenient grace in salvation—grace that comes before any human initiative.
He sides with the Catholic position that, at some point, humans are free either to accept or resist God’s grace.

2. Interpreting Romans 9 — Broadening, Not Narrowing, Salvation ([00:50])

Romans 9 is misunderstood if seen as teaching that salvation is restricted to a predestined few. Instead, Dr. Craig argues:

"The burden of that chapter is not to narrow down the scope of salvation to a select few, but rather to broaden it out to include Gentiles as well as ethnic Jews." — Dr. Craig ([01:00])
Paul, in Galatians 3:6–9, emphasizes that those who have faith, whether Jew or Gentile, are the true children of Abraham.

3. Romans 10 and the Role of Human Response ([02:50])

Dr. Craig explains Paul’s teaching in Romans 10:8–13:

"If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved... There is no distinction between Jew and Greek... For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved." — Dr. Craig quoting Paul ([03:10])
He argues that Romans 10 only makes sense if God’s election includes all who respond by faith—not an arbitrary, unilateral choice that ignores human will.
Notable moment:

"You can’t make sense of Romans chapter 10 on the interpretation of Romans 9 that construes it as God’s electing some minority of people, irrespective of their free will, entirely dependent upon God’s unilateral choice." — Dr. Craig ([04:15])

4. Prevenient Grace and Human Freedom ([05:10])

God’s grace acts first—preveniently—drawing people toward Himself, at which point humans can freely respond by faith or reject Him.
Dr. Craig insists that this free response is necessary for salvation and is not bypassed by God.

5. Addressing “Faith as God’s Gift” in Ephesians 2:8–9 ([06:10])

Dr. Craig counters the claim that faith itself is entirely God’s gift:

"In Greek, every noun has a gender... what is the gender of the Greek word faith or pistis? It’s feminine. So what is the gender of the pronoun 'this' in verse 8? Neuter. So the antecedent of 'this' is not the word faith... Rather, what the word 'this' refers to is the whole antecedent clause, namely salvation by grace through faith." — Dr. Craig ([07:15])
The "gift of God," then, is not faith alone but the whole process of salvation by grace through faith.

6. Faith vs. Works: Clearing Up Misunderstandings ([08:35])

Some Reformed thinkers claim that, if one exercises faith, it becomes a work that merits salvation, which is unPauline.

"When you read Paul, he always opposes faith to works. For Paul, faith is the antithesis of works. He does not think that placing your faith in Christ is a work, much less a meritorious work." — Dr. Craig ([09:10])
Receiving Christ by faith is not meritorious but simply a response to God’s grace.

7. The Five Steps in Salvation — A Revised Framework ([11:15])

Dr. Craig endorses the Catholic idea of prevenient grace and human freedom.
He proposes a five-step process:
1. God's prevenient grace
2. Human free response to grace
3. Justification by God
4. God enables us to perform good works
5. Perseverance in God's grace until death
"There is no work that we perform that merits eternal life. But there is in the process of salvation an element of human freedom, and that makes us more than passive puppets in God's hands." — Dr. Craig ([15:20])

8. Perseverance vs. Merit ([13:25])

While God enables good works, Dr. Craig rejects the idea that these merit salvation, insisting:

"Salvation is entirely of God's grace." — Dr. Craig ([13:55])
Instead of the “merit of good works,” the correct understanding is perseverance, sustained by God's grace.

9. Future Questions and Doctrinal Next Steps ([15:00])

There are differences between Catholic and Protestant views of justifying grace; discussion of whether one can fall away from salvation will follow in future sessions.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

"God’s grace comes preveniently... and draws them to himself, to that point where one can make a free response by faith or not." — Dr. Craig ([05:30])
"Faith is in fact the antithesis of works." — Dr. Craig ([12:25])
"Those who resist [prevenient grace] separate themselves from God and so have no one to blame but themselves for their fate. Those who do not resist do not do anything to merit God’s grace." — Dr. Craig ([12:10])
"If one doesn’t persevere in faith to the end, then one will not experience eternal salvation. Perseverance is necessary in order to obtain eternal life." — Dr. Craig ([13:55])

Timestamps for Important Segments

00:18 – Overview of prevenient grace and initial position
01:00 – The true scope of election in Romans 9 and Galatians 3
02:50 – Romans 10 and the universal offer of salvation through faith
06:10 – Ephesians 2 and problems with interpreting faith as solely a gift
09:10 – The antithesis of faith and works in Paul’s letters
11:15 – Five-step process of salvation
13:25 – Role of perseverance, not merit, in ultimate salvation
15:20 – Summary and transition to next doctrinal locus

Summary Table: The Five Steps in the Process of Salvation ([14:05])

| Step | Description | |--------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1. God’s prevenient grace | Grace that draws the sinner towards God | | 2. Human free response to grace | Freely accepting or resisting God’s grace (not meritorious) | | 3. Justification by God | God’s act of declaring the person righteous | | 4. God enables good works | Empowered by grace, believers perform good works (not meriting salvation) | | 5. Perseverance in grace until death | Continuing in faith and grace to the end is necessary for eternal life; not earned, but enabled |

Conclusion

Dr. Craig concludes this section of the Doctrine of Man by insisting on the vital harmony of God’s sovereign grace and human free response—humans are neither passive puppets nor meriting their own salvation by works. Perseverance, enabled by grace, ensures salvation, which is entirely God’s gift. The discussion will move next to the doctrine of salvation and the differing Protestant and Catholic conceptions of justifying grace.

For more resources and information, visit reasonablefaith.org.

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Transcript3 lines

[00:03]
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Welcome to Defenders, the teaching class of Dr. William Lane Craig today. The Doctrine of Man, Part 28. For more information and resources from Dr. Craig, go to reasonablefaith.org as we continue
[00:19]
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to bring our Defender's lessons to you from my home office, I'm glad that you could join us today. Last time I explained that Protestants and Catholics agree on the necessity of God's prevenient grace in the process of salvation, and I think quite rightly so. I then proceeded to argue that the Catholic view is correct that at some point along the line human beings have the freedom either to accede to the working of God's grace and to let it have its effect, or to resist it and and refuse to let God's grace of salvation produce its effect in a person's life. With respect to Romans 9, I argued that the burden of that chapter is not to narrow down the scope of salvation to a select few, but rather to broaden it out to include Gentiles as well as ethnic Jews. God is sovereign and has mercy upon whomever he wills. And who is it that God has chosen to have mercy on those who have faith in Christ Jesus? So it is through faith that one becomes a true child of Abraham, a member of that elect body that will inherit the kingdom of God. If you look at the book of Galatians, which is almost like a precede of Paul's argument in Romans, you see this very nicely summarized in Galatians 3 verses 6 to 9 Galatians 3 verses 6 to nine Paul writes thus Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him and as righteousness. So you see that it is men of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the Gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, in you shall all the nations be blessed. So then it is men of faith who who are blessed with Abraham who had faith. So who are the true sons of Abraham? Not simply those who are physically descended from Abraham. Rather it is those who have faith in Christ Jesus. That's why Paul can then go on in Romans chapter 10 to write in verses 8 to 13 the word is near you, on your lips and in your heart. That is the word of faith which we preach. Because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips, and and so is saved. The Scripture says no one who believes in him will be put to shame, for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. The same Lord is Lord of all, and bestows his riches upon all who call upon him. For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord who will be saved. Now you can't make sense of Romans chapter 10 on the interpretation of Romans 9, that construes it as God's electing some minority of people, irrespective of their free will, entirely dependent upon God's unilateral choice. The only way that I think you can make sense of Romans 10 is, is by interpreting along the lines as I have done. God has chosen to save not just ethnically Jewish people. He has chosen to save everyone who has faith in Christ, regardless of their ethnic background. And that is why everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. If I'm understanding Romans 9 correctly, this chapter is not teaching a kind of predestinarianism that takes no cognizance of the human free response to God's grace. Quite the contrary, it seems to me that it is broadening out the scope of God's election to say that it's going to include everybody who who meets the condition of having faith in Christ, that is the free human response to God's grace. God's grace comes preveniently, that is to say, it seeks out sinful, alienated, spiritually estranged people and draws them to himself, to that point where one can make a free response by faith or not. You might say. But didn't we read in Ephesians 2, 8, 9 that faith is a gift of God, not something that we can produce? Well, look again at Ephesians 2, 8:9. Paul says, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God. Not because of works. Lest any man should boast, doesn't this show that faith is simply God's gift to you and not something that you do on your own? No. In Greek, every noun has a gender. There are three genders, masculine, feminine, and neuter. Now, what is the gender of the Greek word faith or pistis? It's feminine. So what is the gender of the pronoun tuta, or this in verse 8? Neuter. So the antecedent of this is not the word faith. You would have to have a feminine pronoun in order for that to refer to faith. Rather, what the word this refers to is the whole antecedent clause, namely salvation by grace through faith. That is not your own doing, that is the gift of God. This is the way that God has chosen to set it up, he is going to save by grace, through faith everyone who places his faith in Christ. I want to say something here about the way that our reformed brethren treat the idea of faith. For many of them, if I exercise faith in Christ, if I respond to God's grace through faith, and that is somehow my meriting or winning salvation, it's something that I do, I have faith. And so I have done some meritorious work which is excluded by Paul, because salvation is by grace, not by meritorious works. But in so saying, I think that they have completely misunderstood Paul. When you read Paul, he always opposes faith to works. For Paul, faith is the antithesis of works. He does not think that placing your faith in Christ is a work, much less a meritorious work. Paul always contrasts faith and works. So in receiving Christ by faith, by acceding to God's grace, you are not doing anything meritorious to save yourself. You are simply yielding, as it were, to the grace of God and allowing it to do its justifying work in your life. This is not in any sense I meritorious work. So I want to agree with the Roman Catholic view that there is prevenient grace of God that seeks out sinners and that we have the freedom to respond to that. So I would substitute for the second step in the process of salvation, the free response of the creaturely will to the grace of God. It is simply acceding to the grace of God in your life rather than resisting it. Not a meritorious work that you perform, but simply a grateful and humble reception of God's grace. So it would follow from this that God's grace is not irresistible. It can be resisted. Those who resist it separate themselves from God and so have no one to blame but themselves for their fate. Those who do not resist do not do anything to merit God's grace. They just allow it to do its work in their lives. So there is no credit that accrues to you for responding to God's grace. And it is not a meritorious work that you do. Faith is in fact the antithesis of works. I've argued that God has sovereignly chosen to elect and save all of those who have faith in Christ Jesus. The result of receiving God's grace is justification. So we may agree with Catholics on the third step, God's bestowal of justifying grace. Now, Protestants and Catholics have important differences in how they understand justifying grace. But we'll delay our discussion of that question until we come to our next locus, the doctrine of salvation. At this point we can say at least that Catholics and Protestants agree that crucial to salvation is justification by grace through faith. But then we come to the fourth and fifth steps, that by God's grace we are enabled to perform good works which merit salvation. Now certainly God gives us the ability to do good works. Ephesians 2:10 says, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. But to think that our good works then merit. So salvation seems to me utterly unacceptable. As Paul says in Ephesians 2:9, this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not because of works. Lest any man should boast, salvation is entirely of God's grace. The only way that one could possibly defend the idea that that we perform good works that then merit salvation would be to say that God's grace turns us into marionettes, into puppets on strings, so that the works that we do are wrought by God's pulling the strings and we don't really do anything. But then that view excludes human freedom. The whole point of this analysis of was to include human freedom along with God's grace in the process of salvation. So it seems to me that instead of the merit of good works, what we ought to substitute for step five is perseverance. If one doesn't persevere in faith to the end of one's earthly life, then one will not experience eternal salvation. Perseverance is necessary in order to obtain eternal life. Perseverance will be the working out of God's grace in your life and sanctifying you, filling you with the Holy Spirit, conforming you to the image of Christ as you walk in the Spirit. God will help you to persevere in faith until the end, and so to finally be saved and inherit eternal life. Now, whether we have the freedom to fall away from faith is again a further question which we'll take up when we come to the doctrine of salvation. But for now we should insist that that there is nothing of our own doing that earns salvation. So by way of summary, here's how I would analyze the five steps in the process of salvation. 1 God's prevenient grace number two, the human free response to God's prevenient grace. 3 Justification by God. 4 God enables us to perform good works and 5 Perseverance in God's grace until death. There is no work that we perform that merits eternal life. But there is in the process of salvation, an element of human freedom. And that makes us more than passive puppets in God's hands. Well, that brings us to the conclusion of the Doctrine of man. Next time, we'll move on to our next locus and begin to talk about the doctrine of salvation. Until then, may God richly bless you as you walk with him and serve him in his kingdom.
[16:16]
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The copyright for the preceding material is held by Dr. William Lane Craig. For more go to reasonablefaith.org.