The Bondage of the Human Will

The human will and the sin nature are identical. In fact, they are the same force in our lives. It is natural to plan, organize, scheme, and act within the pattern of our will. It is the one overwhelming factor that controls our life unless we put a harness or discipline on that will. ParentsÂ’ greatest challenge is to teach their children to discipline the will and, instead of self, learn to live for a higher cause. Children that are successfully taught to control their wills are prepared to mature, learn skills, help others, and have meaningful, unselfish lives. Even more importantly, they are prepared to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to surrender their total lives to His saving, transforming grace and power.

The human will is selfishness. Not only is it selfishness, it is the very nature of Satan that was transferred to man in the garden of God when disobedience took control of Adam and Eve. There is no intrinsic happiness in this faulty emotion of fallen mankind. It is impossible to be truly happy when someone is controlled by selfishness. Why is there a multitude of suicides in this generation? The answer is simply selfishness. Depression, emotional collapse, suicide and a multiple list of disorders follow when man lives his life by selfish standards. We were created for a pure life, to be lived in harmony with the Creator and His creation. Anything less is slow, consuming terror.

The word “independence” is an unbiblical word. It is never seen, not one time, in the Bible. The action of independence is visibly dark and is always connected with sin, death, and great sorrow. Jesus Christ is the final expression of flesh as God intended. His entire life was about others. Even on the cross, as He suffered the most unimaginable pain, He prayed, “… Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34a) You will never find a “selfish saint”, for the two words are the opposites of each other. The bondage of the human will can be called “the bondage of independence.”

There are a great number of people in our world who do not claim Christ as Lord yet live unselfish lives. This devotion does not save them, but it surely offers them a more meaningful life than their selfish counterparts. Sometimes, these unselfish, moral devotees put Christian disciples to shame. We ought to be ashamed that we let them shame us. Something is terribly inferior in the professing believers that live their lives with the smallest amount of selfishness. From our finances, to our time and talents, we should lead the world in our abandonment to others. A professing Christian with his “hands out” to always receive is an embarrassment to Christ. The very essence of the righteousness which we have received as a gift from Christ is a wonderful reflection of His nature. “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:17)

The human will, left unchecked, is the recipe for eternal hell. Selfishness and independence is the rejection of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of your life. The population of heaven will be entirely of souls that gave up self to follow Jesus Christ. “For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.” (2 Corinthians 4:11)