This project on Free Will has been truly eye-opening so far!
One eye-opening reality, in addition to the theological findings, is how many people in our church are wrestling with this doctrine at the moment. This book seems timely, and I hope to serve them well in writing it.
Here’s the direction this book is going:
I will argue that the story of man’s will is really a revelation of God and the image that He created for His own glory. This is the story of the freed will–a story of image-bearers who became enslaved but then freed and will one day be fully free as they live in unhindered oneness with their Creator. My aim in this little book is to show you that to understand free will Biblically, we must see what God has decreed and bestowed upon mankind as made in His image and how that image exists in four different moral states. Only when we savor His sovereign design and redemption will we truly understand what it means to be human and come reflect His glory once again.
Table of Contents (Subject to change)
Introduction
Part 1: Before the Foundation of the World
Chapter 1: Who is Most Free?
Chapter 2: Free But Dependent
Part 2: After the Foundation of the World
Chapter 3: Formed
Chapter 4: Deformed
Chapter 5: Re-formed
Chapter 6: Transformed
In part one, we’ll behold God and His decree, which was established before the foundation of the world, and how this decree establishes man’s natural free will or liberty. Here, we’ll come to a working definition of “free will” and how the image of God relates to that. In part two, we’ll survey the various phases or states in which the image of God exists. This is where we’ll cover things related to salvation and morality.
Stay tuned for more updates.