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Luther on Human Will

A thoughtful abridgement of The Bondage of the Will by Martin Luther based upon the original Latin text of De Servo Arbitrio, as translated by Henry Cole in 1823 and edited for the 21st century reader by Leon Stansfield. The primary goal in editing this public domain manuscript has been to update the text into twentieth century English as far as possible without altering the theology or expression of Luther. This 500th Anniversary Abridged Edition presents the essence of Luther's teaching in a significantly more succinct and focused volume, and is believed to be the first effort at an abridgement of the book. Includes twentytwo illustrations, a brief biography of Luther, and twenty-five mostly brief chapters with very brief chapter introductions. Formatted for eye appeal and easy reading. 6" x 9" trade with 12 point text. 214 pages. Endnoted.

  • Is a person's will active in making a decision to follow Jesus Christ, and is his will the impulse which brings about the new birth, or is God's sovereign will the key instrument which works to take a person from spiritual death to spiritual life?
  • Is true conversion to Christ a matter of the Holy Spirit's drawing, but the person's will giving assent to that work to complete the regeneration?
  • Is true salvation ninety-nine percent God's work and one percent man's work?
  • Is it logical to think that a person whose spiritual birth is a gift from God could become unborn spiritually?
  • Could it possibly be that regeneration precedes faith for salvation?

The text of this abridgement of Martin Luther's work has been divided into twenty-five completely new chapter titles, taken sequentially and logically from the original work. Each of these chapters has a brief introduction to clarify what Luther will say in that chapter. Let it be clear that this newly edited and abridged text is based entirely upon the original text of The Bondage of the Will, the public domain manuscript which was translated by Henry Cole in 1823. It has been significantly edited by Leon Stansfield to bring the language somewhat into the twenty-first century, but with every intent to convey only Luther's thoughts.

Contents
Forward
5
Table of Contents
8
Table of Illustrations
9
Who Was Martin Luther? - A brief biography
11
Introduction
17
1 Assertions, Convictions, Theses
21
2 Are the Scriptures Obscure or Clear
43
3 Why the wise of this world do not understand the gospel
51
4 Erasmus' definition of free will and Luther's response
54
5 On man's complete inability to will good
67
6 Concerning the inscrutable will of God
75
7 On basic rules for interpreting Scripture
83
8 On the hardening of Pharaoh's and others' hearts
89
9 Where ungodly interpretation of Scripture will lead us
90
10 Did God really say what He meant? Absolutely!
92
11 Scripture's facts and Erasmus' figures
94
12 The "Well Meant Offer" doctrine and God's impotence to save
97
13 More regarding the goodness of God
100
14 The effects of a sinful nature upon the sinner
103
15 Let God be God!
108
16 Regarding Judas the traitor and God's divine foreknowledge
113
17 God's foreknowledge imposes necessity upon our wills
115
18 More on Judas the traitor
122
19 Jacob and Esau.
124
20 The total depravity of all men
132
21 God's wrath toward man is fully justified
145
22 The Apostle John' testimony
173
23 Luther's personal testimony against free will
187
24 A review of God's justice in damning the ungodly
189
25 In praise of God Almighty
193

APPENDIX
Ninety-Five Theses for the Twenty-First Century Church
196
About the Author
210
Endnotes
212