Well, it both is and isn't freedom. In a qualitative sense is certainly isn't freedom to be constantly sinning when I want to be perfect instead. I cannot, by an act of my own will, cause my flesh to cease from even wanting to sin...which is what actually has to happen in order to become sinless.
We should rather stick to Biblical truths, should we not? We are dealing in objective truths, not subjectivity.
If an act of your will cannot cease you from sinning, why do you think, contrary to Scripture, that an act of your will decided you into eternal life? If your will could do the latter, the former would be a piece of cake.
You do realize that you idolatrize your will, and speak more highly of your will than of God, correct?
But in another sense, being capable of sinning is itself the greatest evidence that free will does in fact exist. And the fact that we Christians continue to sin even after we beg God to take sin from us is even greater evidence that we have free will, and that God created us with it, and that He has no intentions of revoking it.
That is not free will. That's an enslaved will. What you are doing is stacking the deck to turn salvation into a choice man makes. Nothingn in Scripture teaches this unless you take passages out of context, eisegete, and misapply them.
We are not saved via our wills, we do not decide for Jesus via our wills, our wills have zero to do with God saving us. Note John 1:13; James 1:18; John 6:63.
The way I think about this is
I want to use this to point out what I said initially, you are being subjective, not objective. You know as well as I truth comes objectively, from God, not us, not in the way we think &c.
that our hearts are like the garden that Adam was placed in. God put him there to subdue the ground; our responsibility now is to subdue our own hearts. He won't do it for us without our own initiative; it's our job, not His.
Wow, you've shown us the heart of the matter. No man is able to do what you say "isn't God's job."
I am amazed that you've relegated God to a lower level here than man. God changes hearts, not man, not you.
God is Savior, it's His job, NOT YOURS. God takes the initiative, not you. That's part of being LORD and Savior.
The entire process of sanctification is the art of God assisting us (while not actually doing the job for us) in subduing the thorns and thistles that keep springing up in our hearts to try and lead us away from God.
Can you show me Scripture that says this is the art of God?
God doesn't merely assist us, that is your humanism penetrating truth in both soteriology and sanctification and defiling them. This is what leads you astray doctrinally.
Again, God doesn't merely assist us, He causes us. Note Ezekiel 33:26ff; Philippians 2:12-13; Psalm 23:2 &c.
In short, God wants each person to fully resolve themselves as for or against Him,
So while dead in sins, you did the above, and for this God rewarded you with eternal life?
and the end goal of our sanctification is to reach a point where, even though we still have free will
We've never had the type of will you believe we've had.
, we will never again choose to rebel against Him.
But you're giving yourself the glory here, it is what you accomplished according to following the context of what you're saying.
I don't believe we can reach this point in this lifetime,
YOU won't. Ever.
but I believe we can reach it in the eschaton.
So, you will achieve Glorification via your efforts, the Glorification spoken of in Romans 8?
You have to see, my friend, you have a mixture of Pelagianism, humanism, and a distorted gospel as your doctrine. In your message it can never be Soli Deo Gloria.
