The Bondage of the Will After the Fall (Chapter 9, Paragraph 2)

“Man, in his state of innocency, had freedom and power to will and to do that which was good and well pleasing to God…”

This recalls Paragraph 1—Adam was created with true liberty and moral ability to obey.

“…but yet was unstable, so that he might fall from it.”

Adam’s will was mutable—he could fall. And he did. The liberty he enjoyed was lost through disobedience, plunging humanity into spiritual ruin (Gen. 3; Rom. 5:12–19).

The paragraph implies the transition from freedom with moral ability to freedom with moral inability. After the Fall, man still makes choices, but all his choices are governed by a heart in rebellion against God (Jer. 17:9).

This is the heart of the Reformed doctrine of total depravity. Man is not as bad as he could possibly be, but sin has touched every faculty—mind, will, emotions, and desires. The will is still active, but it is no longer free in the moral sense. It is in bondage to sin.

Ephesians 2:1–3 describes man as dead in trespasses and sins, following the course of the world, and by nature children of wrath. This spiritual death makes the natural man unwilling and unable to come to Christ (John 6:44; 1 Cor. 2:14).

Application for the Believer:

This truth humbles us. You were not saved because you had a good will or made a good choice. You were saved because God made you alive in Christ. Your heart was once dead, your will enslaved, and your mind darkened. But God, being rich in mercy, raised you up (Eph. 2:4–5). Rejoice in your new freedom—the freedom to love God, hate sin, and walk in holiness. And let this truth stir your prayers and your witness: only the Spirit can open blind eyes. Pray boldly for the lost, trusting that the same grace that found you can awaken them too.