It is the will that ultimately makes each individual choice of whether we will sin or obey. It is the will that chooses to yield to temptation, or say no. Our wills, then, ultimately determine our moral destiny, whether we will be holy or unholy in our character and conduct.
Copied from The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges, © 1996, p. 124. Used by permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved. Get this book!
Above all else, we must learn how to bring our wills into submission and obedience to the will of God, on a practical, daily, hour-by-hour basis.
Copied from The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges, © 1996, p. 124. Used by permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved. Get this book!
While the will is the ultimate determiner of all choices, it is influenced in its choices by the strongest forces brought to bear upon it. These compelling forces come from a variety of sources. It may be the subtle suggestions of Satan and his world system (Eph. 2:2) or the evil enticements of our own sinful nature (Jas. 1:14). It may be the urgent voice of conscience, the earnest reasoning of a loving friend, or the quiet prompting of the Holy Spirit. But from whatever source these compelling forces come, they reach our wills through either our reason or our emotions.
Copied from The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges, © 1996, p. 125. Used by permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved. Get this book!
While God most often appeals to our wills through our reason, sin and Satan usually appeal to us through our desires.
Copied from The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges, © 1996, p. 127. Used by permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved.
Man…does not do evil against his will, under pressure, as though he were taken by the scruff of the neck and dragged into it, like a thief…being dragged off against his will to punishment; but he does it spontaneously and voluntarily. And this willingness or volition is something which he cannot in his own strength eliminate, restrain or alter.
The Bondage of the Will, Revell, 1957, p. 102.
Love is the only fire that is hot enough to melt the iron obstinacy of a creature’s will.
