The doctrine of the human will has been one of the most important and most debated doctrines in church history. On RBS Tabletalk, I've posted a brief exposition of the teaching of the Second London Baptist Confession's teaching on this vital and controversial topic.

On Freewill: An Exposition of the LBCF IX

Your servant,

__________________
Bob Gonzales Jr., Dean
Reformed Baptist Seminary
Easley, South Carolina

"Persons need not and ought not to set any bounds to their spiritual and gracious appetites." Jonathan Edwards

DR.BoB,
Hello and thank you for this link with a brief but very clear description of mans condition. Being dead in sin and his will being bound by his fallen nature.
Most error and false teaching can be traced to a wrong and defective view of sin. The careful wording of each of the confessions is very helpful in this area.
The classic list of verses offered by Sam Waldron if studied out are devasting. Your "friend" Benjamin does not really come to grips with these verses to object as he does. John chapter 8 alone almost completely answers this question without controversy.

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Anthony D'Arienzo
Sunday School Teacher
Hope Reformed Baptist Church:
Medford, N.Y.

Hey Dr Bob

Very solid job on the RBS newsletter article,I enjoyed it

Would you happened to now of any study guides or workbooks on the LBCF as I am looking to go deeper with it

Thanks
Brian

__________________
Brian
Grace Bible Church;E.Bridgewater
East Bridgewater MA
http://www.gracebiblehome.org

The only consideration here is inability or unwillingness.

Some would say his nature renders him unwilling but not unable else he could not be held accountable.

He cannot come not because he has no ability to, but because he has no will to.

His will has fallen and he now craves sin and is averse to God.

Something to consider in the presentation of the issues around the will and the fall.

John 6:44-46
44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.
NKJV

John 6:63-65
63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. 65 And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."
NKJV

John 5:40
40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
NKJV

Which is first the chicken or the egg. They can't come because they are unwilling, ( more in line with infralapsarian thinking)
or
they will not come because they can not, not able, ( more in line with supralapsarian thinking)

Which one is more likely to be more easily received by the uneducated or mis-educated?

This does not necessarily make it right, but since both are stated one may consider how he chooses to present it tin hopes of winning the Arminian to the sovereignty of God.

__________________
DonP

Aside from Sam Waldron's A Modern Exposition of the Baptist Confession of 1689 (which is in its 3rd edition), there are a few works but not many:

Haykin, Michael A. G. Kiffin, Knollys and Keach: Rediscovering Our English Baptist Heritage. Leeds, UK: Reformation Today Trust, 1996.

Belcher, Richard P. and Anthony Mattia. A Discussion of the Seventeenth Century Particular Baptist Confessions of Faith. Southbridge, MA: Crowne Publications, 1990.

Fuller, Andrew. “Creeds and Subscriptions.” Pages 449-51 in The Complete Works of Andrew Fuller, 3 vols. Reprint, Harrisonburg, VA: Sprinkle Publications, 1988.

Renihan, James M. Edification and Beauty: The Practical Ecclesiology of the English Particular Baptists, 1675-1705. Studies in Baptist History and Thought. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2009. [Note: this is Dr. Renihan's dissertation, and it provides helpful primary source information related to the individuals and churches involved in framing the 2nd LBCF.]

Hope this is helpful.

-----Added 7/8/2009 at 09:26:13 EST-----

Don,

Thanks for the helpful analysis. I think I tended to emphasize in my presentation that man's inability to will that which is good is related to his moral aversion to do good. My point was to underscore that man's inability is not an ontological deficiency but an ethical inability. It's connected to his fallen humanness not to mere humanness per se.

With this in view, I think we say from the perspective of man's fallen nature that (1) he's unable to come to Christ because he's unwilling and we can also say that (2) he's unwilling to come to Christ because he, as a fallen human, is unable. (I think this was the point you were underscoring.) In my mind, I think both infras and supras can affirm either of the above propositions.

Thanks for your input and the helpful verses.