If the will is bound, are we puppets—or still responsible?

In this reading from Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 2, Chapter 5, Sections 1–5, John Calvin takes up the strongest objections raised against the doctrine of the bondage of the will. He answers the charge that necessity destroys guilt by insisting that sin remains voluntary even when the will is enslaved by corruption. He dismantles the idea that punishment and reward require autonomous freedom, grounding all glory instead in divine grace (Romans 8:30; 1 Corinthians 4:7). He confronts the argument that, if human nature is the same in all, all must be equally good or equally bad, pointing instead to God’s distinguishing mercy and the gift of perseverance. And he addresses the pastoral question: if we cannot obey apart from grace, why exhort at all? Because God works in two ways—outwardly by his Word and inwardly by his Spirit (John 15:5; 1 Corinthians 3:7). Exhortations convict the reprobate and renew the elect; they inflame desire, expose sin, and prepare the heart for grace (Ezekiel 11:19–20; 2 Corinthians 2:16). Calvin’s conclusion is bracing but clear: human responsibility remains intact, yet every step toward righteousness is owed entirely to the mercy of God.

Readings:

John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 2, Chapter 5 (Sections 1–5)

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