Welcome to Defenders, the teaching class of Dr. William Lane Craig.

Today, the Doctrine of Man, Part 27.

For more information and resources from Dr. Craig, go to reasonable faith.org.

We've been talking about the freedom of the will, and the operative question is whether

human beings in their sinful and fallen state have the freedom to respond to God's grace.

Last time we reviewed the view of the Protestant Reformers, which is the bondage of the

will. Today we want to look at the Roman Catholic view as expressed at the Council of Trent.

In contrast to the Reformers view stands the Roman Catholic view that was enunciated at the Council of Trent,

following the Protestant Reformation. The Council of Trent was held over many years, and in

many sessions, between the years 1545 and 1563. It was, as it were, the Catholic response to the Reformation.

It epitomized the beliefs and teaching of the Catholic counter-reformation in response to the reformers' doctrine.

The doctrine promulgated at Trent affirms freedom of the will,

in contrast to the doctrine of the reformers.

According to Trent, the process of salvation has several steps, or stages, as it were, in which God and man each plays his part.

The first step is God's prevenient grace. This first step is from God's side. Against Pelagius, the Council

of Trent held that no one approaches God, saying, oh God, I need you, I want you. I have this God-shaped vacuum in my heart, and therefore I'm

turning to you for salvation. No, God's grace comes first. It is prevenient. God's grace seeks you out, for sinful, fallen, corrupted, natural man does not seek

the things of the Spirit of God. So the first step must come entirely from the divine side. It is God's initiative in salvation

to seek out sinful persons. The second step is the preparation of the heart for the receiving of God's grace. This step comes from the human side.

This is the human response to God's prevenient grace, which is drawing you to himself.

This is the point at which freedom of the will enters in. The bestowl of God's

grace is not a unilateral process. It requires some sort of human response in return.

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