SR
← De gratia et libero arbitrio (On Grace and Free Choice)/Book 1 · De gratia et libero arbitrio
Chapter 1GratL.1.1

Ad boni operis meritum, una cum gratia Dei, concurrere liberi arbitrii consensum

Grace at Work and a Troubling Question

The speaker describes being upheld and led by grace, only to be challenged with the question of what he is doing or hoping for if God does everything.

Once, when I was speaking before others — and God's grace was at work in me, commending me — so that I might acknowledge being upheld by grace herself in goodness and being led forward, and might feel myself advancing, and might hope to be brought to completion: "What, then," says one of those standing around, "are you doing? Or what reward do you hope for, or prize, if God does everything?" What, then, I say — what are you advising? "Give glory to God," he says, "who freely goes before you, rouses you, and sets you on your way; and from now on live worthily, by which you may prove yourself and, having received his benefits, be found not ungrateful, and fit to receive them." And I reply: "You give good advice — but only if you also give the ability to hold to it." For it's not equally easy to know what should be done and to do it: since they are different things — offering guidance to the blind, and providing a ride to the weary. Not everyone who shows the way also provides provisions for the journey to the one traveling. One thing is what the one who acts provides, so that the person may not go astray; and another is what the one who supplies provides, so that the person may not fail on the way. And so no teacher will immediately also be the giver of whatever good he has taught.

Taught and Helped by the Spirit

The speaker explains that knowing what to do and actually doing it are different, and that the same Spirit who teaches must also give strength to act.

Now, there are two things I need: to be taught and to be helped. You, my friend, give good counsel about my ignorance — but if the Apostle speaks truly, the Spirit helps our weakness (Rom.✦1 VIII, 26).✦ Indeed, the very one who ministers counsel to me through your mouth must also, of necessity, minister the help of his own Spirit, so that I may have the strength to carry out what you advise.2 For see — even now, by his gift, the desire to act is present in me, yet the power to carry it through I do not find (Id.✦34 VII, 18); nor do I trust I will ever find it, unless the one who gave the desire also gives the power to complete it, according to his good pleasure (Phil.✦✦5 II, 13).✦ Where, then, you ask, are our merits — or where is our hope?6

Saved by Mercy, Not Our Own Righteousness

Citing Titus, the speaker insists that salvation comes by God's mercy, not our own works, since even confessing Christ depends on the Holy Spirit.

Listen, I say: not by works of righteousness that we have done, but according to his own mercy he saved us✦ — Titus 3:5.✦ What then? Perhaps you had thought that you created your own merits by yourself, that you could be saved by your own righteousness — you who cannot even say 'the Lord Jesus' except in the Holy Spirit✦ — 1 Corinthians 12:3?✦ Have you forgotten who said: 'Without me you can do nothing'?✦ — John 15:5✦ — and: 'Not of the one running, nor of the one willing, but of the one showing mercy, God.'✦

Mercy, Not Human Willing or Running

The scriptural reference to Romans 9:16 is completed, underscoring that salvation depends on God's mercy, not human effort.

(Rom. IX, 16.)✦

The Role of Free Choice

The speaker answers that free choice is saved, not a savior: without it nothing can be saved, and without grace there is no power to save.

What part, then, you ask, does free choice play? I'll answer briefly: it is saved. Take away free choice, and there will be nothing that can be saved; take away grace, and there will be no power to save. This work can't be accomplished without two: the one by whom it is done, and the one for whom, or in whom, it is done. God is the author of salvation, and free choice is only its receiver: grace can't be given except by God, nor can it be received except by free choice.7 Therefore, what is given by God alone to free choice alone can't exist without the consent of the one receiving any more than it can exist without the grace of the one giving. And so free choice is said to cooperate with grace as it works out salvation — that is, while it consents, which is to say, while it is being saved. For to consent is to be saved.

Free Consent Versus Natural Appetite

The speaker distinguishes free consent from natural appetite, noting that the flesh's wisdom is hostile to God and cannot submit to His law.

And so the spirit of the flock scarcely receives salvation of this kind, because the free consent is lacking — the consent by which one calmly complies with the God who saves, whether by yielding to his commands, trusting his promises, or giving thanks. For on the one hand there is free consent, and on the other there is natural appetite — and these are not the same thing. The natural appetite is common to us and to irrational creatures, and it cannot consent to the spirit when we are ensnared by the allurements of the flesh. And perhaps this is the very thing that the Apostle calls by another name, 'the wisdom of the flesh,' where he says: 'The wisdom of the flesh is hostile to God; for it is not subject to the law of God, indeed it cannot be.' (Romans 8:7.) Therefore, as I said, free consent distinguishes us, since we share this common appetite with the beasts. For it is a disposition of the soul, free in itself. Indeed, it is not compelled and not extorted.

Consent, Will, and Freedom

The speaker concludes that consent is voluntary, rooted in the will, and therefore inseparable from freedom itself.

It is a matter of the will, certainly, not of necessity; it neither refuses itself nor offers itself to anyone unless it comes from the will. Otherwise, if it can be compelled against its will, it is forced, not voluntary. But where there is no will, there is no consent either. For there is no consent unless it is voluntary. Where there is consent, then, there is will. And further, where there is will, there is freedom. And this, I believe, is what is meant by free choice.

Read the original Latin

Loquente me coram aliquando, et Dei in me gratiam commendante, quod scilicet ab ipsa me in bono et praeventum agnoscerem, et provehi sentirem, et sperarem perficiendum: Quid tu ergo, ait unus ex circumstantibus, operaris; aut quid mercedis speras vel praemii, si totum facit Deus? Quid enim, inquam, tu consulis? Da, inquit, gloriam Deo, qui gratis te praevenit, excitavit, initiavit; et vive digne de caetero, quo te probes et perceptis beneficiis non ingratum, et percipiendis idoneum. Et ego: Bonum, inquam, consilium das, sed si dederis et posse teneri. Siquidem non est ejusdem facilitatis scire quid faciendum sit, et facere: quoniam et diversa sunt, caeco ducatum, ac fesso praebere vehiculum. Non quicunque ostendit viam, praebet etiam viaticum itineranti. Aliud illi exhibet qui facit ne deviet; et aliud qui praestat ne deficiat in via. Ita nec quivis doctor, statim et dator erit boni quodcunque docuerit.

Porro duo mihi sunt necessaria, doceri ac juvari. Tu homo recte quidem consulis ignorantiae: sed, si verum sentit Apostolus, Spiritus adjuvat infirmitatem nostram (Rom. VIII, 26) . Imo vero qui mihi per os tuum ministrat consilium, ipse necesse est ministret et per suum Spiritum adjutorium, quo valeam implere quod consulis. Ecce enim jam ex ejus munere velle adjacet mihi, perficere autem non invenio (Id. VII, 18) ; sed nec aliquando me inventurum confido, nisi qui dedit velle, det et perficere pro bona voluntate (Philipp. II, 13) . Ubi ergo, ais, sunt merita nostra; aut ubi est spes nostra?

Audi, inquam: Non ex operibus justitiae quae fecimus nos, sed secundum suam misericordiam salvos nos fecit (I Tit. III, 5) . Quid enim? Tu forte putaveras tua te creasse merita, tua posse salvari justitia, qui nec saltem Dominum Jesum dicere potes nisi in Spiritu sancto (I Cor. XII, 3) ? Itane oblitus es quis dixerit: Sine me nihil potestis facere? (Joan. XV, 5) et: Neque currentis, neque volentis, sed miserentis est Dei?

(Rom. IX, 16.)

Quid igitur agit, ais, liberum arbitrium? Breviter respondeo: Salvatur. Tolle liberum arbitrium, et non erit quod salvetur: tolle gratiam, non erit unde salvetur. Opus hoc sine duobus effici non potest: uno a quo fit; altero cui, vel in quo fit. Deus auctor est 604 salutis, liberum arbitrium tantum capax: nec dare illam, nisi Deus; nec capere valet, nisi liberum arbitrium. Quod ergo a solo Deo, et soli datur libero arbitrio; tam absque consensu esse non potest accipientis, quam absque gratia dantis. Et ita gratiae operanti salutem cooperari dicitur liberum arbitrium, dum consentit, hoc est dum salvatur. Consentire enim salvari est.

Proinde pecoris spiritus salutem hujuscemodi minime capit, eo quod illi voluntarius consensus desit, quo salvanti videlicet Deo placide obtemperet, sive jubenti acquiescendo, sive pollicenti credendo, sive reddenti gratias agendo. Enim vero aliud est voluntarius consensus, aliud naturalis appetitus. Posterior quippe nobis communis est cum irrationalibus: nec valet consentire spiritui, carnis irretitus illecebris. Et fortassis ipse est, qui alio nomine ab Apostolo sapientia carnis appellatur, ubi ait: Sapientia carnis inimica est Deo: legi enim Dei non est subjecta, nec enim potest (Id. VIII, 7) . Hunc ergo, ut dixi, communem habentes cum bestiis, consensus voluntarius nos discernit. Est enim habitus animi, liber sui. Siquidem non cogitur, non extorquetur.

Est quippe voluntatis, non necessitatis; nec negat se, nec praebet cuiquam, nisi ex voluntate. Alioquin si compelli valet invitus, violentus est, non voluntarius. Ubi autem voluntas non est, nec consensus. Non enim est consensus, nisi voluntarius. Ubi ergo consensus, ibi voluntas. Porro ubi voluntas, ibi libertas. Et hoc est quod dici puto liberum arbitrium.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Rom.8.26 — In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.
  2. ↩Rom.8.26 — In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.
  3. ↩Rom.7.18 — For I know that good does not dwell in me—that is, in my flesh. For the willing is present with me, but the working out of the good is not.
  4. ↩Rom.7.18 — For I know that good does not dwell in me—that is, in my flesh. For the willing is present with me, but the working out of the good is not.
  5. ↩Phil.2.13 — For God is the one working in you, both to desire and to work for his good pleasure.
  6. ↩Phil.2.13 — For God is the one working in you, both to desire and to work for his good pleasure.
  7. ↩Titus.3.5 — not by works of righteousness that we ourselves had done, but according to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of renewal and rebirth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit,
  8. ↩Titus.3.5 — not by works of righteousness that we ourselves had done, but according to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of renewal and rebirth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit,
  9. ↩1Cor.12.3 — Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus is accursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.
  10. ↩1Cor.12.3 — Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus is accursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.
  11. ↩John.15.5 — I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who abides in me, and I in him, this one bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing.
  12. ↩John.15.5 — I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who abides in me, and I in him, this one bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing.
  13. ↩Rom.9.16 — So then, it does not depend on the one who wills or the one who runs, but on God who shows mercy.
  14. ↩Rom.9.16 — So then, it does not depend on the one who wills or the one who runs, but on God who shows mercy.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩recte quidem consulis ignorantiae: the speaker concedes the advice is sound regarding his ignorance, then introduces a deeper need via the adversative sed.
  2. 2 ↩The argument moves from human counsel to divine enablement: the same God who provides advice through a human mouth must also supply the spiritual power to act on it.
  3. 3 ↩velle / perficere distinction: the will to do good is already given by grace, but the completion of the act requires further divine aid. This echoes the Pauline tension in Romans 7.
  4. 4 ↩'Id.' (idem) refers back to the same source as the previous citation — Romans 7:18 — since the velle/perficere language closely matches Rom. 7:18 (Vulgate: 'perficere bonum non invenio').
  5. 5 ↩The conditional 'nisi qui dedit velle, det et perficere' makes completion of good works entirely dependent on divine grace, not human effort alone.
  6. 6 ↩The rhetorical question presses the argument to its conclusion: if both the will and the completion of good works come from God, human merit is emptied and hope rests entirely on divine grace.
  7. 7 ↩The numeral 604 in the raw text is a page/folio reference that has been retained in normalization; it is not part of the translation.

De gratia et libero arbitrio (On Grace and Free Choice) companion

Grace works through practice — so practice

Bernard's conclusion frees you to show up daily without anxiety. Chosen Portion makes showing up simple and free.

Bernard's teaching that grace and human consent cooperate is enacted every time a reader freely opens their daily portion in Chosen Portion.

  • One 10-minute devotional portion every day, no guesswork
  • Read Bernard and other classics in modern English, portion by portion
  • A consistent daily rhythm that treats effort as cooperation, not earning
Chosen Portion — Daily Prayer (free iOS app) →