Article X
Free will and grace
God’s grace enables our response to him.
The Article
OF FREE-WILL
THE condition of Man after the fall of Adam is such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and good works, to faith, and calling upon God: Wherefore we have no power to do good works pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good will, and working with us, when we have that good will.
In modern English
After Adam's fall, human beings cannot use their own natural strength or good deeds to turn towards God, prepare themselves for faith or call upon him. We cannot do works pleasing and acceptable to God without his grace through Christ. That grace first comes to us so that we may desire what is good, and then works with us as we act on that desire.
Scripture readings
- John 6:44
- Ephesians 2:1–5, 8, 10
- Philippians 2:12–13
Understand the teaching
Who makes the first move towards God?
Article X follows the diagnosis of original sin with a direct account of grace. Fallen people cannot turn towards saving faith by their own natural strength or good works. God's grace through Christ must come before and enable their response. The Article therefore excludes spiritual self-rescue. Becoming a Christian cannot be reduced to discovering sufficient willpower, improving our moral record or preparing a worthiness that obliges God to receive us. Salvation begins in his generous initiative towards people who need him.
The older word preventing can confuse modern readers. Here it means going before, as in the expression prevenient grace. God is not obstructing our response; his grace precedes and enables it. The Article then describes grace working with us when we have a good will. The whole movement of Christian life depends upon God's action: its beginning, its willing response and its continuing obedience. This gives us a framework for understanding both conversion and the daily work of discipleship.
Inability and genuine human responsibility
The Article concerns spiritual inability to prepare ourselves for faith through unaided natural powers. It does not deny every ordinary capacity to choose or to perform actions that benefit neighbours. A person can decide what to eat, care for a relative or pursue a profession. Yet our fallen desires cannot produce the God-centred trust and love required for reconciliation with him. The problem reaches the orientation of the will. Grace addresses that condition and enables the response God commands.
This account leaves human decisions meaningful. People hear the gospel, consider its claims, repent and trust Christ. The invitation to believe is sincerely addressed to them. Dependence upon grace does not make these responses imaginary. Think of the New Testament's language of God opening hearts alongside the command to turn to him. The Article holds together divine initiative and actual human willing, while refusing to attribute the saving beginning to an achievement for which we can congratulate ourselves.
Following the biblical reasoning
John 6:44 says that coming to Jesus depends upon the Father's drawing. In the surrounding discourse, Jesus also calls hearers to believe and promises to receive those who come. We should retain both the dependence and the invitation. Acts 16:14 offers a concrete example in Lydia: the Lord opens her heart to respond to Paul's message. God works through the preached gospel, and Lydia genuinely responds. Prayer and proclamation therefore belong together in Christian mission.
Ephesians 2:1–10 moves from spiritual death to new life by God's mercy, then from salvation by grace through faith to the good works God prepares. Notice the sequence. Works do not create the basis for acceptance; they belong to the life grace brings into being. Philippians 2:12–13 applies the same dependence within discipleship: believers are to work out their salvation because God works in their willing and acting. His activity supplies the ground for responsible effort and perseverance.
What Anglicans debate
Reformed and Wesleyan or Arminian Christians agree that grace must come first, yet differ over how that grace operates. Reformed accounts characteristically emphasise God's effective renewal of the will. Wesleyan accounts characteristically emphasise enabling grace that can be resisted. The language of Article X excludes self-initiated salvation but does not, on its own, answer every question later systems ask about election, the extent of enabling grace or the relationship between divine action and resistance. Article XVII will address predestination more directly.
An Anglican reading can therefore be strongly committed to the priority of grace without pretending that this short Article contains a complete five-point Calvinist scheme. At the same time, its strong statement of inability should not be softened into the claim that people are already spiritually neutral and merely need helpful information. The will needs God's gracious action. This shared conviction has practical consequences even where Christians disagree about the most precise theological explanation of how an individual comes to faith.
Grace in evangelism and daily obedience
Imagine a church leader becoming anxious because a carefully organised course has produced few visible conversions. Article X encourages faithful evaluation while challenging the assumption that salvation can be manufactured by the right technique. Communicate clearly, offer genuine friendship, answer questions and pray for the Spirit's work. Avoid emotional pressure designed to produce a response that looks successful. The Lord uses ordinary witness, sometimes over long periods. Dependence upon grace can sustain patient effort when immediate results fail to match our expectations.
The same teaching helps someone struggling with an entrenched habit. Begin by asking God for a renewed willingness, including where obedience presently feels unwelcome. Then use concrete means: remove an opportunity for temptation, seek support, make restitution where needed and practise the better action. Grace does not require passive waiting until change feels effortless. For reflection, identify one obedience you have postponed and pray through Philippians 2:12–13. Take the next faithful step with gratitude that God is at work in both your desire and your action.
Bring it into everyday life
- How could reliance on grace make your evangelism both more prayerful and less anxious?