đź“– What Does Scripture Say About Will-Power?

The Bible, the will, and the Human Condition

July 08, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes

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What Does Scripture Say About Will-Power? 

The Bible is the most accurate portrayal of the Human Condition in existence.

When I say the “Human Condition”, I mean the set of experiences virtually universal to all humanity.

  • Birth

  • Aging

  • Death

  • And so on…

As we examine the limitations of willpower, we must turn to Scripture to see what it has to say on the matter.

What we find there is a story that’s painfully honest and strikingly hopeful.

The Israelites

The Old Testament is a story about God making a home for Himself amongst a people known as…

…the Israelites.

The story of the Israelites begins with an elderly man called Abraham. He's miraculously granted a son called Isaac who goes on to have two sons of his own, Jacob and Esau.

The story then follows Jacob and his many sons as they go to Egypt, where they become a numerous people of their own. 

The Egyptian Pharaoh enslaves the Israelites, but God raises from among them Moses, who frees them and leads them to their own land.

As the Israelites travel from Egypt to their new home, God makes a Covenant (a promise/agreement) with them that goes something like this:

Represent me on Earth. Do that, and things will go well. Don’t do that, and things won’t go well.

God calls the Israelites to live to His high standard, something they’re incapable of doing by will-power alone.

So, the Israelites have their mission, and how do they do?

Not well.

Old Testament Hope, New Testament Fulfillment

The Old Testament is filled with stories of the Israelites breaking their Covenant with God.

We see that even their greatest leaders, men like King David and Moses himself, share this fate.

They certainly try, no doubt about that, but the fact is clear…

Their willpower isn’t enough.

The Old Testament ends with a prophecy from Malachi, reminding Israel of the Covenant and, most importantly, of a coming Prophet able to accomplish what they couldn't.

The Old Testament ends with a hope unfulfilled, then Jesus comes and changes the game.

Flip the page and you’ve got the New Testament, beginning with the genealogy of one Jesus of Nazareth.

The Israelites, by their willpower, proved incapable of living in step with God. Now here’s Jesus, the long awaited Prophet, prepared to help not only the Israelites but the entire human species.

And how does He accomplish that?

By grace.

More on that tomorrow.

For now, be blessed.

Jon,

Theophilus Newsletter

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