Week Eight we will be reading through chapter two of book two. Here is a short overview of chapter two by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
Chapter 2: Man Has Now Been Deprived of Freedom of Choice
Men desire to be free, and the freedom of the will is asserted by all philosophers. They are mainly concerned with the relation of will to obedience to divine law. All agree that free will does not suffice to enable man to do good works, unless he is helped by special grace (received only by the elect, through regeneration). That man necessarily, but without compulsion, is a sinner, estab lishes no doctrine of free will, for it is wrong to give man's willingness to sin the inflated label and Augustine rather defines it as liberum arbitrium. However, it would be better to abolish the term, and rid the church of this contention.
Self-knowledge rests on the awareness of our own powerlessness and the slightest credit given to one's own effort impugns God's honor. Rather, true humility gives God alone the honor. This does not mean that the natural gifts of reason and will are removed but corrupted by sin. If reason were completely removed, man would be indis tinguishable from the beasts. Such is the reality of the social order as seen in the arts—liberal and manual, the sciences, and by His general (common) grace for God limits the corruption of nature by a special grace, and He endows each man according to his calling. Spiritual discernment, though, is wholly lost until we are regenerated. This limits our understanding with regard to God's kingdom and spiritual insight for spiritual insight consists in knowing God’s fatherly favor on our behalf of our salvation, as well as how to frame our life according to the rule of His law which men fail at upholding.
Check out the Puritans Mind Web Site here
http://www.apuritansmind.com/Reformation/McMahonLongerOverviewCalvinsInstitutes.htm#2:2
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