Freed to Will: The Spirit, the Cross, and the Yoke We Cannot Escape

by Dave Miller

In the previous reflection, we argued that the gospel does not eliminate the human will. It restores and aligns it. The problem was never that we possess wills. The problem is what governs them.

That raises the next question.

If our wills misalign so easily, if evil persists because human volition bends away from God, then how does the gospel actually free us? If responsibility remains ours, what power breaks the cycle of distorted desire?

The answer is not self improvement. It is regeneration.

Freedom Is Not Autonomy

Many people equate freedom with autonomy. They assume freedom means the absence of restraint, authority, or external influence. In that framework, the freest person answers to no one and bends to nothing.

Scripture rejects that definition.

Biblically, freedom does not mean the absence of mastery. It means the right Master.

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin” John 8:34 NLT. Slavery is not merely behavioral. It is volitional. The will itself becomes captive. Sin does not only produce bad actions; it shapes disordered desires.

The problem is deeper than conduct. It reaches into the architecture of the heart.

When we speak of evil in the world, we must also speak of enslaved wills. Humanity does not merely commit sin. Humanity becomes bent by it. Our desires curve inward. Our affections harden. Our volition orients toward self rule.

The gospel addresses that interior bondage.

The Cross and the Crucifixion of the Hard Heart

The freedom of the gospel begins at the cross. Christ does not merely forgive the record of sin. He strikes at the root of slavery.

Paul writes that our old self was crucified with Him so that the power of sin might be broken Romans 6:6. The cross does not erase personality. It executes the dominion of sin over the will.

This is not metaphorical sentiment. It is ontological transformation.

The hardened heart enslaved to disordered desire cannot reform itself. It must die. At the cross, God does not simply overlook our rebellion. He condemns it in the flesh and makes possible a new kind of willing.

This is why Ezekiel’s promise matters. “I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart” Ezekiel 36:26 NLT.

Notice the movement. The issue is not the existence of a heart. It is the condition of the heart. The issue is not the presence of will. It is the orientation of will.

The Spirit does not silence your will. He softens it.

The Spirit and the Restoration of Desire

Regeneration releases the will from slavery to evil desires and reorients it toward life. The Spirit does not override your choices. He reshapes your loves.

Augustine observed that sin disorders our loves. The Spirit restores order. He trains desire so that choosing righteousness becomes increasingly natural rather than forced.

This is why Paul can say, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” Philippians 2:13 NLT. The Spirit operates at the level of desire. He grants power, but He also grants new inclinations.

Freedom in the gospel is not raw capacity to choose anything whatsoever. It is liberation from compulsions that once dictated the direction of the will.

Before Christ, the will bends toward self rule.

In Christ, the will bends toward communion.

Before Christ, we choose from slavery.

In Christ, we choose from sonship.

Trained for Life

Freedom does not end with regeneration. It moves into formation.

A newly freed will must be trained. The Spirit does not leave us as autonomous agents discovering morality by instinct. He places us under instruction. Scripture calls this discipleship.

A soft heart can now receive correction. A liberated will can now learn obedience. The training of the Spirit does not diminish agency. It strengthens it. Over time, obedience becomes less about resistance and more about reflex.

We begin to choose life.

Moses’ exhortation echoes across the covenant story: “Today I have given you the choice between life and death… Oh, that you would choose life” Deuteronomy 30:19 NLT. The call assumes the capacity to choose. The Spirit restores that capacity to function rightly.

The believer increasingly wills what God wills, not because force compels him, but because affection transforms him.

The Myth of the Self Made Will

One final illusion must fall.

Self made men do not exist.

The will is never neutral. It never floats in isolation. By design, it attaches to something greater than itself. Every person operates under a yoke.

Jesus did not say, “Live without a yoke.” He said, “Take my yoke upon you” Matthew 11:29 NLT.

A yoke symbolizes guidance and shared direction. To reject Christ’s yoke does not result in freedom from all yokes. It results in submission to another master. Desire, culture, ambition, resentment, and fear all function as yokes.

The question never concerns whether you will submit. It concerns to whom.

Our wills are dependent by nature. They require orientation. They flourish under righteous authority and decay under corrupted mastery. The Spirit does not eliminate this dependency. He redeems it.

Under sin, the will labors under compulsion.

Under Christ, the will labors under love.

The Decision Before Us

If the first article called you to recover responsibility, this one calls you to embrace transformation.

Do not confuse responsibility with self reliance. You cannot free your own will. You cannot crucify your own hard heart. The cross accomplishes what effort cannot. The Spirit accomplishes what discipline alone cannot.

But once freed, you must walk.

You must submit to the training of the Spirit. You must accept the yoke of Christ. You must intentionally choose life, cultivate life, and give life within your sphere of influence.

Freedom in the gospel does not silence your will. It restores it from slavery and places it under a better King.

And the only question that remains is this:

Whose yoke shapes your desires today?