The Inability of the Sinful Will

I am nearing the end of the writing process for a paper on the nature of sin and its effects on humanity's ability to repent and turn to God. In my research for this paper, I came across several great quotes from Martin Luther's book, "The Bondage of the Will," which I read for the first time this past summer. Here is what Luther says regarding fallen man's freedom of will:

"It is plainly proved by Scriptures that are neither ambiguous nor obscure that Satan is by far the most powerful and crafty prince in this world; as I have said. Under his rule the human will is no longer free nor in its own power, but is the slave of sin and of Satan, and can only will what its prince has willed. And he will not let it will any good--though, even if Satan did not rule it, sin itself, whose slave man is, would weigh it down enough to make it unable to will good" (263).

Later on, Luther reflects on God's grace in the salvation of sinful men like him:

"But now that God has taken my salvation out of the control of my own will, and put it under the control of His, and promised to save me, not according to my workings or running, but according to His own grace and mercy, I have the comfortable certainty that He is faithful and will not lie to me, and that He is also great and powerful, so that no devils or opposition can break Him or pluck me from Him" (314).