Does Man Have Free Will
Every Christian
church I know of believes that we all have free will or free moral
agency. I have heard, on numerous occasions, these words spoken from
the pulpit. Time and again I am told we all have free will and free moral agency.These
ideas were originated by philosophers and theologians. The reason is
simple, if their ideas are correct, it gives reason for the belief
that man can overrule the ultimate will of God in their lives. It
means that man can refuse the salvation of God and thereby end up in
hell or be annihilated by God. That takes any responsibility off of
God and validates the end result of hell or annihilation by mans
unwillingness to believe that God is sovereign and omnipotent.
There is no mention of free will or free moral agency in the
bible. Many people believe what the theologians and preachers have
told them and conclude that this concept is in the bible. It is not.
Yes, free offering is there. Also mention of our will and God's will
is there. Mention of making choices is there too. But to place the
word free in front of will or choice is reading into scripture what
is not there.
We have a will but it is constrained by a
number of factors. We do not have unlimited free will.
The
difficulties that many experience on the subject arise from failure
to see that man's freedom lies in the sphere of preference and
desire, and not in the sphere of action. His will is free; he is at
liberty to choose and plan, but God oversees his acts. Man can
purpose and determine and choose, and according to his choosing he
is held accountable. Man cannot go against God's will.
Prov.
16:9 (KJV) A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.
Prov. 20:24 (KJV) Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand
his own way? Prov. 19:21 (KJV) There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the
counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.
In other words, man determines all his wishes and desires, but only those which the Lord
designs are carried out. Sometimes man is allowed to carry out his
devices, and sometimes
not; it all depends upon whether they coincide with God's plan or
not; what He can use for His praise, He allows; what He cannot thus
use, He restrains.
Eph 1:11 (KJV) In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being
predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things
after the counsel of his own will:
This tells us that God
works all things after the counsel of His will. This could not be
true if man had power to act contrary to the will of God and to
resist it indefinitely. Furthermore, the apostle Paul stated that of
him, and through him, and unto him are all things (Rom
11:36).
So it is an utter impossibility for any creature to have its own way
and to continue persist in it. Clearly, God absolutely controls
man's actions but does not destroy man's freedom nor his
responsibility. Difficult to accept? Yes, because this idea of
unfettered free will has been engrained into our very being all our
life.
What about
Free Moral Agency?
A
more sophisticated and scholarly phrase on this topic is "free moral
agency".
There is a
difference between free will and free moral agency. We have free
will, although limited, but we do not have free moral agency. It is
said that if we do not have free moral agency, man is simply a
machine, a play - thing in the. hands of God,- a being whose actions
are involuntary or mechanical, moving only as he is directed. It is
argued that, unless man is absolutely free, his responsibility as a
rational, thinking person is entirely destroyed. It seems to be an
insult to many if it is suggested that we do not have free moral
agency. It seems an affront to human intelligence to think
otherwise.
The phrase free moral agency implies : (1) an
agent is one who has power to act, (2) a free agent is
one who acts without constraint, (3) a free moral agent is
one who acts as he pleases on all questions involving the qualities
of right and wrong.
A few examples of this human reasoning
about free will and free moral agency can be found at the web site
below. Do not be surprised if the reasoning is circuitous and
groundless.
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/freewill/
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-responsibility/
Also, this is part of an
article by a misinformed church minister on this topic:
The
cause of man's plight is not ignorance of the right, but his own
desire, which leads him to substitute his will for the will of God.
This simple story illustrates why man's relationship with God has
run afoul. By deliberate choice, man separates himself from God, who
created him and gives him freedom to choose.
How outrageous it is to
say that a man can substitute his will for God's will. This poor man
has the opinion that mans will can overpower and be superior to that
of God. Totally offensive!
The vast majority of preachers
and bible scholars hold the position that man is a free moral agent.
This teaching leads them to conclude that men can reject the saving
power of Jesus Christ.
They claim that is what the bible teaches. Here are some of the
arguments they put forward.
God created man in His image and
likeness, therefore since God has absolute free will, man also has
this same attribute. Not true. If we were to follow this line
of reasoning, then since God has all wisdom and power, so should
man. It is acknowledged that some of God's attributes are given to
man, such as being creative and appreciating beauty in nature, but
here is a boundary on man's inherent powers.
It is said that
God gave Adam and Eve free moral agency and thereby they could
decide, independent of God, to take of the tree of life or the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil. Sadly almost everyone believes
they made the wrong choice by eating of the tree of good and evil.
It was not the wrong choice and God knew before hand
what they would do. It is part of His plan.
Every human
being has carnal human nature. Everyone has sinned. Everyone. Why?
Because of what we read in I John
2:16
.
1John 2:16 (KJV) For
all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the
world.
Adam and Eve did not sin because they wanted to sin.
No, they sinned because they were too spiritually weak to resist
sin. True, they did volunteer to sin, but again, that was because
they were too weak to resist the temptation to sin. Eve sinned in
her heart even before she took of the forbidden tree.
Here is
a related excerpt from my article on this web site under Plan of God
- "Plan in Progress:
Humans
need to know both good and evil, just as God does. It is one of the
most essential requisites in being formed in the image of God. To
truly know both good and evil they had to partake of its source,
which was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,. They had to
sin to obtain this knowledge. Adam and Eve were too weak to resist
the temptation to sin. They were carnal, just as we are. And so
it was God, and none other than God, Who intended that man sin from
the beginning under the influence of Satan.
We do not want to sin but we do. We sin because of the carnal
nature in us. The message is clear - we are not sinners by choice.
We are sinners by our nature!
We are not free moral agents
"The creature was made subject to
vanity, not wiilingly, but by reason of Him who hath made subject to
vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the
same in hope" (Rom. 8:20).
Rom 8:20 (Rotherham ) For, unto vanity, hath creation been made
subject—not by choice, but by reason of him that made it subject, in
hope
We were made by God subject to vanity. Vanity is
pride, self-importance, conceit, arrogance and egotism.
If God's will is ever thwarted because
of our free will, then He is not almighty. If His will is thwarted,
then His plans must be changed, and hence He is not all-wise and
immutable. since His will is never thwarted, then all things are in
accordance with His will and He is the architect of all things as
they exist. If He is all-wise and all-good, then all things,
existing according to His will, is working toward a wise and
wonderful end.
Many bible scholars insist that man has
free will
You have probably heard it said throughout
all of your life, that man is a free moral agent and can exercise
unrestrained free will. So, is man is a free moral agent? Is he free
to act according to his own judgment or pleasure? To what extent is
God in control? We need to go to Scripture to see in what way man is
free and responsible and to what extent.
Saul, who became the
Apostle Paul, had his will fixed on destroying the church. He was a
fierce adversary of the church. His will was to wipe out those who
would leave the Jewish faith and follow the Saviour. His heart was
full of threats and murder against the disciples of Jesus (Acts
9:1-2). His will was set on this goal.
We know what happened
on the road to
Damascus
.
He had all that vanity knocked out of him, no longer full of
self-esteem and self-will. God's will prevailed over his will. This
shows us that God had a purpose for Paul, just as He does for
everyone of us.
A few
other examples:
The instances related in John 7:25-80 and
John 8:12-20 are very remarkable demonstrating an intense will to
kill Christ. The chief priests .and Pharisees sought to kill our
Lord, and sent officers to take Him. They ,were fully determined to
destroy Him. But God would not allow the rulers to carry out their
wicked purpose. Why not? No man laid his hand on him, because his
hour was not yet come. They were seeking to precipitate His death,
hence were restrained from accomplishing their will. Later on, when
the appointed time arrived, the rulers were allowed to carry into
effect their murderous intents, in order that Christ might give
Himself up according to the will of God.
And we find that the
case of our Lord is by no means an exceptional one. Forty Jews
banded together by a terrible curse that they would neither eat nor
drink , until they had killed Paul. That very night the Lord
appeared to Paul, assuring him that he would bear witness in
Rome .
So we learn how Paul is delivered and arrives at Rome .
The wilful wrath of the forty Jews is restrained, because Paul's
mission was not finished. Again the will of the forty Jews who vowed
to kill Paul was thwarted.
Someone upon reading Joshua 24:15
will ask, But doesn't God command sinners to choose this day whom
they will serve and to seek the Lord while He may be found? Chose
yes, free moral agency NO, read the entire verse to see the context.
Joshua 24:15 (KJV)
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day
whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that
were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in
whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the
LORD.
These words
were spoken to the children of Israel who were to inherit the
promised land. They were told to choose between serving God or false
gods. God knew full well whom they would follow because of their
carnal nature. They may have had a desire to do right and serve the
true God, but their actions proved otherwise. A similar event was
played out at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:8) when they agreed to obey
God, but did not.
And yes, the Scripture does say, Seek ye
the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near:
let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his
thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy
upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon (Isa.
55:6-7). These words were addressed to the tribe of Judah who were
exiled to Babylon. Again these words were addressed to ancient Judah
. Seeking the Lord does not imply the exercise of free will. One
must always keep in mind that although the bible is for us it is not
always about us.
The mainstream Churches unreasonably assert
that an unbeliever must somehow "choose" Jesus Christ with their
free will. But God's testimony is just the opposite. The honest
affirmation is that man does not do the choosing but it comes from
God. In fact, according to Paul, that choice was made by God before
the eons came into existence.
The mainstream Churches unreasonably assert
that an unbeliever must somehow "choose" Jesus Christ with their
free will. But God's testimony is just the opposite. The honest
affirmation is that man does not do the choosing but it comes from
God. In fact, according to Paul, that choice was made by God before
the eons came into existence.
Eph 1:4
(KJV)According as he
hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we
should be holy and without blame before him in love:
It is tantamount to
irreverence for anyone to argue that man is capable, of his own free
will, to make a decision for Christ.
The preacher from the
pulpit or the television evangelist will declare
whosoever comes to Jesus will in no wise
be cast out, quoting John 6:37. But they neglect the
first part of this verse:
John
6:37
(KJV)
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that
cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
Who is it that will not be
cast out? All who come to Him! But who will come to Jesus? He says,
All
whom the Father gives Me. The choice as to who will come
to Christ is God's, not man's. God does not call all men at the same
time. Some are called to salvation sooner than others. All will
eventually receive salvation, but not necessarily in this age.
1 Cor.15:22-23(KJV)
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
But every man in His own order.
Some other aspects
When man contends that he is a free moral agent and can accept
or reject the Lord by his own volition, the Word of God contradicts
him. These scriptures plainly states that we do not come to Christ
by our free will:
John
6:44
(KJV)No man can
come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I
will raise him up at the last day.
Very plain scripture - no
one can come to Christ voluntarily. Impossible!. It is the Father
who has the responsibility to draw (or the Greek also has drag)
anyone to Christ. No altar call here! Also note this:
Rom
9:14
(KJV)What shall we say
then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. vs.15 For he
saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I
will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.vs. 16 So then
it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God
that sheweth mercy.vs. 17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even
for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my
power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the
earth. vs. 18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy,
and whom he will he hardeneth. vs. 19 Thou wilt say then unto me,
Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? vs. 20
Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the
thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
vs. 21
Hath not the
potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto
honour, and another unto dishonour?
The popular idea, which
is taught from the great majority of pulpits, is that man has a free
will, and that salvation comes to the sinner through his will
co-operating with the Holy Spirit. If you deny the 'free will' of
man, i.e. his power to choose that which is good, his native ability
to accept Christ, it will bring you into contempt immediately among
most Christians. Yet we just read in verse 16 above, It is not of
him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth
mercy.
Man is not saved by some mythical act of his own
free will. He is saved by grace, the divine enablement of God who
first gives him faith in his heart as a free gift. Paul continues in
Ephesians:
Eph 2:8 (KJV)
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9
Not of
works, lest any man should boast.
What do these Scriptures
teach us? They teach that man is not a free actor. Man may choose,
devise, imagine, and he will be judged accordingly ;-filled with his
own devices -but his way, his outward acts are always under God's
jurisdiction. That is what the Bible tells us about the doctrine of
free will.
If you look up the word "will"
in a dictionary, you find that there are many definitions depending
on its specific usage. This one is one of the better ones:
Definition of will: the mental power used to control and direct your
thoughts and actions, or a determination to do something, despite
any difficulties or opposition:
I believe it is a
tenuous and spiritual concept just like the word
'mind', whereas the
word brain is more easily understood since it is something physical.
I also believe that our mind (our ability to think), enables us to
exercise our will and make a choice from a number of options. The
choice we make is the result of our heritage, our education, our
upbringing, our experiences and perhaps other factors. All of these
are indescribably complex combinations which none of us can analyze,
much less control Thus all this leads us to make choices based upon
what we will (desire) to do. Often a parent will know what a child
will do in a certain instance because the parent knows the character
of the child very well.
Accordng to Scripture God is carrying
out His will, and that nothing man can do is able to defeat Him. The
question then arises, What is the use of doing anything? Why pray
when everything has been predetermined? One should not become
fatalistic in their view of God. The answer is very simple. God has
prepared good works that we should walk in them. It is His will to
exercise our hearts as to His ways and to engage our love through
the veil of uncertainty and ignorance which lies upon us.
Man
will ultimately choose the right, because he was made for the right,
and to suppose that he will remain endlessly wrong, is to suppose
that God's creation will fail of realizing the end intended, a
position which involves the failure of the Creator rather than of
the creature. Man was created for fellowship with God, so
constituted as to enter the bosom of His affections, and he will
realize the purpose for which he was designed as surely as God's
word never fails. Man will be brought to choose the right, not by
pressure of force, but because he will be led to see that it is the
right, and that the right is the best for him.
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