Dear JBO,
Your beliefs are not coming from God's Word.
Where does scripture ever say that mankind has a free will ability to choose?
Where does scripture ever say that mankind does not have a free will ability to choose?
Don't show me scriptures where mankind is told to "choose" because the ability to choose does not mean mankind has a free will. A computer has the ability to make choices but no one would argue that a computer has a free will.
A computer does not have the ability to make the choice to obey or disobey any of God's commands. Actually, a computer doesn't have the ability to make choices at all. It simply responds according to the program in operation at the time. If anything it is more similar to a dumb animal responding instinctly.
The definition of free will is to have the ability to make uncaused choices free from divine constraints.
That is not true. First, the Bible nowhere specifically discusses and defines “free will.” Our conclusions on this subject are inferences and implications from related biblical teachings. Second, there is no biblical reason to think that God’s freedom, however it is defined, can be used as a model or analogy for human free will as we possess it during this earthly lifetime. Third, “free will” actually must be defined in two different ways, both of which are libertarian and both of which are valid.
One is the “power of opposite choice”; the other is the “power of different choice.” The former is usually equated with the libertarian concept of free will. The “opposite choice” in this case is actually the power of opposite MORAL choice, or the ability to choose between right and wrong, the ability to choose to sin or not to sin. The latter is simply the ability to choose among various options without any accompanying moral implications. It is the freedom to select one course of action from a list of many possible choices. This kind of freedom is usually overlooked.
One is the “power of opposite choice”; the other is the “power of different choice.” The former is usually equated with the libertarian concept of free will. The “opposite choice” in this case is actually the power of opposite MORAL choice, or the ability to choose between right and wrong, the ability to choose to sin or not to sin. The latter is simply the ability to choose among various options without any accompanying moral implications. It is the freedom to select one course of action from a list of many possible choices. This kind of freedom is usually overlooked.
In both senses the choice is FREE if it involves the ability to choose among options (not necessarily opposites) without that choice’s being fixed or determined by some power outside the person’s own will. This latter aspect is what causes both kinds of free will to be called libertarian.
Below are just a few verses which clearly teach that there are
divine constraints upon mankind's "will":
Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, it is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Prov 16:1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.
Prov 20:24 Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?
Isa 26:12 O Jehovah, thou appointest peace to us, for, all our works also thou hast wrought for us.
Jer 10:23 I know, Jehovah, that the way of man is not his own; it is not in a man that walketh to direct his steps.
Deut 29:4 Yet the LORD hath not given you a heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.
Isa 44:18 They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.
Isa 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
Prov 21:1 The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
In this age, God's Word teaches that only those people who are blessed from the foundation of the world will be saved:
Eph 1:11 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:
2Tim 1:9 who did save us, and did call with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, that was given to us in Christ Jesus, before the times of the ages…
Rom 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Rom 9:11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth
Paul was even asked about why God still finds fault with mankind given the truth that God's "will" rules over our "will":
Rom 9:15 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. 16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 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. 18 Therefore, hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. 19 Thou wilt say then unto me, why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
How can you read these scriptures which I have posted above and come away with the conclusion that mankind has a free will to determine their own destiny?
The very idea that God would give to mankind commandment, which have consequences, in some cases very dire consequences, for failure to obey those commandments and then not even give mankind the ability to obey those commandments makes God out to be nothing more than a cruel evil tyrant.
Moreover, most of those passages actually say nothing at all about whether or not man has the ability to choose between opposites or to choose from among different options. And most are posted entirely free from any context in which they are stated. I won't bother to deal with all of those scriptures that you posted, but it is worthwhile to deal with some.
Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, it is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
That one is almost funny, since it is a plea or a requirement for man to make the choice to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. It proves the fact of the free will of mankind because it is obvious that most of mankind throughout history has chosen not to live by the word of God.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Again, a nonsensical conclusion from you that those two verses would indicate the non-existence of the free will of man. Verses 11 and 12 together pose a condition, namely the condition of either receiving Jesus or not when He came. The very possibility of receiving Jesus is a matter of choice, almost by definition. And with that the one receiving Jesus was given power. Being given power implies the ability to engage that power or not; that is a choice. Receiving Jesus was/is the choice. By receiving Jesus is meant believing on Jesus (v.12).
The birth spoken there is not physical birth, but spiritual birth. And of course it is not man but God who gives birth to the spirit of man. Man has nothing to do with that. Only God can give birth or rebirth to the spirits of men.
Eph 1:11 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:
Very clearly it is the giving of the inheritance which was predestined accoring to God's purpose. Nothing there says even one thing about the ability of a man to choose. Even more there is nothing there that precludes the fact that the free will of mankind is a word of God after the counsel of His own will.