What Is Free Will?

[reformed1689]

One of the classic arguments against election and predestination is the argument that we have free will and we all have the opportunity to come to God. But is that really true? This depends. It depends on what you mean by free will. Let’s look at what the Bible says about who will seek God.

First, let’s talk about free will. What is it? If by free will you mean every man is free to choose what he desires then, yes, I agree, there is free will. But if you mean that we have an equal choice with no influence or determiners then no, we do not have free will.

Does this align with Scripture? Yes. The proponents of free will, the humanistic definition of free will, suggest that people come to Christ on their own free will. They make this choice all by themselves. The problem is, Scripture says otherwise. Romans 3 clearly tells us that nobody seeks God.

Who Seeks God?

 

[GISMYS_7]

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, ""not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance"" (2 Pet 3:9).

All are free to choose to reject God or believe!!

 

[reformed1689]

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, ""not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance"" (2 Pet 3:9).

All are free to choose to reject God or believe!!

That is out of context. That is referring to the beloved, not all people.

 

[GISMYS_7]

That is out of context. That is referring to the beloved, not all people.

LOL!!=== God says He=== ""not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance""

 

[ScottA]

Free will is each person deciding their own eternal fate before the foundation of the world, and then walking it out in the world of time as a testimony for or against themselves before the Judgment.

 

[reformed1689]

LOL!!=== God says He=== ""not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance""

Yes, and you must read it in context.

 

[reformed1689]

Free will is each person deciding their own eternal fate before the foundation of the world, and then walking it out in the world of time as a testimony for or against themselves before the Judgment.

Um, pretty sure YOU do not decide anything before the foundation of the world. What hogwash!

 

[ScottA]

Um, pretty sure YOU do not decide anything before the foundation of the world. What hogwash!

Yes, some think the truth is hogwash.

 

[reformed1689]

Yes, some think the truth is hogwash.

How did YOU make ANY decisions before the foundation of the world, and what is your biblical support for it? Don't tell me I think the truth is hogwash until you back up your "truth" with Scripture.

 

[farouk]

How did YOU make ANY decisions before the foundation of the world, and what is your biblical support for it? Don't tell me I think the truth is hogwash until you back up your "truth" with Scripture.

@eformed1689 Good to get back to passages such as Ephesians 2, where Paul shows where unregenerate man really is, until tregeneration in grace.

 

[MatthewG]

God giving Adam and Eve the ability to have stewardship in the Garden of Eden, by having dominion over all the things God had created in the Earth. They were given complete free will, to openly decided everything that they were going to do. Which lead the Serpent who told Eve a lie. Then Eve decided by her own choice to eat from the tree, and her husband also partook by his own choice.

Then you have God making judgments of what is the right sentence for the Adam, Eve, and even the serpent who would one day have his head crushed. God sent Adam and Eve out of the Garden. Now separated from that once had connection.

What a wonderful thing God did to send his son Jesus, out of love for the whole world.

 

[marks]

The problem is, Scripture says otherwise. Romans 3 clearly tells us that nobody seeks God.

Luke 19:10 KJV
For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Titus 2:11-15 KJV
11) For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12) Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13) Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
14) Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
15) These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

Jesus seeks after us, and when He presents His grace unto salvation to us, we can receive Him, or refuse Him, and that's our choice.

Colossians 2:6-7 KJV
6) As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
7) Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

Much love!

 

[reformed1689]

Jesus seeks after us, and when He presents His grace unto salvation to us, we can receive Him, or refuse Him, and that's our choice.

That's not what he said. Read John 6

 

[Enoch111]

The proponents of free will, the humanistic definition of free will, suggest that people come to Christ on their own free will. They make this choice all by themselves.

Not "all by themselves". When the Gospel is preached (or read) the Holy Spirit is right there to (a) convict the sinner of his guilt and (b) convince the sinner that Christ is the only Savior who can save him from Hell and from himself. This is one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit. At the same time the Word of God is a living Word with supernatural power granted by the Holy Spirit (Heb 4:12,13). And Peter calls the Gospel (the Word of God) the "incorruptible seed" of the New Birth (1 Pet 1:23-25). Paul says that faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (the Gospel) (Rom 10:17). So in fact there is tremendous influence on the sinner's heart and mind when the Gospel is preached. And that is how people come to the Savior.

Of course all human beings have free will therefore some will obey the Gospel and some will disobey it. Therefore Paul says of unbelieving Jews "but they have not all obeyed the Gospel" (Rom 10:16). And Jesus said what would happen when the Gospel is preached (Mark 16:15,16). Some would believe and others would not.

 

[EloyCraft]

It's difficult to grasp the idea of freedom. Our life itself, fallen as it is, is an obstacle to our freedom.
Sin. Our members don't serve our will but a law served by a body that dies. Paul called it the law of death. It's what rebels against the will and tempts us into it's service.

This is earthly freedom. We go about life and choose this or that because its good.

If we were good like God we wouldn't do this or that because its good, it's good because we did it.

That's why Jesus said only God is good.

Can you imagine that kind of freedom? No need to think of right or wrong or morals if what you do is good because you did it.

 

[quietthinker]

What Is Free Will?
When it rolls in neutral.

 

[Ernest T. Bass]

free will is the ability to choose between 2 or more options, choose between serving sin unto death or obedience unto righteousness, (Romans 6:16) choose between serving God or mammon, (Matthew 6:24), choose to believe or not (Exodus 4:1-9), choose to do the will of God or not (John 7:17), choose to obey or not (John 3:36).

if man were innately born with a totally depraved nature where he has no choice but can only do evil/sin/unrighteousness, then man has no free will and God is culpable for all the wrong totally depraved man commits and is unjust in condemning such innately depraved men.

 

[marks]

That's not what he said. Read John 6

2 Corinthians 5:18-20 KJV
18) And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19) To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
20) Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

Romans 5:10-11 KJV
10) For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
11) And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Much love!

 

[marks]

That's not what he said. Read John 6

Post your quote of the verses you want to discuss, I'll be happy to look at them with you.

Much love!

 

[Davy]

One of the classic arguments against election and predestination is the argument that we have free will and we all have the opportunity to come to God. But is that really true? This depends. It depends on what you mean by free will. Let’s look at what the Bible says about who will seek God.

First, let’s talk about free will. What is it? If by free will you mean every man is free to choose what he desires then, yes, I agree, there is free will. But if you mean that we have an equal choice with no influence or determiners then no, we do not have free will.

Does this align with Scripture? Yes. The proponents of free will, the humanistic definition of free will, suggest that people come to Christ on their own free will. They make this choice all by themselves. The problem is, Scripture says otherwise. Romans 3 clearly tells us that nobody seeks God.

It should be obvious why God gave man free will. Not only did He do that for man, but He did it for the angels also, including Satan. Without free will, we are only robots, and not able to show true love.

Ezekiel 28 reveals, by parable, that God originally created Satan perfect as a covering cherub (to guard His throne), and then Satan coveted God's Throne and rebelled. Now Satan could not have done that if God had made him like He did the 'zoon' (the four beasts surrounding God's Throne to guard it, per Revelation 4). Thus even Satan was given free will to follow and worship God originally, or not. Same with one third of the angels that rebelled with Satan.

For this present world time, God set bounds upon man, to see who he would follow. Some He made with His Spiritual Image likeness (Holy Spirit), and some He made as vessels of destruction. But that is only for this present world. It does not mean the wicked and deceived cannot convert to Jesus in the future during Christ's "thousand years" reign with His elect. And even then, once The Father and Son are revealed to all peoples at His return, there will still be some that if they cannot be their own god, then they themselves will choose to perish. That is the spirit of rebellion which Satan caused in the beginning.