What About Free Will?
One of the ongoing debates among Christians is that of man's free will. While this probably will remain an issue until Jesus returns, what we believe now concerning God's sovereignty, grace, mercy, and love can mean a world of difference in our completely trusting Him and will also affect the way we respond to Him, others, and the world in general. Please consider this a Bible study with the goal being to become more grounded in what you believe (whether you agree with me or not) so that you will be better able "to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict" (Titus 1:9).
Should you read this and disagree with part or all, then feel free to reply with an alternate view; perhaps God will show me where I am wrong through what you write. If you do not wish to discuss this issue but would still like to send your thoughts, then I will keep silent at your request while considering your thoughts for personal instruction.
What I do ask before you reply is: (1) that you first carefully read what I have written and compare scripture references where you disagree. (2) Please do not send me anything based on mere feeling or because it is what you have believed all your life and are therefore biased to it. And (3) make sure what you send is built on a solid foundation of scripture.
My Past and Present Position
I grew up in a church where I was indoctrinated into free will thought long before I was even old enough to conceive all that it encompassed. After I was saved at 26 years old I held to the free will position and defended it passionately, even using many of the same arguments that are presented to me now as I once debated in it's favor.
But as I continued to study the Bible I began to see what those who held to a more reformed view of theology were telling me. This was cutting against the grain of all that I had been taught and even wanted to believe, but still...I couldn't help but see it. So please understand, I am not writing this as someone who was raised reformed and therefore biased to that position; but as someone who was once firmly rooted (or so I thought) on the free will side of the fence.
Criteria for Understanding
These are my thoughts concerning this subject. I am not placing them here to initiate a debate; nor am I necessarily trying to convince others that they are wrong in what they believe. However, I do believe that this is the direction that God has lead me and I hope that what is written here will be useful to others who are struggling with this issue.
Before you continue it is important to understand what is meant here by free will. I am not speaking, for example, of a person being able to choose between a Snickers candy bar and an Almond Joy, a dog for a pet instead of a cat, or even the bigger decisions in life. The free will that is in question here, is the belief that all men have an equal opportunity to either choose or reject God. More specifically, I am arguing for the position that while all are deserving of hell, God in His mercy chose some (the elect) unto salvation while others He did not. In order for any of this to seem reasonable, you must at least embrace the following three things:
(1) That the Bible is God's inspired and inerrant word.
(2) That God is sovereign.
(3) That God is omniscient.
If you do not believe these things, then you have a much greater concern than any "free will" argument; namely, what is the basis of your faith in God?
Opening a Can of Worms
Reformed theology teaches that some (the elect) are chosen unto salvation while others are not. One of the major problems that free will advocates have with this view (as I once did) might be summed up in the following question: How could a loving God offer salvation to some and not to everyone?
But to reject the reformed view of election based on such a question is to invite a host of other difficult questions concerning God's love, His omniscience, and His sovereignty, which can be fairly asked when the question above becomes the premise for rejecting the reformed view.
If you realize that this is a reason for your rejecting sovereign election...because you believe that it would be unfair and unloving of God to choose some and not others...then please give careful consideration to these opposing questions and how they also may seem difficult or unfair.
(1) How could a loving, omniscient, and sovereign God create the world knowing that many would go to hell?
Jesus said in John 15:18,19, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." And in Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus said, "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it" (see also: Romans 12:2; Ephesians 2:1,2; 1 John 2:15-17). From these scripture passages, it can be discerned that the majority of people (the world) are lost and will enter into eternal punishment.God already knew before the foundation of the world (at least in His omniscience) who would come to Him (John 10:3,14,15,26-29; Ephesians 1:4; Revelation 17:8); therefore, He also knew that many, even the majority, would not. Yet God, having this knowledge, still created...and by the very act of creating set in motion what He already knew and many were destined to hell. Had God not created, no one would exist and therefore no one would go to hell. If you believe that God is omniscient then I see no alternative to believing this.(2) If God is loving and sovereign, why does He allow evil to continue?God created Satan and gave him the very life that he possesses, and God, being sovereign, could remove that life from Satan putting a stop to His evil influence in this world. Also, since God knows the heart of every person, He could bring to an end the deeds of those who He knows will continue to do evil and are an evil influence on others. So, why does He allow evil, which would seem to be working against His will, to continue?
A "Reformed" response to questions 1 and 2.
How could a loving, omniscient, and sovereign God create the world
knowing that many would go to hell? and (2) If God is loving
and sovereign,why does He allow evil to continue?Both of these questions are answered in the following selected passages. According to the Bible it is for God's purpose, for His glory, even if we do not fully understand it.
"And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth. For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth" Exodus 9:13-16.
"Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it" Isaiah 46:9-11."The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil" Proverbs 16:4.
"And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; (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;) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. 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. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 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. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 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? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory..." Romans 9:10-23.I have heard pastor after pastor make excuses for verses such as the ones above and try to explain away the many verses which speak straight forward about the elect, being chosen, predestination, etc. They will say things such as: "What the Bible really means by the elect is..." or "When the Bible talks about being chosen what it really means is..."; this makes me wonder why they believe God didn't just say what He meant.
(3) Is God in a Dilemma based on 2 Peter 3:9?
2 Peter 3:9 which speaks of Christ's return says, "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance."According to this verse, if the Lord returned prematurely some would perish. But on the other hand, people are being born everyday, the earth's population is growing, and a majority of people (the world, John 15:18,19) are still lost. So, if God were to return prematurely, people would perish; but, while He waits and the earth's population grows, many more are perishing. Is God in a dilemma?
A "Reformed" response
Is God in a Dilemma based on 2 Peter 3:9?
Of course not, God is sovereign. 2 Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." If we read this in context with the surrounding scriptures we see that God certainly knows that there are those who will not come to Him:
"But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men" 2 Peter 3:7.
And in the previous chapter, the Bible says:
"For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot...The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished" 2 Peter 2:4-9.
When the "all" in 2 Peter 3:9 is understood to mean all of His elect then there isn't a problem in understanding it. God already knows everyone who will and will not come to Him (John 10:3,14,15,26-29; Ephesians 1:4; Revelation 17:8). Those whom He knows will come to Him are the ones He is patiently waiting for.
(4) Couldn't God, being sovereign, make a more convincing appeal to the heart of the lost?
If God is sovereign then He could indeed save everyone. One might try to argue against this point by suggesting something like "God doesn't want robots, He wants us to come to Him freely."But, if we consider that the Holy Spirit convicts every man resulting in the rejection by some, it would appear that Satan is "winning without winning" so to speak. Though Satan will ultimately be cast into the lake of fire, he certainly seems to be taking more people with him (the world) than God is saving. Does this mean that Satan's influence is more powerful than the influence of the God who created him? Did God make a mistake when He created Satan? If these questions were so, then God would not be sovereign.
As stated before, God could pull the plug on Satan and every other source of evil if He chose to. He also could take other measures to insure the salvation of all, such as extending the life of every person giving them more time to "choose" Him. He could give the "hard to reach" a supernatural glimpse of heaven and prove to them that what He is offering to them is greater than what they have in this world, or perhaps, give them a vision of hell to see the eternal destruction that they are headed for.
God, knowing the heart of every man, should know just "the right buttons to push" to help everyone understand their need for Him. This could be done while still allowing the person to choose for his or herself to turn to God; only the "persuasion" as we tend to think of it, would be greater.
So, does God really stop short of being more persuasive than Satan?
A "Reformed" response
Couldn't God, being sovereign, make a more convincing
appeal to the heart of the lost?The Reformed view of this is that man is spiritually dead (John 5:21,25; Ephesians 2:1-5; Colossians 2:13), unable to understand the things of God (1 Corinthians 1:18, 23,24; 2:14,15), and will never come to God on his own accord (John 6:37; 8:47; 10:26,27; 12:37-43; Romans 3:10-18; 8:7; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 2:1-3). But, once his eyes are opened to the spiritual things of God, and he is able to see God's amazing grace in contrast to his sinfulness, God's grace is irresistible to him. Even the faith with which the person believes is not a natural faith, but a supernatural faith given by God (Matthew 16:17; John 6:44,45; Acts 13:48, 14:27; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 2:8; Philippians 1:29; 2 Thessalonians 2:13,14; James 1:18). The faith that the Bible speaks of as pleasing to God is a much deeper faith than we experience naturally (Hebrews 11:1,6). It is placed in something that we have never seen, yet are convinced of, even know, is real. This faith when initiated brings with it the evidence of a transformed life (Galatians 5:6; James 2:14-26; 1 John 3:7-10, 5:1-4).
God's "appeal" to the heart is spiritual in nature and far more persuasive than anything Satan can offer; in fact, it's irresistible. When the Holy Spirit calls to a persons heart, that person's view of God, himself, and even the world is radically changed; he now sees from a spiritual and eternal perspective. The veil which once kept him from salvation (2 Corinthians 4:3,4) is lifted and he now can truly understand his need for salvation. God's calling results in salvation (John 6:37,45; Acts 13:48; Romans 8:30; Ephesians 1:4-12).
I might also add, that the idea of God sovereignly electing (choosing) a person, shouldn't be viewed as an imposition upon the persons "free" will, but of a freeing of the person from a bondage that would otherwise lead to eternal punishment. God is giving the person what He knows they need. If this is true of earthly things (Matthew 6:8), surely it is true of spiritual things as well. This is no more an imposition upon the persons "free" will than when God disciplines His children, contrary to their will, for their own good (Hebrews 12:3-11).
As far as the robot "thing," please compare the following scriptures: John 10:14-16; Romans 3:10,11; 8:29-30; Galatians 4:9; Ephesians 2:1-5; Titus 3:3-5; 1 John 4:19.
(5) If it is unfair of God to only offer salvation to some, doesn't it also seem unfair that He would allow some to have more exposure to Himself than others?
Some people experience the love of godly parents from infancy while others are brought up in abusive situations resulting in deep emotional problems. Some people are raised with strong moral convictions while others grow up with immoral influence all around. Some people are raised in Bible teaching churches hearing the gospel from childhood, some hear it for the first time on their death bed, and others do not hear it at all. Some are raised in a culture that embraces the God of the Bible while others are taught all their lives to believe in other gods.If everyone is offered salvation, and it is up to each individual based on their own free will to choose God, can we really expect all of these different groups of people to respond in the same way to the gospel message? Doesn't it seem that some have a greater advantage than others?
A "Reformed" response
If it is unfair of God to only offer salvation to some, doesn't it also seem unfair that He would allow some to have more exposure to Himself than others?
This isn't a problem from a reformed view. There is a general call to mankind as the gospel message is preached, and if anyone should respond in true faith they would be saved. The problem is, men are born spiritually dead and kept there by sin's power*; they do not desire a true relationship with God (Isaiah 53:6) and any response to this general call will be done only in some carnal fashion. No one will (or can) respond to this calling with true saving faith, which only proves their sinfulness. On the other hand, God's elect are given an effectual call (John 6:37,44; Acts 13:48; 1 Corinthians 1:26,30,31; 2 Timothy 1:9; Hebrews 3:1; 2 Peter 1:10) and as the Spirit of God enables the person to understand, they will come regardless of their circumstances, either past or present.
* See scripture references in question 4 above.
(6) Does God really extend an equal call to everyone?
If God calls everyone with an equal calling, wouldn't this give those who choose God a reason to boast?A "Reformed" response
Does God really call everyone?
If the Holy Spirit convicts every person of their sin and enables them to understand their need for Jesus as their Savior, and this then results in some choosing Him while others reject Him, then salvation is earned partly by human merit. One could say "God convicted me just as He convicted you; I was wise enough to accept His invitation, but you were not." The person making the "right" decision is obviously not as enslaved to sin, does not love his sin, or is not blinded by his sin as much as the person who refuses salvation. This gives indication of some inherent goodness within the person who chooses God, making him less sinful. This also re-opens the problems discussed in question five. Furthermore, if this is the case, then Satan's influence on the majority does indeed seem to be more powerful than God's (see question 4).
In 1 Corinthians 2:14, the Bible tells us that "a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised" (please read in context 1 Corinthians 2:6-16). The natural man, with his unregenerate (spiritually dead) heart, does not understand his need for salvation; he believes the things of God to be foolishness. It is not by his will that he is saved, but by the will of God (John 1:12,13; John 3:6-8; Philippians 2:13; James 1:18). A spiritually dead person cannot make a spiritual decision (i.e. turning to God).
The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-10, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." "Workmanship" in this passage literally means a product or fabric, or a work of the hands; our salvation is the work of His "hands."
The reformed view gives God complete credit for a man's salvation, from start to finish. Even a person's ability to believe is completely a work of God. When He calls a man to Himself, nothing, not even Satan, can thwart His purpose (Romans 8:29-31; Galatians 1:15,16; Ephesians 3:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:9; 2 Thessalonians 2:13,14; See also Daniel 4:35; Acts 4:24-28 concerning God's sovereignty).
Conclusion
How could a loving God offer salvation to some and not to everyone?
Though God could have turned everyone over to eternal punishment (hell) and would have been completely just in doing so, in His mercy, for His own purpose, He chose certain individuals out of those who were deserving of eternal death to be His own redeemed people. This choice was made completely void of any human merit (2 Timothy 1:9).
The idea of rejecting God as it is understood from a free will perspective really seems redundant. The Bible teaches that man is born sinful and rejects God from the very start, and he is guilty of such. Romans 3:23 says "that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." As a result all are deserving of death (Romans 6:23: James 1:15). This is already established apart from any offer to salvation and a second "free will" rejection.
Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross was sufficient for every person, and everyone who comes to Him will be saved. However, the only ones who will come are those who God calls (John 6:44; Philippians 1:29). At the same time, the depravity of those who God does not call is made evident as they refuse to come to Him on their own accord. This is clearly seen as myriads of people who when presented with the Gospel message think it foolishness, and in their foolishness, selfishness and depravity, reject it and cling to their own way (Acts 13:41; 1 Corinthians 1:18,21).
Copyright 2001 A. Mitchell Moore, Jr.