Does Free Will Exist in the Bible?

[AlanLamb0986]

We are free to do evil outside of Christ, or free to come to Christ and live in His righteousness. There is nothing we can do outside of Christ that God calls 'good.' All our deeds are like filthy rags. So, from a worldly perspective, we have free will to do good and evil. From God's eyes, only His righteousness counts, and we're only free when we're saved by Christ. If “free will” means that God gives humans the opportunity to make choices that genuinely affect their destiny, then yes, human beings do have a free will. The world’s current sinful state is directly linked to choices made by Adam and Eve. God created mankind in His own image, and that included the ability to choose.

Again, from gotquestions.org    (Use it, it's AWESOME)

"However, free will does not mean that mankind can do anything he pleases. Our choices are limited to what is in keeping with our nature. For example, a man may choose to walk across a bridge or not to walk across it; what he maynotchoose is to fly over the bridge—his nature prevents him from flying. In a similar way, a man cannot choose to make himself righteous—his (sin) nature prevents him from canceling his guilt (Romans 3:23). So, free will is limited by nature.

This limitation does not mitigate our accountability. The Bible is clear that we not only have the ability to choose, we also have the responsibility to choose wisely. In the Old Testament, God chose a nation (Israel), but individuals within that nation still bore an obligation to choose obedience to God. And individuals outside of Israel were able to choose to believe and follow God as well (e.g., Ruth and Rahab).
In the New Testament, sinners are commanded over and over to “repent” and “believe” (Matthew 3:2;4:17;Acts 3:19;1 John 3:23). Every call to repent is a call to choose. The command to believe assumes that the hearer can choose to obey the command.
Jesus identified the problem of some unbelievers when He told them, “You refuse to come to me to have life” (John 5:40). Clearly, they could have come if they wanted to; their problem was they chose not to. “A man reaps what he sows” (Galatians 6:7), and those who are outside of salvation are “without excuse” (Romans 1:20-21).
But how can man, limited by a sin nature, ever choose what is good? It is only through the grace and power of God that free will truly becomes “free” in the sense of being able to choose salvation (John 15:16). It is the Holy Spirit who works in and through a person’s will to regenerate that person (John 1:12-13) and give him/her a new nature “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). Salvation is God’s work. At the same time, our motives, desires, and actions are voluntary, and we are rightly held responsible for them.

 

It is impossible for us to fully understand the dynamics of a holy God molding and shaping the will of man. Scripture is clear that God knows the future (Matthew 6:8;Psalm 139:1-4) and has total sovereign control over all things (Colossians 1:16-17;Daniel 4:35). The Bible also says that we must choose God or be eternally separated from Him. We are held responsible for our actions (Romans 3:19;6:23;9:19-21). How these facts work together is impossible for a finite mind to comprehend (Romans 11:33-36).

People can take one of two extremes in regard to this question. Some emphasize the sovereignty of God to the point that human beings are little more than robots simply doing what they have been sovereignly programmed to do. Others emphasize free will to the point of God not having complete control and/or knowledge of all things. Neither of these positions is biblical. The truth is that God does not violate our wills by choosing us and redeeming us. Rather, He changes our hearts so that our wills choose Him. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19), and “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15:16).

What are we to do then? First, we are to trust in the Lord, knowing that He is in control (Proverbs 3:5-6). God’s sovereignty is supposed to be a comfort to us, not an issue to be concerned about or debate over. Second, we are to live our lives making wise decisions in accordance with God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17;James 1:5). There will be no excuses before God for why we chose to disobey Him. We will have no one to blame but ourselves for our sin. Last but not least, we are to worship the Lord, praising Him that He is so wonderful, infinite, powerful, full of grace and mercy—and sovereign.



 

[Reason2014]

surely the commands of God testify to the free will of men! After all, what good is command if it is truly impossible to follow? Can you command a dog to fly on its own? How meaningless is that command?

[kwikphilly]

Blessings Brother Paul,

        Where are you?I miss you ,,,,,,,,can you say anything or does this mean you are gone?Please forgive me for going off-topic but I am in shock!

            Of course we have free will.......does not each person know they are free to choose whatever they want?Just because God lives simultaneously in(past ,present & future) a dimension not bound by space or time & is where we have not yet been(future) and knows the outcome of everything before we were even in our mothers womb has zero to do with our free will      He is from Everlasting to Everlasting!!!!      Oh,Glory to God in the Highest!!!

                                                                                                                               With love,in Christ-Kwik

[SandyU]

There are many examples of Gods people choosing not to do Gods will;

How I would set you among my children. And I thought you would call me, My Father, and would turn from following me. Instead as a faithless wife you have been faithless to me. Jer 3:19-20

we are saved by choosing Jesus out of our free will.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that who so ever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life John 3:16

The Angels also have free will and rebel against God. 2 Peter 2:4 Jude 1:6 Rev 12:7-9 Matt 25:41 John 8:44 Eph 6:12

[enoob57]

Here's my opinion on the matter: 

 

God doesn't limit our choices. At the end of the day, I could choose to read a book or play a video game. Nine times out of ten, I'd pick the video game. 

 

God may be omniscient and knows everything we'll do or don't do, but isn't it also true that God exists outside the universe, and doesn't follow the law of the universe he made? 

 

And since the universe's creation and Adam and Eve, we've been in the state of complete decay, sin, death, and temptation that is the way of death. But we can do anything we want regardless. 

 

There are lots of verses that imply all the above, but God doesn't limit our will to choose, because that would mean we wouldn't be able to choose him, and choose to seek and love him with all our Heart!

The Person of God 'IS' the eternal outcome! When all His attributes are gathered in one's heart there

is no resolve but to worship Him... the uniqueness of truth is that it gathers nothing of this place

where evil has filled the day and night but 'IS' from a place of complete goodness and those who have

been awakened from death drink from it continually. The issue of sovereignty and freewill are not from

this well-> for all things resolve as unity of oneness in concept and as long as division is in our

minds we have not arrived at the fullness of truth! Love, Steven

[EnochBethany]

Actually a term which has been translated "free will" occurs in the NT, the term hekousion.   κατὰ ἑκούσιον (kata heousion) has been rendered according to free will in Philemon, that Philemon should act of free will instead of necessity." The related adverb is ἑκουσίως; hekousiōs, the related adverb is in Hb 10:26.

 

That being said, it should also be noted that in the NT there is no specific word for "will" as a faculty of the human or of the human mind.  Thelēma is a thing willed, like it is my will that you eat beans; that word does occur, but it does not mean a faculty of will.

 

In Philemon we read, "but without thy mind I would do nothing; that thy goodness should not be as of necessity, but of free will."

 

Yet we do find the Lord, at least on occasion, turning hearts.

 

But it is clear that the Lord wants us to act of free will in doing good.  He cares that we actually love others and act out of that love.  Some of us would like the Lord to take over and control our lives like the potter over the clay.  We would like to experience, "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me."  But it goes on to say, "And the life which I live in the flesh, I live in faith."

 

But we ever have a necessity to trust the Lord, like Peter when he walked on the water, only to find himself soon sinking with eyes off the Lord.  And there is a limit on taking over and controlling a Christian's life, else we would never sin -- but in many ways we all stumble (James).   You can't even pray any prayer whatsoever now & be guaranteed you won't sin 5 minutes later!

[LuftWaffle]

If there is no free will, then God is not a Father, nor is He a Shepherd or a Husband or a King.

If there is no free will, then all life is a puppet show, and God is a Puppet Master pulling on a string.

[other one]

If there is no free will, then God is not a Father, nor is He a Shepherd or a Husband or a King.

If there is no free will, then all life is a puppet show, and God is a Puppet Master pulling on a string.

well stated....

[enoob57]

If there is no free will, then God is not a Father, nor is He a Shepherd or a Husband or a King.

If there is no free will, then all life is a puppet show, and God is a Puppet Master pulling on a string.

You seem very free in that statement

[JohnD]

This of our free will as that of an ant in an ant farm. It can choose to eat or starve, go left or right up or down within the limitations of the ant farm (including the free will of the other ants).

 

The argument that no one can have free will without destroying the Lord's sovereignty is absurd. Like the ant above deeming the ant farm owner has control over the ant farm.

 

God places limitation on himself. Example, the moment God created anything to exist other than himself, he limited himself to being lass than all that existed.

 

Why God created anyone to exist besides himself is a major curiosity to me since it meant so much grief for himself...