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Free Will
By allan | September 4, 2011
“Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.” (Psalm 115:3)
Free Will
Spurgeon says: “The predestination of God does not destroy the free agency of man, or lighten the responsibility of the sinner” (Sermons, Vol. 18, p. 30).
A.H. Strong says: “Free agency . . . has been shown to be consistent with the decrees (of God)” (Systematic Theology, p. 117).
Free will, is a term that you will hear a lot, in fact, it is used so often within the church that most people have a completely wrong idea of what it is. Advocats of “free will” believe that to reject free will is to reject personal responsibility or personal choice. In fact, they will then say that those who question free will would make God to be a dictator or puppeteer.
These ideas are the result of general ignorance of what biblical free will is, and a lack of scriptural understanding of the Sovereignty of God.
Free will is defined as ..”The power of making free choices that are unconstrained by external circumstances or by an agency such as fate or divine will” So the question is who actually has free will to do all that they will without restraint?
I tell people, “If you have free will then go to Hawaii right now. Go, now.” They look at me and say ,“well I would like to but I have no money”, or “ I would if I could” . Exactly, for only God can do and be anywhere He desire at any time with no restrictions. Again, “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.” (Psalm 115:3)
I however have retains upon me, physical, financial, time, and many more. But however, I can make decisions within my given circumstance, and for those decisions I am responsible for my choices and have to answer for the consequences. I can choose as I desire without external pressure given the restraints of my present environment. That is called FREE AGENCY. That is the reformed Calvinistic position.
I can make any decision I want, and I am responsible for those decisions, I am free to make those decisions, and choose as I wish, given the restrains of my present situation.
I am a free agent to make decisions bound in my fallen sinful state. I am dead spiritually, and within that state of being dead and all that entails, I can do as I want, choose as I want and I am responsible for those actions. A sinner is going to hell, not because God did not choose him, but rather because he did not choose Christ. That is the Calvinistic position.
Of course since salvation is by grace alone, the natural man needs the work of grace in his life to awaken him, convict him, and draw him to the place to decision.
For as Paul says..”There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. “ Romans 3:10,11 and “I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power” Ephesians 3:7
Grace is what takes a sinner who given his sinful, spiritually dead state and enables us to repent and consciously choose to acknowledge our sin having been convicted by the Holy Spirit.
We are never forced to come to Christ, we choose too, with a desire that only grace can create. Being drawn by the Holy Spirit, having faith instilled in us, we who are dead are made alive with Him, for we are free agents to do His will.
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