DO I HAVE FREE WILL? Or Is It FREE AGENCY?

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1 DO I HAVE FREE WILL? Or Is It FREE AGENCY? Free Will or Free Agency? 1 By Bruce Hadley

2 The age old question, do I have free will? We have taught and told our whole lives that we have free will. Before we can fully address this question, we must first understand the Biblical meaning of will or our will in relations to God s sovereignty. The word will used in the Old Testament for man s will is ר צוֹן ratsown, which means, delight, desire, acceptable. Lev. 1:3, if his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the heard, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will ר צוֹן) ratsown ) at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation of the Lord. The Greek word used in the New Testament for will, as man s will, is θέλω thelō, which means desire, delight in, choose or prefer. Matt. 26:39: And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, o my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will (θέλω thelō), but as thou wilt. In John 1:12-13 it says, But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons (daughters) of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will (θέλημα thelēma, the pleasure, desire, delight) of the flesh, nor the will (θέλημα thelēma, the pleasure, desire, delight) of man, but of God. The human will is purely a Biblical or ecclesiastical word, meaning it s not a secular word. The discussion of the will of man originated with Biblical meaning was given to it. However, nowhere in the Bible does it say that God gave man free will. He gave man choice or what can be referred to as free agency which is the privilege of choice. As individuals God made man with the ability to choose their actions freely freedom to choose. As with Adam and Eve, they were given agency to make their own choices. Satan was allowed to tempt Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. Because God gave them agency to make their own choice, Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit and as a consequence, they were separated from God's presence physically and spiritually. When considering free will, as we were taught, versus free agency, we must first consider the biblical position of free will and what the Bible says about God. The Bible describes God as sovereign, and sovereignty means (supreme and independent power or authority) or designated control. So what exactly is the sphere of God s sovereignty? Psalm 24:1 makes it plain: The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. So, the sphere of God s sovereignty is everything. God spoke the universe, and everything in it, into existence. So, we must accept that as Creator, God has sovereignty over all His creation, which includes man. Now, the true definition of free will is the power of acting without constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one s own discretion to be autonomous. So we need to ask ourselves how does free will fit in with God s sovereignty? Can a human being, a creature, be autonomous if God is sovereign? The obvious conclusion is that free will is incompatible with the sovereignty of God. Consider this passage from Proverbs 16:9: In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. This does not speak to man as autonomous, but rather as man operating within the confines of a sovereign God. Look at Isaiah 46:9-10: Free will or Free agency?- 2

3 I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. We see a sovereign God declaring to us that He will accomplish all His purposes. The concept of free will autonomous man, would lead us to believe that man can freely refuse to do God s will, yet God says all His purposes will be accomplished. Man is not a law unto himself. Man is a creature in the Creator s universe, and as such is subject to the will of the Creator. To suggest otherwise is to elevate man beyond his station and to bring God down to the level of the creature. Let s look at Romans 9:11-22: 11Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad in order that God s purpose in election might stand: 12not by works but by him who calls she was told, The older will serve the younger. d 13Just as it is written: Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. e 14What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. f 16It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God s mercy. 17For Scripture says to Pharaoh: I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. g 18Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. 19One of you will say to me: Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will? 20But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, Why did you make me like this? h 21Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? Let s look at this passage which speaks directly to God s sovereignty and man s choice. It tells us before the twins (Esau and Jacob) were born Rebecca was told, Esau would serve Jacob not by works. Meaning Rebecca had no say, Esau had no say, Jacob had no say. There was nothing either of them could do or choose that would alter this outcome. Why? Because God had predetermined it by him who calls-. God s will would be done. Isaiah 46:9-10: I am God, and ther is no other; I am God, and ther is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. God declares to us that He will accomplish all His purposes according to His sovereign will and pleasure. Verse tells us, that He determines to have mercy on who He chooses and it does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort or as KJV says, vs. 16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor him that runneth, but God that sheweth mercy. If man had free will would not his will be free to choose against God s will and purpose? Free will or Free agency?- 3

4 Not of him that willeth,- does not mean that we don t freely choose salvation, eternal life and to walk with God; or that God compels us to salvation against our own choice. No, it s the effect of the influence of God s Spirit on the heart of man to make man willing to choose salvation and to walk with God. Palms 110:3: Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power (KJV). This denotes God s sovereignty and man s free agency. God inclines ones heart and disposes him/her to seek His mercy and grace, which He gives freely. nor him that runneth is obviously in reference to man s effort, be it strenuous as one labor s hard running to get to something. Though they may strive, they cannot attain it of their own will It is God s good pleasure that grants us salvation and brought into His presence. This is what is meant by For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Salvation has no origin in the human will or effort, it is God s will to give man salvation and its man s choice to accept it. Verse 19 goes on to ask the age old question, Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will? That is the quandary, if God is in control of human destiny, why does he hold us responsible for our choices? Because God created man and gave him free-agency to choose to believe and serve Him or not. Choose evil or good. Moral choice, the privilege to choose God gave man. As the sovereign State of California tells us, driving is a privilege Not a right. A privilege is a special right granted to an individual, corporation, etc., under certain conditions of the one granting the privilege. We, have free agency to choose good or evil, God gave to man the ability to choose, make his/her own decisions and are not subject to the will or determination of another, but these choices come with consequences. An example of free will vs. free agency can be seen in slavery. A slave could not with free will choose not to be a slave, but he/she had the free agency to choose not do the things or live as a slave; however, that choice came with the consequence of being beaten or killed. God gives humans free-agency the freedom of choice, the opportunity to make choices that genuinely affect our destiny. As with Adam and Eve, God gave them the choice to eat of every tree of the garden but told them that they are not to eat of the tree of good and evil. God gave them choice, not free will to do what they wanted and eat of any tree they choose. He gave man the ability to choose good or evil, and the consequences thereof. Man is not a law unto himself. Man is a creature in the Creator s universe, and as such is subject to the will of the Creator. To suggest otherwise would be to elevate man up to god status and to bring God down to man s level. However, 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 may not choose is to fly over the bridge his nature prevents him from flying, whether he wills himself to do it or not. In a similar way, a man cannot choose to make himself righteous his (sin) nature prevents him from willfully choosing to be righteous (Romans 3:23). So, free will is not free but limited. Nevertheless, our free agency makes us accountability for our moral choices. 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. Free will or Free agency?- 4

5 So versus says, 20But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, Why did you make me like this? h 21Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? Isaiah 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." God is sovereign and our will is not free. This whole verse is an acknowledgment of the sovereignty of God and we are in His hands as clay in the hands of the potter. We cannot freely will ourselves out of the sovereignty of God. So, ask yourself, how does free will fit to God s sovereignty? Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? Eph. 1:11: In him we were also chose, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will. Eph. 2:10: For we are God s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Now, we must be careful not to swing to the pendulum all the way over to a just as equal unbiblical view that God is some kind of divine Puppet Master and we are merely His puppets. No, God gave man the privilege of free agency to choose, to makes real choices and to be held responsible by God for those choices, and grants His creation, man, a certain amount of freedom, but that freedom always operates within the boundaries of God s sovereignty. That is why God say, He is not mocked, what a man soweth also shall he reap. Consequences is God s Devine law of giving man the privilege to choose. In conclusion, what we have been taught about free will is from the world, the prince of the power of the air and man s design to make himself equal to God. The definition of free means: to be exempt from external authority, interference or restrictions of one s will, thought, choice, action, etc. To be unrestricted. To believe our will is free eliminates the sovereignty of God. This is what the devil would have us believe. It worked with Adam and Eve, and it still works today. The devil s temptation of Adam and Eve was based upon the whole premises of man having free will not being subject to God. The result of them choosing disobedience resulted in their separation from God, which they did not freely choose. They made a choice to defy God, which was a privilege they were given, to choose. It was not free they paid a price for it. When God s will and man s will converge, God s will be sovereign. Amen! Free will or Free agency?- 5