Christian Quotes About Free Will
Free will without Gods grace is not free at all, but is the permanent prisoner and bondslave of evil, since it cannot turn itself to good. Martin Luther
The sin both of men and of angels, was rendered possible by the fact that God gave us free will. C. S. Lewis
Those who speak on mans free will, and insist upon his inherent power to either accept or reject the Savior, do but voice their ignorance of the real condition of Adams fallen children. A.W. Pink
Free will carried many a soul to hell, but never a soul to heaven. Charles Spurgeon
We believe, that the work of regeneration, conversion, sanctification and faith, is not an act of mans free will and power, but of the mighty, efficacious and irresistible grace of God. Charles Spurgeon
Free will I have often heard of, but I have never seen it. I have always met with will, and plenty of it, but it has either been led captive by sin or held in the blessed bonds of grace. Charles Spurgeon
Free will I have often heard of, but I have never seen it. I have met with will, and plenty of it, but it has either been led captive by sin or held in blessed bonds of grace. Charles Spurgeon
Let all the free-will in the world do all it can with all its strength it will never give rise to a single instance of ability to avoid being hardened if God does not give the Spirit, or of meriting mercy if it is left to its own strength. Martin Luther
A The Modal Fallacy In Logical Determinism
Some persons have been deceived by the following argument to the effect that there are no contingent propositions:
, if a proposition is true , then it cannot be false . If a proposition cannot be false , then it is necessarily true . Therefore if a proposition is true , it is necessarily true . That is, there are no contingent propositions. Every proposition is either necessarily true or necessarily false.
The fallacy arises in the ambiguity of the first premise. If we interpret it close to the English, we get:
P ~~P P P
However, if we regard the English as misleading, as assigning a necessity to what is simply nothing more than a necessary condition, then we get instead as our premises:
~ ~~P P
From these latter two premises, one cannot validly infer the conclusion:
P P.
In short, the argument to the effect that there are no contingent propositions is unsound. Its very first premise commits themodal fallacy.
The identical error occurs in the argument for logical determinism. Recall Aristotles sea battle:
If we let A stand for Admiral A wins and let B stand for Admiral B wins, the core of this argument can be stated in symbols this way:
A or B
If B is true, then A must befalse.If B is true, then A cannot be true.
or, equivalently, ~
alternatively, ~
The argument for logical determinism illicitly treats this logical truth as if it were equivalent to the false proposition
P P alternatively, P ~~P
A Can A Future Contingent Be True Prior To The Event It Refers To
Propositions about future events, or, if one prefers, about future matters of fact, are known as future contingents. The earliest discussion of future contingents, and the attendant problem of logical determinism, occurs in Aristotles DeInterpretatione 9 . There, Aristotle discusses the case of Tomorrows Sea Battle. His argument, reconstructed and embellished, is this:
Two warring admirals, A and B, are preparing their fleets for a decisive sea battle tomorrow. The battle will be fought until one side is victorious. But the logical laws of the excluded middle and of noncontradiction , require that one of the propositions, A wins and it is false that A wins, is true and the other is false. Suppose A wins is true. Then whatever A does today will make no difference: A must win similarly, whatever B does today will make no difference: the outcome is already settled . Or again, suppose A wins is false. Then no matter what A does today , it will make no difference: A must lose similarly, no matter what B does , it will make no difference: the outcome is already settled . Thus, if every proposition is either true or false , then planning, or as Aristotle put it taking trouble, is futile. The future will be what it will be, irrespective of our planning, intentions, etc.
How might one try to rebut the premises of Aristotles argument?
What other way might one, then, propose to avoid the conclusion of the argument about tomorrows sea battle?
Don’t Miss: What Does The Bible Say About The Last Days Kjv
Do Angels Have Free Will Can Angels Choose To Sin
Angels, spiritual beings, appear in the Bible more than 200 times. They have aided prophets, saints, and Gods people. They have been known to praise God, fight spiritual battles, and deliver Gods messages to humankind. But do these beings have free will?
- Hope BolingerSEO Editor
- 201914 May
Angels, spiritual beings, appear in the Bible more than 200 times. They have aided prophets, saints, and Gods people through the Old and New Testament and throughout the history of the church. They have been known to praise God , fight spiritual battles , and deliver Gods messages to humankind . But do these beings have free will?
Do angels and fallen angels have a will to choose to follow God and carry out His commands? Or do they have no choice whatsoever?
How Should We Pray Before We Study The Bible
First, thank Him that we even have His Word. Its such a huge privilege to be able to hold a copy of the Bible in our hands or have a Bible app on our cellphones. Its not that way everywhere in the world.
I think we sometimes forget that fact. We take for granted the many copies we have laying around our homes and the freedom we have. Were even able to read His Word from an app on our phone or listen to the audible version while commuting to work. Lets thank Him for His Word.
Second, pray for wisdom that we can read and comprehend what He wants us to know in our Bible study. Some parts of the Bible are difficult to understand and we need wisdom. We also have to be careful about taking passages out of context. At the same time, we need to understand how to compare Scripture with Scripture. We need His wisdom!
Make prayer a daily habit before Bible study. There might be times when you really need guidanceweve all been there, youre not alone. Pray that God will provide the guidance you need through His Word.
I cant tell you how many times Ive needed guidance for a situation and God has led me to the exact passage I need that day! Maybe youre a busy mom with a bunch of precious kiddosyou need refreshment and quiet time with God today. If thats where you are, pray for that refreshment and quiet time.
Recommended Reading: Do Unto Others As Bible
Predestination Vs Free Will
The Bible clearly teaches that people have a genuine volition. That is, they make real decisions, and are really responsible for those choices. People either reject the gospel or they believe it, and when they do either they act in accordance with their will genuinely.
At the same time, the Bible teaches that all who come to Jesus Christ by faith have been chosen, or predestined, by God to come.
So, there can be a tension in our minds as we try to understand these two concepts. Does God choose me, or do I choose God? And the answer, as unsatisfying as it might sound, is yes. A person really believes in Christ, and that is an act of his will. He willingly comes to Jesus.
And yes, God predestined all who come to Jesus by faith.
Christian Proponents Of Free Will
The concept of strict determinism is very hard to fathom, and for many people, even harder to accept. Even those who understand predestination, who know that all effects have causes, cannot readily say in their emotional daily lives that the concept lives in their hearts. For this reason, and because most people simply assume that the Bible teaches that we choose to go to heaven or hell through our actions and/or beliefs, I am fairly sure that most Christians believe in free will. They don’t have any strong lines of reasoning, and, they have not got worked-out solution to the theological problems with free will as presented on this page. They just feel that because they make conscious choices all the time, that there must be a thing called free will. Based on such assumption and emotion, it is sometimes official Christian doctrine that free will exists. Take the following declaration made at the great Council of Trent :
âIf anyone says that man’s free will, moved and stimulated by God, cannot cooperate at all by giving its assent to God when he stimulates and calls him… and that he cannot dissent, if he so wills, but like an inanimate creature is utterly inert and passive, let him be anathema.â
“The Dark Side of Christian History“ by Helen Ellerbe 3
Don’t Miss: What Bible Verse Helps With Stress
What Is Free Will In The Bible
Free will is a term that gets tossed around in conversations with a wide gamut of meanings. In order to understand this from a biblical worldview, we need to have a solid foundation built upon understanding the term. Jonathan Edwards said that the will is the mind choosing.
Here are several variations of free will discussed in theological debates. Here is a brief rundown of information regarding free will:
- Our will is the function of our choosing. Essentially, how we make choices. How these acts are determined can be looked at either by Determinism or Indeterminism. This, combined with viewing Gods Sovereignty as either Specific or General will determine what type of Free Will viewpoint you adhere to.
- Indeterminism means free acts are not determined.
- Determinism says that everything has been determined.
- Gods General Sovereignty says that God is in charge of everything but does not control everything.
- Gods Specific Sovereignty says that He not only has ordained everything, but He also controls everything.
Free Online Bible Study
Studying the Bible online has become a new option over the last several years. Before the internet, we didnt have the option to do online Bible studies.
Ive scoured the internet and found several free online Bible studies from reputable Christian sources. Below you will find regular online Bible studies, online Bible studies for women, and YouTube Bible studies. Im praying you will find one that works for you.
Don’t Miss: How Many Times Bible Says Fear Not
Sovereignty Of God: An Inciting Force
In the beginning, God
These familiar words mark not only the beginning of the Bible but also the universe. He is the source of everything good, and our salvation is no exception.
Sovereignty Definition: The Meriam Webster Dictionary defines sovereignty as supreme power freedom from external control controlling influence.
How is God sovereign?
God is indeed sovereign over all His creation. He knows all, sees all, and is in control of everything. But what does that mean for our salvation?
And you were dead and separated from Him because of your transgressions and sins
What options does a dead person have? Can they rally their strength, grasp a nearby support, and haul themselves up? Is it even possible for them to accept an offered hand? No. In the absence of some powerful, outside force, death is the end.
Without Gods input, we are completely unaware of whats going on. Only Gods inciting force can shock our spiritual hearts into a steady cadence, freeing us to choose again.
Christ says, No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him .
We can see then that God must act first. He calls us like he did Lazarus when the man had spent the last four days dead in a tomb: Lazarus, come out! And at Christs summoning, he stumbled out shrouded in burial cloths.
Gods sovereignty working our salvation means that He chooses.
God is patiently waiting for us. And our choices do matter.
What Are The Four Characteristics Or Marks Of Christ’s Church
The Four Marks of the Church, also known as the Attributes of the Church, is a term describing four distinctive adjectives”One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic”of traditional Christian ecclesiology as expressed in the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed completed at the First Council of Constantinople in AD 381: “[We …
Read Also: What Is Love Definition Bible
The Great Renovation Through Christ
The stark reality, therefore, is that human beings, as we are born with an ordinary, fallen human nature are not able not to sin. We are, as Paul and Jesus both affirm, slaves of sin . The remedy for this condition is the free and sovereign grace of God bringing about a root change in our fallen nature.
This miraculous, blood-bought, Spirit-wrought change in what we perceive and prefer is described in several ways in the New Testament. For example:
-
Gods creation of light in our hearts: God, who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
-
Gods causing us to be born again: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
-
Gods raising us from the dead: God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.
-
Gods gift of repentance: God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
-
Gods gift of faith: It has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.
Where Did The Belief In Purgatory Come From
The foundational belief of purgatory comes from the books known as the apocrypha, primarily coming from 2 Maccabees. These books are included in most Catholic Bibles, however most orthodox and evangelical faiths do not see these books as being inspired and are not included as part of the Biblical canon. Because the teaching developed from these books we need to see if the teaching of purgatory is mentioned or even found within the traditional canon of scripture.
Don’t Miss: What Does The Bible Say About The Anti Christ
Doesnt God Control All Things
The Bible does teach that God is Almighty, that his power is not limited by anyone other than himself. However, he does not use his power to control everything. For example, the Bible says that God was exercising self-control toward ancient Babylon, an enemy of his people. Similarly, for now, he chooses to tolerate those who misuse their free will to harm others. But God will not do so indefinitely.Psalm 37:10, 11.
What Does The Bible Say About Free Will
What does the Bible say about mans free will? What does it mean to be free to make choices? How can we make our own choices and God still be sovereign and all knowing? How free are we in light of Gods will? Can man do everything he chooses? These are questions that have sparked debate for decades.
Understanding the relationship between mans will and Gods will is extremely important. Martin Luther explained that misunderstanding this is to misunderstand the Sola Gratia doctrine of the Reformation. He said, If anyone ascribes salvation to the will, even in the least, he knows nothing of grace and has not understood Jesus aright.
You May Like: Is Rhema Bible College Accredited
Free Online Bible Studies That Will Strengthen Your Walk
This article may contain affiliate links. I may earn money from the companies mentioned in this post with no additional cost to you. Please read my disclosure policy for more info. All Bible quotations are from the New King James Version unless otherwise stated Bible Copyright Attribution.
We need to study the Bible if we want to continue growing in our walk with Jesus. I received Jesus into my life because I knew I could no longer walk this life alone.
Walking in my flesh and going through consequences and heartache alone was a disaster. Jesus saved me and now I am a new creation .
I cant express how much the Bible means to me. Ive learned so much about Him by studying the Bible. Im so blessed to be growing through daily prayer, worship, and Bible study.
Through this process, He has given me the love for sharing everything I know to help you strengthen your faith. Knowing Him and making Him known is my mission in life.