This is an idea I’m still grappling with. Here is a good compilation of quotes and Scripture:
…is there such a thing as “free will”?
Scripture mentioned:
John 6:37, John 6:44, Ephesians 2:1-3, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:4-7
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Yes, there is free will. However, there is also Omniscience. (Hope I spelled that right).
Hi Lu,
Yes that’s spelled correctly.
I’m still reading about free will. I think there needs to be a distinction between free will, freedom of choice and responsibility. Maybe for a future post.
In John Piper’s devotional for this week he recommends the book The Freedom of the Will by Jonathan Edwards.
Here is a review for a book called Election and Free Will
“I do not come into this pulpit hoping that perhaps somebody will, of his own free will, come to Christ. My hope lies in another quarter. I hope that my Master will lay hold of some of them and say, ‘You are mine, and you shall be mine. I claim you for Myself.’ My hope arises from the freeness of grace, and not from the freedom of the will.”
–Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Wonderful view about ll, Grace, Mercy, Holy Spirit | Scripture Zealot. I enjoy this articles.
Thank you BN.
Here some more posts I found:
On The Free Will of Man
On The Free Will of Man II
On The Free Will of Man III
Is being born again up to us? by John Piper
Think of it this way… The sacrifice of Christ made a way for us to have eternal life, but it didn’t change the nature of our flesh. Read Romans 3:10-11 and you will know the condition of our flesh. When you consider that, do you believe man is able to, ON HIS OWN, make a decision to follow God? No, God takes the first step and pursues us. Another good scripture is Ephesians 1:3-6. If you want to know how I vidualize it… draw a large circle (this represents God’s realm; if it were realistic it would be infinately large) then inside the circle put a dot (label it dot A) to represent where you began life. Then put another dot (label it dot B) to represent where you end life if you are saved. Obviously you want to seperate the two dots a ways. Now you must realize that God has predetermined that you are going from point A to point B… regardless of anything else. (And if you want you can put a point C, which is for those that weren’t chosen to be saved). However, from point A to point B is your life and all the many decisions and consequences of your actions fall between point A and B. There might be a million different roads you take to get from point A to point B, and which route you take is going to be based on your decisions. However, you are still going to be at point B when all is said and done. Obviously nothing breaks through the large circle… which is God’s realm. Hope this is helpful!