Part One

Part 1

"...Finished..."

Free Will.....Do We Have It Or Not?

There are those who believe that we do have and use "free will"; and there are those who believe we don't have and use "free will" There's much controversy around this subject. So I'd like to give my belief, regarding this.

Those who believe that we DON'T have "free will", will give scripture that THEY interpret as meaning, that we don't have "free will". Which, to another person, it doesn't appear to even be about "free will".

I want to look at some scriptures and different translations, so, let's see what they show. Also, I want to "borrow" a couple of opinions from other writers.

First, we're going to look at Romans 9:16. This is talking about whether or not God is unjust, and and who He will give His mercy to.

These first 3 translations can be used to show that man DOES have and use "free will."

TODAY'S ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
VS 16: "So then, it does not depend on what man wants or does, but only God's mercy."

NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION:
VS 16: "It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy."

NEW JERUSALEM VERSION:
VS 16: "In other words, the only thing that counts is not what human beings want or try to do, but the mercy of God"

These next 3 translations plainly use the words "free will", and "back up" those who say that we DO NOT have and use "free will".

PHILLIPS MODERN ENGLISH VERSION:
VS 16: "It is obviously not a question of human will or human effort, but od divine mercy."

NEW ENGLISH VERSION:
VS 16: "Thus, it does not depend on man's will or effort, but on God's mercy."

REVISED STANDARD VERSION:
VS 16: "So, it depends not upon man's will or exertion, but upon God's mercy."

So, actually, this does not PROVE that we do or do not have and use "free will". Either group could "back up" their belief, depending on what translation they use.

Now, I'd like to use and quote from 2 writers' opinions. They are A.P. Adams and Preston Eby.

A.P. ADAMS:
QUOTE: "Let me call attention to the fact that the phrase, "free moral agency" is NOT a scriptural one, any more than the phrase "immortal soul" is scriptural. "Free moral agency" is simply a theological expression, man-manufactured for his own convenience, and it may be that it does not express the truth. Let us by all means fit our theology to the Bible; and not try, as many do, to conform the Bible to our theology. Now then, to the question, is man a free moral agent? I answer most emphatically, no. Is he a machine then? Again, I say no. What then is the truth? An agent is an actor, one who is able to act; a free agent is one who can act as he pleases without any restraint; a free moral agent is one who is free to act as he pleases on all moral questions, i.e. all questions involving the qualities of right and wrong. Now, we do not hesitate to say that man is not a free moral agent." UNQUOTE.

J. Preston Eby:
QUOTE: "Let me call attention to the fact that the phrase "free moral agent" is NOT a scriptural one, any more than the term "rapture" is scriptural. "Free moral agency" is simply a theological expression, man-manufactured for his own convenience, and like most human inventions, and extra-blibicial terminology, is NOT the truth at all. But, let us examine these three words: free moral agent.
1. An AGENT is an actor, one who is able to act or perform.
2. A FREE agent is one who can act as he pleases without any restraint of any kind placed upon him.
3. A free MORAL agent is one who is free to act as he pleases and without any restraint on all moral issues, i.e. all questions involving the qualities of right and wrong.
I do not believe that the Bible anywhere teaches that man is a free moral agent." UNQUOTE.

*(punctuation and underlining are mine)

So, it is obvious where these two brothers stand on this subject. They do not hold with the belief that man has and uses "free will"

Now, let's look at some other scriptures, that may show why some do believe that man has and uses "free will".

JONAH 1:1-2, "Now, the word of the Lord came unto Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me."

It is obvious, here, that Father has told Jonah what He wanted Jonah to do.

JONAH 1:3, "But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa: and he found a ship going to Tarshish:so he paid the fare therof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from t he presence of the Lord."

It is obvious, here, that Jonah used "free will" to NOT do Father's bidding. Jonah was a prophet, which should show us that even Father's prophets and Jesus' disciples were ordinary men, as we are. They had their own ideas about things concerning our Lord. What I see, here in verse 3, is that Jonah did use "free will". Like it or not, folks, read it for yourself. But, let's go on.

JONAH 1:4-12, "But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like (was thought) to be broken. Then the mariners were afraid; and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. So, the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous. And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you; for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you."

This shows that Jonah knew that the decision of disobedience was the reason for what was happening. Jonah had chose to disobey God. BUT: as we know, GOD IS ALL IN ALL. AND, we also know that just like Jonah, we were ALL placed in this earthen realm to LEARN.

Let me ask this; did you get to know your earthen dad, by him programming you? No. Your dd, would tell you to do something; and you chose to do what YOU wanted to do. What happened when you were disobedient? You got corrected, by your dad. Why? So that you would mature and come into the being, OF BEING THE MAN YOUR DAD WAS! And who was ALWAYS in control? Your dad was.!! But, he allowed you to LEARN by your actions and his reaction.

Father was saying to Jonah, "Well, did it do you any good to get angry with Nineveh? Regardless if the anger was against their evil way. Why weren't you obedient and allow me to handle it?"

Father allowed Jonah to use his "free will", to do 2 works, in this situation.
1) He caused a city with so many people, to come to repentance. (Jonah 4:11)

2) He taught Jonah that He had a plan and was in control of all things.

So, we can see "free will" being used, while at the same time, Father's Will was being used. God's Word tells us, "Work out your own salvation". We, also, know that Father WILL HAVE ALL MEN SAVED; but, Father wants a people who will LEARN to be what He wants them to know Who they are. He does not want a bunch of robots. IF He wanted that, we would NEVER have been placed in this earthen realm, to show us WE REALLY ARE AS HE IS. He placed us here to learn what obedience is and what it brings, and what disobedience is and what it brings.

I believe that, yes, Father does allow us to use "free will" to find out that ONLY HIS WILL will be shown in the end. As we learn, we learn to do His Will, UNTIL, OUR WILL BECOMES HIS WILL. Father wants us to mature and come to know that we ARE in His image in every way: love, compassion, knowledge, power, dominion, and WILL.

"WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH IS COME, HE WILL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS."

to be continue...
Be blessed.