We have any Christians out there?

Question

If you aren't a Christian please don't answer. This question is directed toward the Christians. I'm a firm believer in Christ but I just can't help to ask this question. I believe I know the answer but I want other's views on this.

Okay, God gave us free will to make our own choices and do what we want, right? However, if we don't follow his will we get punished. So, why did he give us free will if he don't want us to exercise it? If he didn't give us free will wouldn't everyone follow him? Wouldn't all his children be able to come home to him if they didn't have free will? Isn't that want he wants for all his children to follow him?

Please, I asked nicely if you are not a Christian please do not answer. I want a Christian point of view. Thank you very kindly. Take care and God bless.

This is directed towards Daljack's response. There is nothing hypocritical about me asking for Christian answers only. That like if someone ask "how bad are your craps when its the time of the month", only a woman who has a period can truly answer the question and give the woman the answer she was looking for, right? So, for me to truly get the answer I was looking for I asked for Christian responses only. If you not a Christian go ahead answer but why waste your time if your opinion is no going to help? Love ya though. Take care and have a very blessed day.

To the Christians that do answer, I'm in no way saying we shouldn't have free will. This question use to bother me in the past until I really thought about it. I was asking just to see how other Christians viewed this. You know, fellowshipping. God bless.

Answer 1

God is hoping that through our free will we will turn to him and realize his love for us. We are to do good things and bend to his will in RESPONSE to his grace, not to secure it. Would you want someone to love you and do as you wish simply because you can MAKE them do it? Love doesn't mean much if it's not given freely. God also knows we are not perfect, and that we will make mistakes - that's why he sent Jesus as the ultimate sacrafice for our sins. I don't think his intention is to punish our wrong doings, but more to reward our faith in him. I'm sure that many people will argue that though :)

Answer 2

There's something God wants that he can't get without us having free will. He wants our love. (This blows my mind, because sometimes I think, "How in the world do I matter that much to God that he would actually care whether I love Him or not?" That's the beauty of God's love, I guess.) If we didn't have free will, God would not have children that love him. Rather, he would have a bunch of puppets on a string. God wants us to follow him, but we didn't have a choice, would it mean anything? It's a tough thing to take, though, because when you give someone a choice as to whether or not they'll love you, there's always a chance they'll reject you, and that's what all of us, unfortunately, have done to God many times over.

Ultimately, when God first put all this into place, he intended it to work like it did with Adam and Eve in the Garden. He gave them free will, and they freely chose to walk with, talk with, and love God. But then they rejected Him. However, God still loved us so much that he wanted to give people a way to get back into the relationship he intended, which, as you know, came originally through sacrifices, and then, through Jesus.

I could continue, but I think you get the point.

Answer 3

I am a Christian. I have often wondered this myself and discussed it with a fellow Christian. The truth is I really don't know but here are some things that come to mind. God gave us free will because he loves us. He does not want to make us do his will. He wnts us to choose to do it. It is like when your parents allow you to do something that they know and you know is not particualrly the best thing, like give you permission to go out when you should be studying. They want you to learn how to manage your time and organize your priorities. you will appreciate it more that way. God wants his children to express their love for him as genuinely as possible. it means so much more to him that we actively make the choice to do as he wishes. If we were all mindless followers, what would be the point? Even though we would not know, if we evr became aware of it later, we would resent him. true we would all go to heaven if were mindless and obedient, but then we would never have had to leave heaven in the first place. No one truly knows why God has given us the choice or why he has allowed anything to happen for that matter. I beleive that he knows best and all will be well as long as i put my faith and trust in him. it serves no purpose for us to question him. if he wanted us to k now, he would have told us. i hope this has helped.

Answer 4

***READ ME***

who says God "punishes" us if we don't do what he wants? i don't think that's true. perhaps he withholds some blessing b/c of our disobedience, but i dont believe that Christians are punished for our mistakes. that's why Christ came to save us.

we DO have free will, and just b/c God knows what we will do doesn't make our choice any less real. i've answered a ? similar to this before, i will use the same analogy:

say you ask your daughter whether she wants milk or water with her dinner. You know her better than anyone else does; you know she will pick water, having detested milk from a young age. she picks water.

was her choice any less free simply b/c you already knew what the outcome would be? no.

perhaps it was not your wish that she pick water; maybe you wanted her to pick milk b/c she needs more calcium. maybe she KNEW you wanted her to pick milk, but still she chose water instead. Are you going to punish her for not choosing what you wanted when YOU were the one who gave her a choice in the first place? of course not.

however, maybe later in life she will have weaker bones and teeth if she consistently ignores your wishes. you didn't bring this punishment upon her, yet it is still a result of her choice.

i think the way God treats us is the same. we have a free will. if we choose not to follow what He knows is best for us, that's our loss. but He's not going to punish us for choosing other than what He would have wanted us to. if He did that, what would be the point of Him giving us a choice at all?



Also, i think that we as humans have a very confused idea about how God looks at time. C.S. Lewis hit on this a couple of times; the place i read it was "The Screwtape Letters," but perhaps it is in "Mere Christianity" as well (i dont know , i haven't read all of it.)

What we have to keep in mind is that since God is infinite in time, he doesn't look at it in a straight line the way we do. we tend to see things in a very cause-and-effect kind of way, but with God there IS no "cause-and-effect", or He would not be God.

The idea that i got from C.S. Lewis, that i've done some private thinking on, is that God sees time more in an intricate web than a straight line, and all of our choices and actions and non-choices and non-actions, and our thoughts and prayers and mistakes and successes, along with everyone else's, are all interwoven and interconnected.

therefore, to God, our "free will" and our choices are not merely "two roads diverged in a wood", but actions and reactions that HAVE happened, WILL happen, and ARE happening, all in the same moment.

i'm not sure if that makes sense or if any of this helps, but i hope it does!

God bless

Answer 5

I am a Christian, but have never believed in free will. The bible predicts that Jesus will be betrayed by one of his followers, God knows everything that has or will happen, so did Judas really have a choice in what he did? I always thought if God knows everything that I will do, he already knows where I will end up, so is it really free will. My thoughts are free will was stated to give us hope for a better future and as a way to make us behave as best we can.

Answer 6

The thing is, if we didn't have free will, then we wouldn't sin. We wouldn't be as sensitive or as understanding of people that did sin, and we'd think we were better than anybody else. We have to sin to be able to fully grasp the point of the crucifixion and redemption in general. We wouldn't be as humble. Would you rather come to God after having endured temptations with him in mind, and following him that way, or coming to him just 'cause you don't have any other choice? I think the first choice would be much more satisfying.

Answer 7

But our love for God wouldn't be real if it weren't free. If someone loved you because they had no choice, would you think they really loved you? Love and freedom are two sides of the same coin; one can't exist without the other. God didn't want love-bots; God wanted people.

But BTW, I think everyone *will* come home in the end. It just might take awhile!

Answer 8

To anwer all your questions... Yes, God gave us free will. We do get punished in the end if we don't follow His will. BUT He didn't say we can follow his will without failing. He KNOWS we're gonna suck at following His will. Still, He gave us free will because He loves us. It's the "ultimate freedom" in the human world. If He DIDN'T give us free will, then all of us would be like ROBOTS. So what would the purpose of Salvation be then??? See the difference?
For your last two questions... God gave us a choice. To do good (to follow him) or to do evil (go against him)?. If we didn't have this choice, then we'd be like useless retards who just follow Him around without any goals in life and whatsoever. We're like.. FORCED into submission. Imagine yourself TOTALLY in love with someone. You would want this someone to love you back, right? But wouldn't it better to make him decide (in other words, listen to his own heart) if he loves you or not, instead of forcing him to drink a love potion just to fall in love with you?? 'Coz if you just let him chug down a love potion, then he'd be like a zombie. He is FORCED to love you. Do you get what I mean?

Answer 9

Why would you stumble over this? Even if you know the correct answer-it can not help you one bit. Satan has a way of putting questions in your head that will lead you away from doing God's will. Think about it- if you spend your whole Christian life answering question that do not help anyone-you have wasted the resources that God gave you. Spend your time leading the 'lead- able', not chasing the un-catchable.

Answer 10

I believe we do have the right to make our own choices but because we are Christians and followers of Christ he expects us to make the right choice. Even if we don't He still loves us. Isnt that Great!!! God Bless

Answer 11

I believe the idea is that we have learned or accomplished nothing if we are only puppets. Our loyalty to God is not worth anything if we don't have a choice.

I suggest reading the book Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis, and atheist who converted to Christianity. It is a little complex, but he has a lot of interesting ideas about Christianity.