Christians do you believe man has a free will?

Question

Many times Christians answer questions on YA by stating that man has a free will. Can you give me one verse from the Bible that says humans have a free will?

Joshua says to choose, but it doesn't say you have a free will.

63 is not my age, its how long I've been a Christian

Tanker - Thanks for admitting you can't give me a verse, that is my piont. Why do you believe it if it is not there?

Answer 1

"And the Lord God commanded the man saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat." Though he was asked not to eat of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, he was free to choose whether he obeyed this command or not. Thus, man has always had agency to act for himself. He cannot, however, choose the consequences of his decisions.

Answer 2

I am not a Christian, or anything else for that matter. I do, however, study all religions because of there importance to human society throughout history.

The only quotation that I remember and have been able to find quickly is: "I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse: therefore choose life" ( Deuteronomy, 30:19). This is interpreted to indicate freedom of choice by both Catholics and Jews.

The majority of theological discussions on free will are intertwined with discussions on the nature of God Himself.
St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas both wrote extensively on the nature of God and on free will.

I am really not sure that you will find a convincing single quotation from the Bible that confirms free will, and all the various denominations and sects have different beliefs.

I suspect that none of this is particularly helpful.

Answer 3

This first comes from Joshua 24:15, which states, "But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." In this it is further explained in study text the following, " After all that God had done for them, the Israelites still faced a fundamental choice. They could worship the gods their ancestors had served in Egypt or Mesopotamia, they could follow the religious practices of the new land they had entered---or they could follow the God who had freed them from slavery. The choice seems obvious, and Joshua knew exactly which direction he and his family would take. But as the book of Judges shows, many of the Israelites exercised their free will to enslave themselves to foreign gods."

Something else to consider, however, is the following: "The Bible describes Pharaoh's subbornness in three ways. Sometimes, as here, it says that Pharaoh "hardened his heart"; sometimes, God "hardened his heart" (Exodus 10:1); and also, "Pharaoh's heart became hard" (Exodus 7:13). This is consistent with the Old Testament view: All of history was an act of God. Beyond that, the writeres did not normally make clear distinctions on questions of who cause what."

So I hope this helped answer your questions. The truth of the matter is that some Christians believe that God gave us free will to decide between his teaching and satan's temptations. Other's believe that God chooses for us or at least knows what we will choose because our lives have all been pre-planned and it is part of what God has planned for us. Personally, as a Christian, it is a topic (along with many other topics) I am still trying hard to understand.

Good luck and God Bless.

Answer 4

Well, I can't give you verse but I can tell you Book of the Bible you will find the answer to your question. Genesis is the book & the story is about Adam & Eve. God, gave them free will whether or not to eat the apple from the Tree of life. The snake(Satan) tempted Eve first, then Eve tempted Adam. God could have made them robots, but he chose not to. Because of Adam & Eve's decision we were thrown out of the Garden of Eden,(punishment) snakes have to crawl on their belly for ever,women have pain during child birth. Lastly, we all have to wear clothes now because we all know we are naked.
The other example in the Bible of Free Will is the story of 2 brothers,"Cain & Able." To kill or not to kill? Also could be considered the very first murder.
How did I do?

Answer 5

"And for this reason God shall deliver them reliable myth, that they must have self belief a lie: That all of them may be damned who believed no longer the truth, yet had excitement in unrighteousness. - 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12" it is the precise type of ingredient I argue, at the same time as it comprises loose will. We will be 'loose to make your innovations up on what we want' yet we are no longer loose to 'want what we want'. This bible passage obviously shows the flaw in God's questioning. God and his idiotic followers would look down on those human beings stated right here - without realising the bleeding glaring, that if a being has had a 'reliable myth' programmed into them, a 'lie' programmed into them - and if a being features more desirable excitement from being 'unrighteous' than 'righteous', then it is GOD'S fault, no longer the being. the concept God makes someone deluded, and then blames them for 'picking' issues in accordance with their myth is only embarrassing.......and it would make god the most important 'framer' in historic previous. Making human beings reliable or undesirable, then rewarding or punishing them for performing how he designed them to wish to act. ____ "and clearly, in this verse, it says those who're damned that there is not any longer some thing we may be able to do about it." certainly - and this is not any longer only them, this is each human being created by using god, in a 'god-made-each thing' universe. no human being designs and creates their very own desires. A mass assassin under no circumstances asks to get kicks from being a mass assassin. A philanthropist under no circumstances requested to get a buzz from assisting unlucky human beings. they only ALREADY wanted to do what they wanted to do, and then acted on their desires, that were no longer created by using themselves in the first position.

Answer 6

Hey,you're not an old guy at 63.And yes to your question, I'm too lazy to look up the verses,there the one before me got one of em.EDIT, This can take days but one and only one here is an example Noah,he used his free will and spent 40 years building an ARK (huge floating House) against all kinds of harrasement ,with help from his family for sure.He could have given up anytime on his own free will.With common sense prevailing there are many more examples.

Answer 7

Joshua 24:15 (English Standard Version)
15And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Answer 8

As a reformed Christian I'm not sure about this one... ;)

I think we must have a certain amount of free will but not as Arminians would say!

God's ways are not our ways - His ways are higher and we won't totally know until we get to heaven (if believers!)

Answer 9

Because God changes his mind based on what we choose. eg repentence of Ninevah in Jonah or of Hezekiah.

He judged Judah and took away their land because of their choices.

I believe that not choosing is a choice in itself.

Answer 10

Yes, most people have freewill but not all. God is righteous and fair to all. Most have freewill to choose; light or darkness, good or evil, eternal life or eternal death, and to love God or not.

God wants our love. True love cannot be created or forced upon an entity. True love manifests itself within a being of freewill, but hatred does also.

Some like Pharaoh and maybe Judas, God hardened their heart to glorify Himself. God will take that into account. Again most have freewill and have not this excuse.

Then there are few predestined, chosen and already justified by God's Election. They earned this justification during Satan's rebellion. For example the prophet Jeremiah and Saul of Tarsus.

That's what this flesh life is all about. One third followed Satan in the rebellion. To justly sentence Satan to perish, God had to justly find a way for all the sons of God to choose of freewill, eternal life or eternal death, to love God or not.

Most people are not aware of it, but rejection of God is acceptance of death, eternal death. Most are not aware but this flesh life is their last chance for justification.

You want scripture, study God's Word for yourself.

<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>