If Christians believe people have free-will?

Question

Then how can you also believe that Satan uses people to tempt others? Wouldn't people know they were being used? If not, do they really have free-will?

Also, if they did know they that they were tempting someone to do something wrong, if they have freewill, wouldn't it just be them tempting someone, and not Satan?

Answer 1

Satan is a master of misrepresentation. He is the world's greatest advertiser, packaging his product so it seems attractive and appealing while in reality it is deathly poisonous. He wants his clients to see him as good, beneficent and trustworthy. He wants his product —sin and rejection of God—to appear enticing and inviting, and he is usually quite successful.

Satan never presents sin as it really is. He never presents both sides of the story, pro and con. He presents only what he wants us to see, something that appears fun and exciting. He wants us to focus on pleasure, on what feels or looks good at the moment. He wants long-term consequences to be the last thing on our minds while he entices us to sin.

God is all powerful. Yet He allows Satan to carry out his deceitful and destructive activities—within certain limits—for a purpose. He could have preprogrammed us to behave only according to harmless predetermined instincts. But then we would be mere automatons, having no choices, no individuality, no character.

Such existence is not what God intends for us. He has created us to become members of His own family —His sons and daughters (2 Corinthians 6:18)—able to carry great responsibilities within His family. God created mankind to be like Him, to rule—have dominion—over His creation. To learn to properly exercise such a level of responsibility, man must first learn how to discern right from wrong, good from bad and the wise from the foolish. Learning real wisdom involves learning how to make wise choices. From the beginning God pointed out the right way, but He allowed humans to be exposed to and make foolish choices.

God allowed Satan, the epitome of evil, to enter the Garden of Eden and discuss his view of life with Adam and Eve. They then had to make a choice. They chose to follow Satan rather than God. Satan's tragic delusion of mankind has been the result.

However, when Jesus Christ returns to earth, God will remove the delusion of Satan. God then will begin, on a grand scale, the process of reversing the damage Satan has done. Eventually none of the devil's influence will remain.

Mankind can then review thousands of years of tragic history and compare it with the blessings of Christ's rule. The Bible reveals that when this occurs the overwhelming majority of humanity will reject Satan's deceptions and enthusiastically embrace every word of God.

God is in control, but He has allowed Satan to dominate humanity for two basic reasons. First, Adam and Eve, our first parents, chose Satan's domination over them. Second, God wants all of humanity to learn that "the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps" (Jeremiah 10:23).

Answer 2

Satan can only use you to to tempt others if you let him. Unfortunately, not everyone has the gift to always be able to discern good from evil. That's because Satan takes elements of truth and twists them, making it so that they might still sound true. He's had plenty of time to become skilled at deceiving mankind. Plus, he has a corner on the technique of using hormones and low self-esteem to trick people into hurting themselves and hurting/tempting each other.

Answer 3

First of all, free will is not a belief; it's a fact. You can test it for yourself every day.

And yes there is spritual warfare and satan is constantly trying to tempt us to do evil and yes we usually can recognize temptation but that doesn't always mean we have the strength of will or purpose to run from it.

In the end - GOD will never take away our freedom to make the wrong choices. I think primarily because our right choices would have no value if we could never make the wrong choices.

Answer 4

Having free will doesn't mean one has all the answers. We are used almost everyday by someone, or something. When we watch commercials on TV and purchase that outfit that they say is so popular.

I do believe people blame a lot of things on Satan that they do themselves but I don't underestimate the power of the devil- can anyone say "Jim Jones"

Answer 5

Free will allows two choices:

1) God is benevolent

2) God is malevolent

When you choose choice 2, then you run from God and towards the motives that serve the body and its desires.
No matter which belief one has, if in any givin circumstance, one chooses to believe fate has it in for you, then one has decided that its pointless trying to control one's self. At this point, the mind serves the body only. When one lets go of concious control because of frustration, then one runs to Satan. Look not for Satan in the sky, or in the Sea. Look not for God in the bushes, nor in the walls. For when God is not inside of you pushing the buttons, Satan is left to control them.

Answer 6

Not exactly. everything negative is of Satan. im pretty sure you've heard of bad things happening to good people. I was taught that satan uses other people to try to break you. in other words, he can throw a lot of negative things your way such as death or financial ruin to get you to think that it's God's fault for your misfortune when its not. Of course you have free-will, its up to you to keep your faith and not let him get the best of you.
No you won't know that you're being used.

Answer 7

Man wants to sin and not to be under any authority of any kind . Satan is the prince of the power of the air encouraging us , Ephesians 2:2

Answer 8

Wow...what a variety of answers here!
I am not so sure on the "Satan" thing, but i do know that with manipulation, comes a certain amount of "expectations" from one or both parties.
Unrealistic expectations is what usually ends up getting us in trouble with our choices....
just my humble pagan thoughts.

blessings
)o(
trinity

Answer 9

That question cannot be answered with the structure of human language. The best I can do is that God has a plan for Gos' use of us. It is just along the way we adjust or color our path ourselves. I hope you do not mind that I am not a traditional Christian. I believe in Christ though. In the past I have asked you about your intent with all these questions... silly me, it is none of my business what your intent is. What is, is. Sorry about that. Oh, for me the devil of the Christians is fear for me.

Answer 10

I think that we can still have free will and be influenced into doing things. Satan can't force anyone to do anything but he or his fallen angels can persuade people to do things. They are invisible and it seems as if they are not there as are all things spiritual.