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Acts 4:27-28:
For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your plan had predestined to take place.
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So…did people kill the King of Glory because of their “free will” and God did not want to “interfere” with their “free will” and step in and stop them…? Or, were the actions of these people under divine direction, even though it was AS IF they had “free will”?
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2007-11-05 07:05:33 · 10 answers · asked by yachadhoo 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Mat 16:21 From that time, Jesus began to show to His disciples that it was necessary for Him to go away to Jerusalem, and to suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and to be killed, and to be raised on the third day.
It is obvious Jesus knew exactly what would happen and who would do it.
Joh 6:70 Jesus answered them, Did I not choose you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!
Joh 6:71 But He spoke of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, for this one was about to betray Him, being one of the Twelve.
He also knew who would betray Him.
Rev 13:8 And all those dwelling in the earth will worship it, those of whom the names had not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb having been slain from the foundation of the world.
Christ's death was preordained. God knew that man, in his limited free will, would naturally choose sin. God prepared a way of salvation before the first sin was committed.
God is totally sovereign, over all things. Man has limited free will. God's sovereignty and complete free will trumps man's limited free will.
2007-11-05 07:18:07 · answer #1 · answered by BrotherMichael 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like that "compatibilism" thing you brought up last week. The way I see it the fact that God has a plan doesn't preclude free will. For one thing, having a predetermined plan doesn't necessarily mean that the person who will implement the plan is predetermined. Many businesses develop business plans that include all sorts of "roles" that people will play in implementing that plan...but the firm can plug appropriate individuals into various roles based on the skills/characteristics/abilities of those individuals!
I don't pretend to understand the way God's plan works, but it certainly seems possible that he adjusts the who of the plan to fit the what of the plan at the given time. Could Herod or Pilate, or the specific "peoples of Israel" have made different choices earlier in their lives that caused another person to be in the position to do what God planned...what he knew would happen? I would say yes. I believe God has a plan for each of us that is positive, not negative...however, we all have the "free will" to chose that path or another one. God knows exactly what will happen if we choose either path AND he knows that enough people will choose the other path to allow him to implement his plan.
2007-11-07 05:53:02 · answer #2 · answered by KAL 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It isn't free. That's why I don't call it "free will". I call it agency. Yes, we can make decisions, and do what we want, but we will have to pay for those decisions for good or bad later.
The word "free" implies that there is no consequences, no reaction to what we do. It also implies that God will allow us to make those decisions and nothing will result from those. I think it's misleading.
Christ's death was predestined. It wasn't planned out to the hilt by God, but He did know what was going to happen. The people involved had every opportunity to stop it. That is on their heads, and they will have to answer for that, and probably have already.
God is just and fair. He will give us what we have earned in this life. It might not be what we want, but it's what is fair to how we lived our lives.You won't get happiness if you didn't do what God wanted of you, and you won't get hell if you did.
2007-11-05 07:16:06 · answer #3 · answered by odd duck 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
27For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
28For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.
What version are you reading? According to the KJV it was "determined before to be done". This simply means that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ's life was determined before to happen. It doesn't say that God manipulated the people to do His will. (And neither does the version you referenced.)
2007-11-05 07:13:29 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Free will is is not totally limitless, God sets the limits. We are free to chose what comes to our eternal life and options are heaven and hell. We have more to choose from here in this world.
I believe that we always pay for the freedom one way or another.
2007-11-09 16:44:04 · answer #5 · answered by BaC Helen 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Romans 8 says that foreknowledge comes before predestination.
2007-11-05 07:08:56 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Free will of man is always within the limits God gave us.
2007-11-05 10:58:26 · answer #7 · answered by Ulrika 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Short answer. There is a difference between PROPHECY --which is predestined to occur-- and man's own "FREE WILL", which is intrinsically provided for in every individual's ACTIONS throughout his/her lifetime.
To extrapolate prophecies for the latter --i.e., every action of every individual in each lifetime-- would be statistically astounding, if not improbable.
Peace be with you.
2007-11-05 07:50:20 · answer #8 · answered by Arf Bee 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I believe that our Lord was predestend to die for us, but that is the sum of it. We know that Pilate tried to let him go, only when he was backed into a corner did he agree.
2007-11-05 07:12:19 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I am in BrotherMichael's corner on this one.
2007-11-05 10:59:26 · answer #10 · answered by Kidd! 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋