The case for FREE WILL according to the Bible

by Sandy Simpson, 6/1/24

The subject of free will as created by God is easy to prove, regardless of false arguments by Calvinists and Pelagians/Armenians alike. Let’s start at the beginning, before the creation of the world.

Angels

Angels were created with free will. This is amply demonstrated first by the “morning star” (Is. 14:12), later to be known as Satan (Luke 10:18), and subsequently by many angels (Jude 1:6, Is. 24:21) who chose to follow the devil and were duped and “murdered” by him (John 8:44). They were murdered because by following the enemy they sentenced themselves to hell with him. The only way the devil and his followers could have come under judgment was for them to have made a choice to disobey the Lord. The devil even went so far as to give his “I will” ultimatums to the Lord.

Isaiah 14:13-14 But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ Nevertheless you will be brought down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit.

However, as to the remaining angels, they used their free will to commit themselves to obeying the Lord.

The Garden of Eden

God also created Adam and Eve with free will. God commanded them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:17). The enemy, in the form of a serpent or Leviathan, tempted Eve by telling her a mixture of truth and lies. He basically told Eve that if she ate of the tree she would not die and she would be like God, knowing evil and good. What he did not tell her was (1) God does not lie and they would die spiritually and eventually physically and (2) they already knew good but what they would add to themselves and to the rest of creation would be the knowledge of evil. With that disobedient act against God, Adam and Eve brought the sin nature (Rom. 7:18, 25) to every human being in all generations, and even to the rest of God’s creation (Luke 19:40, Gen. 6:7, Isa. 11:6). When sin entered the world, entropy began to set in. We can see this in the genetic code which has produced more and more mutations since God said it was “very good” at Creation (Gen. 1:31). The lifespan of humans began to shorten from 900+ years to 110 years or less by the time of Joseph (Gen. 50:26). The lifespan of humans degraded even further from a low average of 28.5 years in the 19^th century to 73.2 in 2020. Over time the effects of sin have caused DNA to mutate away from perfection, and only the return of the Lord will stop this entropic cascade in the Millennium. Other sins of proclivity and the sin nature have manifested themselves in malice, sexual perversion, worship of self and false gods, lying, stealing, murder, etc. The ills of mankind have nothing to do with God ordaining those things but with the sin nature brought about by Satan and Adam.

The Gospel

Both sides of the “predestination vs. free will” debate have this issue wrong.

Calvinists generally claim when the Bible says that God “foreknew, predestined, called, justified and glorified” (Rom. 8:28-30) but that “foreknew” really means God “foreordained”, thus God predestined some for hell and some for heaven. This is false teaching as God is “not willing that any should perish” (2 Pet. 3:9). But “foreordained” is not at all what “foreknew” means. It means that God is omniscient, knows all, therefore He knows when and if a person will believe the Gospel, respond to the Holy Spirit, and be born again with a renewed spirit.

2 Tim. 2:19 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His;” and, “Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to keep away from wickedness.”

The Pelagians also have it wrong. They believe that a person can choose to believe in the Lord at any time and that man does not have a sin nature. But the Bible is clear on what must happen for a person to be saved. They must hear the Gospel message (Rom. 10:14) which includes the fact that all have sinned (Rom. 3:23) and that a person must believe that God came in the flesh (1 John 4:2), then the Holy Spirit must convict them (John 16:8) of their sin and of their need for a Savior (Ps. 70:5). Only then can a person exercise their free will to repent and believe or not believe (1 John 5:1, Acts 16:31). In any case, anyone with a will cannot choose to believe something they know nothing about until it is explained fully to them.

So, to deny free will, like the Calvinists or elevate free will much further than it is in reality as do the Pelegianists, is false teaching that can eventually destroy faith. Calvinistic Determinism does not acknowledge humans have free will and that they were created with it, while the false notion that humans are basically good and can choose to be saved at any point is the same false idea espoused by false religions that promote the innate goodness of mankind.

Animals

Even animals have been given a limited ability to choose within their kind. Some animals such as border collies, dolphins and others seem to have more cognitive function, but of course animals do not have a spirit, only body and a limited mind tied to instincts that can help protect them against attack, find food, etc.

Free Will throughout the Bible

I have had Calvinist friends of mine claim that there is no such thing as free will in the Bible, with one exception of the “freewill” offering (Ps. 54:6, etc.) My reply is that they are apparently reading a different Bible than I am because the whole Word shows examples of men either submitting their will to God or disobeying Him, thus proving they do not love Him (John 14:15, 23). The very act of believing unto salvation is a decision to “commit” to the Gospel and Jesus Christ. The word "believe" in Greek (pisteuo) can also be translated "commit" and I think it should have been. 

Belief is more than just a mental assent to some facts.  It is a commitment to believe those facts and continue in that truth which will evidence itself in the fruit of the Spirit and sound doctrine.  Salvation is not just a one time raising of the hand experience.  It is a lifelong commitment. It is an act of the will. Most of the accounts in the Bible demonstrate either a dedication to the Lord or rebellion. There are many accounts in the Bible where believers were counseled to exercise their will in choosing.

Joshua 24:15 But if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served, which were beyond the Euphrates River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Job 34:4 Let us choose for ourselves what is right; Let us understand among ourselves what is good.

Psalm 25:12 Who is the person who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose.

James 1:8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

1 Corinthians 11:31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.

1 Corinthians 10:15 I speak as to wise people; you then, judge what I say.

1 Corinthians 6:1-3 Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to form the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?

Gal. 5:13 for you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh but serve one another through love.

John 7:17 Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.

Prov. 16:9 In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.

Rom. 13:2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

John also wrote to the seven churches that they needed to “overcome”. If overcoming were automatic, then this admonishment would be useless. Christians have a lot to overcome in this world, with the help of the Holy Spirit. To overcome one must make a choice to do so and to walk in the Spirit.

Revelation 2:11 The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’

Revelation 2:17 The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows except the one who receives it.’

Revelation 2:26 The one who overcomes, and the one who keeps My deeds until the end, I will give him authority over the nations;

Revelation 3:5 The one who overcomes will be clothed the same way, in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

Revelation 3:12 The one who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.

Revelation 3:21 The one who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne.

Notice that though Jesus is speaking to the Church, He addresses the issue of overcoming to the individual Christian. The criterion to overcome is being born again, and then continuing in the Faith.

1 John 5:4 For whoever has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.

1 Thessalonians 5:21 but examine everything; hold firmly to that which is good,

Hebrews 3:14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we keep the beginning of our commitment firm until the end.

This is through Jesus Christ and OUR faith. Faith is not a gift from God as Calvinists claim Eph. 2:9 tells us. The gift spoken of in that verse is the gift of grace as in Rom. 3:24 and 5:15. God helps us with our faith particularly through testing (Acts 16:5). We also must build ourselves up in the faith (Jude 1:20).

Humans are created in the image of God. There are two ways in which this is the case, and there are more. (1) He gave humans the capacity to use their will to make choices. (2) We are also Tripartite beings, consisting of body, soul and spirit as God is eternally one God in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.