What About Free Will?

 

One of the questions that often comes up in conversations about ultimate destinies is, “What about free will?” 

I’ve heard it expressed in various ways: 

“God doesn’t force anyone into heaven!” 

 

“How can you love someone if you’re not free to choose?”  

“God gets one vote. Satan gets one vote.  You cast the deciding vote.” 

 

“CS Lewis said that the door to hell is locked from the inside.”

This is definitely a foundational question that needs to be addressed by anyone who holds the view that God will ultimately restore all of creation to the perfection He initially intended.  So, here are a few observations.

Only God has absolute free will! 

Only God is free to accomplish all that He desires.  He gives each person a free will, but always within limits and in the context of His absolute free will. 

For example, none of us was given the freedom to choose when we were born . . . where we were born . . . who our parents would be . . . what our physical stature and mental capacities would be . . . whether we’re male or female . . . or even when and how we will die.  We have no control over many of the factors that directly impact our situations and our decisions every day. 

Joseph didn’t choose to be made second-in-command in Egypt.  God arranged the circumstances for that to happen.  Jonah ran away from God, but God’s will prevailed and Jonah found himself in Nineveh proclaiming the message God had given him. 

Scripture is clear when it says,

 “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; He directs it like a watercourse wherever He wishes."

“The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

God is not helpless in the face of mankind’s free will. 

God specifically said that it is His desire that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.  He specifically said that one day every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will freely and joyfully confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 

God can give free will because of the nature of love, the nature of sin, the nature of God and the nature of mankind.

Love is the most powerful force in the universe, because it is the only power that accomplishes its purposes without coercion.

Sin promises power, pleasure, success fulfillment, etc., but always leads to misery in one way or another.  There are always unwanted consequences to sin, and can be seen in the experiences of people with addictions who have lost their health, their families, their finances.

God is all-wise.  Like a Chess Master who plays against a novice, He doesn’t force any moves, but He always wins in part because He knows the game so much better than the novice. 

God also never gives up.  Physical death is not the end of when God’s grace is at work in the lives of people.  Like the Good Shepherd searching for the lost sheep, His grace continues working in the ages to come “until” the lost sheep is found.  As one friend said, “God is too holy to look upon sin without doing something about it, namely loving it out of existence with harsh discipline if necessary."

Members of the human race always act in what they perceive as their own best interests, except in love.  Ultimately they will come to a place where they recognize the nature of sin and their need for God’s saving grace in Christ. 

Evil will not remain a part of God’s creation forever.  At the end of time, all those God created in His image will enjoy the peace and joy of being in His presence.