Does Man Really Have A Free Will?

Free Will Of Man
VS.
The Sovereignty Of God

After many years of being taught that man must have free will or free moral agency other wise God would have simply created a world full of robots I was forced to rethink this core doctrine to all of orthodox Christianity.

Does man in his carnal state really have the ability to choose God, to choose to repent? Anyone with a minimal amount of knowledge of the scriptures knows it is God who leads us to repentance. It is God who convicts us. It is God who brings about circumstances in our lives that make us contemplate God and his ways.

So, if the free will of man to choose God is really true, doesn't that mean some people are inherently or intrinsically (by their very natures) better than others?

But how can this be? Aren't we all born with the same carnal nature which is in direct opposition to God? Is it possible that anyone's carnal nature free from any outside influence choose to obey and worship God? After all that is essentially what true free will is, isn't it?

Watch this short video from a friend of mine, L. Ray Smith of BibleTruths.com. If you're unsure of this issue I think you will find it extremely enlightening.

Excerpt From The Myth Of Free Will Exposed

By L. Ray Smith

There was a time when I too was hoodwinked into believing that man has a "free will." I believed free will to be man’s ability to make choices, change his mind, learn from experiences, etc. And since it is a fact that man can indeed do these things, it seemed evident to me that man has free will. But then I learned that these are not the definition of free will at all.

Free will does not actually and literally mean that one can make choices, create, change his mind, or reformulate ideas and data, etc., but that those choices and thought processes must themselves be free thoughts and free choices. "Free will" is only true if our choices are also free. But free from what? Why, free from being forced upon us against our will, or free from being caused by anyone or anything except our OWN will. And so, yes, man can think, process data, make choices, change his choices, etc. But none of these activities are free from internal or external CAUSES.

That man has a will, there is no debate. It is the teaching that man himself determines his own will, FREELY, without anything causing his will or his choices to be what they are. The idea of free will or free moral agency is that man can by himself unaided by anything else, originate his own choices of his will.

But does man actually possess such a power? And if he does, where is the proof? Now for all who have no confidence in the Scriptures, let me say that there is absolutely no scientific proof that man has a "free will" or the ability to make "uncaused choices." If such a freedom of the will existed, it should be possible to demonstrate it. But there is no such scientific demonstration that man can formulate thoughts and actions to which absolutely no cause whatsoever can be attributed.

And for all who do have confidence in the Scriptures, let me say equally dogmatically that there is absolutely no Scriptural proof for man having a "free will" or the ability to make "uncaused choices." In every case Scripture shows that it is God Who is behind the scene of all circumstances that influence and cause a man to make the one and only choice possible under any given circumstance. This law of "cause and effect" is stated and demonstrated time and again in Scripture. Ignorance of these behind the scenes causes does not disprove the fact that they are the actual and literal cause of our choices

There are laws of science that men do not wish to carry over into his private and spiritual life. Why? Well, because he doesn’t like the ramifications of these laws. He does not want to admit that he is bound and controlled by laws. He wants to be "free"—free to be his own god, free to determine his own destiny, free to override the rule and dominance of God, free to rebel or free to obey, but freedom of the will at all cost. Read More Free Will Exposed At BibleTruths.com