The subject of man’s will is fraught with peril because it has and does change throughout the course of our life on this planet. In the beginning, before the fall of man, Adam and Eve were inclined toward righteousness. This means that their will was for those things that drew them into relationship with God. After the fall their will was inclined toward rebellion from God. Unregenerate man inherits this bent of the will toward rebellion and error and is powerless to resist it, unless he submits to Jesus. Regenerate man has a unique position; still inclined to rebellion due to the sin nature, we are empowered by God’s Spirit in us to choose otherwise. The more we choose truth over error, righteousness over sinfulness, love over apathy our will changes from one bent toward rebellion to one inclined toward righteousness. All of this may seem complex but at least it is straightforward. Where it gets uncomfortable is when our will is directly interfered with.

Take Jonah for example. He wanted to defy God’s will. He was not interested in warning Nineveh about God’s coming judgment lest they repent and be saved destruction. So he fled on a boat destined for Spain, and we all know how that turned out. God wanted Jonah to deliver the message and there was no escaping God’s will. Similarly, Jeremiah is told that God has had a specific calling for the prophet’s life since before he was born (Jeremiah 1.5). There was no escaping his role. Remember when I said God doesn’t use people like puppets? That is generally true, but there are some people God calls to certain tasks, and when he calls you must answer. Moses is another example. While God doesn’t do this frequently, it is his privilege as the Sovereign One.

Exodus 9.12 tells us that God deliberately hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Had God not done so, Pharaoh may have released the Hebrews after the sixth plague and the other four would not have been necessary. To some this may seem preferable. Why go through all the rest of the plagues, the loss of life and even the death of the firstborn sons of the Egyptians? We are told in Exodus 11.9, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” Understand that Pharaoh had been doing things his way long enough. God had a message to communicate and he wasn’t going to allow Pharaoh to interrupt that message by caving in early. Without all 10 plagues there would be no Passover event, no Passover feast and no foreshadow of the coming Messiah.

Another difficult passage is found in 2 Thessalonians chapter two. Paul is discussing the end times and specifically the arrival of the Man of Lawlessness. Verse 11 of that chapter reads “Consequently God sends on them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false.” Does this passage mean that God deliberately deceives people so they will follow the Man of Lawlessness? I examined this passage carefully and was confused as to why the Greek word planas was translated as “delusion” in every English translation I reviewed. The Greek word literally means “wander”, as someone who is lost wanders not knowing which way to go. I believe a better translation is “Due to this, God bids (and it is carried out by his power) that the people will no longer have the capacity to discern truth from error resulting in their believing the lie.” I admit the difference is subtle but I think important. In the accepted translation God is involved in an elaborate deception external to the individual with the intent to manipulate them into believing a lie, and this is uncharacteristic of God. In my translation God is intervening internally, removing an ability that he gave us to begin with. It is not unlike confusing the language at Babble, or giving the apostles the ability to speak a language they did not know. God gives abilities and takes them away at his discretion. Either way, God is performing an act that impacts man’s will.

So the best answer to the question, “Does man have free will?” would have to be, “Sometimes.” If we are not so enslaved to our sin that God hands us over to our depravity (Romans 1.24), If we are not perfect in our devotion to God so as to have a righteous will like Adam and Eve, If we are not impeding God’s message to the point that he must intervene, if we are not so spiritually lost in the end times that we are handed over to the Man of Lawlessness, or in other possible situations that require spiritual intervention, then we may have free will.

And now that I’ve angered both Calvinist and Arminian theologians, its time to conclude this series. We may come back at a later date to detail many concepts I’ve only alluded to this week. After all, this subject is more complicated than three entries can do justice to. There are important details between God’s permissive will and his decreed will, the practical understanding of man’s will from a human perspective verses the theological truth from a heavenly one, the complexities of the forces at work to shape our will, the issue of predestination and even God’s omniscience and sovereignty must be accounted for.

In the meantime I highly recommend that everyone read R.C Sproul’s work, Does God Control Everything? While his purpose is to help us understand God’s sovereignty rather than explore the topic of free will, there is some really good overlap and a lot of food for thought. Shalom.