Free Will: Yes or No?

[Maureen]

2 Corinthians 4 v 4
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

jennie549
Perhaps not all 'choose' to sin as the verse above says it is the god of this world has people blinded, I know before I was saved, I really was blinded, not knowing I was 'choosing' but if your refering to sin after Salvation now, that's a differant matter altogether.

that sure is walking with one foot dipped in the 'world' the other in their Christian walk, neither hot nor cold.

You can have your hand on the door handle of heaven and go straight to hell. So close, yet so far.

I find this a very interesting thread indeed.

I do think we have 'free will' to choose as I think I've already said Jesus will not drag us to the cross, we must come 'willingly'
therefore is that not to choose?

I think it's after Salvation, that our will gets brought into line with the Master's will, and it's His will be done, although we are in agreement, if we're walking as we should be.

I gave up on TV about 6 months ago, I do miss the news though, but I knew it was becoming too much of a 'habit' and I didn't like what was being put into my mind, what goes in, comes out.
so I prayed for strength to come away from it altogether, and I don't miss it at all, in fact when I go into the living room, as my husband's a TV adict, I glance at it and have no bother walking away.
It rules his life, but Praise the Lord not mine, Jesus rules mine Amen

 

[Singlemom]

Door handle of Heaven???

Hey Maureen,


Even as a believer previous to the six months you noticed that you had a problem with t.v and its contents.

But you were saved. You were born again.

I have been born again for thirteen years now and I can tell you, that there are a million and one distractions, but praise God that I am not where I used to be!

I was at the same place you were regarding t.v. I can tell you that God told me that t.v was taking His rightful place. I made it my goal to fast and stay away from t.v and I can tell you, I had withdrawals!

not funny, nor fun!

But praise God, that t.v is not a problem for me anymore. He honored my obedience. Now, I am careful to trust and obey.

BUT here is the real deal, I serve Him and obey Him, because I am His child and know that He is transforming me......as a potter with the clay.

I still have distractions and more so....because I am sensitive to His leading, were I not saved, I am sure that some of these things would not bother me. TV would be the most natural thing for me.

He gives me the choice (free will) to listen (trust) and to obey, or not.

Amen?:thumbs_up

 

[Maureen]

Thank you Singlemom
for your edifying remarks.

1 Thessilonians 5 v 11
Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

TV had a real 'hold' on me, especially the soaps, hated to miss them, wasn't until I started to dislike what it was putting out, that I knew in my spirit it had to go.
I would watch a 'spiritual' programme now and then, though not many of them on, but I have discernment over what I would watch with regard to them also, as some are completely opposite to what Jesus taught. I have no problem switching off, it's usually my husband who changes it to something I'd definatly not watch then.

It can be like a little 'God' sitting there in the corner of the room, an idol, and I'm sure it is for many, I used to think, when I heard the voices speaking, who do they think gives them the right to come into my living room and say what they want to.
Daft maybe, but that's just how it became.

It's strange too how Jesus works with us, changing us and moulding us just as you've said yourself, in the potters hands we are clay, may He mould and shape our lives to Glorify Him always.

 

[aaroncam85]

free will

hi, i would personally say we do not have free will, for me God is sovereign and has laid out our paths. we were always going to be christians, Jesus was always going to die on the cross and eve was always going to eat the apple. we are free in Christ but even then there are certain things we should not do, God is not free to do as he pleases because he can not lie, why, his truthful nature wont allow him to. we are all either slaves to sin or righteousness.
this is only my understanding please reply i am here to learn.

 

[Maureen]

Deuteronomy 30 v 19
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

plainly speaks of a 'choice'

would you not say so?

 

[aaroncam85]

yes many verses show GOD giving a choice but what i am saying is God knows what choice will be made. so do we really have a choice, does God not only have one plan and we cant change that or do we somehow make our path by random choices we make?

 

[Maureen]

yes many verses show GOD giving a choice but what i am saying is God knows what choice will be made. so do we really have a choice, does God not only have one plan and we cant change that or do we somehow make our path by random choices we make?

Well yes I can see were your coming from, but we do still have a choice, even though God knows what that choice is, it's still our action to choose whichever way.
Who knows God's plans, or will, certainly not I.
But it does make this interesting all the same thanks aaroncam85

 

[eightlab]

Yep! We have free will... we can deviate from the path at anytime! God has infinite power, and as such, has infinite choices and paths for us to walk... but WE choose to walk them.

If we didn't have free will, we'd all be saved and there would have been no need for Christianity.

Free will rules!

 

[emily445455]

yes we have free will, but God knows what we are going to choose.

 

[Maureen]

If we didn't have a free will choice, and as emily445455 and eightlab both point out also, God would have just made us all like robots, yes we would all be saved we would have no choice in the matter.

 

[aaroncam85]

if you want to know where i am coming from when i say we dont have free will please look for a book on the subject of predestination and mans free will because explaining this is difficult and understanding it even more difficult but i am not saying God controls us but that he has set our lives out already and knows every choice we will make. some body said in a previous post God has many paths for us to chose but we are told he never changes his mind so he must only have one plan as we can see in Jesus' life salvation from the beginning was only ever coming through one way the way God had put in place from the beginning.

 

[Maureen]

I too can see that but even though GOD knows what our choice be will, He knows the outcome, but we dont, so therefore is it still not our own choice, when we don't know what we'll choose?
We dont know the outcome.

As my husband still chooses to walk in his sins, therefore he hasn't choose Jesus as his Saviour yet.

Evan though GOD does know his choice, he still doesn't.

 

[emily445455]

I like to look at free-will in this little story I heard a long time ago, it helped me understand it:

A father gives his daughter two choices for dessert: a bowl of chocolate ice cream or a bowl of dead rats. The father knows what she will choose, but she is still given the choice (her own free will) to choose whichever.

 

[Maureen]

A father gives his daughter two choices for dessert: a bowl of chocolate ice cream or a bowl of dead rats. The father knows what she will choose, but she is still given the choice (her own free will) to choose whichever.

excellent story, and such a great illustration in simple terms, well done Emily. Thank you

 

[paganmystic]

so far I am the only one that voted "no"
I hope this doesn't surprise people. Free Will yes by God through Jesus we have it; the free countries of the world, ie. Canada, United States, England, etc by law we are gaurenteed free will but in truth we are being repressed by the same people we expect to make that gaurentee. We can only exercise our free will in accordance with the way they want us to think, that is how they continue to assert their authority, we see it everyday but pay no notice of it. When I was younger I was accused of being a dangerous person. Not because I am a criminally minded person or that I am a crazed psychopath(although some people would likely believe otherwise~lol), but because I know through Jesus, that our free will is a certainty and in the end we will be judged by how we used it. On this reply I was not going to quote the Gospel, but... Matthew 16:1>4. For us we see the world around us; what it looks like but our lives don't reflect that, WE MUST CHANGE, but won't.Mark 13:9 & 13. To excercise or free will. To be Christ-like we all must realize, the world can not remain as is.
So even though our free will is gaurenteed it has also been sircumvented by the same forces.

May the Will of our Lord be with all of you; God bless

the religious denominations also deminish our chooses ... thats why I'm a Christian and not religious ... if you think about it our worship ability has been compromised. We do have free will but very few of us actually use it. It has to be a conscience discission or it won't be there.

 

[Maureen]

thats why I'm a Christian and not religious ... if you think about it our worship ability has been compromised.

paganmystic
how do you mean when you say 'our worship ability is compromised' I'm not picking on you, if that's how it comes across sorry, forgive.
I'm seriously curious as to how or in what way you mean it.
Thank you
in love sister

sorry this is repeated below, I lost the reply, and started over again, didnt realize it was already posted. second one has more explantion with it.

 

[Maureen]

thats why I'm a Christian and not religious ... if you think about it our worship ability has been compromised.

paganmystic
how do you mean when you say 'our worship ability is compromised' I'm not picking on you, if that's how it comes across sorry, forgive.
I'm seriously curious as to how or in what way you mean it.
Thank you
in love sister

perhaps if I explain it may help
I left a church because of this very reason, I felt restricted in my spirit to worship how I wanted to, so I went where there was more freedom to do so, I actually came away and returned not to the exact same church but another, the one my Dad had taken me too sometime before he died, but it to was more restricted in freedom of worship, but I had learned from were I'd come from to adjust and be able to carry out the worship to please me and not worry about others.

Is this the sort of thing you mean, or have I gone off on a totally differant wavelength?

'thats why I'm a Christian and not religious ...' me to Amen.

 

[aaroncam85]

Maureen you are right when you say we know not what God has planned so to us we have free will but my question is can we by our choices change or alter Gods plans.
God hardened pharoahs heart, pharoah thought he had made the choice to not release israel.
Pilot thought it was his decision to chose whether Jesus lived or died but as we know really he could only ever of put him to death because God had predestined that.

 

[aaroncam85]

I like to look at free-will in this little story I heard a long time ago, it helped me understand it:

A father gives his daughter two choices for dessert: a bowl of chocolate ice cream or a bowl of dead rats. The father knows what she will choose, but she is still given the choice (her own free will) to choose whichever.

Even though the girl is presented with two choices really she only has one the father knows she will take the ice cream and thats all she was ever going to take.

 

[abigya]

I am blessed by your views brothers and sisters.

so here is my view.....

Freedom with a responsibility

God created Adam and Eve in his image, so that God could enjoy their fellowship with them out of (love) their free will.

And again God gave freedom to both but they are to be responsible for their action.

Genesis 2:8-9
8 ¶ The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.
9 And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

I couldn’t imagine Love (relationship) with out free will, other wise we are like a robot in the eyes of God. (Programmed like computer or machine)

the most wonderfull thing i see about the question of free will is that we are wonderfully made in the image of GOD .
and he has given us all the owners operating manual ( his word ) so we can learn to operate ourselves his way .

so using this analogy there must be somewhere we all can find in the manual of life the key that unlocks the secret of free will and has it simplified for us to understand .

perhaps this could be found in deuteronomy 30 verces 15 to 19 ?

or possibly Luke 16 , 13 .

after all boiled down the answer of life is either GODS way which is good righteous and holy .

or satans way which is evil , selfserving and leads to destruction .

and amen to you pagan if people like me then they must also like my LORD JESUS as i donot exist without him

squidget very good point

we have the manual "Bible" to guide us to choose , the tree of life.

I say Knowledge of the word of God is very important, many times we take the wrong choices because of lack of knowledge

Hosea 4:6
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;


Blessings......

abigya