Free Will

TravelJunkie

Hi all,

Everyone goes on and on in these threads about free will.

I don't understand it, especially when a Christian keeps bringing it up. I thought the whole point of becoming a christian is to crucify your 'self' with Christ, putting away your own 'will' and doing God's will.

I understand that we have the ability to 'change our minds' and do our own thing anyway - but that would be like a revolt, especially after you've given your life over to Christ. God has promised us he will be faithfull, taking back our own 'free will' is really being unfaithfull to Him.

Am I wrong?

TJ

PDN

TravelJunkie wrote: »

Hi all,

Everyone goes on and on in these threads about free will.

I don't understand it, especially when a Christian keeps bringing it up. I thought the whole point of becoming a christian is to crucify your 'self' with Christ, putting away your own 'will' and doing God's will.

I understand that we have the ability to 'change our minds' and do our own thing anyway - but that would be like a revolt, especially after you've given your life over to Christ. God has promised us he will be faithfull, taking back our own 'free will' is really being unfaithfull to Him.

Am I wrong?

TJ

Hi TJ,

Some of the threads about free will are discussing the problem of evil. (How can an all-powerful, all-loving God allow evil in the world?) The free will defence asserts that if man is given free will then that logically entails freedom to choose wrongly - hence evil must be a possibility in order for free will to exist. If you develop this argument further, then free will is necessary for love to exist. (You can't programme a robot to love you). This argument has been rehashed over in various threads, so let's not go over all the same ground again in this one - OK everybody?

However, your question addresses a different aspect of free will, namely how Christians should submit and align their will with that of God. I believe that God's plan for our lives is the very best - therefore, if I knew everything that God knew then my will would exactly match His will for my life. As we grow in holiness and maturity as Christians our will becomes ever more closely aligned with the will of God.

I think it was Agustine who summed it up by saying something like, "Love God with all your heart - and then do whatever you want." His point, of course, being that those who truly love God with all their heart will want the same things that God wants.

TravelJunkie

PDN wrote: »

Hi TJ,

However, your question addresses a different aspect of free will, namely how Christians should submit and align their will with that of God. I believe that God's plan for our lives is the very best - therefore, if I knew everything that God knew then my will would exactly match His will for my life. As we grow in holiness and maturity as Christians our will becomes ever more closely aligned with the will of God.
.

I agree that our will (or wants rather) will become aligned with the will of God over time.
In terms of submitting to Gods will;
Some people however refer to a Christian exercising free will after they are saved (as if we are doing God a favour by choosing to love him or obey him). What I'm trying to convey is that in order to be saved we are in effect submitting our will to begin with... so we can't go back and claim free will after that with a clear conscience.

Fanny Cradock

It's a fair point, but the choice to follow God's will would surely involve an underlying decision upon man's part.

kelly1

TravelJunkie wrote: »

I agree that our will (or wants rather) will become aligned with the will of God over time.
In terms of submitting to Gods will;
Some people however refer to a Christian exercising free will after they are saved (as if we are doing God a favour by choosing to love him or obey him). What I'm trying to convey is that in order to be saved we are in effect submitting our will to begin with... so we can't go back and claim free will after that with a clear conscience.

My take on TJ, is that at every point along the road, we have decisions to make. We can accept God's grace and co-operate with it or reject it and do our own will. I don't think that choice is ever taken from us. But as we grow in holiness and understand of God's will and ways, God's will becomes more and more attractive and sin less and less so.

Basically I'm saying that our continuous cooperation with God's grace is required to please God but the grace comes as a free and undeserved gift from Him.

God bless,
Noel.

BrianCalgary

TravelJunkie wrote: »

I agree that our will (or wants rather) will become aligned with the will of God over time.
In terms of submitting to Gods will;
Some people however refer to a Christian exercising free will after they are saved (as if we are doing God a favour by choosing to love him or obey him). What I'm trying to convey is that in order to be saved we are in effect submitting our will to begin with... so we can't go back and claim free will after that with a clear conscience.

I think we can go back and claim free will as we have the ability to turn donw God's offer.

Right now my wife and I are really trying hard to discern what it is God would want us to do and there are a couple of choices that have not really become clear.

We could just stay here and take the easy way out and justify our actions or we can step out, turn our lives upside down and trust that God will sort it all out.

I think of the old Mission Impossible TV show where every episode starts with 'your mission, should you choose to accept it....'. In every episode they choose to accept, but the possibility is there to reject the mission.

I hope that makes sense?

TravelJunkie

BrianCalgary wrote: »

I think we can go back and claim free will as we have the ability to turn donw God's offer.

Right now my wife and I are really trying hard to discern what it is God would want us to do and there are a couple of choices that have not really become clear.

We could just stay here and take the easy way out and justify our actions or we can step out, turn our lives upside down and trust that God will sort it all out.

I think of the old Mission Impossible TV show where every episode starts with 'your mission, should you choose to accept it....'. In every episode they choose to accept, but the possibility is there to reject the mission.

I hope that makes sense?

It does, but you can only reject a mission if you knew the whole plan, and usually I don't so I go with what feels right at the time.

What you said about your 2 choices; that brought a memory back to my mind. I was faced with 2 situations - I had to choose between 2 completely different paths (it was a career choice). This is going back years and years.
I then had a vision of a coin with its two sides the same and the message behind it was that God was with me (and could use me) on either path.

It didn't make the choice easier though, I still had my own issues. Good luck with your decision but if you turn your life upside down for Him, God will honour you.