To be honest, I don’t try to reconcile them. So, we’re left with these two principles: Tell me if people can choose to accept or reject Jesus Christ and the good news.” If human beings don’t have a real choice – if someone believes that God’s predestination means we are programmed in some way, robots in some way – then just tell us. Tell me if men and women have real choice. What I want to know from the reformed or Calvinistic believer is this: “Forget about free will. For me, “free will” is questionable but “real choice” is essential. There are many ways in which our will is not free our will can be bound in many ways. I don’t like the phrase “free will” and I try to avoid it. I want you to notice that Bill asked about free will, and I responded by talking about real choice. At some point, human response – faith trusting in, relying on, clinging to Jesus – is essential. God may draw a person, but they still must come. God may give the gift of repentance, but He won’t repent for someone – they must do it. Nevertheless, God doesn’t repent for a person. I understand that our more Calvinistic or Reformed friends will say, “The people in Acts 2 can only repent because God leads them to repent.” Or they will say, “The people in Revelation 22 can only come because God leads them to come.” Or they will say, “The people in Mark 8 can only desire to come after Jesus because God gives them the desire.”įor the moment, let’s not contest any of that – that God must work in a person before they can repent, or come to Jesus, or desire to follow Him. When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.Īnd the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. From how the Bible speaks to us, we have every reason to believe that our choices matter. God speaks to us and deals with people with real choice, not as pre-programmed robots. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, This is true both in what God directly performs, and what God allows. God is in control and all things happen according to the good pleasure of His will, according to the counsel of His will. How do you reconcile free will with predestination as described in the Bible? Can Free Will and Predestination be Reconciled?īill asked (last week in the side chat, a question we didn’t get to):
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