Posts Tagged ‘free will’
God’s Will and Our Will
by David Gibson “I will not!” said the son when his father asked him to work in the vineyard. But later he changed his mind and went (Matthew 21:28-29). When did he exercise his own free will? Both times: in choosing to rebel and in choosing to comply. God has given us free will. He…
Read MoreWhat’s Your Choice?
by David Gibson Many are avid baseball fans, but others care nothing about it. Some love to sit in a fishing boat hour after hour; this bores others stiff. Opera has its devotees; others can’t stand it. Probably most would agree that baseball, fishing, and opera are not matters of life and death. If you…
Read MoreOur Choices and God’s Choices
by David Gibson Notably, the Prodigal Son makes two choices, and his father makes two choices (Luke 15:11-32). Return of the prodigal son Luke 15:20-24 First, the son decides to leave home and travel to a far country. At this stage in the story, he is driven by his headstrong, pleasure-seeking mentality. In time, circumstances…
Read MoreDoes God make some lose faith?
Question: Hello there! How are you? Does Romans 11:19 mean that God makes some lose faith or be blinded so that others gain faith? Doesn’t that contradict His desire to save all? Why cannot both believe? Thanks. Answer: “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted…
Read MoreThe Will of My Father
by Jefferson David Tant The words of the title of this article are taken from a familiar Biblical passage found in Matthew 7:21-23: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say…
Read MoreIrresistible Grace
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Irresistible-Grace.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 23:34-39 I. John Calvin and his followers believe that God is so totally sovereign in His will that no one can change His creation. He is all powerful and irresistible A. The Westminster Confession of Faith states, “God from all eternity, did … unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass.”…
Read MoreWould God override someone’s free will to marry me?
Question: Hi, I have a question about me personally and the desire to marry. I’m a 33-year-old, virgin, born-again Christian. I had, years ago when I was in college, a moment with God. I asked God if this one girl I could date and I knew God spoke to me and said, “You have free…
Read MoreThe Truth About God’s Love
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/The-Truth-About-Gods-Love.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 5 I. The world is filled with varying and confusing ideas about how God loves us. A. Typically the emphasis is placed so heavily on God’s love that many think that God is incapable of a negative thought against anyone. B. Others see God as so remote and unapproachable that…
Read MoreIs Everything That Happens God’s Will?
by Gardner Hall via Mount Bethel Publishing, 25 November 2014 After the death of a child, a horrible mishap, or any other tragedy there are always some who say, “It was the will of God.” Is that statement always true? It Depends! Yes… It is the will of God to permit tragedies and trials. Everything…
Read MoreIf there is free will, how can God prophesy specific details?
Question: I have been reading a lot about open theism recently, and I feel like it accords more with the biblical portrait of God and free will than any of the other proposed points of view (Calvinism, Arminianism, etc.). I have read in one of your posts that you also agree that it is a…
Read MoreIf miracles could have caused Sodom to repent, why didn’t God do them?
Question: Hello brother, I have a question for you. It is in Matthew 11:20-24. If God knows what people need in order to repent, why didn’t he do it? Answer: “Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent. ‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe…
Read MoreWhat differentiates your beliefs from the heresy of Pelagianism?
Question: What differentiates your beliefs from the heresy of Pelagianism? Answer: I’m a bit curious why you would think that someone who lived some 1700 years ago has any impact on a group of Christians who focus on teaching the Bible. We follow the Bible and not the teachings of men. I’m also curious if…
Read MoreCreated for a Purpose
by Matthew W. Bassford One of the greatest apparent advantages of a godless way of life is the freedom that it allows. No longer must the unbeliever be concerned with the law of God and whether it permits him to do what he wants to. Instead, he is free to do whatever he thinks is…
Read MoreI’m struggling with the ideas of foreknowledge and free will
Question: Thank you for all your articles and answers. They are beneficial. I have recently been struggling very much with the idea of foreknowledge and free will. I have always believed that we have free will and that God can simply use whatever our decisions are to accomplish his will. However, there are a few…
Read MoreWhat is Arminianism?
Question: Good morning Jeffrey, I’m having an issue understand something. A lot of the denominational world is under the assumption that if a person is not a Calvinist, then they are an Arminian. What is an Arminian? I’ve thoroughly studied Calvinism and its faults, but I can’t seem to find much info on Arminianism. I…
Read MoreDo you take an open view of God?
Question: Good day, Brother Jeff, I have gotten very satisfactory answers from you since I started using your site. You answer like a real teacher. I’m just shuffling off progressivism from my life and neither do I want to be an extremist to the left or right in any matter. I just want the truth.…
Read MoreCan Men Change God’s Will?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Can-Men-Change-Gods-Will.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Daniel 4:28-37 I. A difficulty those raised in Calvinist beliefs is resolving the idea of God’s sovereign will with the actions of men. A. To many Calvinists, God’s will is immutable (unable to be changed). The idea that men might do something to alter God’s decisions is inconceivable. B. This is…
Read MoreFree Agents
by Ray Baker One of the many things the Scriptures teach with all surety is the free moral agency of men. The Lord did not create robots when He made us, nor did He fashion ‘puppets on a string.’ He made us creatures of choice, and His desire is that our hearts will choose to…
Read MoreShould we be worried about advances in Artificial Intelligence?
Question: Hey Mr. Jeffrey, Supposedly there is technology that can read thoughts. I didn’t think that was possible. What should be the Christian reaction to all this technology? Also, should all this crazy A.I. technology make a Christian nervous? Answer: The current state of technology is not nearly to the point of thought reading. It…
Read MoreWhat Is Your Attitude Toward Brethren Whose Children Go Wrong?
by Peter J. Wilson via Truth Magazine, May 3, 2001 The rearing of children at any age is a fearful responsibility. God entrusts into our care a soul (worth more than the whole world) wrapped in a tiny body. While that child is a gift from God (Psalms 127:3; Genesis 33:5), we are really stewards of that…
Read MoreCouldn’t God have made it impossible for people to hurt each other?
Question: For the question of why God allows evil: Couldn’t God have made it impossible to physically harm others? People are still able to go against God, but He could make it impossible for them to shoot, hurt, or do any other bad thing. Like how it’s impossible for us to fly by ourselves, couldn’t…
Read MoreTo me, love proves there is free will
Question: Dear Mr. Hamilton, Thank you for your lessons in reference to the determinist or Calvinist’s point of view vs. the view of choice or free will: There Is No Partiality With God The Role of Obedience in Salvation Is Our Fate Predetermined? If one takes the Calvinist’s view that only the elect are called…
Read MoreBecause of your answers, I’m going to follow Satan
Question: I’d like you to stay with me to the end, please. I’d like to thank you for helping me make up my mind about something. After seeing how a man of faith such as yourself can be so unfeeling toward the plight of others, I have decided to follow Samael aka Lucifer or Satan.…
Read MoreQuestions about unconditional election
Question: Hi, Your website has been very helpful to me in understanding the Bible throughout the past. I have a little issue concerning free will and salvation. I would greatly appreciate the wisdom you have to offer. My brother and I are part of a local Bible study. A couple of people there hold to…
Read MorePharaoh’s Hard Heart
by Matthew Bassford There are few Scriptural discussions with more doctrinal overtones than the discussion of what God does to Pharaoh’s heart in Exodus. The text does, after all, say several times, “God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.” It’s this way in every translation of the Bible I’ve ever seen. That’s the evidence. Calvinists, though, like to…
Read MoreCan you be a Christian and have your own personality?
Question: Hello! I am a Christian with a big question. I know you probably hear that a lot, but still: Is being yourself a sin? I’m not talking about being gay, I’m straight. I’m talking, can I have true blue faith in God and still have my own personality and traits? Like have certain hobbies…
Read MoreHow can I know if I am meant to get married?
Question: Hello, I have a question regarding marriage. I like very much the idea of adopting, I am 22 years old right now, but I can’t wait to adopt! I know, I know, I must first secure a good home for the children to come; that is why I am studying both a career and…
Read MoreWhy doesn’t God restore my marriage?
Question: I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for putting the article, The Awful Aftermath of Adultery, on the Internet. My wife committed adultery over 30 years ago with a man while she was in the military. She told me she did nothing wrong. She places all the blame on me and then…
Read MoreThe Flesh of Man
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/FleshOfMan.mp3 Text: I Corinthians 15:35–44 I. In attempting to train our puppy, we often found ourselves scolding the dog for chewing on everything in reach – clothing, ankles, fingers. A. Why does a dog behave as it does? Certainly mama dog did not teach him to chew on everything in sight. B. Animals do what comes natural…
Read MoreIf we are slaves to God, then aren’t we forced to obey Him?
Question: “And remember, if you were a slave when the Lord called you, you are now free in the Lord. And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a slave of Christ” (I Corinthians 7:22 NLT). Does this mean that if you were a slave then you are the property…
Read MoreWhat can you do when you are completely controlled by your sinful nature?
Question: Paul said that he did what he hated and that as long as he knew the law of God was good, that shows it’s the sin in him and not him that does it. But he also said if your sinful nature is controlling you, it leads to death. If you have God’s Spirit,…
Read MoreWhy is God holding us responsible when it is He who made us?
Question: Why does a perfect God, who knows all and sees all, create imperfect beings in the first place, then curse those people and all the people thereafter? Then we who were born into this world without a choice must obey all these things, meet every week, and if we don’t adhere to His commands,…
Read MoreIf we all start out innocent, then why doesn’t everyone make good choices?
Question: God makes all people the same, right? All people start out the same as a little baby, in innocence. So why is it that some people decide to follow God and some don’t? One might draw from that question that maybe it’s because God is pushing some people more than others to follow Him.…
Read MoreHow is it free will when God said He would give people a new heart?
Question: Could you please explain Ezekiel 36:25-27 and Jeremiah 24:7? What about free will? I also thought the Lord was not willing any should perish, but not everyone changes. Answer: “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom…
Read MoreDoes Romans 9 support Calvinism?
Question: I have been worrying over Calvinism. Could you help me understand Romans 9:20-22 and Romans 9:11-16? In verse 13 you can read of Esau being hated which is after verse 12 where you can read about the older will serve the younger. Calvinist may use this to support their beliefs. What is meant in…
Read MoreWhat Must I Do to be Saved?
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Listening to preachers, pastors, and priests today, one wonders if they could answer the question, “What must I do to be saved?” in a manner similar to the apostles. What Must I Do to be Saved? In the very first sermon recorded, Peter convicted the Jews of participating in the death of…
Read MoreHow can God judge me when I didn’t ask to be born?
Question: Let’s say I place you in a room and gave you a written exam where if you answered correctly you would have eternal life, if you answer wrong you would suffer eternal punishment if you didn’t answer by not taking the exam you still get a 0% and that is still a failing grade.…
Read MoreDid Jesus have a choice about dying on the cross?
Question: I have a question that I hope you can help me with: I was raised in the church of Christ, but in my twenties, I quit attending. After three decades, I returned and am now a faithful member. A lot of things changed in the years that I was away. One thing that really…
Read MoreFree Will and the Power of God
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Photo by Rock’n Roll Monkey on Unsplash A gentleman called me recently to discuss the idea of men having free will. He believed that if a person can choose his own destiny, then he is working against God’s will. Therefore he believes that a concept of free will is at odds…
Read MoreDoes God put a yearning in our hearts for Him?
Question: Does God place a yearning for him in our hearts so that we seek Him? Is this yearning misunderstood by us and we start trying to fill this void with worldly things? Why is it that some people know early in life what that yearning is, and seek Him right away while the others, either never find…
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