Free Will: God's Gift or Curse?

Ultimate Responsibility:
Mans Free Will and Gods Absolute Sovereignty
by Ken Eckerty

Romans 9 - God's Choice

In the Beginning
God's Ownership
Ultimate Responsibility
The "free" will of Man
Can man really reject God?
Arguments
Mans Enemy His Carnal Nature
Conclusion

(My wife and I, (Gary and Michelle Amirault) heard a preacher boldly declare
from the pulpit and to us privately that "Man's will is greater than God's." We
could hardly believe our ears. But when we thought about his bold declaration,
we realized that most of the traditional church, while not expressing this
thought openly, must hide this belief in their hearts. How else can they justify
that most of mankind will end up not born again and not personally accepting
Jesus as their Lord? According to the vast majority of church, something in
this universe is more powerful than God: either Satan's power to deceive or
man's will. The Calvinists/Reformed get around this dilemman by stating God
never intended to save all mankind, only the elect. But the greatest majority of
the church is Arminian in theology (even if one does not know the term
"Arminian). This theology teaches that one must exercise one's "free will" to
chose Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. All who do not make
this decision are eternally damned. Ken Eckerty, in his fine article, refutes this
pervasive belief in the church that "Man's will is greater than God's will.")

The subject of mans free will in relation to Gods absolute sovereignty

is a doctrinal dilemma that is just as controversial today as it has been
in past centuries. Many believers do not understand how the choices of
men can be reconciled with the plans of God, and so it is often
dismissed by the average Christian as being too hard a subject to

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comprehend. Theologians have tried their best to figure out this
mystery, but instead of reconciling the two issues, they have divided
themselves into two distinct campsthe free will camp (Arminianists),
and the sovereignty camp (Calvinists). Both of these views have
elements of truth, but both also contain falsehoods. In this essay, we
will look at both views and see that they need not oppose one another,
but together, they can give us the COMPLETE picture of how God uses
the choices of men to bring about His will. While the natural man
cannot understand these things, God, through His Spirit, illuminates the
deeper truths of Christ to those who have the spiritual ears to
hear. Proverbs 25:2 says:

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the glory of kings to search
out a thing.

This passage is very interesting and sets the standard for how God
reveals truth to men. Most believe that God intends for His Word to be
easily understood through simple Bible study methods. Yet the truth be
told, God hides the deepest riches of His Word from the proud and
haughty man. Study tools and systematic approaches, as helpful as
they may be cannot, in and of themselves, unlock the key to Gods
mysteries. In fact, oftentimes this type of approach in interpreting the
Scriptures leads man down a path of intellectualism, and results in
taking him further from the truth. The Word of God is a spiritual book
and, as such, must be unlocked by the Spirit.

We will not even begin to understand the mystery of the working out of
Gods will until we see two very important truths: one, how POWERFUL
God is, and two, (and this is more difficult), how PUNY man is. Certainly
these two things are made abundantly clear in the Scriptureshowever,
reading about Truth in the scriptures is one thing; internalizing Truth
into ones heart is quite another. When Isaiah saw the greatness of the
Lord in the temple (Is. 6), his own sinfulness was exposed and he cried
out, Woe is me, for I am [Link] mine eyes have seen the King,
the LORD of Hosts (verse 5). Has this same work been done in our own
temple? Has the glory of the God exposed the pride, haughtiness, and
self-righteousness that dwells in our own flesh? Do not think for one
minute that Christians are exempt from these sins of self-exaltation. Let
us remember that it was a religious man, a Pharisee, who looked at the
humiliation of the publican and thanked God that he was not like him.

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 Beloved, we must receive a PERSONAL revelation of the wretchedness
of our own flesh. Isaiah got this revelation from seeing the Lord of glory
with his own eyes, not through the eyes of some gifted man or
anointed teaching. Teaching is fine and I am very grateful for the men
and women to whom God has blessed with great spiritual insight.
However, unless we get a revelation of the glory of God in our own
experience, we will only be eating the manna of someone elses
revelation, and thus we will have great difficulty discerning for ourselves
the difference between Truth and a lie. If we somehow think that we will
learn the most sacred things of God (Ezra 2:63) by study methods alone,
we may instead find that we have accumulated nothing more than a
wealth of carnal doctrines, but have not even come close to touching the
heart of God on a matter. Even prayer, if not done from a spirit of
brokenness resulting from a crucified life, will not move God into
revealing a deeper glory of Himself.

With the pure You will show Yourself pure; and with the froward You will
show Yourself froward. (Ps. 18:26)

I like what T. Austin Sparks said concerning the above passage:

If you and I are more or less careless about spiritual things the Lord will meet
us on that ground, and we shall never get anywhere; but when we get to the
point of being burnt up to the last ounce in the interests of the Lord, God will
meet us on that ground. Is it not true with so many that the Lord has had to
bring them to the place where it was a matter of desperation, life or death
hanging upon a new knowledge of Himself? He has not been able to give
them that inward unveiling until there could be for them no more life unless
there was a new knowledge of the Lord. They wished not to live unless the
Lord came to them in a new way.

Father, grant to us such a hunger and thirst for You, that unless you fill
us with the fullness of Your Son, we would surely die. Reveal Yourself,
Oh, Lord, in a new, fresh, and living way!

Romans 9 - God's Choice

Dealing with this issue of Gods sovereignty, Romans, Chapter 9 is the

classic passage on the subject. Paul is making the case that, ultimately,
it is God who will fulfill His own purpose, and that puny man cannot
frustrate it. This truth is found all throughout the scriptures but no
better place can be used as our example than in the 9th chapter of

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Pauls great treatise to the Romans. Paul defines the truth of God's
sovereignty by quoting from Exodus [Link]

For He saith Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I
will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. (Rom. 9:15).

He reiterates the same truth a few verses later when he writes,

God has mercy on whom He will have mercy and harden whom he
chooses to harden. (v. 18)

Paul, being the scholar that he is, anticipates the skeptics charge that
God is unfair.

You will then say to me, Why does he then find fault? For who has
resisted His will? (v. 19)

In other words, If Gods choices are greater than ours, why does he
then judge us? Why does He hold us accountable for the choices He
makes? That's not fair!

Paul uses two Old Testament examples to defend his point. Pharaoh
was chosen as a vessel of destruction to display Gods power (vs. 17,
22), and Jacob was chosen over Esaunot because of any good that
Jacob had done, or any evil that Esau had done (v. 11). Paul then
makes this powerful statement.

So then it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that
shows mercy. (v. 16)

Neither Pharaoh nor the sons of Isaac had any choice in the matterit
was pre-determined by God Himself! This choice was made before
either was born in order that Gods purposes might be fulfilled.

Pauls answer to the skeptics charge that God is unfair is very

simple. Who are we to argue against God?

(v. 20) He then gives the analogy of the Potter and the clay saying, Does
not the Potter have authority over the clay, out of the lump to make one
vessel to honor, and one to dishonor? (v. 21) Pauls point is clear: God
is the Potter and He can do whatsoever He pleases with His creation (the
clay).

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Gods sovereign choices are above the will of man. He doesnt do
things in reaction to something that has gone wrong with His plan. This
is the basic teaching of the organized church. Orthodoxy teaches that
God never intended for Adam to fall, but since he did, God had to come
up with another plan. We will attempt to show that this theory is not
biblical and that there is never a plan B with God. God wasnt
surprised by Adams sin neither was He caught off guard. In fact, as we
will show, Adams sin was a definite part of Gods overall plan and
purpose. Not only was the fall ordained by God, but so was the
remedy, and all of this was determined beforehand according to the
counsel of His own will. (Eph. 1:4, 5, 11) God has specific reasons for
doing the things that He does (we will elaborate later as to the reasons
why the fall was necessary). Gods ultimate purpose is to be all in all (1
Cor. 15:28), and so everything He does accords with this purpose.
Neither man nor Satan will ever be able to thwart Gods purposes or
force Him to implement a plan B. Daniel 4:35 says,

And He does according to His will among the army of Heaven, and
among those living on earth. And no one is able to strike His hand or
say to Him, What are You doing?

For what purpose does God move the hearts of men and of nations?
Peter talks of the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21), and Paul about
the reconciliation of all things (Col. 1:20). What do they mean? To help
us understand Gods great purpose, we must look at His role as Owner
and Creator.

In the Beginning

If we want to understand where man is going, we have to go back to

where he began, for it is in the garden that the principle of Gods
ownership is first revealed.

Orthodoxy teaches that Adam was created in a perfect (complete)

statea state in which God was totally satisfied. In other words, if
Adam had never sinned, God would have been happily content in
keeping Adam and Eve in the garden with no higher purpose or goal in
which to achieve. They would have continued in the same relationship
as husband and wife, tending to the affairs of the garden, and fulfilling
their role as propagators of the human race. I strongly suggest that this
is not true. Ps. 8:5 gives us a hint of mans incompleteness: For thou
hast made him a little lower than the angels.... The Hebrew word for
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lower is chacerwhich literally means to lack or fail. Adam was not
created perfect as most Christians teach, but lacked something. When
Jesus was asked about the resurrection, He said this:

The sons of this age are given in marriagebut they who are worthy to
obtain that age, and the resurrection of the dead, neither marry, nor are
given in marriage; for they cannot die any more, for they are equal to the
angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection (Luke 20:34-
36).

It is clear from Jesus teaching that there was something higher and
better awaiting Adam than what he originally had in the garden. Ps. 8:5
tells us that man was made LOWER than the angels, yet Jesus tells us
that the sons of God will be EQUAL to the angels. In addition, Adams
name literally means the red earth. While Adam was formed from the
dust of the earth, Gods destiny for those now in Adam is heavenly,
not earthly. The problem with the orthodox view is that most Christians
believe that God is bringing man back to what Adam originally had in the
garden, but the truth is God is bringing man forward to something
higher and better!

The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
(1 Cor. 15:47)

Gods purpose is not found in Adam but in Christ. (1 Corinthians,

chapter 15 is more than clear on this). Paul suggested this same idea
when he prays that we might be granted a spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the FULL (Gk. epignosis) knowledge of Him.(Eph 1:17)
While it is certainly true that Adam walked in innocence, he did not
possess a FULL knowledge of God and His ways. Adam did not know
what it meant to be in Christ. He did not understand the effects of sin
and the need for Gods judgment of it, or greater still, He did not
know the great lengths in which God would go in order to redeem man
back to Himself. Yes, Adam walked with God, but he was ignorant of
many things and would, through struggle, have to learn who His God
really was. No, it was never Gods original purpose to keep man in the
state in which he was created, but to bring him to a deeper maturity...a
fuller KNOWLEDGE (the knowledge of good and evil)one beginning in
the earthly realm, and progressing to a heavenly one.

Common theology also assumes that Adam and Eve had a perfect
knowledge of good and evil. If this were true, why was it necessary for
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God to plant a tree that contained knowledge they already possessed?
It is also interesting that the knowledge of good was not separate from
the knowledge of evil. There were not two trees with two kinds of fruit,
but one tree containing both fruits. Adam did not possess the
knowledge of good anymore than he possessed the knowledge of evil
he was completely ignorant of these things. By eating the fruit of the
tree, the process of learning both evil AND GOOD had been set into
motion.

The philosopher and scholar Jacob Boehme wrote that in order

for Yes to be Yes, there had to be a No otherwise Yes would have no
meaning. He called this Dialecticism. Norman Grubb, who studied
Boehme extensively, called this the Law of Opposites. Simply stated,
the Law of Opposites says that in order for growth and maturity to take
place, there must be an opposing force that resists or contradicts its
opposite. For example, a muscle in the human body cannot grow unless
there is a resistance or force applied to that muscle. This resistance
first weakens the muscle actually breaking it down; however, with rest
and proper nutrition, the muscle grows bigger and stronger. A child
cannot understand what cold is until they touch something that is hot--
they learn and become wiser by experiencing the opposite. Applying
this to the spiritual, good cannot truly be understood until the effects of
evil are seen and experienced. Obedience means nothing to us, until we
see the results of disobedience. We cannot understand the holiness of
God until we see the ravages and effects of hatred and selfishness in
our lives and in the world around us. This is the Law of Opposites and
it is the learning process that God has ordained for us. All we need to
do is look at our own experiences to see if this is true. Does not a
sunrise give us a great sense of peace and security only because we
have experienced the loneliness and fear of the night? Can anyone
really appreciate the joys of life until we have tasted the sorrows of
death? Do we not appreciate the sweetness of His grace only because
the law first condemned us? Is not the Cross of Christ embraced by us
because we were first separated from God by our own sin? We must
experience the evil in order to appreciate the good! I quote Don
Godfroy:

However, they (mankind) will not be as they were originally, but in a higher
dimension. When Adam gained the knowledge of good and evil, he gained
resistance that would also grow him up. You can only build muscle by
repetitive motion against resistance. Adam was innocent and immature. He

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now could experience the power of love against the power of evil. He now
had something to overcome. He would find that he could only be an
overcomer by the infinite mercy of God found in Jesus Christ. In this, he
would have the experience of knowing the love his Creator had for him, by the
depth He would go to save and restore him. He could also build spiritual
muscle by carrying the disciples cross. This is why Paul cries out in Rom.
11:33, Oh the depth of the riches of both the wisdom and knowledge of God!
What a master plan!

Adam was created in the image of God, but that does not mean he
possessed the knowledge of his Creator. A child is created in the image
of his or her parents, but that doesnt mean they are exactly like them.
They may look like them and have some of the same mannerisms, but
they do not possess the same knowledge and wisdom that their parents
do. Parents cannot pass those things onto their children at birth. While
children certainly inherit physical traits from their parents, the
knowledge of good and evil is not one of them. This has to come
through a long process whereby their offspring learn by their own trials
and experiencestheir own triumphs and failures. It was no different
with Adam and Eve. God had a plan for Adam (man) that would involve
a long process of struggle (good versus evil) in order for him (mankind)
to be brought into full maturity (sonship).

God made a tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He made it pleasing to
look at. He didnt place it in some remote place in the garden, but right in the
center of mans reach. There was no fence around it, nor were there cherubs
with a flaming sword to guard it (until after Adam sinned). On top of all that,
God allowed a tempter in the garden to be an adversary to Adam. So with all
the pieces in place, let us now look at the issues of ownership and ultimate
responsibility.

Gods Ownership

God created man and as owner of man, He holds Himself ultimately

responsible. Gods own law (which He cannot violate) proves this. In
Exodus 21:33-34, God gives laws for landowners. If a landowner digs a
pit on his own land and fails to cover it up, and an animal falls in and
dies (whether of its own stupidity or free choice), the owner of the land
shall make restitution to the animals owner. The landowner then gets
the rights to the dead animal (all souls belong to HimEz. 18:4).

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 So God made a pit in the garden (the tree) and failed to cover it
up. Adam, unable to discern the difference between good and evil
because of ignorance, fell into the pit by eating of the tree. So in
accordance with God's very own law, He was responsible to make it
rightand make it right He did! Gods restitution to man was none other
than the blood of His own dear Son, and in this way He provided the
only avenue of escape from this pit of death. As Creator of man, all
souls belong to Him, and so God, being the owner of all that is in the
world did the only thing a responsible owner could dotake the
responsibility of restoration upon His own shoulders.

All of us inherited the result of Adams sin, which was deatheven

those who did not sin after the likeness of Adams sin. (Rom 5:14) And
because we inherited mortality from Adam, we are in a constant state of
dyingwhich quite naturally brings forth sin, resulting in separation
from God. All men are born into this world in a state of death, separated
from God. None of us had a choice of whether or not we wanted to be
born in such a sorry condition. Nevertheless, each of us commits sin
because of the mortality we inherited from Adam. While God indeed
holds men accountable for the choices they make (Rom 1:20), He does
not hold men ultimately responsible for the mortality and death brought
about by Adams disobedience. We had nothing to do with that. So the
question we should be asking ourselves is, Who is ultimately
responsible to make things right? Who should fix what Adam did to all
of humanity? The answer seems clear. Is God not the owner of the
whole earth? Is He not responsible for it?

Gods responsibility as landowner is ultimately greater than the choices

of men, and because of this, God sent His only Son to reverse the
damage that had been caused by Adam.

As in Adam, all die, so in Christ, all shall be made alive. (1 Cor. 15:22)

This verse says it all. Adam brought death to all men. He was the origin of
the indwelling sin problem that all men are cursed with. However, the good
news is that because of what Christ has done, life will come to all men. This
is what the verse says. The first Adam condemned all of humanity to a life
separate from Gods life; the second Adam assures all of humanity to a life in
God. For those who understand that God works in successive ages (or
dispensations), we know that not all men will experience this life (in Christ) in
this current age. In fact, Jesus made it very clear that narrow is the path that
leads to life and few would find it. However, this doesnt change the fact that
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God did what He had to do in order to undo the consequences of Adams sin.
How can where sin abounds, grace does much more abound be true if most
of God's creation will be forever lost? Is the first Adams disobedience greater
than the second Adams obedience? Is the disease (sin) greater than the
cure (the Cross)? Does Adam have the power to curse all of humanity but
Christ only the power to save a few?

If God holds us personally responsible for Adams sin, then God is guilty of the
biggest injustice in the history of the world. First, He sets up a chessboard
that is impossible to overcome (the tree, the seductive beauty of it, and the
tempter), and then as a result of Adams inevitable choice, He declares that
most of His creatures will be lost forever. My dear friends, this goes against
the very nature of God as love, His power to save all, and His ultimate
responsibility to fix (not just provide a way) for mans confused and lost state.
According to modern theology, Christ did not fix the problem caused by
Adams sinHe simply paves a way so that if a man chooses Christ by His
own free will, then his own personal sin problem is cured. However, this
clearly contradicts Pauls universal thrust in Romans 5:12-18, 1 Cor. 15:22-28,
Phil. 2:10,11, and all throughout the Scriptures.

He is the Savior of all men, but especially those who believe. (1 Tim.
4:10)

Evangelical theology cannot answer the truth that says, Jesus IS the
Savior of all men. Their explanation is that Christ WANTS to be the
Savior of all men. However, this is not what the Scriptures say. They
not only declare that Christ died for all men, but that He is also their
Savior. As believers, we have already appropriated that Saviorship and
are receiving the blessings of that relationship right now. However,
most people do not yet know the good news of the gospel. Their
salvation MUST come in the ages to come. So instead of having the
faith to believe God for the impossible, they offer a weak substitute that,
in the end, can only manage to save a small percentage of all of Gods
offspring. In essence, they have made God weak and ultimately a
failure. They have placed the whole destiny of mankind on the
shoulders of their own free will instead of rejoicing that God has
already accomplished the victory in Christ (the complete fulfillment of
this victory is yet to come).

Ultimate Responsibility

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 Whether or not man has free will is really not the issue (although we
try and make it the issue). The real issue is who is ultimately
responsible? Modern evangelicalism tries to do everything it can to take
the responsibility off of God. If we really think about it, God is the one
who has set us up to fall. For reasons beyond our comprehension,
God created man and put him in a "no-win" situation. (See note 1 below)
Adam really had no chance other than to fail. How long could Adam
have held out against this temptation? A day? A week? A
year? Maybe ten years? Do you really think that Adam had the strength
to say no to that temptation day after day? Do we think that somehow
we would have performed better than Adam? I think not!

Most of us cant handle the thought that we were set up by God, so we

blame Satanbut mostly we blame man. We do not want to think that
ultimate responsibility lies with God. If we say that all of the worlds
suffering is because of mans choice or Satans deception, and we fail to
attribute all things as coming from God (see note), even evil (Judges
9:23; Job 2:3; Is. 45:7; Amos 3:6; Rom 11:36), then God is not totally
sovereign. In other words, something happened beyond Gods
control. (See note 2)

Arminianism teaches that God knew what would happen in the garden,
but couldnt prevent it because of mans free will. If this is true and
something actually happened beyond Gods control, what makes us
think that something like this wont happen again? If God had to put
plan B into effect, what makes us think God won't resort to a plan C
or a plan D? You say, That's just being plain ridiculous! Yes, this is
my point exactly, but this is what the orthodox church teaches.
According to the common view, God could not stop evil from coming in
and putting a stain on His creation. God wanted Adam and Eve to
remain in a state of permanent bliss in the garden, but He couldn't stop
sin from entering in, so He had to change His planHe had to come up
with something better. This, my dear friends, is ridiculous. In our
efforts to relieve God of the responsibility for evil in the world, we devise
a man-made doctrine which undermines the sovereignty of God and
should give every child of God a reason to question whether they can
really trust God or not.

Calvinism, on the other hand, teaches that God not only knew what
would happen, but wouldnt stop it because the fall of man was
ordained. In this case, there is an element of truth; however, the
inevitable result of this view is to say then that God ordains most people
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to spend a conscious eternity without Him. This view is too grotesque
to even dwell on it at length.

If, as a result of mans choice, most men suffer endless torment, then
God has failedin particular, the Cross has failed. Either he cant make
it right (Arminianism) or He wont make it right (Calvinism). Each view
maligns the nature and character of God. The first says God is weak
and limited by Satan and man. The second says that God is cruel,
unjust, and unloving. Both are unthinkable.

Praise be to our God that the scriptures teach that He will take ultimate
responsibility and reconcile all men to Himself (Acts 3:21; 1 Cor. 15:22-
28; Col. 1:20). If God CANT save all men because of their free will,
what does this say about His sovereignty? If He WONT save all men
because of His own choices, what does this say about His love and
mercy? God is going to reconcile all things (Col. 1:20), restore all
things, (Acts 3:21), make all things new (Rev. 21:5), sum up all things in
Christ (Eph. 1:10), fill all things with Christ (Eph. 4:10), and become all in
all (1 Cor. 15:28). How is He going to do this? Will He accomplish this
restoration by FORCING most of His creation to bow the knee and make
confession? Men take power and authority by force. Will God follow the
ways of man? If God does, what does this say about His responsible
ownership over the world He has created? Will He violate His own law in
failing to take responsibility as Landowner of the universe? Will He
throw most of His creation in the dumper all in the name of free will?
What does it say about the sovereignty and power of a god who
reconciles and restores most things by brute force? Which do you think
brings more glory to Godforcing most of His creation to bow to Him
OR winning each and every one of us by the power of His love? The
good news is that the scriptures do not paint God as One who either
cannot or will not save men. God will destroy all His enemies by making
them friends!

Note 1: In actuality, God placed man in a "win-win" situation because in

man's disobedience, God set into motion the long struggle in which man
would eventually attain victory (in Christ) and ultimately receive the
maturity of sonship. Yes, he would have to suffer the consequences of
sin, but alas, this was the way God designed (from before the foundation
of the world) for man to learn and to grow. So what has been explained
by theologians as a bad situation for Adam that God had to somehow
overcome, was actually intended for Adam's good. Satan did not foil

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God's creation, but was actually a pawn used in accomplishing God's
will.

Note 2: There is no doubt that many will accuse me of calling God evil. I
will address this later in the "arguments" section.

The Free will of Man

As previously mentioned, man DOES make choices, however, he DOES

NOT have ultimate and final control over his own destiny. It is God who
is in control of all forces and environmental conditions and He will use
these however He chooses in order to accomplish His will.

Man devises his way, but the Lord directs his steps. (Prov. 16:9)

Man's goings are of the Lord (Prov. 2):24

The King's heart is in the hands of the Lord, He turns it wherever He

desires. (Prov. 21:1)

Men make choices and decisions every day, but something (or Someone)
creates a circumstance that causes these decisions. If I scratch my body (my
own choice), I do it because I have an itch. If I eat a meal (my own choice), I
do so because I am hungry. If I hurt another person (my choice), I do so
because they did some harm to me. For every choice we make, there is a
cause greater than the choice. It is your basic cause/effect principle. For
every effect (in this case our choice), there is some cause that prompted the
action. As no one would deny that God is sovereign over all things (including
Satan), it is God who can change circumstances as He pleases to bring about
the desired effect. In this way, we may think we are totally independent from
God in the choices we make, but in reality, there is Someone greater than
ourselves working behind the scenes to bring about a perfectly orchestrated
finale. God is the great conductor who controls and leads men to respond
with a simple wave of His baton.

Jesus said, If I be lifted up, I will draw all men to Myself. (John 12:32)
The Greek word used for draw is the word helkuo which literal
means to drag. Jesus says, He will drag all men to Himself. What
does this say about mans free will?

In Isaiah 10, the King of Assyria is bragging about how he had

ransacked Jerusalem. He says,

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 By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am
prudent; and I have removed the bounds of the people, and I have
robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant
man. (verse 13)

This sounds like someone very familiar, doesnt it? Remember,

Nebuchadnezzar? We all remember how God dealt with his arrogance.
But it is clear that God not only chose this pagan nation to judge His
people, but He turned the heart of the king to accomplish the job. The
Lord says,

Shall the axe glorify itself over him chopping with it? Or shall the saw
magnify itself over him moving it? As if a rod could wave those who lift
it. As if a staff could raise what is not wood! (verse 15)

The king thought he had free will, but he was nothing more than an
axe. It was Gods arm doing the chopping!

Another illustration I sometimes use is that of a dog being led by a

leash by its master. A dog has some ability to roam from the master, but
only inasmuch as the master allows. When the dog begins to stray too
far or get into something it shouldnt, one yank of the leash brings the
dog back into submission. While we may devise our own way, it is God
who directs our steps by yanking our leash whenever it suits His
purposes. The idea that man can somehow act independently of Gods
purposes is an idea totally foreign to the Word of God.

No, it is God who moves the steps and hearts of men and will work all
things out according to the counsel of His own will. And what is His
will? Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the
knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim. 2:4, KJV) LISTEN AGAIN... WHO WILL
HAVE ALL MEN TO BE SAVED.... The Greek word for will is the
word thelo which means intend or to be resolved or determined. I
find nothing in the Word of God that teaches that God will NOT get what
He intends or determines.

...My counsel shall stand, and I will do ALL MY DESIRE. (Is. 46:10)

God is moving all of His creation toward His ultimate purpose of

summing up all things in Christ. (Eph 1:10) and having His will DONE
on earth as it is in Heaven.

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 NOTE: To accomplish His purposes, God allows this illusion of free
will. However, it is only for a season and is used by God as a tool to
teach His creation the principle that nothing exists apart from Him--not
even our ability to make choices. And like all idols, the idol of mans
supposed independence from God will one day be totally destroyed.
When the ages of the ages are complete, there will not be one speck of
independence left in all of God's universe--all creation will be in absolute
submission to God and be totally dependent on Him! (The orthodox
teaching on the lake of fire contradicts scripture because it forever
leaves a huge percentage of humanity in a state of independence).

Can Man really Reject God?

For those who believe in the free will of man, this question will seem
rather ridiculous. Again, I cannot deny that man can make a choice to
reject Godwe see it all around us. However, there are two questions I
want to pose: first, Is it possible for man to make a fully informed
decision to reject God forever? Second, assuming that man can
become fully informed, Would it then be possible (or rational) for him
to do so?

It is important for us to understand that when a man rejects God, he is

in essence rejecting his own self. The reason for this is simple: each
man has his beginning in God, and so a rejection of God is to reject the
very purpose for which he was born (to find his end in God). If God is a
loving Creator, which no Christian would deny, then Gods desire for
each and every one of His creatures must be that they experience total
fulfillment and happiness. Those of us who have had our eyes opened
to this truth understand that, without Christ, our life would be empty and
unfulfilled. Not only does God desire mans happiness, but man wants
the very same thing for himself. I mean, honestly, can you think of one
person, no matter who they are, who doesnt want to be happy and to
find ultimate purpose in their life? Each of us pursues different things,
but nevertheless, all of us are trying to find that one thing (or person)
that will give us lasting peace. So God, who desires man to be happy,
and man, who desires himself to be happy, have the same end in
mind. Therefore, a loving God will never be satisfied until He gives to
man that which he is desperately trying to find. This is why it is Gods
will that none should perish, but that all would come to repentance.

All men are born into this world lost and blind, stumbling in the dark,
trying to find the answer to the question, Why am I here and for what
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purpose was I born? Each man, in the course of his life, seeks to
answer that very question. Apart from God, all goals and dreams in this
life are simply illusions at best, and until these illusions are shattered
and revealed to us for what they are, man can never be happy and
fulfilled. These illusions act as barriers to keep man from seeing clearly
who God is. This reminds me of the story of the blind man whom Jesus
touched to be healed. After the first touch, the man could only see men
as trees, walking. It took a second touch from Jesus to complete the
healing. (Mk. 8:22-25) Jesus was obvious showing us that healing is a
process where, over time, things become clearer and clearer to us
concerning the things of God. The same thing happens to us as we are
trying to find the Source of true happiness. As each idol of man is torn
down piece by piece, he slowly comes to realize that there must be more
to life than what merely meets the eye. So until the last illusion of man
is shattered, his rejection of God is NOT a rejection of God Himself, but
rather of who he thinks God is or as He is represented by those who
call themselves Christians. He sees contradiction and division in the
Church and has a tendency to judge God based on the behavior of those
who are supposed to represent Him. This is why our testimony is so
important. If Christians are not walking as if they are clearly seeing God,
then how can we expect an unbeliever to see God the way He truly is? It
is sad fact that most Christians are often the biggest stumbling block as
to why men CANNOT see God.

Does man really have the knowledge to be able to truly reject God in
this life? Think about it. Man came forth (from God) and is born into this
world with a dead spirit. Even though he is born lost, there is a part of
him that yearns to find his Creator even though he doesnt know who or
what He is. However, there are forces outside of man (temptations) and
forces within him (a foolish heart) trying to keep him from being reunited
back to his God. Gods plan IN THIS AGE is to reunite only a few. The
Bible calls these men the elect. The rest of humanity (non-elect)
continues to stumble in the dark trying to find that one thing (or person)
that will finally give them the happiness they yearn for. Unfortunately,
most will die still clinging to the illusions that keep them from seeing
God clearly. It is quite arrogant of Christians to condemn his fellow man
for not being able to find the answer when he himself continues to
cling to his own illusions apart from God. How can I say this?because
I speak from experience. In my own life every time I sin, I am saying, in
essence, that God is not enough to meet my need in this particular
area. In other words, God has not yet become my whole desire and so I

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must resort instead to that which I think will provide me some
satisfaction. It would be wise for us Christians to remember back to the
time when we were ignorant of the devices of the enemy who kept us in
the dark, and even now keeps Christians in the dark. The apostle Paul
tells us,

We see through a glass darkly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but
then shall I know even as also I am known. (1 Cor. 13:12)

If Christians are still holding on to some of the illusions of this world,

how much more should they pity those who have not had their eyes
opened to the reality of their own illusions? (We know much theology,
but we know very little of the heart of God.)

I contend that it is impossible for a man to be fully informed

concerning the true character and nature of God until ALL of his
illusions are brokenand this will not occur in the non-elect until the
coming ages. Those who reject God in this life are not rejecting the true
God, but instead are rejecting a false impression of God. I quote Tom
Talbott from his book, The Inescapable Love of God:

If I suffer from an illusion that CONCEALS me from the true nature of God, or
the true import of union with God, then I am again in no position to reject God
freely. I may reject a caricature of God, or a false conception, but I would be
in no position to reject the true God Himself.

Those who die in this life without coming to a saving knowledge of

Christ are NOT fully informed, and WILL NOT BE UNTIL the lake of fire
shatters all their illusions. The illusions of this world that promise
happiness and fulfillment keep men blinded to the true nature of God
and His purpose for them. (2 Cor. 4:4) Man is incapable of seeing God
as He truly is until every last self-effort of man has been totally
destroyed. Until this happens, God cannot condemn a man forever for
being less than fully informed. One day, however, man will become
fully informed, and when he finally sees the true Person of God in
Christwith no barriers obscuring Gods true imagehe will be unable
to resist Him (nor will he want to).

Beloved, this is Gods plan for each and every person. We make a
grave error in believing that this work will be completed in this
lifetime. For believers, we are INTRODUCED to the true God, but even
for us, there is much work yet to be done as God continues to tear down

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all falsities in us so that we may be able to see Him clearly. God shows
no favoritism. What Hes been doing for us now, He will surely do for all
men in the ages to come when He will shatter every illusion and break
every ignorance that keeps each man from knowing the true source of
his happiness. When this finally happens for each individual, they will
then see God as the only true source of happiness for their life. If, after
all this, a man can still reject God, then he would either be considered a
fool or totally irrational for rejecting the only Source that could make
him eternally happy. However, the scriptures teach that no man can
forever resist the grace of God. On that day, man will be neither foolish
nor irrationally for Paul prophesies, as in Adam, all die, so in Christ, all
will be made alive. (1 Cor. 15:22) Men may be fools in this life by
rejecting an obscure image of God, but in that day they will not reject the
True God. When man finally sees God as He really is (through the work
of the Cross), he will willingly and graciously bow to His Creator. On
that day, it will be IMPOSSIBLE for any man to forever reject God, thus
Gods purpose for man to have ultimate happiness will have been
fulfilled, and mans happiness for himself will have been found. On that
day, when all of Gods creation is finally in accord with His will, all of us
will be able to say with Paul,

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of

things in heaven, and things in earth, and things
under the earth; and that every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father. (Phil. 2:10, 11)
What a day of rejoicing that will be when we will all know as we are
known!

Note: It is impossible for man to forever reject God once he becomes

fully informed. No one, seeing God in His full glory, will be able to
curse Him and want to be separated from Him for all eternity. No doubt,
there will be a special blessing for those who love God without seeing,
for Jesus Himself said, blessed are those who have not seen and
believe. (Jn. 20:29) I, for one, do not know the exact details of how God
will work out His plan to those who reject Him in this life. I do know,
however, that He will use the elect to reach each and every lost sheep,
and none will be forsaken. Each person is special to God and all will
come to know their Creator in Gods perfect timing.

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Arguments

I want to very briefly address some arguments that are used to refute
some of the ideas we have just discussed.

First, there will be those who will accuse me of teaching that God is evil
because God wanted Adam to fall. I teach no such thing. God is good
and in Him there is no darkness, but to accomplish His purposes, God
can (and does) use evil in this world and yet be totally free from sin
Himself. For reasons only known to God, He has chosen to teach His
children by using the Law of Opposites. He has chosen to impart the
knowledge of good and evil to His creation by having them experience
both firsthand.

Secondly, it will be said that if God willed the fall, then why not
continue to sin so God will be glorified? Paul addresses this very
question in chapters 3 and 6 of Romans. Rom. 3:5 says,

But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God...,

and in verse 7,

For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his
glory,

and in Rom. 6:1,

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may
abound?

Paul teaches truth in the form of asking questions. It is clear that Paul
is saying that our unrighteousness, lies, and sin commends Gods
righteousness, truth, and grace. How does it do that? Very simply, it
shows the contrast between the GLORY of God and the SINFULNESS of
man (again, the Law of Opposites at work). Job saw it. Isaiah saw it.
Peter saw it. Each of these three, when confronted with the glory of
God, discerned a much greater distance between Gods righteousness
and their own self-righteousness. Every time we sin, we show just how
sinful we are, and by doing so, the contrast between God and man is
made more distinct. (This, of course, is not for Gods benefit, but to
show man the contrast.) The gap between God and man seems
insurmountable. Could anything bridge the gap between the holiness of

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God and the sinfulness of man? This is what makes the Cross of Christ
so wonderful and glorious! The greater the distance between God and
man, the greater is the work of the Cross! The greater the depravity, the
more glorious the saving!

But to answer the specific charge as to whether we should continue in

sin so as to glorify God, Paul answers with an emphatic, God forbid!
(Rom. 6:2) You see, neither I (or Paul) are advocating intentional sin so
that God may be glorified. Man doesnt need to intentionally sin
because, by nature, he is quite good at it. However, once the distinction
between darkness and light, good and evil is discerned by the individual
(i.e. coming to an end of oneself), God imparts His life to that person by
the work of the Cross. From that moment, the distinction between God
and man should be getting less and less as Gods life begins to conform
that man to the image of Christ and brings each of us into the maturity
of sonship. This of course is a lifelong process. Gods eventual goal is
to bring all of creation into this same processthe elect start this
process in this current age; the non-elect will begin in the ages to come.

No, God is not promoting sin in order to exalt Himself. He wants us to

hate sin and love righteousness. He wants us to reject evil and cling to
that which is good. He wants us to overcome evil by its contrast,
love. However, sin is needed in order to show the distinction between
mans glory and Gods. Eventually, there will be no need for this
contrast because Christ will fill all things, God will be all in all, and
all things will reflect His glory.

Lastly, some will say that God did not really want evil in the world, He
simply allowed it. This is faulty reasoning because any omnipotent
being who allows something to happen and has the power to stop it is
ultimately responsible for it. If God allowed evil to enter His creation
and had the power to stop itbut didn'tmust have a very good reason
for it. The modern church likes to use the phrase foreknowledge quite
a bit when debating this question. However, it is impossible for an all-
powerful being to simply have foreknowledge alone. Credit is usually
given to the devil for all the bad things that happen in the world by
justifying that God only allows it, but Satan causes it. However, when
righteous Job was afflicted by Satan, it was God who said,

...And he (Job) is still holding to his integrity, although you (Satan) INCITED
ME (God)AGAINST HIM, TO SWALLOW HIM.... (Job 2:3)

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 Even though God gave Satan permission to attack Job, it was God who
TOOK RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE EVIL! God said that it was He who came
against Job although He used Satan to carry out His own will. It is simply
impossible for an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-wise God to ONLY know
what is going to happen. If God CAN stop it and He DOESN'T, then He must
have willed it. There is no way around this. God Himself says,

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the
LORD DO ALL THESE THINGS. (Is. 45:7)

The Hebrew word for evil is the word ra, which is used all throughout
the Old Testament to mean wickedness. God created wickedness by
allowing a temptor to introduce sin into His universesin to be used by
God to accomplish His purposes. Paul understood this as well when he
said that ALL things are of Him, through Him, and to Him.... (Rom.
11:36) This is why the believer should never despair by the presence of
evil because God allowed evil to be a part of His plan. Let us remember
that evil is only temporary, but in the meantime, while it is in our lives,
we can trust that God will use it for man's good in the end!

Mans Enemy His Carnal Nature

Perhaps our biggest problem is our lack of understanding concerning our own
carnal nature, for if we really understood the state of this death that we are
born into, we would know that none of us have any capacity in our old nature
to seek after God. This is an extremely important point, for if we truly believed
that all of us are born into this world spiritually blind, we would know that it is
only God who can heal us from our blindness in order that we may see the
truth.

All we like sheep have gone astray. (Is. 53:6)

Every man has turned to his own way. (Is. 53:6)

There is NONE that seeks after God. (Rom. 3:11)

A brother once said, Men seek out God AFTER they are saved,
not BEFORE. This is so true. Its amazing to me how often I hear pastors
and musicians preach and sing about how we cant do anything apart from
Godand Amen!this is a true testimony; but then in the very next breath
proceed to tell the sinner that a decision for Christ is ALL UP TO THEM. Yes,
we must come unto Christ, but who is the One who manipulates

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circumstances at the right time and manner to CAUSE a man to willingly
come? When a man rejects Christ, he rejects Christ because God did not
bring about the circumstances for that one man to come. But rest assured,
God is not partial. What He has done for you and me, He will do for ALL
menin due season.

The doctrine of mans sovereignty (free will) demonstrates how very little we
know about the depths of our own depravity. Man always tries to come up
with a way to help God or worse, become like God (Gen 3:5). The doctrine of
mans sovereignty, ultimately, is the same old lie that was told in the very
beginningthat we can become as God.

Isaiah, when He saw the greatness of God said, Woe is me. I am a man
undone. Job, when confronted with the glory of God said, I abhor
myself. And Peter, when He saw the miracle of Jesus said, Depart
from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man. God is trying to get us to see the
same thing. He wants us to see the futility of doing anythingand I
mean anythingin our own strength. God is (if I can say this) a
selfish God (I speak as a man). He wants all the glory for Himself.
God will not allow any man to usurp or steal the glory from Him. Oh, He
may let man think so for awhile, and it does appear that God gives man
the illusion that his will is totally free, but just as Isaiah, Job, and Peter,
when we finally see Him as He is, we will see how little we really are.
Isaiah 40:15, 22 says, that the nations are as a drop in the bucket, and
the inhabitants of the earth are as grasshoppers. The problem is, most
of us havent really seen the Lord (with spiritual eyes), and so in
contrast, we really do not understand how lost and helpless we are apart
from Him. Isaiah is the perfect example of the Law of Opposites at
work. Once he saw the glory of God in fullness, he couldnt help but see
the opposite of Gods glory which was his puny, wretched self.

We have seen with our own eyes what man is like when he lives his life
apart from God. We have seen it in the religious, the power-hungry, the
political, and the greedy. Some of us have seen it in ourselves. Many
are still blind to the wickedness that is in their own hearts. We still think
that we are better than most others. God will eventually show all of us
what abominations really hide therethings that many of us are
unwilling to look at. And when we get to the point (through the fire of
trials) where we see Gods great and ultimate purpose, that is, to
become all in all (1 Cor. 15:28), we will then see how man is in no
position to dictate to God who is going to be saved and who is not. We
then begin to understand how we really are nothing apart from God and
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if left to ourselves, we would all wander forever in a state of confusion
and lostness. Calvinism is wrong when it says that God only picks a few
to be saved and suffers the rest to endless torments. Arminianism is
wrong when it says that man picks, through free will, who will be
saved and who wont. Can't we see that without Gods intervention,
none of us would be saved??

Conclusion

Why is this issue so important? As mentioned at the very beginning of

this essay, many will either classify this topic as vain philosophy or
simply resign themselves to never being able to understand it.
However, understanding that all things come from God (including evil)
is critical in recognizing that God has a sovereign purpose for
everythingeven the things we perceive to be negative. God is good
and created man with only good intentions. Evil was not a mistake but a
force that God allowed in His creation for a specific reason. Without
evil, none of us would understand good, and most importantly, we
would not have witnessed and experienced the glorious remedy for sins
consequencethe Person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I see many Christians who simply do not have an explanation for the
terrible things that happen in this worldcausing many to fear and lose
faith in God. They also have an unbiblical view of Satan in that they
attribute to him more power and glory than he deserves. On top of all
that, the doctrine of free will gives glory and preeminence to man and
makes him the final determinate concerning his salvationultimately
stealing glory from God and making himself the last word.

One day, God will humble all of us and show us that salvation is His
creative work. It is God who opens our eyes, it is God who keeps us
from falling, and it is God who will eventually deliver us from this body
of death. He is the author and finisher of all thingsand so we must
see that salvation is His work, not ours.

...He which hath BEGUN a good work in you will PERFORM it until the day
of Jesus Christ. (Phil. 1:6)

Who begins the work? Who performs it? Who finishes it? Oh, I know
its hard, but for some reason men have great difficultly accepting Gods
free gift. We feel like we have to work for it or do something to keep it.
But taking Gods free gift means we have to admit how bad we really are,

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and thats hard for all of us. But on that day, we will realize the great
truth of who the author of our salvation really is, and the only part we
played was to simply respond to Gods dragging us to the Cross.
When we stand before Him, none of us will accuse God of creating us to
be robots. We wont argue that it was unfair that we didnt have free
will. We wont accuse Him of manipulating our choices to conform to
His will, crying out to Him, That isnt fair. (Shall the clay say to the
Potter, Why have you made me thus?) Oh, no, no, no! We will be
filled with eternal gratitude and praise for how great and mighty (and
loving) God really ishow He has not just chosen to manifest Himself to
a few, but to ALL men. Most of us will be terribly ashamed when we
think of how we have trampled on the Cross of Christ by diluting its
scope and effectiveness and exalting this so-called free will of man.
No, on that day we will not boast or glory in ourselves. We will not take
credit for anything that we have done in any way. We will be in awe of
His great plan, purpose, and wisdom and we will be able to say, like
Paul,

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his
counselor? (Rom. 11:33-34)

For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, all things to whom be glory for
ever, Amen. (Rom. 11:36)

NOTE: The word free will has been placed in quotes throughout this
essay because this phrase, as it is taught by the Church today, cannot
be found in Scripture. The author does not deny that the Bible speaks of
mens choices and the will of men (self-will). But nowhere in Scripture
does it say that man was given a free will that allows him to be totally
and finally independent of God by choosing his final destination. This
contradicts Gods ultimate purpose of being all in all. The viewpoint
this author holds is that man is free to choose only in the direction of
the strongest influence, and that God is in sovereign control over all
influences (Acts 17:28). Each person is being fitted into Gods plan in
Gods own special way for them. Each person responds to his or her
own unique set of strongest influences. And ultimately, when the time
period of the ages has ended, God will have transformed the
consequences of everyones choices into something glorifying to
Himself, and beneficial to the chooser. So in light of the hundreds of
24
passages that speak of Gods ultimate sovereignty and responsibility
over all His creation, this authors conclusion is that the Bible clearly
does NOT teach that man can usurp Gods plan and purpose by his own
free will.

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