Does the Bible teach free will?

One of the most perennial questions is whether or not free will is true or an illusion? Do we really have freedom, or are our decisions predetermined by God or some greater force? 

This debate sits inside the church in the differences between the Arminian and Calvinist philosophies, with the former emphasizing that humans do have free will, and the latter leaning towards Christian determinism. Some Calvinists would assert that people have free will in lesser decisions, just not when it comes to choosing God, though Calvin and classical Reformed theology denied free will to a much larger extent.

This debate actually predates Christianity by at least several centuries. The Greeks had schools of philosophy that denied freewill and others that asserted it. The famous tale about Oedipus, who despite his decisions ended up fulfilling his fate to murder his father and marry his mother, is an example of the Greek idea of fatalism, which is just a form of determinism. And this debate exists still outside the church in the context of philosophical debates in science about whether our decisions are products of our brain chemicals, or whether or not we have an actual will, which acts apart from our physical brain and matter. So, considering the size of this debate, the multiple layers of cross disciplinary influences on the debate, and the strong feelings which both sides bring to this debate, especially in the Christian context, I don’t think I can settle it completely for you in this one blog. However, I think I can show quite comfortably that the Bible does support the idea of freewill, and does not teach that it is just an illusion.

We see in Genesis 1 how the Bible teaches that human beings were created to have dominion over the earth:

“Then God said, “Let us make man[h] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:26-28).

To have dominion means to have authority and responsibility to rule the earth. God has delegated rulership to men and women, to have authority over the animals. This speaks of agency. To have regency over our sphere of authority is part of the human condition. One might respond that this is pre-fall, but Psalm 8 also says that we have dominion:

“Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honour. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas” (Psalm 8:5-7).

This was written by David long after the fall of man and it shows that we still have dominion. Man and woman were created to have authority to rule this earth. We are lesser nobility, with the Lord God Himself being the true king. Our rulership therefore, cannot overrule or threaten His reign, but it is no less real.

To have dominion obviously also means to be able to make decisions about how to rule. To prove that humanity’s will was free and real at creation, Adam and Eve even had the ability to disobey God and choose to follow the devil. A foolish decision, of course, but a true and genuine exercise of the will nonetheless. The question is though, did free will survive the fall?

I think there are many ways to show that it did. In fact, I think you could argue that the fact that God gives commands and expects people to follow them is all the proof you need to show that God has not taken away our ability to choose. However, though He has not taken it away, this does not mean He cannot override it. He did this with Pharoah when He hardened his heart, and predetermined that Esau would reject Him but Jacob would not. The existence of free will is not questioned, either is God’s ability to override it when He sees fit. Paul did not choose to be selected by Jesus, Jesus chose him and transformed him on the road to Damascus. Therefore, we can say that freewill exists but it is not absolute. God can and does override it to fulfil His special purposes.

This does not in any way, take away the fact that by giving us commands, God is implying we have the ability to choose Him or choose to reject Him:

“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

The Bible is a record of just these kinds of choices being made on every page. And as if that was not enough, the Bible itself even says we have freewill, directly.

In the ESV translation there are at least 23 references to “freewill offerings”, for instance:

“All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the Lord had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the Lord.” (Exodus 35:29)

“But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow offering or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice, and on the next day what remains of it shall be eaten.” (Leviticus 7:16)

“and there you shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, your vow offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock.” (Deuteronomy 12:6) 

And there are even direct passages which tie these freewill offerings to acts of the will:

“With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to You; I will give thanks to Your name, O Lord, for it is good.” (Psalm 54:6) 

“Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O Lord, and teach me Your rules.” (Psalm 119:108) 

A good summary of these two verses in the Psalms is – I will sacrifice an offering to You, that I have chosen of my own free will. I think these verses by themselves are enough to show that the Bible affirms the reality of freewill. The fact that God has built freewill into the law shows that He has not taken it away. He has instead, created an opportunity for it still within His law. There is much, which God commands that we should do, but He gives us freedom to use our will to make offerings. The translators of the NJKV obviously recognised this, because of how they rendered the following verse:

“‘And if you offer a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, you shall offer it of your own free will.” (Leviticus 19:5)

Those of the Christian determinist camp, will note examples where God hid His will from people, suppressed the truth, or gave the people over to blindness. They will use this as proof that there is no such thing as freewill about the things of God. However, the verses above show that people can exercise freewill to choose the things of God. It is also true that in His righteous decree and judgement, God can override this if He so chooses, as He is the ultimate sovereign, the ultimate power.

We see often in the Bible that God chooses not to override the will of man, and instead allows man to reject Him, even if we would prefer that they did not:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” (Matthew: 23:37-39).

The clear desire of our Lord God here is that he wanted to gather his people, but the problem is they were “not willing.” If they did not have freewill to reject God and choose God, then this sentence would make no sense.

I do not expect this one blog piece to settle the debate, but as you can see, there is plenty in the Scriptures to show that the Bible supports the concept of freewill. However, as we should expect, it is not an absolute. God can and does, override our freewill to suit His purposes. Afterall, we may have dominion over the earth but God is the ultimate authority. He is the sovereign Lord, and when He decrees something, it will happen. In His mercy and grace though, He gives us freewill so that He can have a people who choose to follow Him.

Matthew Littlefield writes to think through some of the current issues facing society, the Church and whatever else comes to mind that might be interesting to process. Matt's focus is usually historical or scriptural, though he will address current issues from time to time as well. He is a co-author of The Ezekiel Declaration and the book, Defending Conscience, How Baptists reminded the Church to defy tyranny. He blogs most days at YoungGospelMinister.blogspot.com.