Did God’s Choice Depend on Man’s “Free Will”, or Did Man’s  Choice Depend on God’s?

© 2021 by Tom Boynton (editing by Kathy Boynton)

Many churches teach that man’s “free will” determines who’s saved.  They believe God has bound Himself to submit to rejection by people He’d planned to save.  This contradicts God’s declaration concerning His absolute sovereignty in everything.  The apostle Paul’s letter to Ephesian Christians, explained they’d been chosen by a Sovereign God.

“…we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:” (Ephesians 1:11)

How much comes to pass according to how God wills it?  Everything!  Scripture makes it clear that all events come to pass in accordance with God’s perfect eternal plan.

Because Satan, and angels following him, rejected God’s authority, their doom was eternally sealed.  God never planned to save them.  Scripture indicates they know this.

“Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” (James 2:19)

Why do they tremble?  Because they know they’re doomed to the lake of fire.  In Eden, when Adam and Eve sinned, God could have sentenced them and their progeny to this same judgment.  However, even before God created mankind, He’d written the names of all to be saved in His book of life.  Revelation 17:8 shows that those names have been there “from the foundation of the world.”  The rest of humanity shall join fallen angels in the lake of fire.

“And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:15)

God refers to those written in that book as those whom He chose to “foreknow”.

“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” (Romans 8:29-30)

None can be saved without fleeing to Christ as sinners seeking His mercy.  However, dead, fallen wills can’t do this.  Fallen wills choose only according to the sinfulness of their fallen natures.  Christ said,

“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:44)

Please read God’s Word, the Bible, which says,

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

If God changes your heart to fear His wrath, flee to Him!  Jesus promised,

“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6:37)

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