Free Will?
Good News –September 2015 – Grace & Truth Magazine
Free Will?
Philosophers and neuroscientists, who study the brain and its impact on behavior, argue that free will is just an illusion and that the laws of the universe do not allow for it. They contend that “the experience of conscious choice is the outcome of the underlying neural processes and these produce human action, not cause them.”
1
They are, however, considering only imperfect human beings affected by sin.
The Perfect Human Being
Since the Fall there was only one perfect human being and that was the Lord Jesus Christ! We learn about His characteristics from the revelation of Scripture, not from scientific experiments. In Matthew 26:35,39 and 44, Mark 14:35 and Luke 22:42 in particular we see this perfect Man in action. His human free will was expressed when He said to His Father, “Take this cup from Me.” He did not insist that His will be done, but said, “Not My will, but Yours be done” (Lk. 22:42 NIV). Thus we see the Lord Jesus seeking the Father’s will and then making it immediately His own. This is an excellent example for us to follow: take our problems to God, determine His will and then do it!
Imperfect Human Beings
All the rest of us live naturally “gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts” (Eph. 2:3). We are not free – we just think we are! The salvation God offers provides a freedom for those who will accept it. When we are saved we still have that sinful nature, but we are given “the Spirit of life” who can “set us free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2). Then we will not “live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit” (v.4).
Society And Human Will
“Punishment is vital to a well-functioning society,” 2 but punishment should be to “prevent criminal activity and turn past law-breakers into productive citizens” 2 rather than for retribution or revenge. “Human societies have found over and over again throughout history [that] when laws are not established and enforced, people [will] put themselves above everyone else and shirk all responsibility – lying, cheating and stealing” to the detriment of society.2 Similarly, God’s punishment and threat of punishment now has as its objective, not retribution, but to cause everyone “to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). God has provided a way for man to repent and avoid punishment by sending His own Son to suffer punishment in our place. If we repent and accept His way of salvation, we can live free in Christ rather than being slaves to sin. He wants to set us free!
Will you accept, today, His offer of freedom? We can tell you how.
END NOTES
1. Shariff, A. F. and Vohs, K. D.: Scientific American, June 2014, p. 78.
2. Ibid, p. 79.
By Alan H. Crosby