Calvinism Defended:
What About "Free Will?"
By
This is the eleventh section of the e-mail exchange I had with Bill, an individual who objected to Calvinism. Click here to go back to the table of contents, or here to go to the full 88 page exchange.
In this part of the exchange, Bill tries to point to a couple of Scripture passages to prove his idea of free will. The problem is, the passages are used out of context, and they do not speak to the nature of what is meant by the term "free will." In other words, what does it mean that man's will is "free" and can that notion be reconciled with the truth of God's absolute sovereignty and omniscience. I have provided the portion from my first e-mail that Bill is responding to for context. Bill's response follows in red font, and then my response follows in blue font.
From My First E-mail:
"...2. Bill, what do you mean by “freewill?” The reason I ask this is because most people when they speak on these issues really do not have an accurate understanding of what Reformed theology teaches about freewill. I have also discovered that very often, their view of freewill cannot be reconciled with truth of God’s absolute sovereignty and omniscience. Thus, I would respectfully ask you, what do you mean by freewill, and can you reconcile your notion of freewill with the testimony of Scripture regarding God’s absolute sovereignty and omniscience?
Bill's Response: John,
of course I am talking about Biblical freewill: “For if we sin by our
‘freewill’ after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no
longer remains a sacrifice for sins”. Hebrews
10:26. The word ‘freewill’ in
Hebrews 10:26 is the same word used in the law and the prophets for
‘freewill’ offering. By my own
‘freewill’ I can offer myself unto God and yield my will to God as a
‘freewill’ offering, or I can resist the grace of God (the Spirit of Grace
or the Holy Ghost) and reject Christ.
My Response: Reformed theology does not deny the concept of freewill.
I will describe what freewill is from a Reformed (biblical) perspective a
bit later (actually, I describe it in the article I wrote that is linked in my
last response to you. If you want,
you can just read that. If you can
demonstrate where my analysis is not correct, please feel free).
But for now, what I asked you was what precisely do you
mean by the term freewill, and can that understanding be reconciled with the
concept of a God who has determined events to take according to the counsel of
His will (Acts 2:22-23; Eph 1:11; Dan 4:34, etc.). Your statement does not speak to those issues at all.
You state: “The word ‘freewill’ in Hebrews 10:26 is the same word used in the law and the prophets for ‘freewill’ offering.” No it’s not. The word used in the Septuagint for a “freewill” offering (example Num 15:3) is the Greek word “exousios” which means “voluntarily, willingly” (ref The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament). The Greek word used in Heb 10:26 is “exousiws.” It is derived from exousios, but it does not refer to or mean the same thing. Exousiws means "intentionally," and refers to sins committed designedly and deliberately in the face of better knowledge (same reference). Not only are the words different and convey different meanings, but two different contexts are in view. The offering spoken of in the Law was called a freewill offering because it was an offering that was not made under compulsion. The text in Heb 10:26 speaks of those who willfully sin (that is, with complete malice of forethought). The sin in view was a turning back to the Law from the Gospel. Thus, not only are the words themselves different, but as is always the case, even if the words were exactly the same, the words are found in entirely different contexts, and context drives the meaning of any given passage.
Your
answer also fails to describe how it is a person actually makes choices, and how
those choices are said to be “free” in any meaningful sense given the fact
that God has exhaustive knowledge of all future events (He even knows my
thoughts before I think them).
Now to address more of the specifics of your comments:
I am
talking about Biblical freewill: “For if we sin by our ‘freewill’ after we
have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice
for sins”. Hebrews 10:26.
-- First,
who is being addressed in the context of Heb 10:26?
Obviously, the word “we” refers to those individuals who have given
every outward indication of being Christians (in this case, Hebrew Christians).
Secondly, I believe you have taken liberties with the text
(which I have already demonstrated by pointing out that your claim that the
words in this passage and that describing the freewill offering in the OT are
not the same, as you incorrectly assert), and changed it to read what you would
like it to read in order to promote your freewill theology.
The text does not read “For if we sin by our ‘freewill’…”
I cannot find any translation that translates the verse the way you have.
The verse literally reads: Ekousiws
gar hamartanonton emov meta ta labein ten epignosin tes aletheias (willfully for
sinning us after receiving the full knowledge of the truth).
Your mistranslation seriously distorts the point the author is trying to
make. What is in view is the sin of
those who, after having a full knowledge of the truth (i.e., after having been
so thoroughly exposed to and taught the Gospel of Christ), nevertheless were
acting in direct contradiction to what the they had received (the Gospel).
Also, what you fail to realize, Bill, is that Calvinists
affirm that every choice a person makes is a choice that is said to be free in
accordance with the individual’s nature and desires. The only way any person sin’s is by their own
“freewill,” i.e., their desire to sin was stronger than their desire to not
sin. Heb 10:26 doesn’t stop here
though. It is saying that there are
those who have a full knowledge of the Gospel who nevertheless turn back to the
weak and beggarly elements of the Old Covenant.
Their sin is willful in the sense that it is done in direct opposition to
what they ought to know is right. Their
actions are deliberate. There
are those who are steeped in false religions that have never been exposed to the
truth of the Gospel. They are not
deliberately turning from the Gospel back to their old religion, for a very
simple reason: they do not have a
knowledge of the Gospel.
Your mistranslation would imply first that no one ever sins,
because you say “for if we sin by our own freewill.” Well, Bill, how else is it that any person commits any sin?
Of course we sin by our own freewill!
Second, your mistranslation causes us to lose the entire point of the
passage. The passage is not talking
about how we sin (i.e., always by our own freewill), but about a particularly
grievous kind of sin: turning away
from the Gospel despite having a full knowledge of the Gospel.
Third, your mistranslation itself is a serious matter in that you are
inaccurately handling the Word of God, and actually changing its contents.
I would encourage you to repent.
For more info and articles on free will, see: http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/topic/freewill.html