Nothing is more apt to stir up controversy in my mix of friends and relatives (coming from Lutheran, Arminian, and Reformed traditions) than to ask, “Do you believe in free will?”
The savvy debater (and theology nerd) will respond with another question: “Whose?”
It is possible, you see to believe in free will for one sort of person and not believe in free will for another.
When referring to man, free will is set in contrast to determinism. With free will, man does as he chooses. With determinism, he does what has been predetermined (by God) that he should do.
When referring to God, free will is set in contrast to necessary will. Necessary will is what God must do because of who He is (in a sense, what God will do is “determined” because of His character). Free will is what God chooses to do without any compulsion.
Is this idea of free will versus necessary will a new concept for you? It was for me.
The doctrine of God’s necessary will states that there are some instances where God doesn’t have a choice. God doesn’t have a choice to lie or to be truthful. He is truth, end of story. He cannot lie. Likewise, God cannot excuse sin. He must punish sin. He is constrained by His holy character to act in accordance with His holiness by punishing sin.
Does this mean that God kicks and screams against His character, wishing He could just once lie or just once let sin off?
Absolutely not. God wants to act in accordance with His character. He wills to be truthful, He wills to punish sin. Even if it is his necessary will, it is still God’s will.
On the other hand, God’s free will encompasses those things that God chooses to do that He does not have to do.
Creation is one example of God’s free will in action. God did not have to create the world.
The doctrine of God’s independence insists that God does not need anything-certainly not any created thing. He is Himself completely satisfied in Himself. Before the creation of the world, God lacked nothing, being complete in His triune nature.
Yet God has chosen to create this universe, not because He needed to, but because He wanted to.
If you haven’t yet figured it out, I believe in free will. God’s free will, that is.
So far as man’s free will? I still haven’t made up my mind on that one.