BURNING

QUESTION

Do we really have free will and freedom of choice?

My Answer: No, we have neither!

Biblical Back-up:

The whole scenario around “free will” and “freedom of choice” has its roots in the obsession mankind has with being in control. These two so-called “free will”…and “freedom of choice” myths, which millions like to believe, can never be reconciled with God’s predestination Scripture reflected above…ever! So…no, we have NO free will and NO freedom of choice. Reality Back-up: We are not in control of anything, however much we’d like it to be (or NOT)…and to illustrate this by means of practical examples, just a few scenarios to contemplate on…   Do we regulate the dazzling galaxies of unimaginable vastness? Do we keep the temperatures and atmospheric pressures on planet earth in the critically- important parameters, crucial for us to breathe and live? Do we control the weather on earth and are we able to stop a tsunami? Do we regulate our heartbeat, or the energy our mitochondria generate to sustain the vitally- important chemical processes in our physiology? When we were in the womb, did we form the intricately-woven axons and dendrites into a complex nervous system that is totally above our comprehension…an electrical nervous system that regulates our very being? Can we really keep negative emotions from popping up…and when we suppress them, are they really gone…or do they keep on showing their faces? Were we in control when we had the accident? How many times did something happen that kept us from doing what we were planning to do? How many times did we say something we did not want to say? And likewise…how many times have we done something that we had NO intention of doing at all? Have we ever thought about this…and then realized that other people also do and say things they had no intention of saying or doing at all? Well…the list goes on and on…and on.   The obsession people have with being in control is because of fear. It is because of fear of a God who can do anything with us. Ironically, when we are successful in something, we ascribe it to our own doing and we feel chuffed with ourselves. But when the chips fall to our disadvantage, we put the blame on someone else, on the Adversary, or on ourselves…but very seldom on God, the One who is really in control of all. And then, on top of it, if we take responsibility for the ‘mishap’, we beat ourselves up until the cows come home. And so we suffer on and on our whole lives…on multiple levels because of our fear of vulnerability…because of our fear of death…because of our obsessive clinging onto ‘free will’….onto self-sufficiency and independence. Fear keeps us from trusting God. We dread the idea of being vulnerable. The mere fact of being left at the mercy of another is downright too scary…and that includes God as well.   Was Lucifer aware of God’s Sovereignty? Of course he was. That explains his hunger for power…not for the power per se…no. His hunger for power was solely to eradicate his fear of God...fear of vulnerability. He wanted to be above God…so that he won’t be dictated by Him any more. He refused to surrender, and the price for that he will still pay in a severity unimaginable. But, however, Lucifer was never in control of anything by himself…simply because God was, is and will be in total control forever. This being a statement to chew on…albeit a very important issue with immense implications. But back to the subject of “free will”.   The fallacy of “free will” and “freedom of choice” is backed up today by millions with the excuse that God has so-called given man the right to choose…the biggest cop-out excuse in all history for having control. But did God indeed give us this ‘luxury’, proclaimed by so many? No, of course not. Where then? Nowhere does the Bible say this. This enticement to ‘choose’ power was given to man by none other than Satan himself…in Eden. NOT by God at all. ‘Free will’ is the one percent strychnine that kills life within the delicious apple pie…and likewise within the millions who bite in it…unbeknownst to them. Satan’s most successful piece of deception on mankind. This lie has a much bigger consequence than meets the eye. Just by putting attention to the “and all the liars” in Revelation 21:8 will force one back to the ‘drawing board of discernment’. And also…the “lake of fire” this passage reflects, is NOT what millions, upon millions mainstream Christians think it is. But I’m rambling now. This subject has to wait for another occasion where I will address it. Back to “free will” and “freedom of choice”… And the good news of NOT having free will or freedom of choice? To answer this question, I first have to address the ‘bad’ news that is affecting billions on a daily basis...the bad news of pain. Life on earth is saturated with pain of all sorts…but the pain relevant to my answer here, revolves around people…the people who are ‘responsible’ for the pain of others, as well as the people who are on the receiving end. Pain is pain. Whether being the receiver, or the giver alike. Both suffer. One can compare one’s life on earth with a virtual fire…having flames of all sorts to extinguish on a continual basis. And these flames of pain are in human form…God-created human beings who hurt each other by nature on multiple levels. These flames can leave some very deep scars which do not disappear in many cases. Scars of pain that devour us from inside with their caustic persistence. Emotional scars…amongst others, scars of sadness, grief, hatred, bitterness, anger, and remorse. This is not a very popular subject of discussion for most, however much a reality to virtually all on this planet. How many of us have experienced devastating remorse after we discovered that our retaliation act(s) towards an innocent person who [supposedly] has done us wrong, has brought immense pain to him or her? The pain we felt for having unjustly accused another of…and hurt for something he or she did not do? And the moment we realized that, the grudge, the hatred and the bitterness towards that person vanish within seconds? Needless to say…forgiveness for the other did not even come into play at all here…only the struggle of coming to terms with one’s own feelings of guilt remained. Joseph as a young boy of seventeen was sold by his hateful brothers as a slave to spice traders and taken to a far-away strange country…to Egypt. Being among total strangers…and scared to death. Oh, how we can only imagine the extreme trauma which that young boy had to go through. But then, at 30+ years of age, he was the very one in Egypt who saved millions of people from hunger during their great famine. From slave to governor was his journey in this country of pyramids. All this because of a dream he had as a youngster, a dream where his brothers’ sheaves of grain had bowed down before his. Their crucial hatred towards him and its wonderful outcome 17 odd years later, clearly demonstrates how God uses evil (Isaiah 45:7) for the good. Romans 8:28 . Did Joseph’s brothers have remorse about what they did to their little brother? Of course they did. But were they accountable? Of course not. How can any one be accountable of doing something ordained by God? No…God was the One accountable. Is this act of Joseph’s brothers terrible in the eyes of society today? Of course . And the hatred they felt for Joseph…were they in control of that? No, not at all. Had it not been for their hatred for Joseph, there would have been no food for the people of Canaan nearly two decades later. But they HAD to have food, because God had to sustain His people to fulfil His purpose with them. And when they showed remorse towards Joseph, their younger brother put their minds at ease by assuring them of the paramount importance their input had in all…of its significance in saving their people (Genesis 45:5) . A profound illustration of God’s grace. And to show them his excitement of their coming back, they were rewarded with a magnificent banquet he specially arranged for them…just like the welcoming banquet God is going to arrange for ALL mankind in the end, as is reflected in Isaiah 25:6-9 . Was Joseph aware of the outcome during the time of his agony way back? No, how could he? But God was. God already wove these special pieces of brocade into His magnificent tapestry long before it happened…with the special dark nuances perfectly in place around the brilliant ones…illuminating His staggering grace. Scenarios resembling this one of Joseph repeat itself to this very day we live in today (Ecclesiastes 1:9) …injustices that are done…injustices that do not make sense at first. But there is a difference here between the two. Joseph had the insight that it was God’s plan all along and he could forgive his brothers and be a consolation to them…changing their pain of guilt feelings into joy. He could ONLY do this while having the wisdom that they were not accountable of anything…but merely the instrument used for the fulfilment of God’s purpose. And to conclude with Judas as having been the instrument of ‘evil’ in God’s ultimate Purpose and Grace for all mankind…the instrument of betrayal… There are two verses in the Bible, where it is crystal clear that Judas Iskariot did not know he was going to betray Jesus…up until something profound happened to him to prepare him for his assignment. Please turn to John 13:27 and Luke 22:2-4 . Satan had to enter him to get into the right mindset to execute such a horrific action. The order in which these two events took place is not clear to me. Nonetheless…fact remains…in both cases Satan was used to make sure God’s wonderful goal was achieved. And to come to the “no one” mentioned in verse 28…Judas, being one of the twelve, was no exception. He did not know about this crucial event at his doorstep that evening at all. But Jesus knew all along before Judas was even born. In verse 21 we see that Jesus was extremely disturbed when He revealed the fulfilment of prophesy to be taking place. His disciple Judas was chosen to do this dreadful act of betrayal… and because of this evil assignment laid upon him, you and I are to be thankful to this grief-stricken disciple too for our freedom In Christ’s death. And please take note…Judas had NO free will and NO free choice in all of this. All was predestined and controlled by God! To elaborate a little on the scenario of Satan entering Judas…first a question; does a common phrase today to the effect of “I have no idea what got into me to do such a thing!” sound familiar? Sure it does. Do I imply here that Satan enters all of us when we do something that goes against our grain? The possibility is there. According to what happened to Judas in the Bible, it may well be the case with us too…but not necessarily being Satan the entering one. Mentioning of evil spirits having entered people in the Bible, is ample. One classic example is the entering of Satan into one of Jesus’ disciples…Peter. A disciple who dearly loved- and who believed in Jesus. Please read Mark 8:33 . Jesus looked straight at Peter, but in effect Jesus spoke to Satan…and not to Peter at all. Was Peter excluded from being entered by evil? Apparently not. Satan entered Peter…and spoke through him! Scary…but makes one think nonetheless…doesn’t it? And… does Paul not back this up in Ephesians 6:12 ? Our battle is not against flesh, but against the dark ones? People back off from this topic in fear. And this is exactly where the Sovereignty of God comes in again….and where the golden thread of reasoning I mentioned in “My Approach”, comes in as well. We need to trust God in totality…and if we cannot…well then…we don’t acknowledge His power…hence His Sovereignty…don’t we? God created Satan and the evil spirits…and all for a specific reason…and He is in control of all of them. This is fact…and water tight. And…to repeat myself…once this awareness penny drops that we are in NO control at all…that moment we are free. Not a second earlier. Paradigms are hard to change…but it’s time to consider this one…if we really want to be free. But…and there is a “BUT”…it’s up to God to give us paradigm shifts…not us. We can only keep on asking Him for the Truth. I asked for the Truth for 3+ decades…and He answered. What had happened to Judas is the most profound example of God’s using evil turned into grace…and the most wonderful blessing of all times for all mankind. So then…when we do bad things…can we also ascribe the bad things we do to be a blessing too…in God’s Plan? Scary question, not so? But oh so valid…albeit liberating. THIS is exactly where the logic of God comes into play in my reasoning…not the logic of man. God has NO double standards, like man has. God has only one standard…and that is love…and God loves us too…all of mankind…irrespective of our deeds…good or bad. He has a purpose for each of our actions! If this is not liberating…then what is? But…back to Judas… Judas will, in spite of what he did to his Master, be given a throne together with his eleven peers…a throne on which he, Judas Iskariot, will take part in the judgement of the twelve tribes of Israel…together with    Christ . Please read Jesus’ prophetic words in verse 28 in Matthew 19:24- 28 …and notice the “ twelve thrones” mentioned in this passage. But…however…Judas’ exultation will not be without foregoing suffering…part of which being his remorse and subsequent suicidal death as is reflected in Matthew 27:3 . The rest we do not know. But what we DO know now is that Judas is going to be gloriously exulted. Was Judas eternally condemned by God? No…not according to Jesus’ prophetic words. Judas will become a judge! Since most of mankind today believe in free will and freedom of choice, they have the ‘justification’ …the green light to hate, to accuse, to blame, to condemn…and to be proud. But, alas, not without the devastating effect of self-destructive misery. “Free will” and “freedom of choice” is out and out rebellion against God’s Ultimate Supremacy in all…and this started in Eden already. Calamity followed…and today the world is STILL in a mess because of this very rebellious act-outs by Christians and non-Christians alike. There is no peace in this world whatsoever…and very little joy…all because of the so-called free will and so-called freedom of choice. All it does really is shifting God out of the picture…to make way for self-sufficiency …and with it…stacks of unhappiness and suffering. What is the good news of having neither free will, nor freedom of choice? To be short and sweet… It makes forgiving easy…understanding adversity better…relieves us from stress…and thus removes this boulder that keeps us from experiencing lasting joy. Are these few simple words too simple to the minds of the ‘intelligent’ to encompass complex issues such as forgiveness and stress for instance…issues that affect all mankind? Of course they are…to the ignorant ‘intelligent’. Truth is THE most practical tool there is towards peace…and that is the very reason we all have to constantly search for it until we find it… even if it means until the ‘cows come home’…just to emphasize the urgency. Deep down everyone knows his or her status quo around personal peace. What is in the heart is reality…reality being the gauge on the peace barometer. The Bible is THE most practical Book on earth. God knows His Business. It’s time to scrutinize His Manual in depth…and to stop side-stepping those verses opposing the ‘cast-in-stone’ doctrines…especially the one of ‘free will’! The verses ignored are the very ones to concentrate upon… to find the Truth…the Truth that shoots the gauge to the maximum on the peace barometer. And while I’m on this topic of searching for the Truth…how about getting informed about the grammar Bible translators use…especially around the salvation of man? How about getting informed about the convenient “subjunctive mood” they apply at virtually all the sticky verses around salvation…with the oh so classic modal auxiliary “might”, subtly added to give rise to uncertainty to the Bible reader? And to conclude with a phrase on my “Folly Eschatology” page… “Truth has eternal value…with its only defence being locked up in reality…the reality of peace”. To tell anybody anything if it is not his or her reality, is pointless. To be still in the quandary of a ‘free will’ mindset, is to leave no room for experiencing the peace that goes without it. The proof is only in the proverbial pudding. Simplicity is what is important to Jesus Christ. May God bless you!