Board Thread:Bible Questions/@comment-29848406-20160903220806/@comment-29848406-20160905160655

SouthWriter wrote: Hey, Debater, thanks for bringing up the topic.

It is hard to tell exactly what you mean by "free will" and the use thereof. However, it is not one's "free will" that gets them in trouble. As Flo said, it is the bound will that causes problems. The will is not a thing that controls us, but it is that which defines us. We all are "willing" (that is wanting, or desiring) to do what we like to do. The problem arises when we like the wrong things. And because we are humans, we tend to want things that are against the common good.

The way the Bible puts it, "there is no one who is righteous." Our normal condition is to want to "do our own thing" no matter what God has said. We are, in a word, selfish. If a directive is against our interests, we ignore it. And we don't think much about it, because we trust ourselves more than any authority over us.

So, what exactly is "free will"? It is being free to do what should be done, even if we don't want to do it. Otherwise, we are "bound to do" what we want. This quite literally true. Without God, we only obey God when it is to our advantage, or deemed to be so. We will "go to church" because that is what religious people do. We will give to charity, and be sure to get credit for it. We will love our family while hating our neighbor.

But those who trust God are truly free. They not only know what to do, but they are generally uncomfortable when they do what is wrong. As Flo put it, "[t]o have desires and to have free will is different." Often those "desires" are a test of our faith. Without God, we would just go ahead and follow those desires. With God, we choose instead to do what He wants us to do.

The question you must ask yourself is this: "Has God changed my will into one that is free?" Or are you bound to your old self-will? Do you WANT to follow God? If not, why not? When if you want to follow God, then TRUST Him to lead you. See where that path takes you. I was asking what the point of free will is if we're eventually punished for using it "the wrong way".