Free will

Many times I’ve heard people say, “God is too much of a gentleman to impose His will on you.” Or another way I’ve heard it expressed: “It’s a spiritual law: God can’t violate your free will.”

Both of these statements may sound good to our human ears. After all, what person wants their will to be violated? The problem with these statements is that they are wildly unbiblical. When I hear people make these statements, it makes me wonder if the person saying them has ever read the Bible. We don’t even have to get into the whole Calvinism vs. Arminianism debate (though it is related). All we really have to do is read Scripture. Anyone who believes the Bible has to admit that God can and does violate our wills (our ability to choose what we want).

Example #1: Adam & Eve.

In Genesis 1:27, it says that God made Adam & Eve. He made them male and female. Did they choose to be the gender God assigned to them? No, they had no choice in the matter. “But,” you might say, “they weren’t unwilling to be what God created them to be.” That’s true. After all, sin had not yet come into the world. But everyone who was born after Adam & Eve was also born male or female, and not all of them are willing to be the gender God made them. But, it doesn’t matter. God imposes a gender on us whether we are willing or not, and no amount of surgery can change that.

Example #2: God’s judgments.

God does allow us to make choices. That’s why we are responsible to Him for the choices we make. Some of those choices will bring down God’s judgment upon us. In Genesis 19, we see the inhabitants of Sodom making sinful choices (vv. 4-5). God destroyed them because of it (v. 24). We can say that the people of Sodom were willing to sin, but no one would argue that they wanted God’s fire to rain down upon them! Their will was to sin and not be punished for it. They were not willing to have judgment fall on them, and yet, God did it anyway. He imposed His will on them.

Example #3: Job.

God clearly imposed His will on Job. “But,” you might say, “that was Satan who did those things to him.” Well, it’s true that Satan was the one who afflicted Job directly, but who was the one to initiate all the bad things that happened to Job? God did (Job 1:8; 2:3). Job said that God was the one who took away his children, etc. (1:21), and the Bible says that it wasn’t sinful for him to say that (1:22). Also, what Christian wouldn’t acknowledge that even Satan must get permission from God in order to act? And if God gave permission to Satan to do those things, don’t we have to say that God willed for Job to suffer? After all, no one forced God to let Satan afflict Job. God is the only all-powerful being; no one forces Him to do anything.

When you get heaven, ask Job if God imposes His will on people.

Example #4: Balaam.

A king named Balak hired Balaam to pronounce a curse on Israel (Num. 22:2-6). But every time Balaam tried to curse Israel, he ended up blessing them instead (Num. 23:11-12, 25-26; 24:10-13). Balaam said, “I couldn’t go beyond the word of the Lord, to do good or bad of my own will.” (24:13). Balak willed that Israel be cursed. Balaam tried to help him do that. God wanted Israel blessed. Whose will won the day? God’s did.

Example #5: Saul.

While David had been anointed as the new king of Israel, Saul still held the throne. Saul, being jealous of David, tried to hunt him down and kill him (1 Sam. 19:11). As David is on the run, Saul sent messengers to capture him (1 Sam. 19:20). These messengers ended up prophesying instead (vv. 20-21). When Saul comes to try and capture David, he too, prophesies, only God made him do it without clothing (vv. 23-24)! Saul and his messengers willed to capture David. God made them prophesy against their will. Again, God imposed His will.

There are many more examples I could cite, but you get the picture. The Bible is clear: God can and does impose His will on us. Yes, we have some freedom to make choices. But God also has freedom to make choices, and His freedom is greater than ours. When my will comes in conflict with God’s will, my puny will is the one that gets bulldozed, not God’s. The idea that God never imposes His will on us may be comforting to some, but it is not biblical. Do we really think that God says to us “thy will be done..”?

God’s will is perfect, my will is not. While many Christians seem to exalt human will, my will has gotten me into plenty of trouble. If anyone’s will should be exalted, it is God’s will, not mine. My hope is that you will learn to pray, “Oh Lord, please impose Your gracious will on me!”