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Whosoever Will May Come. What the Bible Says About the Free Will of Man. Mankind and Free Will. Mankind is created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27) Mankind is created with free will because God has free will (Gen. 1:1; 2:16-17; 3:1-22). Sovereignty and Free Will.
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Whosoever Will May Come What the Bible Says About the Free Will of Man
Mankind and Free Will • Mankind is created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27) • Mankind is created with free will because God has free will (Gen. 1:1; 2:16-17; 3:1-22)
Sovereignty and Free Will • God is completely sovereign and in control of all his universe (Psa. 103:19) • God’s sovereignty does not cancel out man’s free will, but allows it… • God chose to allow man to have free will (Acts 14:16) • God will ultimately judge all of man’s free-will actions (Eccl. 12:14) • God alone sets the conditions of acceptable free-will service (Mt. 7:21-23)
Predestination, Foreknowledge and Free Will • God’s predestined choice of those who are saved and lost does not cancel out man’s free will (1 Cor. 1:27; Eph. 1:4,13; 2 Thess. 2:13; Rev. 17:14) • God’s foreknowledge of those who are saved and lost does not cancel out man’s free will (Acts 2:23,36-37; 1 Pet. 1:2)
Sin and Free Will • Mankind had free will in the beginning and that free will was not removed (held in bondage) with the fall • Mankind has had free will since the fall (Deut. 30:19; Josh. 24:15; Psa. 34:14; 37:27; Isa. 7:15-16; 56:4)
Lessons For Today • There are no excuses for our sins, like “I can’t help myself…” or “he’s a victim of society” • We chose to sin; we are not forced to sin against our will (Rom. 1:18ff; Eph. 2:3; Jas. 1:13-15; 4:7; 1 Jn. 3:4; 5:17) • We are not born with a predisposition, tendency, or inclination to sin (Eccl. 7:29)
Lessons For Today • The gospel invitation is offered to all and you can freely accept it or reject it • Jesus invites all (Mt. 11:28-30; Jn. 7:37; Rev. 3:20) • Whosoever will may come (Rev. 22:17)
Lessons For Today • You have free-will to accept the gospel, and you have free-will to reject it later • A saved person can freely “fall from grace” (Gal. 5:4; Heb. 12:15)
Lessons For Today • All people need to be taught how to make the proper, free-will choices between right and wrong • We need to make good choices in life based upon guidance from God’s word (Psa. 25:12; Prov. 1:29-30; 3:31; Heb. 5:14; 11:25)
Lessons For Today • All mankind will stand accountable (morally responsible) before God in the judgment day for their free-will choices • All mankind will be judged according to what they have freely chosen to do in this life, good or bad (Rom. 2:6; 14:12; 2 Cor. 5:10; 2 Tim. 4:14)