QUESTION: What is Free Will? How do we explain it differently then Arminians?

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Summary

The discussion centers around the Reformed view of free will and how it differs from the Arminian perspective. The speakers explore the doctrine of man, particularly the state of the human will before and after the Fall. They emphasize that while humans have free will, it must be understood in the context of man’s relationship with God. After the Fall, the human will became inclined towards sin, but God’s grace can regenerate and change the will towards good. The speakers also discuss the implications of this view for evangelism, noting that preachers must appeal to God’s free grace rather than just human free will.

Outline

Free Will and Its Implications

• Wim Kerkhoff introduces the topic of free will and asks how it differs from the Arminian view.
• Pastor Mike Kirkpatrick shares a personal anecdote about his initial misunderstanding of free will.
• Pastor Mike explains the Reformed belief in free will, based on the intellect and will working together.
• He highlights that due to Adam’s sin, the human will is now inclined towards sin, but God can regenerate and change the will.

Qualifying Free Will in Different States of Man

1. Pastor Jim Butler adds that the concept of free will must be qualified based on the state of man before God.
2. He outlines four states: before the Fall, after the Fall, in a state of grace, and in a state of glory.
3. In the state of sin, the carnal mind is enmity against God, and no one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws them.
4. Free will is true and biblical but must be understood in relation to man’s sin and position before God.

Evangelism and the Role of Grace

1. Wim Kerkhoff agrees that while sinners are depraved, they still depend on God’s grace.
2. Pastor Jim Butler uses the example of Lazarus’ grave site to illustrate how Jesus’ command enables compliance through His power.
3. When calling sinners to believe and repent, it is an appeal to God’s free grace, not just human free will.

Transcript

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

free, god, sin, good, intellect, confession, inclined, doctrine, sinners, state, grace, adam, man, armenians, carnal mind, hearts, inclination, jesus, faculties, liberated

SPEAKERS

Wim Kerkhoff, Pastor Jim Butler, Pastor Mike Kirkpatrick

Wim Kerkhoff  00:07

Our next question is on free will, so how do we explain that differently than the Arminians? I don’t know who wants to take that one on?

Pastor Mike Kirkpatrick  00:16

So I just will start with an anecdote. I think when I was becoming reformed. I used to not think that we believed in a free will. And someone said, after I talked to them about Romans 9, well, what about free will? And I laid into him pretty good. And I realize now that I didn’t know as much as I should have, especially when it comes to really the doctrine of man. I know there’s a lot of subjects we like to study the doctrine of God, eschatology, salvation, but perhaps the doctrine of man kind of gets pushed to the side a little bit. And so as I understand it, with the nature of the debate in the 17th century, it doesn’t really have anything to do so much with that. We have a free will, but whether or not man, in his state of sin, can be inclined toward that which is spiritually good, and so we believe we have a free will. Our confession talks about that. In chapter nine of the confession, we believe that God has endowed us and given us that will. It’s one of the faculties of the soul with the intellect, and the intellect and the will work when we when we make choices, when we choose, when we make decisions. And so I’ve heard it said that as the intellect knows, so the will goes. And so we could say that the will is that desire, that inclination for that which is good, which flows out of our knowing that which is good. And the free aspect refers to the fact that we’re not coerced. Our confession also says God doesn’t offer violence in chapter three, Of The Decree. And so we are. We are free from coercion, free from compulsion. So we do believe we have have a free will, and we were made and inclined toward that which is good. But the problem is that Adam sinned, and so now that will is only inclined toward that which is sinful and wicked. And that’s why we needed to be changed. And so Psalm 110 does say that the Lord makes them willing in the day of His power, and so and so we praise the Lord that he does regenerate our hearts and changes our will towards that which is good, but we definitely believe that we do have a free will, and God has made us with that will. So no, no debate there, but really over, What can man do in a state of sin?

Pastor Jim Butler  02:34

Yeah, I think I would add to that too. It’s there is free will. It’s just where is man in terms of as a creature before God? So, usually, we make a four-fold distinction with reference to man, man prior to the fall. So what Adam had in terms of free will, and then you have man after the fall, what we have as a result of Adam’s sin affecting his posterity, and then you have man in a state of grace, and then man in a state of glory. So the will of man is free, but man on the continuum needs to be located so that we know what it is he’s capable of choosing. So as Mike said, in that state of sin, the carnal mind is enmity against God. It’s not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be Jesus says, No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him. So obviously the will is bound, and so we need to be freed. We need to be liberated. And that’s the grace of God that gives us the ability, then, to will in the right direction, to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. So free will is right. It’s true, it’s biblical, but it needs to be qualified in terms of where man is relative to his own sin and his place before God.

Wim Kerkhoff  03:59

Yeah. So in evangelism and preaching, even though we know sinners are all depraved and but we know we depend on the grace of God that they will listen and will come.

Pastor Jim Butler  04:09

right. I think there’s a good sort of, at least an illustration of that at the grave site of Lazarus. When Jesus issues the command come forth, he has the power to enable compliance with that command. So when we call sinners to believe and repent, we’re not appealing to their free will. We’re appealing to God’s free grace, trusting, hoping and praying that he will open their ears and their hearts to receive the truth and then come to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Image License – CC3, Attribution – Alpha Stock Images, Author Nick Youngsen.