FREE WILL... or... DOES GOD.. "FORCE" ..OUR STEPS ?God never uses that word,but He does use words such as "directs" or "guides"It doesn't take a great deal of energyfor God to make people follow the footstepsthat He has established for themThe SLIGHTEST motivationsin our finances, stomach, social life, egos, etc.,will easily cause us to go either this way or that wayOf course none of this is of any valueunless we can establish it in God's WordNotice what God says regarding our "steps""...It is NOT IN MAN...to direct his steps..." (Jer10:23)"A man's heart deviseth his way:but the Lord DIRECTS HIS STEPS" (Prov16:9)God could have just as easily said: "...the Lord directs HIS WAY""Man's goings (Heb: steps) ARE OF THE LORD:how can a man then understand HIS OWN WAY?(it matters not if our steps are good or sinful)" (Prov 20:24)"For now thou NUMBEREST my steps(That's pretty specific, Matthew): dost thou NOT watch over my SIN?" (Job 14:16)"The steps('steps' is used to symbolize ALL OF MANS DOINGS)OF A MAN ARE ordered (Heb: established) by the Lord" (Psa 37:23)If ALL man's steps are "established",then of necessitythey are ordered by God IN ADVANCEof him taking those ordered steps!!!With this in mind,Let's take a closer look at man's supposed "FREE WILL"ELOHIM'S FOREKNOWLEDGE CONTRADICTS FREE WILLPhil 2:13it is God (not man)which works in you BOTH TO WILL (God causes us ‘to will’)and TO DO (God causes us ‘to do’)of His good pleasure" to bring about His intentionsAfter years of following Jesus daily,the apostles were not as yet convertedIn the evening of the last PassoverJesus tells Peter:Luke 22:31-32"And the Lord said, Simon, Simon,behold Satan has desired to have you,that he may sift you as wheat;But I have prayed for you,that your faith fall not:and when you are converted,strengthen your brethren"Yes indeed, "when you are converted"And just when might that be?Up until the very last day with their Lord,the apostles all believed that theypossessed the power of free will,which could enable them to choosetheir own destiny, and that they couldand would have the strength of self determinismand free will to maintain that courseBut Jesus told His disciplesthat they would all forsake HimIn other words,Jesus was foretelling of EVENTS that would cause(even ‘force,’ if you will) them to change their wills,against their previously stated willsThey of course, all deniedthat Jesus knew what He was talking aboutMark 14:27 & Zech 13:7"And Jesus said unto them,all ye shall be offended because of Me this night;for it is written, I shall smite the shepherd,and the sheep shall be scattered"The disciples all saidthat they would remain loyalbut Jesus said that they would allbe offended because of HimWas there a reasonfor God causing the disciplesto will loyalty to Jesus and thenin the same night to will to deny Jesus?Does God do anything in vain without a reason?This was all part of their conversion process!!God totally humiliated them by proving to themthat their own will was not freeto do what they wanted, but thatPhil. 2:13"it is God (not man) which works in youBOTH TO WILL (God causes us ‘to will’)and TO DO (God causes us ‘to do’)of His good pleasure"to bring about His intentionsIn just one night God smashedthe presumed free will of all the disciplesand they lost confidence in their flesh after that nightThere are two things that constantlyoppose and change the will of man,so that it cannot be said that the willis free to will its own destinyfor even a day or an hourWhat are these two factorsover which man has absolutelyno control whatsoever?CIRCUMSTANCESandGOD’S WILLCIRCUMSTANCES:God changes the minds and wills of mankindaround the world, a billion times a minute,through circumstances that "you know not"which are actually the cause of your choicesand your changed choicesWe are often if not most of the timecompletely unaware of what actuallycaused us to do or say or think as we doHow did all the disciples willto remain loyal to Jesus no matter what,at one moment in time, and in the next momentthey all changed their will to forsake Him?What changed their wills?Circumstances!!One moment they were at ease and safein the upper room, and at a later momentthey were in the garden surrounded by Roman Soldiers!Fear was the circumstancethat caused their (un-free) wills to changeSo it was the presence of certain circumstancesthat caused the disciples to will as they didBut what caused the circumstancesto be as they were to ensurethat they would will appropriatelyto fulfill Christ’s prophecy concerningtheir denying and forsaking Him?GOD’S WILL:Who was in charge of all these circumstances,which caused the disciples to change their wills?Why God, of courseThey did not want to change their willsThey did not desire to deny their Lord and SaviourThey did not wish to make liars of themselvesThey did not want to be shown to be cowardsWell then, why did they change their willsif they did not wish to change their wills?Were they free to not change their wills?No, they were not free.The fear inside of them caused and made(and yes, FORCED, if you will) them to change their willAnd Jesus Himself told themthat they would change their wills,so how pray tell could it have been otherwise?God knew exactly what was neededto make all of the disciples change their willsGod said that they would change their willsand forsake Jesus,and God was not aboutto be made a liarPeter did not even know what it was that caused himto deny Christ until the "cock crew"In our above example with the disciples,not only did they change their emphaticallystated will, but, they did so against their stated willEven when they willed to change their will,they did so against their original desired willPeter did not want to deny Christbut he was made to deny Christby the mere fact that the alternative (fear)was greater than his desire to remain loyalAnd so, how was he "free" to remain loyal?He wasn’tPeter was no more "free" to not deny Jesusany more than he was "free"to be loyal in his original choiceBoth choices were caused,and once something is caused to happen,it could never had been otherwiseOnce the cause is set in motion,the effect must followGod brought about circumstances thatcaused, made, forced, Peter to dowhat he didn’t want to doHow then, can such a forced will, be free?Peter didn't will to deny Jesus,but he was clearly caused to do soThis is an example of how God causes mento change their will even when it is againsttheir initial will to do soHow much easier and unrecognizableare the millions of choices we makein which we very willingly make the decisions we do,because they often appear to be pleasant, profitable,and desirable choices?This exampleof the disciples forsaking Jesus is so important!!Can we believe that Jesuscould have told His disciples the following:"And Jesus said unto them,All ye shall be offended because of me this night,but then again,maybe not all of you will be offended,seeing that all of you have a free willOr maybe this to Peter:"And Jesus said unto him (Peter)Verily I say unto you, that this day, even in this night,before the cock crow twice, thou shall deny me thrice,but then again,maybe you won’t deny Me three times,seeing that you have a free willthat does not need to deny me even onceIt doesn’t depend on what I say,or circumstances brought about by my Father,or what God declares,but rather on your own "free will"Sounds a little sillywhen we look at it logically doesn’t it?Yet this is the contentionof those who believe in "free will"Maybe Peter will,but then again maybe Peter won’t,NOT EVEN GOD KNOWS FOR SUREAlmost sounds like blasphemy, doesn’t it?It is blasphemy to argue that when Godprophesies, states, and intendsthat someone do a particular thing,that the person is still at libertybecause of his supposed free will,to not do what God has saidYet this is what the theory of "free will" demandsThe fact that God has a foreknowledge of everythingproves that free will is an impossibility,True "free will" could alter the futureand therefore God could nothave an absolute and true knowledge of the futureTherefore, it is a grave error to statethat man has a free will that is not"made" or "caused" to do as it does,and yet state that God knows in advancethe only possible choice that a person must makeHow can one believethat if God states that a person will make choice A,that he is nonetheless still at liberty to make choice B?Let me restate that:Can God say that you WILL make choice A,but you can make choice B?Can God say that such and such, WILL happenbut that it doesn’t need to happen?The disciples WILL forsake and deny Christ,but they have a free choice NOT to forsake and deny Him?God knows in advancethat something WILL be a certain way,and yet it doesn’t have to be that way?Peter thought he possessed free will:Matt 26:33"Peter answered and said unto Him,Though all men shall be offended because of you,YET WILL I NEVER BE OFFENDED"Jesus responded that Peterhad no freedom of the willto stick by such a statement"Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee,That this night, before the cock crow,YOU SHALL DENY ME thrice" (Ver 34)Peter again respondsfrom the throne of his presumed free willand CORRECTS Jesus to His face:"Peter said unto Him,Though I should DIE WITH THEE,YET WILL I NOT DENY THEELikewise also said ALL THE DISCIPLES"(Ver 35)And the rest is historyWhen Peterwas confronted the third time we read this:Matt 26:74 & 75"Then began he to curse and to swear,saying, I KNOW NOT THE MANAnd immediately the cock crewand he went out, and wept bitterly"Free will? Where? Give it up!!What about all of the other discipleswho also thought they possessed this powerof free will and self-determinism?Matt 26:56"But all this was done,that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilledThen ALL THE DISCIPLES FORSOOK HIM, AND FLED"Free will? FREE will? FREE WILL?Where?If you still believe man has a will that is "free"from external and internal causes, beyond his control,then your arguments are not with me, but with God’s WordNow for maybe the most profoundand all-encompassing statements in all Scripture:Eph 1:11"In Whom (GOD) also we have obtained(‘obtained’ not ‘earned’) an inheritance,being PREDESTINATED(our ‘destiny’ was ‘pre’ arranged by God, not us)according to the PURPOSE OF HIM(not the free will, OF US!)Who WORKS ALL THINGS (EVERY thing)AFTER THE COUNSEL OF HIS OWN WILL(not OUR OWN WILL)http://myspace.com/water_spirit_blood
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