For about two months now, we are holding a study with some people who believe that man lost his free will after Adam’s fall. ~ Christine, Saudi Arabia
The assertion that mankind lost the capacity of freewill when Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden is obviously false. The Bible throughout calls upon humans to make choices. Some of the more prominent examples include these following.
“And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).
“And Elijah came to all the people, and said, ‘How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.’ But the people answered him not a word” (1 Kings 18:21-22).
“And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17).
In addition, uninspired observation confirms the existence of freewill. The very existence of biblical instruction implies the ability to make good or bad choices, for otherwise biblical instruction is useless. In addition, the capacity for humans to make choices is fundamental to the existence of secular law, for otherwise neither could law have been formulated in the first place nor would law have any significance if it were impossible to comply with it or to disobey it.
The very process of engaging in an argument for or against freewill presupposes the ability to be swayed (exercise freewill) toward one explanation or the other. Humans are not dumb animals that are incapable of consciousness, and neither are they robots functioning without personal investment in the consequence of their actions. The Final Judgment will be intensely personal, based on the righteous and unrighteous choices each person made in his or her life (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; 2 Corinthians 5:10).
