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FREE CHOICE AGENTS BY RYAN HICKS © 1996-1999 Ryan Hicks |
A free choice agent is any being that has the ability to make its own decisions, based on its own free will, and is not controlled like a puppet by its Creator. All angels, devils, and men are free choice agents with free wills. They can at any time choose to rebel against God and His Law, consequently coming under the judgment of the broken law. While some angels were redeemed, the rest of the fallen angels are beyond redemption as are devils. Mankind is offered redemption through the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. Any man can at any time choose to repent and turn to God or sin and turn away from God. No man, saved or unsaved, is without free will or free choice agency.
The foundation of man's free choice agency is man's free will. The Scriptures make it abundantly clear that man has a free will, that is the ability to do as he so chooses according to his own sovereign will. The doctrine of free will is important to understand if one is to fully understand other Biblical truths that are affected by our choice: healing, salvation, deliverance, holiness, freedom, etc. Let us look at some Scriptures that clearly teach the free will of man.
Ezra 7:13
We can see numerous times under the Dispensation of Law that men could give offerings based on their free will. All such offerings were commonly called freewill offerings. See Leviticus 22:18, 21, 23; 23:38; Numbers 15:3; 29:39; Deuteronomy 12:6, 17; 16:10; 23:23; 2 Chronicles 31:14; Ezra 1:4; 3:5; 7:16; 8:28; and Psalm 119:108.
Exodus 3:3
Some may argue that because most of these verses deal with the Dispensation of Law that they do not mean that man has a free will today. This is an absurd argument. While God's dealings with man may change from dispensation to dispensation, man's natural, spiritual, and physical makeup doesn't change. At least not in the sense that certain attributes cease to exist after certain dispensations cease. Man had a free will before the Dispensation of Law (Genesis 13:9; 14:23; 18:4-5; 21:24; 22:2-8; 23:13; 24:3-58; 27:9-12, 41-45; 29:18, 27, 32-35; 30:13, 20, 28, 31-32; 32:20, 26; etc), and has a free will after the Dispensation of Law under the New Testament as seen in the Scriptures below.
Matthew 7:21
3. DOESN'T HE CHOOSE US? This is a common argument by those who refuse to believe and understand the obvious Biblical truth that man is a free choice agent. For one to deny man's free will is to deny any and all logic. Does not a man choose what he eats? What about their jobs? Does God Sovereignly control man's every little decision, thus making all failure and error God's fault? The answer to the last question is an obvious, "NO!" 4. ANGELS ARE FREE CHOICE AGENTS
Isaiah 14:12-14
Lucifer chose by his own free will to rebel against God, and attempt to dethrone God. The angels that followed him in rebellion also made a choice, based on their own free will, to follow Lucifer in rebellion against God. 5. DEVILS ARE FREE CHOICE AGENTS The exact origin of devils and their characteristics will be further discussed in course #13. That they are free choice agents as is seen in Scriptures such as Matthew 8:28-31; 12:43-45; Luke 8:26-33; 11:24; etc. 6. WHY FREE CHOICE AGENCY? God chose to create beings that are free choice agents so that He could have a people who choose to faithfully serve Him. If man was not created a free choice agent he would be a mere robot. Such a one would serve God because they are forced to, but not because of their love and own personal desire to serve the Lord. The free choice agents who stay faithful to the Lord will be part of the eternal kingdom in which God's intrusts the faithful with the care of the Universe. He will then have a perfect and holy people who live perfectly not because they are made to, but because they want to!
If man did not have free choice agency, then God would be responsible for man's actions. Sin, rebellion, wickedness, hate, sickness, lust, all the effects of sin, etc. would be God's fault. Then God would be unjust in damning the souls of all rebels, because He would be responsible for their rebellion against Himself.
13 I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own free will to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee.
Of the thousands of Scriptures proving man's free will, a few Old Testament Scriptures proving this are:
ORD, ye shall offer it at your own will.
3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
Leviticus 19:5
5 And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the L
Leviticus 22:29
29 And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the LORD, offer it at your own will.
Deuteronomy 30:19
19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mark 16:16
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Hebrews 3:6-7
6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice...
James 4:4
4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
Revelation 22:17
17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
The usual Scripture twisted out of context to "prove" their theory of man not having the ability to choose God is John 15:16. In John 15:16 Jesus is speaking to His disciples and says, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you."
This verse would seem to prove their theory right? Wrong! It is best for us to realize once and for all if one Scripture goes against the majority of the rest of Scripture we can be sure that we are misunderstanding or misinterpreting the plain meaning of the text. It is always good to look at the context of a verse, that way you will understand what was being addressed and what had already been taught on the subject. This verse is only one of many verses that men use to prove their theories, even in the face of hundreds of Scriptures to the contrary. That is why Jesus said that the traditions of men make the word of God of no effect (Matthew 15:3, 6; Mark 7:9, 13). When men are bound by tradition and religion they have to "reject the commandment of God" that they may keep their own traditions (Mark 7:9).
A brief overview of the 15th Chapter of the Gospel of John reveals what Jesus was teaching when He got up to verse 16.
Verse 1 - Jesus teaches that He is the vine and God the Father is the husbandman.
Verse 2 - He teaches that there are branches (men) who do not bear fruit and they are taken away. He also teaches that those which bear fruit will be purged so that they may bring forth more fruit.
Verse 3 - He teaches that the Apostles were clean by the word that He had spoken to them.
Verse 4 - He command them to abide in Him, and that they cannot bear fruit if they do not abide in Him.
Verse 5 - He teaches that He is the vine and they are the branches, and that they can do nothing without Him.
Verse 6 - He teaches that a man can choose to not continue abiding in Him, and that such a one will be cast into hell.
Verse 7 - He teaches that "If" they abide in him, and His words abide in them, they will ask what they "will," and it shall be done for them.
Verse 8 - He teaches that the Father is glorified when they bear much fruit, and in doing so they will remain His disciples.
Verse 9 - He commands them to continue in His love.
Verse 10 - He stresses the fact that if they choose to keep His commandments they will abide in His love.
Verse 11 - He teaches that He spoke all these things to them that their joy would be full.
Verse 12 - He teaches that His commandment is to love one another, as He loved them.
Verse 13 - He teaches that there is no greater love than laying your life down for your friends.
Verse 14 - He tells them that they are His friends IF they do whatsoever He has commanded them.
Verse 15 - He tells them that He doesn't call them servants, because a servant doesn't know what his lord does, so He calls them friends because they do know what He does.
So far it is clear that Jesus is stressing man's obedience and choice in serving Him. Then in verse 16 He says, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you."
This verse becomes clear after a review of the context that He is simply teaching them that He has chosen and ordained them to bring forth fruit that will remain. In the past 15 verses He made it clear that their bringing forth fruit was dependent on whether they chose to abide in Him and His love. He makes absolutely no indication of them having no choice, rather He clearly indicates three times that they have a choice by using the word "if" (verse 6, 7, 10) and not "when."
Angels are also clearly seen to be free choice agents who are capable of rebelling against God or faithfully serving Him. One of the most obvious proofs of the angel's free will is seen in Lucifer.
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Other Scriptures that show us that angels have free wills are: Genesis 6:1-4; 19:1-2; Job 4:18; John 8:44; 1 Peter 1:12; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6-7; etc.
