If our future is determined for us by God, then how do we have free will like the Bible says?

If our future is determined for us by God, then how do we have free will like the Bible says?

QUESTION:

If our future is determined for us by God, then how do we have free will like the Bible says?

ANSWER:

Isaiah confirms the following,

Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

This scripture tells us that God has planned and determined the beginning and the end of everything in existence. It tells us that God is outside of the realm of time which He has created. This means that God is omnipresent and can be present in the beginning of time as well as at the end of time, or anywhere in between, simultaneously. In addition, God is omniscient and is not limited in knowledge, knowing the end from the beginning, knowing how all things work out and align up, as these verses prove,

Heb 4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. 

1Jn 3:20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 

With this in mind, let's get back to the details of the question, “Is our future really determined for us by God?”

The answer is no. We have absolute free will to make our own choices and dictate the course of our own lives. A well-known scripture can settle this quickly,

Deu 30:19 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:

In addition to this verse, here are several more, each containing proof that in various ways, we have absolute reign over our life, our choices, and our fate,

1 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Chronicles 9:7; 2 Peter 3:9; Galatians 5:13; John 7:17; Joshua 24:15; Mark 8:34; Proverbs 16:9; Revelation 3:20; Romans 6:23; Romans 13:2; Romans 10:9-10.

So, the bottom line is that God might know our future, but God does not determine or dictate the outcome of our future. Our future is the sum result of all our own choices. It just happens that God knows today what our future choices will result in. The fact that God knows what we will choose before we make the choice does not mean that God dictates our choices, it simply means that God is omniscient and can use that foreknowledge as He sees fit.

We often encounter words like these in scripture, “Predetermined, Predestined, Foreknowledge, Foreordained, Chosen, Elect, Called”. Here are a few verses that use these words, 1 Peter 1:20; Ephesians 1:4-5; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Corinthians 2:7; Isaiah 14:26-27; Ephesians 1:11; Acts 2:23; 2 Timothy 1:9.

In summation, we have determined that God is outside of time and that God knows all knowledge, past, present, and future. We have also determined that God does not violate the free will of man. These are concepts that can be hard to comprehend, so I’d like to take the opportunity to provide a very practical, human example to relate to.

Say that you want to watch a sports event but when the hour of this event comes, you cannot watch it live, so you record it. Then later that night you are socializing with your friends and one of them blurts out the result of the sports event you recorded, and everyone starts recalling the highlights. Yes, we know how disappointing that can be! Nevertheless, you are determined to watch the match because you have now heard what an amazing spectacle it was. So, the next morning, you sit in front of the TV, and you watch the recording. You know what is going to happen, you see the lead up to each highlight and there it happens, right before your eyes. You know what is going to happen, but you cannot influence it in any way.

In great respect, although God could influence and change anything in your life if He wanted to, He does not. He knows what you will choose, He knows what will happen after you make it, but He will not interfere or overpower the right you have to choose for yourself, in exactly the same way as you could not change the choices of the players in that match you recorded.

God has granted us the remarkable gift of free will. Throughout the Bible, we find verses that affirm our ability to choose, to act, and to shape our destinies. However, we also find verses that encourage us to grow in the knowledge of God’s Word and to give ourselves over to obedience and to the influence and authority of God’s Word, God’s will, and God’s ways. Is it not the greatest privilege and goal we can attain, to be filled with the living Spirit of Christ and to declare of oneself that, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: …”?

So, let us embrace our free will, make wise choices, and seek God’s guidance. May our decisions align with His will, and may we walk in faith, knowing that He respects our autonomy while lovingly inviting us to follow Him.