Freedom – again

         I have been questioned on why I believe freedom is so important.  Why do I focus on personal freedom and free will in my thinking theologically?  Especially when we are called to be slaves of Christ and are reminded we were bought at a price (Christ on the Cross) in the bible.  My thinking on this really boils down to some simple things. 

         If we do not have free will then nothing matters.  What we do we do because either God makes us or the deterministic qualities of the laws of physics make us.  Either way nothing matters because we have no say in it.  Without free will this writing is determined to be done outside of my control. Without free will there is neither evil nor good.  All is neutral.  There is no choice. 

         Biblically we see choice as one of the first gifts God gives to His creation called Man.  Everything we see in the bible points to God creating us to be in relationship with Him.  He could create all the creatures He wanted that had no choice except to love and worship Him, but a real relationship requires the ability to choose.  There is great risk with the ability to choose, but this is also the only way to get the reward of relationship. 

          When I look at the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, sinless man dying to redeem sinful man, I have often wondered “Wasn’t there another way?”  As a Sovereign God He could have ended sin simply by taking away free will.  With no freedom to choose we can not choose to sin.  When I look at the other options this is all I see in regards to salvation of Man and the restoration of the relationship (which is another big conversation). 

         A question asked is “Is salvation based on God’s sovereign will or is it dependent upon Man’s freedom to choose God?”  I would say both.  God’s sovereign will is to grant free will to Man not imposing His will upon Man, rather allowing the freedom of choice.  Man must choose to receive what God is offering through His Son on the cross.  The key point in this is that Salvation is not based upon Man’s actions; it is based upon Jesus’ action on the cross and through His resurrection.  The only point of influence that Man has upon Salvation is that of choosing to receive it or not. 

         Final thought on this is regarding being asked why it is such a big deal to me that free will be upheld in my thinking theologically.  It seems to me that free will is the biggest crux of the whole story of the Bible.  It is the gift that sets us apart from the rest of creation.  It is the abuse of that gift that has led to all of our problems.  It is the submission of that gift to God’s will that leads us out of our problems and it is the use of that gift to receive what Christ did for us that we find Salvation!  If God’s goal was sinless Man then the removal of free will was the way to go, but God chose the more difficult path of redemption in order to maintain the gift of free will He started us off with for the sake of having a real relationship with Man.  On top of all that the repercussions of a lack of free will are unthinkable – it truly means no personal responsibility.  Anything goes!