A Beginner’s Guide to ‘Free Will’ - John Piper

• Before the fall of Adam, man was sinless and able not to sin.

[Gen 1:31 LSB] And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

• As soon as Adam fell into sin, human nature was profoundly altered. Now man was not able not to sin. In the fall, human nature lost its freedom not to sin.

[Gen 2:17 LSB] but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it; for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die."

[Jhn 3:6 LSB] "That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit.

[Rom 8:7 LSB] because the mind set on the flesh is [at] enmity toward God, for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able [to do so],

[Rom 8:8 LSB] and those who are in the flesh are not able to please God.

[1Co 2:14 LSB] But a natural man does not accept the [depths] of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually examined.

Too Rebellious to Submit to God

[2Co 4:4 LSB] in whose case the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

To Believe We Must See Beauty

[Mat 10:37 LSB] "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

[Jhn 5:44 LSB] "How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the only God?

[Jhn 1:12 LSB] But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, [even] to those who believe in His name,

[Heb 11:6 LSB] And without faith it is impossible to please [Him], for he who draws near to God must believe that He is and [that] He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

[Rom 14:23 LSB] But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because [his eating is] not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.

The Great Renovation Through Christ

[Jhn 8:34 LSB] Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.

[Rom 6:20 LSB] For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

• God’s creation of light in our hearts

[2Co 4:6 LSB] For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

•  God’s causing us to be born again

[1Pe 1:3 LSB] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

•  God’s raising us from the dead

[Eph 2:4-5 LSB] But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us,

even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--

•  God’s gift of repentance

[2Ti 2:25-26 LSB] with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may give them repentance leading to the full knowledge of the truth,

and they may come to their senses [and escape] from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. 

•  God’s gift of faith

[Phl 1:29 LSB] For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,

[Rom 6:14 LSB] For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

A Definition of ‘Free Will’

• A Popular Definition

Our will is free if our preferences and our choices are really our own in such a way that we can justly be held responsible for whether they are good or bad.

 [Rom 8:7-8 LSB] because the mind set on the flesh is [at] enmity toward God, for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able [to do so],and those who are in the flesh are not able to please God.

•  A Biblical Definition

The human will is free when it is not in bondage to prefer and choose irrationally. It is free when it is liberated from preferring what is infinitely less preferable than God, and from choosing what will lead to destruction. 

[Jhn 8:32 LSB] and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

[Rom 6:17 LSB] But thanks be to God that [though] you were slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were given over,

[Rom 6:18 LSB] and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 

•  A Technical Definition

We have free will if we are ultimately or decisively self-determining, and the only preferences and choices that we can be held accountable for are ones that are ultimately or decisively self-determined.

On this definition, no human being has free will, at any time. Neither before or after the fall, or in heaven, are creatures ultimately self-determining. There are great measures of self-determination, as the Bible often shows, but never is man the ultimate or decisive cause of his preferences and choices. When man’s agency and God’s agency are compared, both are real, but God’s is decisive. Yet — and here’s the mystery that causes so many to stumble — God is always decisive in such a way that man’s agency is real, and his responsibility remains.

But Isn’t This Inconceivable?

My own view is that the Bible does teach this — the compatibility of God’s decisive sovereignty and man’s responsibility.

Can a person’s acts be justly regarded as praiseworthy or blameworthy if those acts flow from a good or evil nature that inclines him in only one way?

So much more can be said. Questions abound. My plea is that you focus on the actual teaching of the Scriptures. Try not to bring philosophical presuppositions to the text (presuppositions like: human accountability cannot coexist with God’s decisively working “all things according to the counsel of his will,” Ephesians 1:11). Let the Bible speak fully and deeply. Trust that someday we will no longer see in a mirror dimly, but face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12).

[Eph 1:11 LSB] In Him, we also have been made an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

[1Co 13:12 LSB] For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.