Free Will

It's been a long  time since I've updated my blog. One of the big changes at church was a new webpage. I have spent most of my time trying to learn how to keep the page current. There are still areas that need to be completed. I am working on these, but progress is slow.

The one area I have learned how to update is the sermon page. You can find sermons there in mp3, Word, and pdf formats.

We also have attempted to start a Facebook page, but that is another challenge that we are still working on. Stop by for a visit.

The reason for the title of this blog: 

I recently had a friend of mine ask me two questions. As usual, my answers were too involved, but I decided to share them with you anyway. Let me know if my answers help or hinder. I will post Question 2 in the next post.

Question 1

Under what conditions does man have free will?.

Answer 1: All conditions. Man always has free will.

·         In the Garden, man had two choices: The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Unrighteousness) and all the other trees, including the Tree of Life (Righteousness).

·         Utilizing his free will, man made the choice of unrighteousness, thus forfeiting for eternity the ability to choose righteousness – in other words, he died.

·         From that point on, every choice, whether good or bad, was an unrighteous choice because it was made without the Spirit – it was a choice of death.

·         Even if man could live a life filled with nothing but choices for good, he would still be expressing his will in the realm of unrighteousness. Even good people are dead because of the sin of Adam.

·         By giving life to a man dead in sin, the Spirit restored his ability to choose righteousness. Once he is born again, he is as Adam was – he can see both choices – righteousness as well as unrighteousness.

·         Because of God’s grace, he will choose righteousness.