What is free will? Does the Bible teach that we have free will?

from the old testament

• God’s will is unconstrained. Of Him we read, “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3). Daniel adds that there is nothing we can do to affect or change His will. He said, “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” (Daniel 4:35).
• Thus, our definition of human free will must never contradict God’s free will. Because our decisions do not change God’s will, our free will is necessarily limited, subject to His will.
• However, God never forces us to do anything against our will, which is why we can say that humans have true free will. There is no such thing as a “will” which is entirely free. Rather, will is limited by one’s nature. Even in the case of God, He is not free to sin; indeed, He cannot sin (Habakkuk 1:13; cf. James 1:13). That is because His will follows His nature, only ever desiring what is good.
• After He created us, we rebelled against Him (Genesis 3). The result was that He judged us with a corrupt nature. This means that our desires are inherently bent toward evil (Jeremiah 17:9). Our will is bound by our nature.
• God works through our sinful natures to accomplish His plans. This compatibilism, as theologians call it, is reflected in Genesis 50:20, which reads, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” Joseph was saying that the will of his brothers was to enslave Joseph while, at the same time, God willed to work through their evil desires to save Israel.

from the new testament

• What makes the discussion of free will so contentious is the topic of salvation. Some argue that there are two options: either we have free will, or we are robots, only doing what God ordains. These individuals tend to promote libertarian free will, meaning that our decision to choose or reject Jesus is so free that God plays no part in it (Note: this is a simplification of a highly complex discussion).
• However, Scripture teaches that “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10–12). By no one seeking God, Paul meant that no one rightly desires God, as they are bound by their sinful nature. That lack of desire constrains their will.
• This constraint doesn’t negate our free will, but it does mean we aren’t truly free to do anything. Instead, we are limited by our nature. Speaking of the believers’ lives before they were saved, Paul said they “were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Ephesians 2:3). All of humanity is, by nature, sinful and deserving of God’s judgment.
• In Romans 8:5–8, we read, “Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh … For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
• The unregenerate man or woman is unable to submit to God. This means no one can be saved on their own. Salvation, then, “depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (Romans 9:16).
• It is because our wills are constrained to our desires that God needs to call and draw us to Him (John 6:44). As part of that process, He changes our nature such that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). It is because of that new nature, freed from sin and death (Romans 8:2) that one can, and will, choose Christ.
• Thus, while not having libertarian free will, humans have genuine free will and are not robots. They are constrained by their desires, freely rejecting Him. But when God changes their desires, they freely accept Jesus. Salvation, then, comes through God’s mercy in changing our desires (Ephesians 2:4–5).
• Because the constraint is in one’s desires, God is just when He “commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). Though only those He chooses will be able to choose Jesus, those whom He does not are freely and willingly rebelling against Him.

implications for today

Questions about free will and God's sovereignty can easily become debates that leave us fascinated by mystery but unchanged by truth. Scripture never calls us to figure out every detail of how God works. This topic, specifically, is difficult because both parts are equally true: we are responsible for our decisions, but God is still sovereign over all our decisions. He doesn't force us to act, but unless He intervenes, specifically for salvation, we are limited by our sin nature to what we can see and how we can respond.

Therefore, when you recognize your sin, respond. He is graciously calling. If you hear His voice today, don't get stuck asking questions that keep you from obedience. Repent, believe, and follow Christ while His invitation is before you.

God's grace is not given so we can endlessly analyze it but so we can receive it with humility and gratitude. There will always be mysteries beyond our understanding, but there is no mystery about what God commands: turn to Him, trust Him, and walk with Him. When God graciously opens your eyes to see Christ, the right response is not endless speculation—it is worship, faith, and joyful obedience.