Does Man Have Free Will?

by Heath Rogers

One of the consequences of the false doctrine of Calvinism is that man is declared incapable of choosing spiritual good over evil. It is argued that when Adam sinned, he plunged the entire human race into spiritual ruin and thus he lost for himself and his descendants the ability to choose in the spiritual realm.

It is true that Adam brought sin, and its consequences, upon mankind. However, the Bible says nothing of us losing our free will as a result of Adam’s sin. A casual reading of the Bible shows that it was written to a race capable of choosing to serve God. All emphasis is mine (HR).

“If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it” (Genesis 4:7).

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

“And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15).

“‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the LORD…” (Isaiah 1:18).

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

“And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17).

The Bible also makes it clear that man is held responsible for choosing not to come to God and not to receive His salvation.

“Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD” (Proverbs 1:29).

“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you” (Acts 7:51).

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Luke 13:34).

In the above verse, Jesus is recorded as wanting desperately to save the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Their destruction was not blamed upon their inability to choose, but upon their refusal to accept the Lord. There is a difference between the two.

If we don’t have free will, in what sense can we be held accountable for our sin and thus worthy of eternal damnation? What kind of a god would acknowledge our inability to choose, yet hold us responsible for our actions? This is not the God of love that we read about in the Bible (1 Timothy 2:3-4).

A theology that denies man’s ability to choose does not offer freedom from sin, but from responsibility. Herein lies both the attraction, and the deception, of the false doctrine of Calvinism.

Keeping the Sabbath

by Heath Rogers

      Sometimes we are asked about keeping the Sabbath. Such questions may arise from different people for different reasons. Some mistakenly believe that Sunday is the Sabbath or believe Sunday should be observed as the Christian’s Sabbath. The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week – Saturday. Others believe the command to keep the Sabbath in the Law of Moses is still binding on believers today. Groups like the Seventh Day Adventists hold this belief and practice.

     Keeping the Sabbath was part of the Law of Moses. It was the fourth of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:8-11). The observance of the Sabbath was to be a memorial of God’s rest after the six days of creation and a time of remembrance of how God had given them rest from their slavery in Egypt (Deut. 5:15).

     The Ten Commandments, as well as the entire Law of Moses, were given to the Nation of Israel, not to all of mankind. The Sabbaths were to be kept as a sign between God and Israel.

     “Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed” (Ex. 31:16-17, emphasis mine – HR).

     “Therefore I made them go out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. And I gave them My statutes and showed them My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them.’ Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them” (Ezek. 20:10-12).

     The Sabbath Law was given at Mt. Sinai. Some claim the Sabbath was made holy at the time of creation and that all men have been required to keep it. Others have made the argument that the Sabbath was bound in the instructions regarding the collection of the manna (Ex. 16). The Sabbath was not set apart for man to observe until the Law of Moses was given at Mt. Sinai.

     “You came down also on Mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven, and gave them just ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments. You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, and commanded them precepts, statutes and laws, by the hand of Moses Your servant” (Neh. 9:13-14).

     If the Sabbath was hallowed and commanded to be observed from the time of creation, why don’t we read of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob keeping it? The Sabbath isn’t mentioned by name until the time of Moses (Ex. 16:22-30).

     The Sabbath observance was taken away. As with all the Law of Moses, the binding of the Sabbath observance was taken away when Jesus died on the cross. “Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Col. 2:14). The old covenant that God made with Israel when He brought them out of the land of Egypt has served its purpose and has been taken away (Heb. 8:6-13). A failure to recognize the difference between the Old Testament Law given to Israel and the New Testament Law given to Christians has led to many false beliefs and practices, including the binding of the Sabbath observance.

      Because of the Law of Moses is no longer in effect, we are not to allow anyone to judge us as lawbreakers if we do not observe the Sabbath. “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ” (Col. 2:16-17). Those wanting to bind the Sabbath are living under the shadow of the Old Law. They are living under a law that is no longer recognized by God. It served its purpose and has been taken away in favor of the perfect law that has been obtained by Christ.

     We do not read of Christians keeping the Sabbath in the New Testament, but there is a day that was special to them – the first day of the week (Sunday). The church made a practice of assembling on this day to observe the Lord’s Supper and take up a collection (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1-2).

     Why was there a change in emphasis from the seventh day to the first day? Sunday was the day that Jesus rose from the dead (Mark 16:9) and first met with His apostles (John 20:19). Sunday was the day that the church was established (Pentecost always occurred on the first day of the week - Lev. 23:15-16; Acts 2:1). John said he was in the Spirit on “the Lord’s Day” (Rev. 1:10), which must have been the first day of the week.

     We are not obligated to keep the Sabbath. Sunday is not the Christian’s Sabbath. These truths are seen when one rightly divides the word of God.