You can do what you want…..maybe! Okay, the first sentence might seem a bit much, but it captures the following reason: there is evil. Free will
Free will is the ability to choose. God has given humanity this ability; however, it’s limited. In reality, we can’t do anything we want because we are limited by our nature. We can’t walk on water or fly on our own (without an airplane!)
God communicates this freedom to Adam and Eve in the garden.
“The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” Genesis 2:16-17 NLT
God chose not to make us robots. We are not mindless beings living in a trance.
Free will affords us the ability to hate, but also to love. To do good things for people and bad things too.
While we are free to move about, God did set a standard for good. Our free will does not negate the fact that God knows what we will do and has the ability to prevent our actions. Our actions have consequences. Good or bad consequences. God rewards our efforts to do good in His name, but He will also punish the evil that we choose to do.
The Fall. Sin messed this world up. Because of sin, many people have a distorted view of good. It’s not the standard of good God has written the Bible.
Think about slaveholders. They thought they were doing good by enslaving other human beings.
Hitler. He thought His ideas about Jewish people were right and that Jews needed to be eliminated.
Yet, none of the examples above are good. The individuals thought they were doing good, but in essence, they were acquiescing to their sin nature.
Free will presents humanity with good and evil, and they have the ability to choose either.
All of humanity has the choice to give in to their sinful desires and actions. Yet not all of us do, simply because the Holy Spirit helps us resist those temptations.
As believers, it’s essential to know what God outlines as good in His Word. It’s a step in guiding our actions. When we see the standard, we can choose correctly with help.
In His graciousness, God does not leave us all alone to grapple with the choice we have to make in life. As mentioned before, the Holy Spirit is our helper. He provides us with wisdom and discernment to navigate this sinful world.
Remember, we have the freedom to choose, but we have help to make the right choice.
References
A Visual Guide to Biblical Apologetics by Joseph M. Holden and Sarah R. Enterline
Why Does God Allow Evil? By Clay Jones
Without a Doubt Answering the 20 Toughest Faith Questions by Kenneth Samples
Christian Apologetics by Douglas Groothuis
Do human beings truly have a free will? https://www.gotquestions.org/free-will.html
Free will is such a powerful tool. GOD loved/loves us so much that HE doesn’t force us but allows us to make our own decisions. These decisions rather good or bad, we have to live with the consequences.