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“A Choice To Make”
Categories: DOCTRINEWhy did God give us free will if He knew we would sin?Sincerely,
Free Thinker
Dear Free Thinker,
Free will goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. God warned Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but then He gave them access to the tree and the freedom to choose for themselves. If God hadn’t put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil into the garden (Gen 2:9), Adam and Eve wouldn’t really have had free will… which is an integral part of what makes mankind “in the image of God” (Gen 1:27). If Adam hadn’t had the opportunity to choose to do the wrong thing, he really wouldn’t have had the opportunity to choose to do the right thing either. It is that choice that sets us apart from the animals. Free will comes with the risk that we will do the wrong thing, but it also gives us the ability to choose to love God. Without free will, humans would just be glorified robots. Furthermore, God prepared beforehand a way back to Him for those who rebelled (Eph 1:5-6). God allows us to choose, and through the blood of Christ, He allows us to choose to return to Him (1 Pet 2:25).
