I see little practical difference between the religious and the secular who believe there is no free will because neither accept personal responsibility. One lays it at the feet of “nature” the other at the feet of God.
How true Alamo-Girl! Determinism is a breeding ground for passivity and elitism, both in the church and without.
Here is an interesting thing that happened just tonight (Sunday) at a prayer meeting, and it speaks to that which you are talking about....
A dear woman just came back from a very powerful conference that focused on the love and compassion of Jesus. She was keeping us all enthralled with the stories of what took place at the conference, and all the things she learned.
She began telling us how God had predestined love and compassion for His elect (chosen), and that He had loved them before the beginning of the world.
I then asked her if this love and compassion was predestined for only the elect, or is it predestined for everyone?
She said "I knew you were going to ask me that!"
She went on: "God's love and compassion are predestined for every single person who has lived, who lives now, and who will ever live. He calls out to everyone, and sends His love, like rain, upon all men. It is His will that none be lost; that everyone be saved. His heart aches when He sees us doing evil to one another, even if it's nothing more than a harsh word. His heart breaks over every unkindness and every evil that proceeds out of us. His 'elect' are the ones who respond to His love."
Is there biblical support for what this dear woman told us? Yes, quite a bit! Here's a parable of Jesus that basically says the same thing:
Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.The invitation goes out to everyone, but only those who respond properly are "chosen.""Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.'
"But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
"Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’
So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless.
"Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
"For many are invited, but few are chosen."
(Matthew 22:1-14 NIV)
So what is Jesus telling us when the poor guy was kicked out and punished for not wearing the proper attire for a wedding? Well, to understand that, one must understand another scripture--they shed light on one another:
"Let us rejoice and be glad and give him [God] glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear."
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)Then the angel said to me,
Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!'"
And he added, "These are the true words of God."(Revelation 19:7-9 NIV)
This certainly will mess with some people's theology! The clothes, both for the wedding guests and 'the bride' represent righteous acts.
But how could God demand "righteous acts" from his saints if we are saved by faith, not by "works" (righteous acts)?
Well, being saved does NOT mean that we don't have any work to do! Rather, it's only the beginning of our work:
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.(Ephesians 2:10 NIV)
God has prepared us to do "good works," and we will only find out what those "works" are as we submit ourselves to Him, and His will. On the Last Day, we will all find out who submitted themselves to God's will, and those who thought "getting saved" was all they had to do.
But we must remember that God's will for us is wonderful! It is joyous! It is even fun! He will never ask us to do something that He won't also supply us with the means to do it. All He ask is that we be willing; that we choose to obey. In other words, we must choose to die to our own ideas of how to please God, and find out from Him what He wants! He certainly has a job for us to do, and we will always find that the particular job He has for us will bring unspeakable joy! If we are not finding joy in our work, we are either doing the wrong job, or going through a season of pruning.
I truly fear for the many leaders in the church who allow their people to get by every week without knowing this simple truth of scripture.
One thing she said didn’t sit well in my Spirit. She said “His heart aches when He sees us doing evil to one another, even if it's nothing more than a harsh word. His heart breaks over every unkindness and every evil that proceeds out of us.“ The phrasing implies that we have the power to do injury to God by rebellion – like teenagers so frequently do to get even with their parents for perceived slights. But God’s response to rebellion (and self righteousness) is righteous judgment:
I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way [that was] not good, after their own thoughts; A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick; Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable [things is in] their vessels;
Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These [are] a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day. – Isaiah 65:1-6
It seems to me that those who truly believed that there was no need for doing truth but did truth anyway (1 John 1:5-10) will not be hurt by a failure to believe that they didn’t need to be sanctified.
It also seems to me that some who believed that doctrine and because of it, did not continue on intentionally to add to their faith works might nevertheless be there but may have lost some of crowns they could have obtained (2 Tim 4:8, James 1:2, 1 Peter 5:4) – kind of like “heavenly hippies”. BTW, the purpose of a crown in my view is to have something to give to God (Revelation 4).
But indeed, the worst possible result of a belief in predestination to the exclusion of free will – living a life of rebellion to the Word on the basis of “God made me do it” - is His righteous judgment. I wonder what they will be thinking as they are being banished with the words “I never knew you”: