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Calvinism denies human free will and makes God responsible for evil

 

 

    Objection:   If man has no free will, i.e. God elects and controls everything including man's sinful acts, how can you not conclude that God is responsible for sin and evil? That God is the author of sin and evil?

     Response:  Calvinists do not deny free will. We affirm that people are free to choose what they want to choose. We state that the unbelievers nature is so corrupt that he does not have the ability in his own will, to choose to follow God.   This is why the Scriptures say...

“There is none righteous, not even one; 11 There is none who understands.  There is none who seeks for God; 12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good.  There is not even one,” (Romans 3:10-12).

"But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised," (1 Cor. 2:14).

    If the Bible says the unbeliever is not "free" then he is not free.  The Bible says the unbeliever is deceitful and sick (Jer.  17:9), full of evil (Mk 7:21-23), loves  darkness rather than light (John 3:19), does not understand, does not seek for  God (Rom. 3:10-12), is dead in his trespasses and sins (Eph.  2:1), is by nature a child of wrath (Eph. 2:3), cannot understand spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:14).  How then is the unbeliever able to choose God?  He cannot.

This makes God responsible for evil

     God is not responsible for the evil that is accomplished by the free will actionsof fallen people. Remember, free will is the ability to make choices and unbelievers make choices consistent with their fallen natures. They openly choose to accomplish evil deeds in contradiction to God's Word. They are openly and freely rebelling against God. God did not make them sinful. He did not make them rebellious.  therefore, God is not responsible for the evil but they accomplish.
     God made Adam who was good. Adam was not bound by its sinful nature and freely chose to rebel against God. Because of his rebellion, he fell. His body was physically affected by sin. Likewise, his children inherited the sinful nature and depravity of mind, soul, art, body, motions, etc. and are under the proclaimed revelation of God concerning their fallen state. Nevertheless, God made Adam good and Adam chose to rebel. We inherited the sinful nature and the unbeliever, the unregenerate can only act in accordance with his own fall in nature. In other words, he cannot choose to freely follow God because that is a good thing to do. Since he is a slave of sin, does not seek for God and does not understand spiritual things, he is not able to freely choose God.

 


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Copyright by Matthew J. Slick, B.A., M. Div., 2005
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