Is Free Will Biblical or Just a Mean Joke?
The Facts Will Scare, Upset, Anger You But You Will Know The Truth...
I am constantly chastised for saying that the New Testament is more geared toward predestination than free will. So, here are the verses to support my position. The New Testament verses consistent only with Calvinism, or the Doctrine of Predestination:
Matthew 2:6; 7:16-20; 9:37-38; 10:5-6; 11:25, 27; 13:24-30, 37-43; 15:13, 24; 20:23, 28; 22:2-14; 24:22; 25:32-34
Mark 4:11-12; 15-20
Luke 1:77; 3:17; 6:43-45; 8:5-15; 10:22; 13:23-30; 14:23; 16:31
John 1:12-13; 3:6; 6:44, 65; 10:14, 16, 26; 15:16; 17:2
Acts 2:39
Romans 8:29-30, 33; 9:15-16, 21-24; 10:20; 11:5
II Corinthians 10:7, 18
Galatians 1:15
Ephesians 1:4-5, 2:8
II Thessalonians 2:11-12
II Timothy 2:10, 19-20
I Peter 2:8
Jude 4
Revelation 7:3-15; 13:8; 22:11
The New Testament verses consistent only with Arminianism, or the Doctrine of Free Will:
Matthew 11:28
Luke 2:10; 11:9-10; 13:34; 20:38
Acts 2:17
Romans 10:9, 13
Galatians 5:13
Ephesians 4:6
Philipians 2:10-11
Colossians 1:28
I Timothy 2:4, 6
II Timothy 2:21
Titus 2:11
II Peter 3:9
Revelation 22:17-19, 21
As John Calvin recognized, it’s much easier to reconcile the free will verses with the predestination verses rather than the other way around. Jacobus Arminius, the main supporter of free will in the 16th century would not concede, however. That’s why to this day Christians believe they actually have a choice. And the rabid 19th century English and American ministers like Jonathan Edwards and others screamed the doctrine of free will, saying, in essence, that a loving God could never predestine anyone to hell. Wrong. If you're a serious student of the New Testament, you will take the time to study these passages for yourself.
The most interesting thing about these scriptures is, when you read them within the body of the entire text, they don’t stand out as much. But when you read them as individual treatises, as groups of scripture set apart by themselves, the contradictions stand out in sharp relief. The differences are startling.
There’s no escaping the irrefutable fact that the New Testament favors the Doctrine of Predestination. With all due respect to you evangelists and witnesses out there, you can do nothing to bring anyone to Christ. The Elect were elected before the foundation of the world. The case, then, is closed.
(Note: I have checked the above verses many times. Any possible errors are typos. If you find one, let me know and I will send you the correct one.)