Are unbelievers free agents who do their own will or are they under the authority of the devil to do his will unless God intervenes in their lives?
Are Unbelievers Free Agents Who Do Their Own Will Whenever They Want?
Discussion in 'Baptist Theology & Bible Study' started by Scripture More Accurately, Mar 28, 2021.
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Yes, they do their own will.
6 vote(s)50.0% -
No, they are under the authority of the devil and do his will unless God intervenes
4 vote(s)33.3% -
Sometimes they do their own will and sometimes they do the devil's will
2 vote(s)16.7%
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Scripture More Accurately Well-Known Member
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Reformed1689 Well-Known Member
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Scripture More Accurately Well-Known Member
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Reformed1689 Well-Known Member
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Scripture More Accurately Well-Known Member
Acts 26:17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, 18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power [τῆς ἐξουσίας; "authority"] of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Col. 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power [τῆς ἐξουσίας; "authority"] of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
So do unbelievers do their own will or do they do Satan's will? If they do their own will, what does it mean that they are under Satan's authority? -
Once again we see the false claim that being made unable to seek God or trust in Christ, allows free will. That is like being free to choose hanging or injection. In order for the word "free" to mean free, it means able to make a choice that alters the outcome, life from death. The actual reality is our will is not free, being predisposed to sin, and through the practice of sin to harden our hearts so that we are unable to understand and respond to the gospel. However, before that (provided God has not chosen to harden the heart as He did in Romans 11) we are able to hear and understand to spiritual milk, which includes the gospel.
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Scripture More Accurately Well-Known Member
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Reformed1689 Well-Known Member
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Reformed1689 Well-Known Member
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Scripture More Accurately Well-Known Member
Moreover, Scripture also teaches,
Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
This passage teaches that every unbeliever lives his life according to the prince of the power of the air (the devil) and is being energized by the devil in his disobedience. So do they do their own will or do they do the will of the devil who is energizing them in their disobedience? -
Reformed1689 Well-Known Member
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Scripture More Accurately Well-Known Member
2 Timothy 2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
Are you asserting that even though people are captives to the devil, they still do their own will and not the devil's will? -
Reformed1689 Well-Known Member
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Scripture More Accurately Well-Known Member
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Reformed1689 Well-Known Member
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Scripture More Accurately Well-Known Member
I am not wanting "to split hairs"; I am seeking biblical precision in what I believe and say.
Jesus certainly was not "splitting hairs" when he said the following about certain people:
John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Notice that Jesus explicitly said that these people would do the lusts of their father the devil. He could have said that they would do their own lusts, but that is not what He said.
Based on what Jesus said here, would you still insist that even these people would do their own will or would you agree with Jesus and say that they would do the devil's will? -
Reformed1689 Well-Known Member
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Scripture More Accurately Well-Known Member
I will go with what Jesus said. -
Reformed1689 Well-Known Member
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