God's Purpose in Human Decision Making and Free Will
The relationship between God's purpose and human decision-making is a complex and contested topic across Christian traditions. At its core is the debate over the extent to which human free will operates within the context of God's sovereignty and predestination.
One position, represented by Reformed theologians like Charles Hodge, emphasizes God's sovereignty in determining the outcome of human decisions. According to this view, God's decrees are eternal, unchangeable, and sovereign, comprehending all things that ever were or will be [1]. This perspective is grounded in scriptures such as Ephesians 1:4-5, which speaks of believers being chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world [5]. The Reformed tradition interprets such passages as indicating that God's will is the ultimate cause of all that comes to pass, including human decisions.
In contrast, the Catholic tradition, as represented by Thomas Aquinas, affirms the existence of human free will while also acknowledging God's sovereignty. According to Aquinas, the goodness of the human will depends on its conformity to the divine will [7]. This perspective is echoed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which affirms that human reason can attain a true knowledge of God, but also acknowledges the obstacles that prevent reason from effectively using this knowledge [10]. The Catholic view seeks to balance the affirmation of human freedom with the recognition of God's providential guidance.
The Lutheran tradition, as expressed in the Augsburg Confession, teaches that human will has some liberty to choose civil righteousness but lacks the power to achieve spiritual righteousness without the Holy Spirit [9]. This position underscores the limitations of human free will in matters of salvation.
The Patristic tradition, represented by Augustine, also affirms the existence of free will in humans, citing God's precepts as evidence that humans have the capacity to make choices [8]. However, Augustine's views on predestination and the role of grace in enabling human freedom are complex and have been interpreted in various ways across different Christian traditions.
Despite these differences, all positions agree that God's will is ultimately authoritative and that humans are called to align their will with God's purposes. Scripture emphasizes the importance of doing God's will, as seen in passages such as 1 Peter 2:15 and 4:2 [2, 3, 4]. The concept of providence is also shared across traditions, with the understanding that God governs all things, including human affairs [6].
The divergence in perspectives on God's purpose and human decision-making stems from differing hermeneutical commitments, historical contexts, and prior doctrinal premises. The interpretation of key scriptures, such as those related to predestination and free will, varies significantly across traditions. Understanding these differences requires a nuanced consideration of the complex interplay between divine sovereignty and human agency.
Sources
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Decrees of God — "The decrees of God are his eternal, unchangeable, holy, wise, and sovereign purpose, comprehending at once all things that ever were or will be in their causes, conditions, successions, and relations, and determining their certain futurition. The several contents of this one eternal purpose are, because of the limitation of our faculties, necessarily conceived of by us in partial aspects, and in logical relations, and are therefore styled Decrees." The decree being the act of an infinite, absolute, eternal, unchangeable, and sovereign Person, compre”
- I Peter “I Peter 2:15 (LEB) — For the will of God is as follows: by doing good to silence the ignorance of foolish people.”
- I Peter “I Peter 4:2 (LEB) — in order to live the remaining time in the flesh no longer for human desires, but for the will of God.”
- 1 Peter “1 Peter 2:15 (NASB) — For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Election of Grace — The Scripture speaks (1) of the election of individuals to office or to honour and privilege, e.g., Abraham, Jacob, Saul, David, Solomon, were all chosen by God for the positions they held; so also were the apostles. (2) There is also an election of nations to special privileges, e.g., the Hebrews (Deut. 7:6; Rom. 9:4). (3) But in addition there is an election of individuals to eternal life (2 Thess. 2:13; Eph. 1:4; 1 Pet. 1:2; John 13:18). The ground of this election to salvation is the good pleasure of God (Eph. 1:5, 11; Matt. 11:25, 26; John 15”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Providence — Literally means foresight, but is generally used to denote God's preserving and governing all things by means of second causes (Ps. 18:35; 63:8; Acts 17:28; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3). God's providence extends to the natural world (Ps. 104:14; 135:5-7; Acts 14:17), the brute creation (Ps. 104:21-29; Matt. 6:26; 10:29), and the affairs of men (1 Chr. 16:31; Ps. 47:7; Prov. 21:1; Job 12:23; Dan. 2:21; 4:25), and of individuals (1 Sam. 2:6; Ps. 18:30; Luke 1:53; James 4:13-15). It extends also to the free actions of men (Ex. 12:36; 1 Sam. 24:9-15; Ps. 33:14, 15; ”
- theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, First Part of the Second Part (Prima Secundae), Of the Goodness and Malice of the Interior Act of the Will, Art. 9: Article: Whether the goodness of the will depends on its conformity to the Divine will? I answer that, As stated above (Article [7]), the goodness of the will depends on the intention of the end. Now the last end of the human will is the Sovereign Good, namely, God, as stated above (Question [1], Article [8]; Question [3], Article [1]). Therefore the goodness of the human will requires it to be ordained to the Sovereign Good, that is, to God. Now this G”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 5: Augustine — Anti-Pelagian — CHAP. 2 [II]--PROVES THE EXISTENCE OF FREE WILL IN MAN FROM THE PRECEPTS ADDRESSED TO HIM BY GOD.: Now He has revealed to us, through His Holy Scriptures, that there is in a man a free choice of will. But how He has revealed this I do not recount in human language, but in divine. There is, to begin with, the fact that God's precepts themselves would be of no use to a man unless he had free choice of will, so that by performing them he might obtain the promised rewards. For they are given that no one might be able to plead the excuse of ignorance, as the”
- Augsburg Confession (Lutheran) “Augsburg Confession (Lutheran, 1530), 1 Of Free Will they teach that man’s will has some liberty to: 1 Of Free Will they teach that man’s will has some liberty to choose civil righteousness, and to work 2 things subject to reason. But it has no power, without the Holy Ghost, to work the righteousness of God, that is, spiritual righteousness; since the natural man 3 receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, 1 Cor. 2:14; but this righteousness is wrought in the heart when the Holy Ghost is received 4 through the Word. These things are said in as many words by Augustine in his Hypognosticon,”
- Catechism of the Catholic Church (Catholic) “Catechism of the Catholic Church, CHAPTER ONE (part 4): the image of God".12 37 In the historical conditions in which he finds himself, however, man experiences many difficulties in coming to know God by the light of reason alone: Though human reason is, strictly speaking, truly capable by its own natural power and light of attaining to a true and certain knowledge of the one personal God, who watches over and controls the world by his providence, and of the natural law written in our hearts by the Creator; yet there are many obstacles which prevent reason from the effective and fruitful use o”