Yes, You Could

Okay, I don’t mean to bring any teaching that interferes with your or your denomination’s beliefs. Still, I need to communicate the truth that God has placed in the Bible. This post takes about three minutes to read. Please give me three minutes.

I grew up during a time when what a parent said was gospel. If my mother or father told me to do something, I knew I should be obedient. I resisted their authority many times. That doesn’t mean I did so without a sense of guilt or regret. I often argued with them – these times were brief, and it’s by God’s grace that I’m still here to write this post! However, after voicing my disapproval, and when they weren’t looking, I’d do what they told me to do.

Jesus spoke about a person like me. He said:

But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and went anyway. Then the father told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go. Which of the two did the will of his father?”

Matthew 21:28-31 NLT – Bible Gateway

Here is my point, and it’s different from what you might think. Jesus said that each son had a choice. Each son had the opportunity to please his father and say “yes.” Each son could choose to say “no;” one did. We see here that children can choose to please their fathers or at least obey them. They can also choose to say “no.” This is free will.

I am not speaking about election or predestination. That’s a topic that I will leave to theologians. I am pointing out that our Father has given His children free will. We choose how much time we spend in prayer, reading the Bible, and helping people. Jesus didn’t say, “Face Jerusalem and pray three times each day.” What we are told is to pray continually¹ and to shut ourselves in a private place to pray² and pray fervently³; we are to do them all, but we can say “yes” and then not do them.

Writing about free will was triggered when I read Revelation 11:3-6. In this passage, God says, “I will give authority to my two witnesses,” and they can do miraculous things “as often as they desire⁴.” That’s free will.

Free will does not mean rebelling against God. Often, our free will means we can use our authority as often as we desire. We can give some or a lot. We can invest some of our time mentoring a new Christian or bring that person into our lives. We can fervently pray every day or occasionally.

Being in Christ Jesus never limits our opportunities to please our Father. If we know that our Father told us to dig up worms, we can do that “in Christ Jesus,” and it will be pleasing to Him.

The way God works is that as soon as we have enough worms, we will meet someone who is going fishing. We can tag along, share the Good News of Jesus, the fisherman gets saved, and we become his or her mentors. Isn’t that what Phillip did with the eunuch⁵? That’s free will.

You could say, “I’m going to spend the day reading my Bible,” and God won’t stop you. We make decisions like this all of the time. We think we are being “holy” when, in fact, we should be digging up worms. That’s free will.

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Footnotes

1. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 – Christian Living. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved September 24, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/1_thessalonians/5-17.htm ↩︎
2. Matthew 6:6 – The Lord’s Prayer. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved September 24, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/matthew/6-6.htm ↩︎
3. James 5:16 – The Prayer of Faith. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved September 24, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/james/5-16.htm ↩︎
4. Revelation 11:6 – The Two Witnesses. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved September 24, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/revelation/11-3.htm ↩︎
5. Bible Gateway passage: Acts 8:26-40 – English Standard Version. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved September 24, 2024, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%208%3A26-40&version=ESV ↩︎