Freedom and Accountability in the Bible
When taken with the belief in an all powerful God, difficulties similar to the “standard problem” of free-will and agency exist although they are expressed not so much in terms of physical determinism but in terms of the sovereignty of God. For instance, whether it is possible for God to create a being which He cannot control. [Anglin 1980]. If God knows what we are going to do, can we have any real freedom? If God chose to hold back some of His power so that agents can have true freedom, does that mean that God is not immutable and therefore not perfect? Various answers have been proposed to these apparent paradoxes.
A different problem arises when, due to situations described in which free will is very much curtailed. In his book, Joel Green opens a chapter on “Sin and Freedom” by referring to the case of the school teacher described previously. He describes cases like these as “deeply disconcerting, harbouring as they do the prospect of the loss of our sense of wilful agency” [Green 2008]. Is such a person culpable and deserving of punishment? What does repentance and saving faith mean in such a case?
Scripture affirms that we do have real freedom, not just the illusion of it, and we are therefore strongly accountable for our choices. Nevertheless it is affirmed that our freedom is constrained by a number of factors including our nature, whether its origin is our genes or the sin of Adam, and our environment which may give us false information or keep us ignorant. Scripture also affirms the existence of “self-forming actions” [Kane 1999] by which our future choices are influenced by previous ones and we give ourselves the propensities which we choose to build. This is akin to Libertarianism.
Generally, we can see that the Bible affirms the following:
1. We have freedom of choice leading to “strong accountability”. Libertarian freedom.
2. Our freedom is limited by our inheritance (genes, human nature, sin of Adam) and our environment (ignorance, the Devil, false information etc.)
3. Humanity, as a race, is in a state of depravity (but not total depravity). As individuals we have a propensity to sin.
4. Acts committed in ignorance deserve to be treated less severely
5. God is absolutely sovereign. He has the power to coerce us if He chooses to do so.
6. God’s absolute sovereignty and human freedom and responsibility are simultaneously affirmed.
7. God, and only God, can release us from the restrictions to our freedom resulting from the position we are in. This enhanced freedom is partial while we are in this Age.
8. The process of salvation and sanctification is only done with our cooperation, never forced
Some representative Scriptures which deal with these issues are as follows:
We have freedom of choice and “strong accountability”
In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve are descries as having had freedom to take or not to take the apple. They are then held responsible and strongly accountable for their choice.
In Deuteronomy 30:19, the people of Israel are called to make a choice between following God’s instructions or rejecting them. Though their choice does have consequences, they are not forced to make one decision or the other. They are free and they are responsible.
In Proverbs 1:24 we see that God does not force His will upon a people who choose to go their own way.
In Acts 2:37, the people had been misguided and had acted in ignorance based on false information. Now that they hear the truth, they have the opportunity, and the freedom, to change direction (repent) and turn to the right path.
In Romans 1:20-21, freedom of choice is reaffirmed although there is also an indication that a person’s ability to make future choices can be limited by past and present choices. (Akin to “Self Forming Actions” [Kane 1999] )
For instance, stepping onto a slippery slope restricts one’s freedom to get back onto the road again (although not their freedom to shout for help). As we see in 2 Peter 3:9, the possibility of repentance, choosing a different path to follow, is always open.
Our freedom is limited by our inheritance and our environment. In our fallen state, we are unable to receive the truth. We have been blinded and deceived by the Devil and have become “slaves to sin”.
However in Jeremiah 13:23 and Matthew 7:18, our ability to choose good is, at best, curtailed by things like the environment we grew up in, our inherited characteristics and, perhaps more importantly, the habits we have cultivated, intentionally or otherwise.
In John 8:43-44, John 14:17, Romans 8:5-8, 1 Corinthians 2:14 and 2 Corinthians 4:4 the words “cannot” or “not able”, rather than “will not” appear in relation to receiving and partaking of the things of God. In this state, the people are as much captives as someone in prison, or in slavery, who cannot simply choose to walk out of the door.
In John 8:34-36, Romans 6:16-19, Romans 6:20-23, the imagery of slavery is affirmed. We do, however, have the freedom to choose a new Master who is able and willing to set us free from the old.
In Ephesians 2:1-3, Ephesians 4:19-20 and 2 Timothy 2:24-26 we see the “slippery slope” or “quicksand” analogy and the effect of “Self Forming Actions” on our lives. The more that sinful habits are established, the harder it is to escape from them. They cannot escape the snare unaided. They must call for help.
Humanity is in a state of depravity (not total depravity)
We see this in, for instance, Eccles 7:20, Eccles 9:3 and Jeremiah 17:9-10.
In Romans 1:28-32, we see an initial Self Forming Action (not acknowledging God) has led them to on a path to greater and greater distance from God and from right behaviour even though they know that God disapproves. The only way back is to receive help.
The Law is a teacher which points out sin but non-Jews, who have not heard the Law, are guided by their own consciences. ie. the law written on their hearts. Nobody, with or without the Law, can be perfectly righteous. We are not free to do that.
Conversely, in Romans 2:12-16, Romans 3:11-12 and Romans 3:23, we see that making right decisions moves our propensities more to doing right even though we are not capable of being perfect as we see in 1 John 1:8-10 .
Acts committed in ignorance deserve to be treated less severely
Bad acts done in ignorance or under duress are no less sinful but there is less accountability. Knowledge and freedom brings responsibility. ie. We are judged in accordance with the light we have received.
If our freedom is curtailed then, intuitively, so is our accountability. We can only be held responsible for things we consent to. This is affirmed in many Scriptures: Luke 12:46-48, Luke 23:24, John 9:41, John 15:22, Acts 3:17-19, Acts 17:30-31, 1 Tim 1:12-14, James 4:17.
God is absolutely sovereign.
2 Chronicles 20:6, Psalm 115:3, Proverbs 19:21, Isaiah 45:7, Daniel 4:35, Romans 8:28-30
God’s absolute sovereignty and human freedom and responsibility are simultaneously true.
Exodus 4:21, Proverbs 16:9, Proverbs 16:33, Acts 4:27
Only God can release us from these limitations to our freedom.
Ezekiel 36:26, John 1:12-13, John 3:5-7, John 6:44, John 6:64-65, John 8:36, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 5:1, Ephesians1:11, Ephesians 2:4-5, Colossians 2:13-14, James 1:18, Titus 3:5, 1 Peter 1:23
The process of sanctification is only done with our cooperation
Matthew 23:37, Romans 12:2, Philippians2:12,13, Revelation 3:20