When I first learned about the doctrine of freewill, I thought the word ‘freewill’ was a strange word. What I mean is that one cannot have totally free freewill unless one is God. God is the only being that can do whatever He wants to do. Even now He can undo everything he did and start all over again. That is true freewill. However, God promised by His own name so that all he planned before creation would come true till the end. In that, we put our hope because God is faithful.

… By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD… (Genesis 22:16; see also Hebrews 6:13)

People, even Adam and Eve before the fall, do not have such freewill. If any of us has a freewill, then there exists “if”. The word “if” means things can change by my decisions. If Adam had not eaten the fruit…. If the Israelite obeyed all God’s laws… If the Pharisees listened to Christ… If King Saul obeyed God, If Christ did not die… And this “if” appears frequently in sermons, theology books, story books, etc.

The doctrine of freewill is summarized in Chapter 9 of the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF). The Covenant of Works (CoW) also appears in the WCF, and it has done much harm than good. The CoW sees that there is “if” existed in the garden of Eden before Adam ate the fruit. Most of Covenant theologians insist that Adam was given a probation period for God to test him. According to them, Adam could have obtained eternal life then and there if he kept the command till the end of the period. This is worse than a fairy tale.

Calvin, unsurprisingly, was skeptical about using this term. In his institute book 2, chapter 2, he explained the negative impacts of using this word. The word “will” is not the right word to explain the state of Adam in Eden, that of the fallen people, and that of the saints on the earth. Calvin saw the risks of misusing the word and warned the readers to be careful.

People may then argue that we are not like robots. To refute, I must ask them to explain their definition of a robot. There will be many different answers, and we have different ideas on freewill. What the Bible teaches us is that Adam’s fall was in God’s plan, and no one can change the future.

… for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

Everything is finished! I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give water from the life-giving fountain to everyone who is thirsty. (Rev 21:6)

The doctrine of freewill also produced unwise speculations on Adam in the garden. Many theologians, especially those follow the Covenant Theology, think we are only returning to the state of Adam in Eden before his crime. They fail to explain why Adam was naked, but saints are clothed in white just like our Lord.

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. (John 15:15).

Was Adam a friend of God? If he was, why did he distrust God and rebel? Did he really know the Father? There is much to write about Adam’s righteousness, but I will do it next time.