Grace And Will: Reconciling The Twins Series

Was Judas predestined to betray Jesus? When Jesus was praying with his apostles shortly before his Passion, he said, “I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled” (John 17:12). If he was destined to betray Jesus, then did Judas really have free will?

And what about Pharaoh? When Moses went to the ruler of Egypt telling him to give the Israelites freedom, Pharaoh refused. So God sent a series of plagues in an attempt to make Pharaoh change his mind. Although Pharaoh’s heart seems to have melted when the plague troubled the nation, the moment the calamity passed, his heart became hard again. However, Scripture explicitly states that it was God who hardened the heart of Pharaoh on more than one occasion (see Exodus 9:12; 10:1; 10:20; 10:27; 11:10; 14:8). So if God was hardening his heart, did Pharaoh have free will?

There are several other narratives in Scripture that raise similar questions about free will. Some questions are relatively easily understood. Take the case of Judas. God is omniscient—all knowing—so he knows everything that is going to happen. He knew that Judas would betray Jesus. However, foreknowledge does not imply predetermination. Because God knew that Judas would betray Jesus, he used this knowledge to fulfill his plan of salvation, but he didn’t compel Judas to do anything to fulfill his plan. That was Judas’ free will.

However, other questions about free will are not as easily answered, especially when one introduces grace into the equation. Grace is generally defined as ‘unmerited favor’ but we will revisit this later for a more complete definition.

It is grace—God’s greatest gift to man—that brought salvation to us. Paul famously declares: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). In another letter Paul writes: I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6) implying that it is the continuing grace of God that ensures we remain saved. So how do we reconcile grace with free will? And what about the matter of works?

This feature hopes to provide some answers. It is mostly based on Augustine’s ‘On Grace and Free Will’. All answers are backed up with relevant references in Scripture.

Let us begin with some definitions. What is grace? What is free will? And what is the issue of conflict between them?

Merriam-Webster defines grace as unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification, and a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine assistance.

The same dictionary defines free will as the freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention.

The main issue is that there are those who say that Scripture emphasizes grace over free will, and others who say that it is actually the other way around. The result is a great deal of confusion that we hope to resolve by looking at what Scripture teaches about both grace and free will and reconciling the two.

Why is this important?

True followers of Jesus want to live a life in imitation of Christ, but while they are told what to do in order to lead such a life, they are seldom told how to do it. Understanding the roles that grace and free will plays in this journey will help us learn how to do this. Resolving the conflict is a step in that direction.

Paul wrote: I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own (Philippians 3:10-12). Then he adds: Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. Only let us hold fast to what we have attained (15-16).

We all know how we are saved. “By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). There is hopefully no confusion in any one’s mind about this verse, which we shall return to several times over the course of this study. Once we have attained salvation, however, it is not the end of everything. Like Paul, we have to press on. How? By depending on grace? By works exercised through free will? By both? This God will reveal as long as we hold on to the salvation that we have already attained.