One of the best known stories of the ancient Greeks is that of
Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. The story is had an influence on both
theology and psychology. Briefly the story is this: A child is born
into a royal family, and the oracle brings bad news, for he says the
child is destined to murder his father and marry his mother. A
gruesome future which the parents with good reason did not care to
anticipate, and so to defeat the decree of fate the king ordered the
child to be destroyed by exposure on the mountain side. This, of
course, would have solved the problem, but the servant in charge of
abandoning the child had a tender heart. He gave the child to some
passing pilgrims, and they carried it to a far country where a royal
family adopted him.
When he grew up he learned of what the oracle said of his
destiny, and thinking he was living with his real parents he fled
from the palace so as to defeat the decree of fate. He went into a far
country which happened to be the land of his birth, and there he
met the king and queen. Not knowing they were his parents, he fell
in love with the queen and killed the king, and took her as his wife.
Only after all had been fulfilled did he learn that in spite of all the
efforts to outwit the decree of fate, he had fulfilled it to the letter.
This ancient story is a classic example of the world view called
fatalism. This is a philosophy of life that is wide spread and claims
the allegiance of many millions. It was made popular by the song
that said, "Whatever will be will be." The poet has stated it like
this:
All that is was ever bound to be;
Since grim, eternal laws are beings bind;
And both the riddle and the answer find,
Both the pain and peace decree,
For plain within the Book of Destiny,
Is written all the journey of mankind,
Inexorably to the end, and blind,
And helpless puppets playing parts are we.
Author unknown
This view of life that all is determined may not appeal to you, but
do not think you can dismiss it as a obvious falsehood. There have
been very few ideas more influential in history than determinism.
The evidence in its favor is so massive that there is no way to prove
it wrong, and those who believe in free will must do so ultimately on
faith. Faith in our consciousness of freedom, and more important,
faith in the words of Christ that they have meaning when he says,
"The truth shall make us free," and, "If the Son shall make you
free you shall be free indeed."
Before we consider our freedom in Christ, however, we consider
some of the support for the concept that all of life is determined for
us, and the only freedom we have is the freedom to do what fate has
decreed for us to do. Most, if not all, primitive societies were based
on determinism. In fact, most of their life was largely determined.
Their attitude was, what has been done must continue to be done,
for it is evil to break precedent and tradition, and so all customs
became law, and they determined how each generation had to act.
These societies became fixed, and since they allow no change they
see no progress, and so they are determined to stay primitive.
Oriental life was controlled for centuries by a practical and
theoretical determinism. Except for a modified concept of free will
by Confucius, most of the major religions of the East are based on
determinism. You have Hinduism, Buddhism, and
Mohammedanism. Mohamet declared, "When God creates a
servant for heaven, He causes him to go in the way of heaven until
he dies, after which He take him to heaven; and when He creates a
servant for the fires of hell, then He causes him to go in the way of
those destined for hell, until he dies, after which He takes him to
hell." The Koran says, "Everyman's fate hath God fastened about
his neck." One's earthly and eternal destiny is all cut and dried,
therefore, and so there is nothing to do but wait and see, for one is
saved, not by faith alone, but by fate alone.
Any initiative is futile if this is true, for the present life and the
future is already set, and only a fool would work hard to get rich if
it is already determined, for he will be rich if he does nothing. A
Hindu states, "The possessions which the Creator has written upon
our forehead, be it small or great, we shall surely attain even in the
waste desert, and more than this we can never get, though we be on
Mount Muru, who sides are packed with gold." Imagine trying to
explain this philosophy to those in the California gold rush.
Lest we be deceived into thinking determinism is a peculiarity of
the Orientals only, we need to consider the fact that it has been held
by many in the traditions of the Western world. Great men like
Homer, Socrates, Virgil, and Cicero were determinists. Many well
known philosophers are also in this category. You have Bacon,
Hume, Priestly, Spencer, Hobbs, Voltaire, Spinoza, Leibnitz,
Schopenhower, and Nietzsche. It is interesting to see how many of
these were anti-Christian in their thinking, but no strong conclusion
can be drawn from this fact since many of the most outstanding
men of God have also been determinists. You have great men like
Jerome, Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas in the Catholic tradition,
and Luther, Calvin, and Jonathan Edwards in the Protestant
tradition.
In other words, there is no way we can draw a line and say the
unbelievers were on one side, and Christians were on the other. For
you have pagans, atheists, and Christians united on each side in this
great intellectual battle. Is man free, or is he a victim of a
pre-determined fate? Those who say all is determined not only
have the support of so many great minds, but they are backed up by
science. We cannot go into all of the arguments of physics, biology,
and sociology to support determinism, but we can state the basic
principle which is a foundation for all science, and that is the
uniformity of nature. Every effect has a cause, and so everything in
reality can be explained by the mechanical process of cause and
effect. Everything you do is the result of previous causes, and so
your will does not enter the picture at all. That is just an illusion
that makes you think you choose, but your choice has already been
determined.
The skeptic, the libertine, and evil men in general endorse this
philosophy, for it is an escape from personal responsibility. Fate is
a convenient escape hatch for those who do not want to be bothered
with conscience, responsibility, and judgment. This abuse of the
idea of determinism is no proof that it is not true, for many with
strong ethical systems also believe it. The facts of history tell us
that in spite of all the evil consequences that can result from a belief
in determinism, one need not be lead to these evil results, and so one
can be a Christian and be fully convinced that all is determined, for
there is a great deal of Scripture on which such a conviction can be
based. The believer in free will cannot dismiss the evidence, for it is
vast, and if he is honest he must admit it. However, as the poet has
put it-
Tis written on paradise's gate,
Woe to the dupe that yields to fate.
However much truth there is to determinism it cannot be the
whole truth. One does not need to reject it as part of the truth in
order to believe in free will. Dr. H. H. Horne in his book, Freewill
and Human Responsibility says, "As a philosophy of life
determinism has this disadvantage, that it has room for no freedom
at all; whereas, on the other hand, freedom has this advantage, that
it does have room for much determinism. For determinism holds
that all acts are determined, while freedom holds only that some
acts are free." One who believes in free will can accept all of the
obvious truth in determinism; yet at the same time recognize that it
is not the total picture, but that some aspects of reality demand a
belief in freedom.
Jesus in our text I believe deals with both aspects of this debate.
He reveals that He was free, but recognized that much of life is
determined. He says in verse 34 that those who commit sin are
slaves to sin. A slave is not free, but is bound. The unbeliever may
think he is free, but he is just carrying out the orders of his
depraved nature that determines his course of action. He is a victim
of his nature. His will is no more free to choose to be holy and
righteous than it is free to choose to fly or walk through a brickwall.
Any freedom he has is limited to his capacity, and he does not
have the capacity to do anything but follow his master, which is sin.
But Jesus has said, the truth shall make you free, and He says if
the Son makes you free you will be free indeed. Now if this means
anything, it means even if the life of the non-Christian is totally
determined, this is not so for the Christian. He is made free in
Christ, and it can be said that whenever a Christian does what is
not God's will he is fully responsible, for he could have done other
than what he did. The Christian has a free will in that he is not
bound to follow the forces of either heredity or environment, but
can overcome these and choose to act even contrary to them if God
so wills. This is really the whole issue in the debate of determinism
and free will. Could a person have done something different from
what they did do? If not, and all is determined, then it is foolish to
get upset to blame them, or even to hold them responsible, for if
they are mere puppets of fate, and nothing could possibly be any
different than it was, you can only accept it with stoic like
indifference.
This is the philosophy behind letting so many criminals go free.
They were victims of fate and did only what they had to do, so why
make it any tougher on them? After all, fate has made it rough
enough. However much truth there might be behind that thinking,
it is not the whole picture. We cannot debate about the
non-Christian at this point, but must look at what is a certain
exception to determinism, and that is the Christ-led, Spirit-filled
believer. The New Testament is filled with statements to the effect
that in Christ we are free, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there
is liberty, and we are to stand firm in the freedom where with
Christ has made us free. The Christian is fully responsible for his
conduct, for he is a free agent restored to the position of Adam who
had a free will. Calvin and other determinists admit that Adam had
a free will. Our race, our eyes, our hair color, the length of our nose, and a
thousand other things about us have been determined, and our will
has no choice in these matters. But when it comes to obedience to
God's will we have the capacity to do so, and therefore, the
responsibility of doing so. God asks nothing of us but what we can
do. If we don't do it, it is our fault. Emerson said, "Tis weak and
vicious people who cast the blame on fate." Even Seneca, the
pagan said, "No one is made guilty by fate." If we choose to
disobey, then the consequences are no longer a matter of choice, but
are determined. So also, if we choose to obey, the consequences are
determined by God. But the decision of which road we take is ours,
and we are responsible for the end result.
Let us consider the life of Christ. Was He nothing but a robot; a
masterful machine sent by God to do His work? Not at all, He was
a man, and a perfect man, and a perfect example of what God
meant man to be. He was the pattern toward which He is bringing
all who trust in Him. Did Jesus go to the cross because He had to,
and because it was determined? Was He a mere victim of fate? No,
He said He laid down His life, and no man took it, for He gave it
freely. In the Garden of Gethsemane He said, "Not my will but
Thine be done." He chose to submit His will to the Father's. He
died freely and not by necessity. If it was by necessity, and He had
no choice in the matter, then we are saved by fate, and all talk of
great love is meaningless, for He had no choice. If He had to save
us, this is fatalism, and it is not true to God's revelation of Himself.
He is free and the first cause, and He was not compelled to save us,
but chose to do so freely because of His love.
Come unto me says Jesus, and this implies we can if we will. Go
ye into all the world says Jesus, and this implies we can if we will.
Jesus tried to persuade the Jewish leaders to recognize Him as the
Son of God, but He lamented, "Ye would not." I am convinced that
God has given all men, by His grace, the capacity to respond to His
truth when they are confronted by it. This is one of the works of
the Holy Spirit, and because of this all men are responsible for what
they do with the truth. All must agree that the Christian is free, for
God is free and if we are indwelt by God and filled with His Spirit,
then we must be free indeed. We can introduce causes that will
change the future. Conversion and miracles break the chain of
causes and effects, and introduce something new into the world.
Nicolai Berdyaev said, "God has laid upon man the duty of being
free, of safer guarding freedom of spirit, no matter how difficult
that may be, or how much sacrifice and suffering it may require."
Suzanne De Dietrich said, "The story of our salvation, as the
Bible tells it, is simply the record of a long journey towards
freedom." That journey finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ the
Lord and Liberator of those held captive and enslaved by sin.
There is no chance, no destiny, no fate,
Can circumvent or hinder or control
The firm resolve of a determined soul.
Gifts counts for nothing; will alone is great;
All things give way before it, soon or late.
What obstacle can stay the mighty force
Of the sea-seeking river in its course,
Or cause the ascending orb of day to wait?
Each well-born soul must win what it deserves.
Let the fool prate of luck. The fortunate
Is he whose earnest purpose never swerves,
Whose slightest action or inaction serves
The one great aim. Why, even death stands still,
And waits an hour sometimes for such a will.
Author unknown
Jesus said, the servant does not abide in the house forever, but
the son does, and the point is that true freedom is a matter of
relationship. If I am the son of a man who owns a store, I can walk
in and go to the back room or the office; I can take an article off the
shelf with a sense of freedom that a non-son cannot have. My
relationship makes me free indeed. Freedom indeed is the freedom
of relationship. The closer we are to God the greater is the freedom
we possess. God has not decreed that you stay home and watch TV
rather than go to a Bible study. That is not a matter of fate, it is a
matter of choice. Every day the word comes to us, choose you this
day whom you shall serve, and every day we choose either for
Christ or for some lesser value. Our use or abuse of freedom is the
key to Christian growth or stagnation. We are not victims of fate,
but we are victims of our own poor use of the great gift of freedom.
