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"I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: that thou mayest love the Lord thy God, that thou mayest obey His voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto Him: for He is thy life, and the length of thy days." [Deuteronomy 30:19-20].

             While it is self-evident that every individual needs that personal quickening of the Spirit upon the great truths which are being revealed, oftentimes it only requires that a truth be plainly set forth for the holy Spirit to immediately use the occasion to cause it to become LIGHT upon the pathway of a searching heart. Many have passively held to certain concepts simply because they knew of no other viewpoint, but once the truth has been presented to them, they are ready to receive and follow it on its way. Carnal minds have long carried on a controversy over the so-called free will of man, and the other vital issue of God's sovereignty. We hereby present that which has been quickened to our present understanding.
             It is plainly written, "HE (that is, GOD) worketh all things after the counsel of His own will." [Ephesians 1:11]. Here is divine sovereignty in a precise statement, working ALL things-not just some things, but ALL of them after the counsel of His own will.
             "The creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in hope." [Romans 8:20]. Now we see that sovereign will of God in action, and the subjection of the creation to the bondage of vanity was not a voluntary thing on the part of creation, it was part of the purpose of God, and HIS WILL was brought to bear upon the creature. BY REASON OF HIM who is working all things, and who is in perfect control of the entire process all through its progression to completion, HE knew that by subjecting the creature to this process things could be worked out which could not be accomplished any other way, and therefore HIS WILL was made manifest in this direction and course of action. Furthermore, when HE subjected us to the bondage of vanity, He did so "IN HOPE." Hope for the ultimate deliverance for the whole creation into the glorious liberty that rightfully belongs to the children of God.
             Traditional creeds have uttered certain things so much people begin to believe they are true, and some even think these phrases to be scripture. One of these is the term "free moral agent." The farther we go into this uncovering of the truth, the more we are aware of the fact that we are not half so free as we once thought we were. The very phrase "free moral agent" is not a Biblical term, and it is directly opposed to the truth. We shall take the words and examine them.
             AN AGENT is one who acts or performs an act.
             A FREE agent is one who can act as he pleases without any restraint of any kind placed upon him. While a free MORAL agent would be one who is free to act upon all moral issues, that is, upon all questions involving the qualities of right and wrong.
            Obviously the creature cannot fill all these qualifications. Our understanding is limited and influenced by our heredity, our environment, and whatever knowledge is available in our particular sphere. Then added to this are the invisible restraints and bounds placed upon us by our Sovereign Creator. Plus the fact that the "mystery of iniquity" doth already work in us through the old adamic nature passed on to us, which is then expanded by our own evil deeds, propensities and desires. And then some dare to say that we are able to render a correct judgment on all issues of right and wrong? What foolish thinking. We might try to do our best according to what facts are at hand, and what we have gained through various experiences and studies, but even so it is extremely limited. For man judges by the seeing of the eye, the hearing of the ear, using much circumstantial evidence, and the bias of our own feelings and emotions.
             Furthermore, that there is a restraint placed upon us is clear as we read, "Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee; the remainder of wrath shalt THOU RESTRAIN." [Psalm 76:10]. Yes, the actions of man most certainly are controlled, directed, and over-ruled by God. What God permits, He uses to His glory, and what He does not ultimately purpose to use, HE RESTRAINS. "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure." [Isaiah 46:10].
            Yes-nothing can happen outside of God's will, and whatever does happen is within the circumference of His will and to be used to work out more of His purpose, ere time has run its course.
            There is, however, within the overall circumference of God's will, a limited freedom which HE has given to man wherein we can be exercised. Man is free as to his will, to make his choice, but not always free to carry out that choice. And there are some inherent laws which govern the making of our choices, as we shall see as we proceed. (Editor's note: The reader can seek additional thoughts of this matter from the writings of A.P. Adams, The Spirit of The Word, Chapter #5, "Free Moral Agency.").
            "A man's heart deviseth his way; but the Lord directeth his steps." [Proverbs 16:9].
            "The lot (choice) is cast into the lap: but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord." [Proverbs 16:33].
            Jeremiah came to this understanding, and declared, "0 Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." [Jeremiah 10:23].
            There are many more verses which could be given to affirm that the way of man is not in himself, but these will suffice for now. And so we earnestly ask the Lord to show us HIS WAY, and help us to walk therein. However, while it is true that man's actions are controlled by the Lord, it is also true that we have a certain freedom in yielding our mind either to the spirit of the world, or to the pure Spirit of God, for the gendering of our thoughts. And we shall be judged, not simply for our outward actions, but for the INNER MOTIVATION. "For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." [Proverbs 23:7]. Whether or not you are ever allowed to carry out your choice, you will be judged, disciplined, and purified according to your inward desires and choices.
            Personally we count it a token of His grace and mercy that HE has kept HIS HAND upon us many times, so that opportunity for action did not meet with desire, thus there was less to reap when the seed was not sown. And the inner desire is easier to purge without the roots of indulgence.
            Man will be brought at last to voluntarily choose the right way by being made to see that it is right, and that the right is best, and then Christ will supply the help to enable man to take that way. Yet it is essential in the nature of the case that man be given the right to choose his way, but in this making of a choice God must supply the knowledge so that man knows what the right way is. He who made the will of man knows how to influence it in the right way, make it subservient to His will, and to bring glory to Himself in the process.
            Free will is the power to choose between opposite courses of moral conduct; but the choice also is determined by the apparently strongest motive. God has retained the sovereign control of influencing our motives towards the final destiny. For while our will might be free, it is not independent, it is determined and controlled by motives.
            Take all of our vicious habits and propensities for evil, our gross ignorance and prejudices, all of these cause us not to be able to weigh things properly, hence we are prone to choose the wrong. Being influenced by all of these contributing pressures, desires, etc. we certainly need help far beyond ourselves to make the right choices.
             Take for an illustration, a drunkard. The strong motivation for flesh gratification, strengthened by repeated indulgence, leads this poor soul captive at its will. In moments of soberness the individual might decide he doesn't like the way of life he is following, and deep inside is that desire to do the right, but as time goes on and the drink-- appetite cries out for satisfaction, and the influences for a drink grow stronger, so that they out-weigh the other desires for right, and then with a host of cover-up excuses, it's back to the bottle again.
             With much of the influence of our choice coming from the amount of understanding and knowledge we have of the situation, is it any wonder that we read, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge ?" [Hosea 4:6]. It but emphasizes the need for pastors and teachers "which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." [Jeremiah 3:15].
             "In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves: if God peradventure will give them repentance (a change of mind) to the acknowledgment of the truth: and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will." [2 Timothy 2:25-26].
            Obviously, if we are a captive of the spirit of this world, caught in the snare of the devil, subservient to his will, then we are not our own master, and a free moral agent, to do as we please. Whatever choice we make would be influenced by these negative forces.
             "The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, Who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (Greek, shine INTO them). For God, Who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." [2 Corinthians 4:4, 6].
             Surely darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the people, as GOD has permitted the god of this world to blind the minds of men so that they cannot see. And while men are daily making their choices, it is done in blindness. And while their right to make a choice is there, the ability to do so has been so limited, and if the blind lead the blind they both fall into the ditch. But the GOD who caused creation to be so hemmed in with vanity and darkness, is also the GOD who has purposed that in due time every creature shall be brought to the light. For this very cause THE SON was given, "the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." [John 1:9].  And even unto those who sit in the regions of the shadow of death, in due time, unto them the light shall come.
             HE hath "brought life and incorruption to light through the gospel." [2 Timothy 1:10]. It only remains that in God's appointed time this GOOD NEWS must be brought to every creature, and when the LIGHT bursts upon them, they shall be able to see the truth and make the right choices which shall cause them to believe on our Lord Jesus Christ, and receive of HIS more abundant life.
            When GOD commands the light to shine into your darkness, and illumines your mind to the truth, then you are able to make a new choice in harmony with this greater knowledge. How beautifully this is illustrated in the life of the apostle Paul.
             Paul was so encased in his prejudice and self-righteousness, utterly deceived in his work, that he went about to make havoc for the church, causing men and women to be cast into prison, and others to be slain. He was a very zealous man, and he was as religious as they come, and no
doubt he was as sincere as he could be. His trouble was lack of light! Yet God had no difficulty to turn him around, for when God caused a light to shine upon his pathway, brighter than the noon day sun, suddenly this man saw a new dimension, reversed his whole concept, and made his choice to follow on in the way of truth. "Lord, obviously my choice and actions were wrong, I see that now, so what do YOU want me to do ?" Here was repentance, A CHANGE, OF MIND, and he was recovered out of the snare of the devil, no more to be taken captive at his will, but now to become A LOVE SLAVE TO CHRIST, to be found in HIS will. All it required was for God to turn on the light!
             Joshua makes an excellent challenge, by reason of the victory of God which Israel has experienced. He rehearsed before them all the triumphs which they had witnessed because of the goodness and mercy of God to them. Brought out of Egypt with a Strong Hand, subdued all of the enemy which withstood them in the way, and now were in the land of promise. A way had been made through the river of Jordan, the walls of Jericho were fallen. From victory to victory Israel had progressed. Now Joshua says to them, "Choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." [Joshua 24:15].
             Here was an array of facts which would help to influence the choice. Consider: shall we choose the gods our fathers served before the flood? Oh, NO! For they all perished in the flood, and only those who were serving Jehovah came through victoriously. Shall we choose the gods of the Amorites? Never, their gods failed them, and now we are possessing their land. Then whom shall we choose to serve ? WE SHALL CHOOSE TO SERVE JEHOVAH WHO GIVETH THE VICTORY, AND IS LORD OF ALL! Viewing the situation in the light of the display of the power and triumph of God, Joshua knew that he, and all of his household, would serve the Lord. And in view of facts like these, Israel also declared their intention of serving this Mighty Jehovah also.
             But the record doesn't stop with this particular choice, We read on, "And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel." [Judges 2:10].
             All the fathers which had known the power of God, and so had made their choices with the influence of this knowledge, had now all passed on. Then a new generation comes on the scene, they do not have the light of the knowledge which their fathers possessed, they do not know the Lord by personal experience, and they haven't seen the works which He can do. All they have is the historical record which was told them. But this "second hand" light doesn't shine near so bright, and isn't very convincing to those who are faced with their own decisions.
             Judges 5 :8 carries on our thought, "They chose new gods; then was there war in the gates." They had a historical religion passed on by their fathers, and then they had, all the gods about them which the other nations were serving. Now Israel, who shall be your God? They decided to live in the "now"-- they became a "now generation" to be like all of their contemporaries, the nations round about them. So they chose them new gods, but little did they expect what followed, "SO THERE WAS WAR IN THE GATES."
             War-- for what purpose, to reveal how impotent their new gods were, unable to deliver them from their enemies, and to teach them Who was truly GOD, and whom they should choose to be their God, and serve Him.
 Thank God, there were a few left in Israel who knew Jehovah, and when the test came, and all the "new gods" failed, they were able to declare the truth of Jehovah, and lead the people to victory THROUGH HIS POWER.
             "Yet ye have forsaken Me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry unto  the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation." [Judges 10:13-14].
             Seven times in the book of Judges do we read how Israel turned to the Lord, found deliverance and salvation for a time, then turned to other gods, and went back into trouble and captivity again. Every generation had to learn the hard way which was really the right choice. Faced with their dilemma, they repented, put away the strange gods, and served the Lord. But the Lord found it necessary to afflict them with their enemies, and He did not hasten to answer their first selfish whimper. "Go back to the gods whom you have chosen, let them deliver you." "But Lord, they failed us, they are no good, we want to serve You!" And when they finally became desperate enough to put away, destroy, throw out the idols, then God would have compassion on them and give them victory again. And so the cycles are repeated, until man is convinced that only in the Lord our God is there strength and salvation, and HE ALONE IS GOD.
             "And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall haven chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day." [1 Samuel  8:18].
             "And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king." [1 Samuel 10 :24].
             "Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, whom ye have desired! and, behold, the Lord hath set a king over you." [1 Samuel 12:13].
            After all the cycles of servitude and deliverance, forsaking the Lord, serving other gods, and then returning to the Lord again, next we find that Israel desired a king, so that they could be like all other nations. And though Samuel warned them what a king would do, taxes, conscript their youth into his service, etc. still they chose to have a king, a visible ruler. God was invisible, and too remote --other nations had visible gods and visible kings. If they couldn't have "visible gods," then at least they clamoured for a visible king.
             But be it noted, this choice of Israel was within the circumference of the will of God. HE knew that the only way they would learn the folly of man's rule, was to have a man set over them. So we read that GOD chose their king, and God set him over them. Ah, when God makes a choice He knows just how to satisfy all your fleshly desires--and He gave them a king that was tall, dark, and handsome, head and shoulders above all the people. But flesh is flesh, and bondage was added to bondage, as again they fulfilled the scripture, "He gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul." [Psalm 106:15].
             Oh, no wonder we learn to pray, "Not my will, BUT THINE, be done." If He gives us our request, fulfills the desire in away that pleases the flesh, it is but to our own destruction. But when the choice is in harmony with HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, on the higher spiritual plane, then we are blessed indeed, and partakers of His life and victory. But to forget His works, and wait not for His counsel, one is surely to make the wrong choice.
             Yet for all this, we see the hand of God working, and using even our baseness and carnality to teach us some severe lessons. "Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil-and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that My fear is not in thee, saith the Lord of hosts." [Jeremiah 2:19].
            To ignore His counsel, and to choose after the carnal mind, is sure to produce a wrong choice. Yet God allows us to make these choices, for through all of the reaping of that which we have sown, we learn that it is an evil and very bitter thing to forsake the Lord our God.
             "Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. I also will choose their delusions; and bring their fears upon them." [Isaiah 66:3-4]. Praise God, what a wonderful working of His divine interplay of good and evil, and then using the whole to work out His plan in the earth. Man chooses his own way, and then God also makes an added choice for him, choosing their delusions into which they shall go, for He knows just which delusion is needed to teach man his needed lesson. Praise God, HE ever is in perfect control, and only allows His creation to wander off into avenues which He knows shall be used, though the lesson learned is often quite severe.
             Our heart is with the Psalmist, when he declared, "I have chosen the way of truth." [Psalm 119:30]. Now comes the blessing, when we begin to learn to choose the way of truth. If we would exercise any right of choice at all,  let it be in this manner!
             "What man is he that feareth the Lord ? him shall He teach in the way that he shall choose." [Psalm 25:12].
             "The meek will He guide in judgment: and the meek will He teach His way." [Psalm 25:9]. If we would be among the proud and arrogant, to walk with a haughty, stiff-necked crowd, we will miss His way. But the meek shall He teach and guide, and they shall know the right way to choose.
             Paul came to that place in his experience, where he said, "Yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. And having this confidence (persuasion), I know that I shall abide and continue with you." [Philippians 1:22-25].
             Paul had a personal desire to depart, but his love was not a self-centered thing, and love for the brethren caused him to know that they needed him there, and so his choice was made in LOVE'S LIGHT, and this influence guided his choosing. When our understanding is quickened by the love of God, and we make our choices governed by love, we shall make far different choices than when we were motivated by self-centered ambition. Then Paul adds, "having this confidence, or persuasion..." The Greek word used here for "confidence" is "peitho" also translated as OBEDIENCE. With the support of love for the brethren, and the undergirding of OBEDIENCE TO GOD'S WILL, all personal desire was pushed aside, and the choice was made to continue with them until God's purpose was fulfilled for his abiding. Choosing obedience to the will of God, and knowing what the will of God is in a certain situation, the choice is easily made.
             While in the beginning of the consideration Paul didn't know which way to choose, with the adding of light of love for the brethren, and discerning that this is God's will, he simply chose obedience to that will, and the decision was made.
 "Choosing rather to suffer the afflictions with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ far greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward." [Hebrews 11:25-26].
             How could Moses choose to suffer afflictions with the slave-nation of Israelites rather than the pleasures and treasures of the palace of life of Egypt ? What was it that enabled him to make this kind of a choice ? It was a revelation, an understanding, the light of the greater riches! It was not just a choice between Israel's present poverty and Egypt's riches, though that was all the visible part of the evidence to consider, but he had the added light of the age abiding riches of God which caused Egypt's riches to pale into insignificance.
            God has the power to bend our wills to His purpose because He can progressively evolve a constraining power of motive sufficient to insure the results. God knows exactly how to influence your motives to make you choose right. The influence of God is irresistible!
             When, in the plan of God for each individual, HE turns on the light so that they can clearly see the facts they have, been missing, they will be able to alter their choices, and I choose Him, and His will. Then once we have made our choice that He be Lord of our life, we will discover that "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you," [John 15:16], and our choice which is made God-ward is because already HE has expressed His love and choice to us-ward, drawing us to Himself by His bountiful grace.

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