What does the Bible say about free will and predestination? Does it support one or the other?
We believe that the Bible confirms free will. Deuteronomy 30 makes this abundantly clear: “See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love Yahweh thy Elohim, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and Yahweh thy Elohim shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other mighty ones, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live,” verses 15-18.
Therefore, we reject this notion of predestination. While the Bible seems to indicate that Yahweh may predestine or call certain people to the truth, our selection is based on what we do with that calling. We also tend to believe that Yahweh knows the beginning to the end. However, He will not act or change the course of our lives based on His foreknowledge of what will occur. This would invalidate free will.
