Do we retain Free Will in Heaven?

An interesting topic jstark.

From a theology standpoint, I've not studied anything that would indicate so much as a guess as to whether free will exists in heaven.

As a blatant guess, I'd say it does not.

I'd say this because there are noted instances where it is semi-clear that god cannot tolerate sin of any form. Since free will is one of the leading contribitors to sin it would be sensless for god to allow it into heaven. This assumption, is based on a few other assumptions:

1) Once you're in heaven, you're there for eternity. I don't see any accounts of someone being sent to heaven, sleeping with another man's wife, and then being expelled to hell for 10 - 20 years.

2) God cannot tolerate sin in any form, heaven is where god resides, therefore there can be no sin in heaven.

3) God has a good reason for allowing free will on earth. If someone has any notion of why this assumption is accurate please advise me, because I don't, yet I make this assumption anyway for sake of this argument.

Hi Questioner,

The angels are in Heaven and they have free will. A third of them were cast out of Heaven for making use of free will in ways that angered God. So it seems that free will can both exist in Heaven and can be used in ways that anger God.

If God does remove Free Will from humanity once it gets into Heaven, what does humanity become? There is no indication anywhere in the Book that I have seen that explains what it is to be a human devoid of free will. It would seem odd that God would remove free will from his finest creation while leaving it with the angels though.

Kind Regards

I'm not so certain that they all retain free will. Obviously one of them (lucifer) developed some vestiges of free will, and those that followed him were cast out with him. However, everything we see about angels as messengers suggests that they speak with the voice of god. Not something that would be easilly entrusted to a creature that had the option of mixing up the words.

Also, angels are rather different from humans I would imagine. It seems that they would have been there at the creation of mankind, though there is no real written evidence that I know of to testify to that.



An interesting thought. I'm not certain that such a thing as free will would be relevant in heaven. On earth we use free will to choose between taking certain actions that have differing consequences. Many of these choices are supposedly put in front of us by Satan. In heaven satan no longer has influence, so what purpose would free will serve?

Kind Regards[/quote]

Cheers.

do we lose free will-

yes in the sense that we cannot choose between good and bad- we do what is good without objection- and this is not through force. we have achieved perfection- we have become like angels.

I looked this up on the site link below. I hope it helps. I find this site very helpful in answering a lot of questions.

The Bible describes Heaven in great detail in Revelation chapters 21-22. Nowhere in those chapters is the possibility of sin mentioned. There will be no more death, sorrow, crying, or pain (Revelation 21:4). The sinful are not in Heaven, but the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8). Nothing impure will ever enter Heaven (Revelation 21:27). Outside of Heaven are those who sin (Revelation 22:15). So, the answer is no, there will be no sin in Heaven.

What does that mean for us? If there is no possibility of sin, does that means we will no longer have a free will in Heaven? It seems that in Heaven, or ability to choose will be similar to that of the angels. The angels had a one-time choice to obey God or follow Satan. There is no possibility of further angels sinning and joining Satan in his rebellion. The holy angels are "elect angels" (1 Timothy 5:21). Similar, the elect in Heaven will be "sealed" in their decision to forsake sin and trust in Christ. We will not even have the choice to sin. At the same time, having been delivered from sin and evil, and viewing the wonderful glories of Heaven, we would not choose sin even if we had the choice.

http://www.gotquestions.org/heaven-sin.html

Aye, pretty much what I was saying. If there's no option to sin, then Free Will doesn't apply.

Thanks for the links and references MA.

Lucifer and Adam used free will to do things that angered God. This all happened in Eden. Rev 21:1 talks about a new Heaven and Earth. So it would seem that God is preparing a new universe with different laws of governance, possible new physics etc. Apparently in this new universe, the Tree of Life will be made available to humanity (Rev. 22:2). There is no mention of the Tree of Knowledge, however. Either we retain it's effects from the original sin or it's effects are removed from our being.

The removal of the possibility for sin upon entering Heaven requires that humanity under go some sort of metamorphoses into a new type of being.

My questions become:

1. If God is going to remove the option for sin at some point in the future, why not remove the option now so that even the sinners will be saved? In other words, whats the point of testing humanity if even the people who pass the test will not have the option of breaking the rules?

2. Do angels have free will or not?

3. If angels do not have free will, How can a being that has no capability for breaking the laws of God possibly relate to a being that does have that option. How can we derive guidance from beings that can not understand our plight?

4. If God is preparing a new universe with new laws (sans free will), did he make a mistake with the this one?

Kind Regards

jstark,

I will try to answer each of these questions. This post will probably be kind of long, but I believe it should help.

jstark Wrote:



It is impossible for us to fully understand the relationship between God's sovereignty and man's free will. Only God truly knows how that two work together. Scripture is clear that God knows the future (Matthew 6:8; Psalm 139:1-4) and is sovereignly in control of all things (Colossians 1:16-17; Daniel 4:35). The Bible also says that we have a free will. God does not force us or cause us to do anything (James 1:13-14). We are completely responsible for our own actions (Romans 3:19; 6:23; 9:19-21). How these facts work together is impossible for a finite mind to comprehend (Romans 11:33-36).

People often take one of two extremes in regards to this question. Some emphasize the sovereignty of God to the point that human beings are little more than robots simply doing what they have been sovereignly programmed to do. Others emphasize free will to the point of God not having complete control and/or knowledge of all things. Neither of these positions are Biblical. Again, though, in this life we will never be able to fully understand how God's sovereignty and man's free will work together.

What are we to do then? First, we are to trust in the Lord, knowing that He is in control (Proverbs 3:5-6). God's sovereignty is supposed to be a comfort to us, not an issue to be concerned about or debate over. Second, we are to live our lives, making wise decisions in accordance with God's Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17; James 1:5). There will be no excuses before God for why we chose to disobey Him. We will have no one to blame but ourselves for our sin. Last but not least, we are to worship the Lord, praising Him that He is so wonderful, infinite, powerful, full of grace and mercy - and - sovereign.

http://www.gotquestions.org/free-will-sovereign.html

jstark Wrote:



Angels are personal beings, having aspects of intelligence, emotions, and will. This is true of both the good and evil angels. Good angels, Satan, and demons possess intelligence (Matthew 8:29; II Corinthians 11:3; I Peter 1:12). Good angels, Satan, and demons show emotions (Luke 2:13; James 2:19; Revelation 12:17). Good angels, Satan, and demons demonstrate that they have wills (Luke 8:28-31: II Timothy 2:26; Jude 6). Angels are spirit beings (Hebrews 1:14), with no true physical body. The fact that they do not have bodies does not affect their being personalities (any more than it does with God).

The knowledge angels possess is limited by their being creatures. This means they do not know all things as God does (Matthew 24:36). They do seem to have greater knowledge than humans however. This may be due to three causes. (1) Angles were created as a higher order of creatures in the universe than humans are. Therefore, innately they possess greater knowledge. (2) Angels study the Bible and the world more thoroughly than humans do and gain knowledge from it (James 2:19; Revelation 12:12). (3) Angels gain knowledge through long observation of human activities. Unlike humans, angels do not have to study the past; they have experienced it. Therefore, they know how others have acted and reacted in situations and can predict with a greater degree of accuracy how we may act in similar circumstances.

Though they have wills, the angels are, like all creatures, subject to the will of God. Good angels are sent by God to help believers (Hebrews 1:14). Satan, though most powerful and cunning in carrying out his purposes in this world, is limited by the will of God (Job 2:6). Demons too have to be subject to the will of Christ (Luke 8:28-31). Here are some activities the Bible ascribes to angels:

A. They praise God (Psalm 148:1,2; Isaiah 6:3)
B. They worship God (Hebrews 1:6; Revelation 5:8-13)
C. They rejoice in what God does (Job 38:6-7)
D. They serve God (Psalm 103:20; Revelation 22:9)
E. They appear Before God (Job 1:6; 2:1)
F. They are instruments of God's judgments (Revelation 7:1; 8:2)
G. They bring answers to prayer (Acts 12:5-10).
H. They aid in winning people to Christ (Acts 8:26; 10:3).
I. They observe Christian order, work, and suffering ( I Corinthians 4:9; 11:10; Ephesians 3:10; I Peter 1:12).
J. They encourage in times of danger (Acts 27:23,24).
K. They care for the righteous at the time of death (Luke 16:22).

http://www.gotquestions.org/angels-Bible.html

jstark Wrote:



Many people have a misconception of what Heaven is truly like. Revelation chapters 21-22 give us a detailed picture of the New Heavens and the New Earth. After the end times, the current Heavens and Earth will be done away with and replaced by the New Heavens and New Earth. The eternal dwelling place of believers will be the New Earth. The New Earth is the "Heaven" on which we will spend eternity. It is the New Earth on which the New Jerusalem, the heavenly city, will reside. It is on the New Earth were the pearly gates and streets of gold will be.

Heaven - the New Earth - is a physical place on which we will dwell with glorified physical bodies (see 1 Corinthians 15:35-58). The concept that Heaven is "in the clouds" is unbiblical. The concept that we will be "spirits floating around in Heaven" is unbiblical. The Heaven that believers will experience will be a new and perfect planet on which we will dwell. The New Earth will be free from sin, evil, sickness, suffering, and death. It will likely be very similar to our current Earth, or perhaps even a re-creation of our current earth - but without the curse of sin.

What about the New Heavens? It is important to remember that in the ancient mind, "heavens" referred to the skies and outer space, as well as the realm in which God dwells. So, when Revelation 21:1 refers to the New Heavens, is likely indicating that the entire universe will be created, a New Earth, new skies, a new outer space. It seems as if God's "Heaven" will be recreated as well, to give everything in the universe a "fresh start" whether physical or spiritual. Will we have access to the New Heavens in eternity? Possibly...but we will have to wait to find out! May we all allow God's Word to shape our understanding of Heaven!

http://www.gotquestions.org/new-heavens-earth.html

Thank you again MA for all of the references and thought work. I'll stew on it a bit.

Kind Regards

You are welcome. I hope it helps.