Proverbs

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NASB	Proverbs 1:29 Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD.
AMPLIFIED 2015	Proverbs 1:29 Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD [that is, obeying Him with reverence and awe-filled respect], [Prov 8:13]

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Bible Question: It is nothing less than shocking for a counselor to see the role of free will in the therapeutic process.

Some say that we have no free will, that our lives are ruled by determinism. Some say that this idea defies logic because the one who believes in determinism must admit that that belief has been predetermined and is therefore not sustainable. But when words fail us to decide or describe a phenomenon, it is something else to see it in operation.

Permit me to tell here a tale of two pastors. They were both in serious need of help, and that is why they came to my attention. One refused to accept help, even while proclaiming belief in the Bible refusing to consider the call to action there, and left in utter confusion, with words about the end of his ministry and/or his life. The other asked to come in as soon as possible, took his place on the couch, went through the process and left with hope, almost unable to contain himself, unable to wait for the changes to take place. One is left to ponder the contrast.

It was C.M. Ward who used to say that the love and power of an omnipotent God can be held in abeyance by the strong will of a puny man.

It was a mysterious thing that God did when he gave us free will. Man is free to defy God. He is free to destroy himself. He is free to choose bad over good. And all the while he justifies himself. It is a strange thing to behold. Sometimes we feel badly when a person says no to us. It is something else to see them say no to the gospel, and no to God. He allows it. He has given us that free will.

Some people see themselves as only judges. They always know what is good and what is bad and they have a constant need to express their opinion. Meanwhile, they do not see their own need. And the counselor feels helpless because he can only help someone who is willing to admit his need and to accept help. And God, the Son and the Holy Spirit are each called Counselor. Love never fails, we are told. Yet God so loved. And the Almighty God is love. How is it we can resist love? How is it we can resist God?

There are those who say that psychology is not a science and cannot be. The reason? Man’s free will. It is possible to explain behavior without it, but with it, man is a mystery. How wonderfully God works for us when we submit to him! How miserably we perish when we reject him!

As a person who preaches the Gospel and counsels people, I look at the free will of man and marvel at it. If anyone has solved that mystery, it would be nice to hear from them. It would not be nice to hear again from those who make themselves the judge and would question the motives or the intellectual capacity of the questioner, as it would only add to the mystery, why they do that.

O, I am tempted to multiply words here in order to dissipate any confusion. I am not comparing a human counselor to God or any such thing. But I am saying that a human counselor sees the free will of man in operation and wonders at that mans ability to exercise it also toward God. I hope that someone can respond to this without getting into Calvinism-Armenianism but I fear someone will exercise his free will to get into it anyway.

Read Jeremiah 7:23-26; 25:1-7; 26:1-5; 29:17-19; 35:13-16; 44:1-5. All of this in one book, about the attitude of one set of people in one situation. How can we explain this?

Bible Answer: Excellent post