Episode 2310 - Lesson 8 - Tuesday Feb. 18 - To love God

That God is all-powerful does not mean that He can do the logically impossible. Accordingly, God cannot causally determine that someone freely love Him. If freely doing something means to do something without being determined to do it, then by definition it is impossible to make someone freely do something. In short, as we have seen, and must re-emphasize—God cannot force anyone to love Him, for the moment it’s forced, it is no longer love.Read Matthew 22:37 and Deuteronomy 6:4, 5. What do these verses teach about the reality of free will?The greatest commandment, to love God, provides evidence that God does, indeed, want everyone to love Him. However, not everyone does love God. Why, then, does God simply not make everyone love Him? Again, that is because love, to be love, must be freely given.Read Hebrews 6:17, 18 and Titus 1:2. What do these texts teach about God?According to Numbers 23:19, “ ‘God is not man, that [H]e should lie’ ” (ESV). God never lies (Titus 1:2); God always keeps His word and never breaks a promise (Heb. 6:17, 18). Accordingly, if God has promised or committed Himself to something, His future action is morally limited by that promise.This means that, insofar as God, in most cases, grants creatures the freedom to choose otherwise than what God prefers; it is not up to God what humans choose. If God has committed Himself to granting creatures free will, humans possess the ability to exercise their freedom in ways that go against God’s ideal desires. Tragically, many people do exercise their freedom in this way, and accordingly, there are many things that occur that God wishes did not, but that are not, strictly speaking, up to God.What have you done that you knew God didn’t want you to do? What does this teach about the reality—and possible frightful consequences—of free will?