How can you have 'free will' from god if you are born a sinner because of what Adam & Eve did?

Question

It is fairly clear that Christians believe we are all born sinners due to the original sin. This is rarely denied by Christians.

So they don't actually have 'free will' after all right? I mean the only choice presented is to believe in god, so it is rather a kind of 'imposed will' correct?

Answer 1

Are We Punished For Adam's Sin?

        Are we punished for Adam’s sin? Will God hold us accountable for what Adam did in the Garden of Eden? It doesn’t make sense that we should be punished for something we didn’t do. After all, we weren’t there in the Garden. We didn’t do anything. So, are we punished for Adam’s sin?

     The answer is yes and no.

     On one hand, we suffer the consequences of Adam's disobedience and have inherited a sinful nature from him (Rom. 5:12-23). The Bible states that ". . . through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned," (Rom. 5:12 - all Bible quotes are from the NASB). Adam sinned. We didn’t. He was in the Garden of Eden. We were not. When we face God on the day of judgment, the Lord won’t say to us, "Adam sinned, so you are going to pay for it." We are responsible for our own sins, not the sins of others.  

     On the other hand, we are affected by Adam’s sin. This is how. Before the fall, Adam was sinless, perfect, and good (Gen. 1:31). He had a ‘good’ nature. But, after the fall, he became a sinner. His nature was changed from ‘good’ to ‘bad.’ Since we are his children, we inherit his sinful nature (Rom. 5:12). In this sense, we suffer for what Adam did; that is, he caused his descendants to have sinful natures and all of us suffer because of it. This is called original sin. It means that we have inherited a sinful nature and that all of what we are as individuals (mind, body, soul, spirit, emotions, and thought) is touched by sin. But this does not mean that we are as sinful as we can be. After all, God has written His Law on our hearts (Rom. 1:19; 2:15).

     In addition, creation was also affected by the fall. God had given dominion of the world to Adam. Adam sinned and sin entered the "world" as it says in Romans 5:12. That means that death entered the world along with disease, pestilence, earthquakes, famine, etc. They all have their root in the fall. That is why the Bible states that creation is longing for its redemption (Rom. 8:18-22).

Different Views on Original Sin

Calvinism

     Generally speaking, the Calvinists maintain that the sin of Adam was imputed (made to count for) to the whole human race.  This is maintained largely in regard to the concept of Federal Headship.  This is  a theological term for one person representing another person or group. Consider Hebrews 7:7-10,

But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater. 8And in this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on. 9And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, 10for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

      Levi was a descendant of Abraham, but because he was still in the loins (seed) of his Father Abraham, when Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, Levi is said to have paid them also. The concept is that Abraham represented his descendants and the tithes were counted to Levi as well.  

     Therefore, if Adam's sin was imputed to his descendants, all of them are guilty of sin and justly deserve punishment.

Arminianism    

     Generally speaking, the Arminians maintain that we inherited a sin nature from Adam and sin due to that nature.  We are not guilty for Adam's sin and cannot be punished unless we actually sin.

     Whichever view or combination of these views you hold, we suffer for Adam’s sin by effect as well as nature.  We are sinners and live in a sinful world.  We are suffering the consequences of Adam’s sin.  We have our own sin to contend with because we are by nature, children of wrath (Eph. 2:3). We are sinners.

Answer 2

it's part of the silly belief system that many hold even if it contradictory

Answer 3

Yes. We have free will. Individual free will which leaves us independently able to make correct choices in spite of inherited sinfulness. Free will is still God's gift to humankind to distinguish us as free moral agents.

Answer 4

In other words you have free will to continue sinning, go your own way and attempt to live with out the help of God, or you can choose to accept Jesus and live by faith and in the family of God and TRY to not sin.

Infants are born without sin, as they grow of age they will commit their first sin; who ever taught you to lie that very first time you stole from the cookie jar when you knew you weren't suposed to? Think of what Adam and Eve did as an example to what happens when we sin. The one law God gave them was not to eat of the fruit of that single tree, when they did, they realised what they had done and that they screwed up.

How do you feel when you know you did something extremely bad?

Answer 5

I bought that up once when my mother used to drag me to church- the answer I got was we have to ask for forgiveness for this terrible sin and hope God will forgive us... it just seems slightly hypocritical saying we all have free will but we were all born sinners from something we had no free will in at all

I agree with the first answer as well- i left that religion because it's all very damning- we should all be ashamed that jesus died for our sins before we were even born- for a start i think thats unfair

Answer 6

I am a Christian of the gospel. I believe we are all born into sin, I don't believe that we are sinners when we are babies. Babies don't know right from wrong-how can they choose? When babies are aborted I believe they go right to heaven.  

Answer 7

Why don't more Christians take offense to the fact that their deity is punishing them for something somebody else did.  That doesn't seem very fair to me.

Answer 8

Christians do not believe all are born sinners, as what makes you a sinner, is to sin! We are born with sinful natures. There is a difference. Our sinful nature wants our own way. Therefore God's Law wars against the flesh.  And yes, we do have free will or there would not be all the sin in the world today. God would just make us robots and have a perfect world! And let us not forget Jesus who was born with our same nature, yet never sinned. The only people who would use your commit above would be those who want an excuse to sin.  

Answer 9

Easy there sport.  Free will means we can still do great, honest, noble, integrated deeds despite original sin.  You don't have to believe in God to feel as though you're a great person, do you?  You only have to believe that what you've done is consistent with who you are.  And that is free will, because we are all different and therefore would all react at least slightly differently in the same set of circumstances.

Answer 10

God didn't just mean free will in believing in Him. He gave us free choice in every aspect of our lives. People focus on the free will because they disagree with it. We are born sinners. But then we get to decide whether to accept Jesus Christ or reject Him. I chose to accept because I have seen what God can do in others lives and I wanted that joy too. I surely got it. So you either believe or not. It's your choice but I'm sure you know what God would rather have you do.  He does love you.

Answer 11

I don't see how being a sinner means you don't have free will. Please clarify. We have a sinful nature but we can choose not to sin.  

Answer 12

the original sin concept is that because of Adam and Eve's sin and our constant sin generation after generation we are born separated from God, but we personally haven't sinned until we consciously do something that we know is bad...

and the choice is to believe in God or not... as by the way it sounds you don't so obviously you have a choice in the matter.

Answer 13

you are born wiht original sin, but baptism is the sacrament that relieves us of this original sin.  free will and original sin dont have anything to do with each other... it is our choice to have faith or not have faith.  obviously you do nto believe in God... thats your free will.  it is my free will to still be learning for myself and making my own decision.  i can tell you dont know enough about the subject to form a legitimate agrument.  you need to study this really hard before you fight it.  ive had 6 years of religion classes at a catholic school and i havent decided if i beleive in God fully yet, but at least I am taking the time to learn before I make a decision.

Answer 14

Free will is not contingent upon what you are. If I am born with blue eyes, it will not make a difference on free will. If one were to believe that they are born a sinner (not my EXACT belief), they are not exempt from free will, which G-d has given to everyone, even sinners. I do believe that a tiny bit of Adam and Eve's soul is in all of us (in the sense that we are all a part of one great soul, fragmented into tiny souls but connected), and that means we are guilty by association and in fact a part of them (I know, it's a very esoteric out-there idea/belief, and since we are a part of other souls, I think on the whole we have more goodness than sin when born), but G-d gives us free will so that we can choose to do the right thing and repair ourselves. Just like Adam and Eve had free will but used it to do evil, we (adam/eve if you will) still have free will, G-d gives us a chance to do the right thing. He gives us free will without strings attached. He doesn't say if you sin, I will take free will away from you. Instead, he gives you a chance to learn from your mistakes and do the right thing :) It is precisely BECAUSE we have free will, that we are born with some sin, because due to free will, choices were made to commit sin in our past lives which have been carried over into our current life. Nothing disappears, but things can be repaired, if our free will is used in the right ways.

Answer 15

Firstly, the Adam and Eve tale is fiction.  Secondly, the concept of sin is void: it would require the existence not only of a god, but of one that expressed an opinion as to what it did not like -- and neither exists.  Thirdly, the concept of derived original sin is nonsense; no one is responsible for the actions of any ancestor.  Fourthly, the concept of "free will" is a fantasy, albeit a very useful one; if one could know all of the sensory inputs that a being had received over its entire lifetime, one could predict what it would do in a particular case.  But that is of course impossible, and free will is a useful model of how things actually work.

Answer 16

Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge. They were given free will to choose to follow God or to do what they wanted. God doesn't force anyone to love him.  

Answer 17

Yes.  The Christian religion tells us, "You have free will to d**n yourself for eternity."  Not very liberating, is it?

Answer 18

Philosophically speaking, "freewill" and "GOD'S Sovereignty" is a tricky, knotty kind of problem. Here's the best way to resolve the seeming paradox:

* we all have a limited freewill or "moral free-agency" to choose what is right and what is wrong according to clear moral standards relating to both GOD and other people [ie/relationships].

* ONLY GOD decides (by His perfect understanding of the human heart AND MOTIVES) *who* is elected to enter His Kingdom and receive mercy and grace. ... it is like this: HE KNOWS HIS own, ... and always acts accordingly.

* EVERYTHING moral is decided *according to motives,* ... something which men and women are incapable of discerning perfectly.

* GOD, being both Sovereign and Omniscient, has the final say in all matters pertaining to destiny.

Hope that helps to clarify a difficult issue that has most people running around in theological & philosophical circles for centuries.

Answer 19

i can Type a hundred or a thousand pages to answer this question.

I have typed a thousand pages and printed each one of them!

it boils down to whether a person will listen or hear the gospel of christ, or whether the messengers actually teach the truth or not.

free will is given because All sins are forgiven, but forgiveness is based on repentance, not on a persons; choice.  a person can choose to sin, but such free will will require judgment and punishment and consequence.

Most people will come to agree in eternity that the laws of God are not oppressive but practical and realistic. the worst consequences fall upon the heads of unlawful people who choose freely to follow anarchy

Answer 20

Say you were in big trouble some time ago and one person rescued you from a very dangerous situation.  Afterwards you used to think that this person is very important in your life and try to know that person very well and try to do good things in his eyes and respect him and telling others about how that person saved your life etc.

Do you think that you are of imposed will, are you not of your free will?

Answer 21

You seem to be a little confused...

First of all, Adam and Eve had a free will BEFORE they sinned.  The wages of their sin was spiritual death immediately and physical death eventually.

Adam and Eve chose to disobey God.  God provided a way for man to be redeemed back to Himself..  Man has the choice to accept or reject God's redemption.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that WHOSOEVER believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."  (John 3:16)

The simple answer is that God gave us a free will when He created us and He never took it away from us.  With our free will we can choose to remain lost or we can choose to be saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Repent of your sins today and trust Christ and His blood poured out at Calvary and you will be saved.

"Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose the third day according to the Scriptures..."