In the days of the early Christians (the first three centuries), there was a religious group who strongly disputed the Congregation's ("Church's") stance on salvation and works. This religious group taught
- that man is totally depraved,
- that we are saved solely by grace,
- that works play no role in our salvation, and
- that we cannot forfeit our salvation once we obtain it.
This religious group was labeled as heretics by the early Christians.
You might be thinking, "This group of 'heretics' were the real Christians while these 'orthodox' Christians were really heretics." However, such a conclusion is impossible. Who was this religious group, you ask?
The Gnostics!
If you think the Gnostics were "true Christians," observe what the apostle John said about them: "Many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist" (2 John 7).
If our Evangelical doctrine of salvation is true, we are faced with the uncomfortable reality that this doctrine was first taught by "deceivers and antichrists" before it was taught by Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and others.
Ponder that point promptly.
Scholars have noted that "Calvinism" (a.k.a. "TULIP" or "The Doctrines of Grace") has risen up in popularity four times over the past 500 years. Every single time, it always dies back down. Why do you suppose that is? Well, either God ordained it to be such, or else the system just does not hold any water theologically and/or logically. When Christians actually hold Scripture as their authority rather than what some preacher has told them to believe (or what is dictated in their creeds, confessions, catechisms, constitutions, statements of faith, or systems of theology), they inevitably come to a conclusion that is opposed to these beliefs.
Calvinists teach that all descendants of Adam are by nature totally corrupt in spiritual matters, and that people do not have freedom of the will to turn to God in faith or co-operate in their conversions. Let us see what Scripture and the early Christians (A.D. 90-300) have to say:
Free Will Offering Verses
"The Israelites, all the men and women, whose heart moved them to bring material for all the work, which the LORD had commanded through Moses to be done, brought a freewill offering to the LORD." Exodus 35:29
"They received from Moses all the contributions which the sons of Israel had brought to perform the work in the construction of the sanctuary. And they still continued bringing to him freewill offerings every morning." Exodus 36:3
"But if the sacrifice of his offering is a votive or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice, and on the next day what is left of it may be eaten;" Leviticus 7:16
"Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel and say to them, 'Any man of the house of Israel or of the aliens in Israel who presents his offering, whether it is any of their votive or any of their freewill offerings, which they present to the LORD for a burnt offering— ... 'When a man offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD to fulfill a special vow or for a freewill offering, of the herd or of the flock, it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it. ... 'In respect to an ox or a lamb which has an overgrown or stunted member, you may present it for a freewill offering, but for a vow it will not be accepted." Leviticus 22:18, 21, 23
"besides those of the sabbaths of the LORD, and besides your gifts and besides all your votive and freewill offerings, which you give to the LORD." Leviticus 23:38
"then make an offering by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering or a sacrifice to fulfill a special vow, or as a freewill offering or in your appointed times, to make a soothing aroma to the LORD, from the herd or from the flock." Numbers 15:3
"'You shall present these to the LORD at your appointed times, besides your votive offerings and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings and for your grain offerings and for your drink offerings and for your peace offerings.'" Numbers 29:39
"There you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the contribution of your hand, your votive offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock. ... You are not allowed to eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or new wine or oil, or the firstborn of your herd or flock, or any of your votive offerings which you vow, or your freewill offerings, or the contribution of your hand." Deuteronomy 12:6, 17
"Then you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give just as the LORD your God blesses you;" Deuteronomy 16:10
"Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the eastern gate, was over the freewill offerings of God, to apportion the contributions for the LORD and the most holy things." 2 Chronicles 31:14
"His officers also contributed a freewill offering to the people, the priests and the Levites. Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, the officials of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings 2,600 from the flocks and 300 bulls." 2 Chronicles 35:8
"Every survivor, at whatever place he may live, let the men of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, together with a freewill offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem. ... All those about them encouraged them with articles of silver, with gold, with goods, with cattle and with valuables, aside from all that was given as a freewill offering." Ezra 1:4, 6
"and afterward there was a continual burnt offering, also for the new moons and for all the fixed festivals of the LORD that were consecrated, and from everyone who offered a freewill offering to the LORD." Ezra 3:5
"with all the silver and gold which you find in the whole province of Babylon, along with the freewill offering of the people and of the priests, who offered willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem;" Ezra 7:16
"Then I said to them, "You are holy to the LORD, and the utensils are holy; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the LORD God of your fathers."" Ezra 8:28
"O accept the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, And teach me Your ordinances." Psalm 119:108
"If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword." Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken." Isaiah 1:19-20
"Say to them, 'As I live!' declares the Lord GOD, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?'" Ezekiel 33:11
"When the prince provides a freewill offering, a burnt offering, or peace offerings as a freewill offering to the LORD, the gate facing east shall be opened for him. And he shall provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings as he does on the sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and the gate shall be shut after he goes out." Ezekiel 46:12
"Offer a thank offering also from that which is leavened, And proclaim freewill offerings, make them known. For so you love to do, you sons of Israel," Declares the Lord GOD." Amos 4:5
Free Will Verses
"Then Yahweh said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it." Genesis 4:6-7
"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving Yahweh your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them." Deuteronomy 30:19-20
"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve Yahweh, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh." Joshua 24:15
"Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of Yahweh. They would not accept my counsel, they spurned all my reproof. So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way and be satiated with their own devices." Proverbs 1:29-31
""If you consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." Truly the mouth of Yahweh has spoken." Isaiah 1:19-20
"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does Yahweh require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he [the one] who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. ... Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock." Matthew 7:21, 24
"Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven." Matthew 10:32
"Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, 'YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, LEST THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM." Matthew 13:13-15 (cf. Mark 4:12; Isaiah 6:8-10)
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling." Matthew 23:37
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!" Luke 13:34
"And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me."" Mark 8:34
"Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: ... But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly..." Luke 6:47-49
"But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God's purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John." Luke 7:30
"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it." Luke 9:24 (cf. Luke 17:33)
"Another also said, "I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say goodbye to those at home." But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."" Luke 9:62-63
"Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?" Luke 11:11-13
"Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able." Luke 13:24 (cf. Matthew 7:13-14)
"For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?" Luke 14:25-35
"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life." John 5:39-40
"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name," John 1:12
"so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life." John 3:15
"...sin no more..." John 5:14; 8:11
"If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself." John 7:17
"AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED." Acts 2:21
"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." Romans 1:20
"But as for Israel He says, "ALL THE DAY LONG I HAVE STRETCHED OUT MY HANDS TO A DISOBEDIENT AND OBSTINATE PEOPLE."" Romans 10:21
"But he who stands firm in his heart, being under no constraint, but has authority over his own will, and has decided this in his own heart, to keep his own virgin daughter, he will do well." 1 Corinthians 7:37
"No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it." 1 Corinthians 10:13
"He who overcomes..." Revelation 2-3
"In the beginning, He made the human race with the power of thought and of choosing the truth and doing right, so that all men are without excuse before God." —Justin Martyr
"Lest some suppose, from what has been said by us, that we say that whatever occurs happens by a fatal necessity, because it is foretold as known beforehand, this too we explain. We have learned from the prophets, and we hold it to be true, that punishments, chastisements, and good rewards, are rendered according to the merit of each man's actions. Now, if this is not so, but all things happen by fate, then neither is anything at all in our own power. For if it is predetermined that this man will be good, and this other man will be evil, neither is the first one meritorious nor the latter man to be blamed. And again, unless the human race has the power of avoiding evil and choosing good by free choice, they are not accountable for their actions." —Justin Martyr
"Neither do we maintain that it is by fate that men do what they do, or suffer what they suffer. Rather, we maintain that each man acts rightly or sins by his free choice. . . . Since God in the beginning made the race of angels and men with free will, they will justly suffer in eternal fire the punishment of whatever sins they have committed." —Justin Martyr
"If God's desire for both angels and men, who were endowed with free will . . . that if they chose the things acceptable to Him, He would keep them free from death and from punishment. However, if they did evil, He would punish each as He sees fit." —Justin Martyr
"He created both angels and men free to do that which is righteous. And He appointed periods of time during which He knew it would be good for them to have the exercise of free will." —Justin Martyr
"I have proved in what has been said that those who were foreknown to be unrighteous, whether men or angels, are not made wicked by God's fault. Rather, each man is what he will appear to be through his own fault." —Justin Martyr
"Each of these two orders of creatures [men and angels] was made free to act as it pleased. They did not have the nature of good, which again is with God alone. However, it is brought to perfection in men through their freedom of choice. In this manner, the bad man can be justly punished, having become depraved through his own fault. Likewise, the just man can be deservedly praised for his virtuous deeds, since in the exercise of his free choice, he refrained from transgressing the will of God. . . . And the power of the Logos has in itself a faculty to foresee future events. He foretold from time to time the issues of things to come—not as fated, but as taking place by the choice of free agents." —Tatian
"We were not created to die. Rather, we die to our own fault. Our free will has destroyed us. We who were free have become slaves. We have been sold through sin. Nothing evil has been created by God. We ourselves have manifested wickedness. But we, who have manifested it, are able again to reject it." —Tatian
"There is, therefore, nothing to hinder you from changing your evil manner of life, because you are a free man." —Melito
"If, on the other hand, he would turn to the things of death, disobeying God, he would himself be the cause of death to himself. For God made man free, and with power of himself." —Theophilus
"Concerning subjection to authorities and powers, and prayer for them, the divine word gives us instructions so that "we may lead a quiet and peaceable life." Furthermore, it teaches us to render all things to all, "honour to whom honour, fear to whom fear, tribute to whom tribute; to owe no man anything, but to love all."" —Theophilus
"But man, being endowed with reason, and in this respect similar to God, having been made free in his will, and with power over himself, is himself his own cause that sometimes he becomes wheat, and sometimes chaff." —Irenaeus
"God has always preserved freedom and power of self-government in man. Yet, at the same time, He issued His own exhortations, in order that those who do not obey Him would be righteously judged because they have not obeyed Him. And those who have obeyed and believed on Him should be honoured with immortality." —Irenaeus
"[The Marcionites] say, "But God hardened the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants." Now those who allege such difficulties do not read in the Gospel the passage where the Lord replied to the disciples, when they asked Him, "Why do you speak in parables?" He replied: "Because it is given to you to know the mystery of the kingdom of heaven. However, I speak to them in parables so that seeing they may not see and hearing they may not hear." . . . So God knows the number of those who will not believe, since He foreknows all things. So He has given them over to unbelief and turned His face away from men of this character, leaving them in the darkness that they have chosen for themselves. So what is baffling if He gave Pharaoh and those who were with him over to their unbelief? For they would never have believed." —Irenaeus
"This expression . . . sets forth the ancient law of human liberty. For God made man free from the beginning, possessing his own power, even as he does his own soul, to obey the commandments of God voluntarily, and not by compulsion of God. For there is no coercion with God. . . . And in man, as well as in angels (for angels are rational beings), He has placed the power of choice, so that those who had yielded obedience might justly possess what is good—given indeed by God, but preserved by themselves." —Irenaeus
"Those who work it will receive glory and honour, because they have done that which is good when they had it in their power not to do it. But those who do not do it will receive the just judgment of God, because they did not work good when they had it in their power to do so. But if some had been made by nature bad, and others good, these latter would not be deserving of praise for being good, for they were created that way. Nor would the former be reprehensible, for that is how they were made. However, all men are of the same nature. They are all able to hold fast and to do what is good. On the other hand, they have the power to cast good from them and not to do it. For that reason, some justly receive praise." —Irenaeus
""Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good deeds". . . . And "Why call me, Lord, Lord, and do not do the things that I say?". . . . All such passages demonstrate the independent will of man. . . . For it is in man's power to disobey God and to forfeit what is good." —Irenaeus
"If, then, it were not in our power to do or not to do these things, what reason did the apostle have, and much more the Lord Himself, to give us counsel to do some things, and to abstain from others? But because man is possessed of free will from the beginning, and God is possessed of free will (in whose likeness man was created), advise is always given to him to hold fast to the good, which is done through obedience to God. God has preserved the will of man free and under his own control. This is not merely in works, but also in faith." —Irenaeus
"Nor, again, does God exercise compulsion upon anyone unwilling to accept the exercise of His skill.... They have been created free agents and possessed of over over themselves." —Irenaeus
"Those who believe, do His will agreeably to their own choice. Likewise, agreeably to their own choice, the disobedient do not consent to His doctrine. It is clear that His Father has made everyone in a like condition, each person having a choice of his own and a free understanding." —Irenaeus
"We . . . have belied and are saved by voluntary choice." —Clement of Alexandria
"Each one of us who sins with his own free will, chooses punishment. So the blame lies with him who chooses. God is without blame." —Clement of Alexandria
"It is by one's own fault that he does not choose what is best. God is free of blame." —Clement of Alexandria
"Neither praises nor censures, neither rewards nor punishments, are right if the soul does not have the power of inclination and disinclination and if evil is involuntary. . . . In no respect is God the author of evil. But since free choice and inclination originate sins, . . . punishments are justly inflicted." —Clement of Alexandria
"We have heard by the Scriptures that self-determining choice and refusal have been given by the Lord to men. Therefore, we rest in the infallible criterion of faith, manifesting a willing spirit, since we have chosen life." —Clement of Alexandria
"To obey or not is in our own power, provided we do not have the excuse of ignorance." —Clement of Alexandria
"Sin, then, is voluntary on my part." —Clement of Alexandria
"The Lord clearly shows sins and transgressions to be in our own power, by prescribing modes of cure corresponding to the maladies." —Clement of Alexandria
"Their estrangement is the result of free choice." —Clement of Alexandria
"It is not possible to attain it without the exercise of free choice. However, the whole does not depend on our own purpose, as for example, what is destined to happen." —Clement of Alexandria
"Perhaps the Father Himself draws to Himself every one who has led a pure life and who has reached the conception of the blessed and incorruptible nature. Or, perhaps the free will that is in us, by reaching the knowledge of the good, leaps and bounds over the barriers (as the gymnasts say). Either way, it is not without eminent grace that the soul is winged, soars, and is raised above the higher spheres." —Clement of Alexandria
"Wisdom, which is given by God (being the power of the Father), rouses indeed our free will and allows faith. It repays the application of the elect with its crowning fellowship." —Clement of Alexandria
"God's will is especially obeyed by the free will of good men." —Clement of Alexandria
"Believing and obeying are in our own power." —Clement of Alexandria
"Nor will he who is saved be saved against his will, for he is not inanimate. But above all, he will speed to salvation voluntarily and of free choice." —Clement of Alexandria
"Whenever, then, one is righteous—not from necessity or out of fear or hope—but from free choice, this is called the royal road." —Clement of Alexandria
"Choice depended on the man as being free. But the gift depended on God as the Lord. And He gives to those who are willing, are exceedingly earnest, and who ask. So their salvation becomes their own. For God does not compel." —Clement of Alexandria
"This is the mind and judgment of man, which has freedom in itself and self-determination in the treatment of what is assigned to it." —Clement of Alexandria
"If one chooses to continue in pleasures and to sin perpetually, . . . let him no longer blame either God, riches, or his having fallen. Rather, let him blame his own soul, which voluntarily perishes." —Clement of Alexandria
"I find, then, that man was constituted free by God. He was master of his own will and power. . . . For a law would not be imposed upon one who did not have it in his power to render that obedience which is due to law. Nor again, would the penalty of death be threatened against sin, if a contempt of the law were impossible to man in the liberty of his will. . . . Man is free, with a will either for obedience or resistance." —Tertullian
"This will be the power of the grace of God—more potent indeed than nature—exercising its sway over the faculty that underlies itself within us: even the freedom of our will. . . . We define the soul as having sprung from the breath of God. It is immortal . . . [and] free in its determinations." —Tertullian
"You must necessarily correspond to the seed from which you sprang—if indeed it is true that the originator of our race and our sin, Adam, willed the sin which he committed." —Tertullian
"On the contrary, men are not governed like [the plants and animals]. . . . In matters pertaining to their minds, they do whatever they choose—as those who are free, endowed with power, and in the likeness of God." —Bardensanes
"God, who created [the world], did not, nor does not, make evil. . . . Now, man (who was brought into existence) was a creature endowed with a capacity of self-determination, yet he did not possess a sovereign intellect. . . . Man, from the fact of his possessing a capacity of self-determination, brings forth what is evil. . . . Since man has free will, a law has been given him by God, for a good purpose. For a law will not be laid down for an animal that is devoid of reason. Only a bridle and a whip will be given it. In contrast, man has been given a commandment to perform, coupled with a penalty." —Hippolytus
"The Word promulgated the divine commandments by declaring them. He thereby turned man from disobedience. He summoned man to liberty through a choice involving spontaneity—not by bringing him into servitude by force of necessity." —Hippolytus
"Christ passed through every stage in life in order that He Himself could serve as a law for persons of every age, and that, by being present among us, He could demonstrate His own manhood as a model for all men. Furthermore, through Himself He could prove that God made nothing evil and that man possesses the capacity of self-determination. For man is able to both will and not to will. He is endowed with power to do both." —Hippolytus
"This also is clearly defined in the teaching of the congregation, that every rational soul has free will and volition. Furthermore, each soul has a struggle to maintain against the devil, his angels, and other opposing powers. For those powers strive to burden it with sins. . . . We understand that we are not subject to necessity. We are not compelled by various means to do either good or evil, even against our will. For if we are our own masters, some influences may perhaps impel us to sin, and others may help us to salvation. However, we are not forced by any necessity to act either rightly or wrongly." —Origen
"Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure. If in conformity to the reason that he possesses, he advance to better things, he is worthy of praise. If he falls away from the plan and course of rectitude, he is worthy of condemnation. And for this reason, he is justly liable to pains and penalties." —Origen
"It seems a possible thing that rational natures, from whom the faculty of free will is never taken away, may be again subjected to movements of some kind." —Origen
"Since those rational creatures themselves . . . were endowed with the power of free will, this freedom of the will incited each one to either progress (by imitation of God), or else it reduced a person to failure through negligence. And this, as we have already stated, is the cause of the diversity among rational creatures. It does not derive its origin from the will or judgment of the Creator, but from the freedom of the individual will. Now God deemed it just to arrange His creatures according to their merit. . . . Divine Providence continues to regulate each individual according to the variety of his movements, or of his feelings and purpose. On which account, the Creator will not appear to be unjust in distributing to everyone according to his merits. Nor will the happiness or unhappiness of each one's birth (or whatever is the condition that falls to his lot) be considered accidental." —Origen
"In the preaching of the congregation, there is included the doctrine concerning a just judgement of God. When this teaching is believed to be true, it incites those who hear it to live virtuously and to shun sin by all means. For they clearly acknowledge that things worthy of praise and blame are within our own power." —Origen
"It is our responsibility to live virtuously. God asks this of us as being our own doing—not as being dependent on Him, nor on any other, nor on Fate (as some think). The prophet Micah proves this when he says: "If it has been announced to you, O man, what is good, or what does the Lord require of you, except to do justice and to love mercy?" Moses, too, said: "I have placed before your face the way of life and the way of death. Choose what is good and walk in it." Isaiah also said: "If you are willing and hear me, you will eat the good of the land." . . . And the Saviour also, when He commands, "But I say to you, resist not evil." . . . And by any other commandments that He gives, He declares that it lies with us to keep what is commanded and that we will reasonably be liable to condemnation if we transgress." —Origen
"When a malignant power has begun to incite us to evil, it is quite within our power to cast the wicked suggestions away from us. . . . Similarly, when a divine power calls us to better things, it is possible for us not to obey the call. Our freedom of will is preserved in either case." —Origen
"A soul is always in possession of free will—both when it is in the body and when it is outside of it." —Origen
"To such an interpretation, all the Scriptures are opposed. They emphasize the freedom of the will. They condemn those who sin, and they approve those who do right. . . . We are responsible for our being good and worthy of being called [honourable] vessels. Likewise, we are responsible for being bad and worthy of being cast outside. For it is not the nature in us that is the cause of the evil; rather, it is the voluntary choice that works evil. Likewise, our nature is not the cause of righteousness, as though it were incapable of admitting unrighteousness." —Origen
"You can always find evil men coming from wickedness to virtue. And you can always fine righteous men returning from progress towards virtue to the flood of wickedness. . . . Now, from the parable of the dragnet, the heretics introduce the doctrine of different natures. Let them tell us in regard to the wicked man who afterwards turned aside from all the wickedness . . . what nature he was when he was wicked?" —Origen
"In the case of souls, it is our free will (and actions and habits of such a kind) that furnish the reason why one is great, little, or of middle height [i.e., spiritually speaking]. And it is our free will to increase our size, by advancing in stature, or else to be short, by not advancing." —Origen
"Would [Celsus] then have . . . God fill the minds of men with new ideas, immediately removing the wickedness and implanting virtue? . . . Where, then, is our free will? And what credit is there in agreeing to the truth? Or how is it praiseworthy to reject what is false?" —Origen
"When He had given man all things for his service, he willed that man alone should be free. And lest an unbounded freedom would lead man into peril, He laid down a command, in which man was taught that there was no evil in the fruit of the tree. Rather, he was forewarned that evil would arise if man were to exercise his free will in contempt of the law that had been given him. . . . As a result, he could receive either worthy rewards or a just punishment. For he had in his own power that which he might choose to do." —Novatian
"The liberty of believing or of not believing is placed in free choice. In Deuteronomy, it says: "Look! I have set before your face life and death, good and evil. Choose for yourself life, that you may live." Also in Isaiah: "And if you are willing and hear me, you will eat the good of the land."" —Cyprian
"Some persons decide that man is not possessed of free will. Rather, they assert that he is governed by the unavoidable necessities of fate and her unwritten commands. Such persons are guilty of impiety towards God Himself. For they make Him out to be the cause and author of human evils." —Methodius
"To do good or evil is in our own power, and it is not decided by the stars. For there are two motions in us, the desire of the flesh and the desire of the soul. And these differ from each other. For that reason, they have received two names: virtue and vice." —Methodius
"Man was made with a free will . . . on account of his capacity of obeying or disobeying god. For this was the meaning of the gift of free will." —Methodius
"Man received power and enslaved himself—not because he was overpowered by the irresistible tendencies of his nature. . . . For if he had been made as any of the elements of creation, . . . he would cease to receive a reward befitting deliberate choice. Instead, he would be like an instrument of the Maker. And it would be unreasonable for him to suffer blame for his wrong-doings. For the real author of them would be the one by whom he is used. . . . Therefore, I say that God—purposing to honour man in this manner and to grant him an understanding of better things—has given man the power of being able to do what he wishes. He commends the use of his power for better things. However, it is not that God deprives man again of free will. Rather, He wishes to point out the better way. For the power is present with man, and he receives the commandment. But God exhorts him to turn his power of choice to better things." —Methodius
"I do not think that God urges man to obey His commandments, but then deprives him of the power to obey or disobey. . . . He does not give a command in order to take away the power that he has given. Rather, He gives it in order to bestow a better gift . . . in return for his having rendered obedience to God. For man had power to withhold it. I say that man was made with free will." —Methodius
As if that was not enough, in the following lengthy discussion of free will, from 'First Things,' Origen counters the arguments being made by certain Gnostics, who said that humans have a ruined nature because of being created by the inferior Demiurge. These Gnostics taught that, as a result of these ruined natures, salvation was purely a matter of grace and election by the Father of Jesus.
"Let us observe how Paul, too, addresses us as having freedom of the will and as being our- selves the cause of ruin or salvation. He says, "You are treasuring up for yourself wrath on the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God—who will render to everyone according to his works." . . . There are, indeed, innumerable passages in the Scriptures that establish with exceeding clarity the existence of freedom of the will. But, since certain declarations of the Old Testament and of the New lead to the opposite conclusion-namely, that it does not depend on ourselves to keep the commandments and to be saved, or to transgress them and to be lost—let us examine them one by one and see the explanations. . . . The statements regarding Pharaoh have troubled many, respecting whom God declared several times, "I will harden Pharaoh's heart." For if he is hardened by God and commits sin because of being hardened, he is not the cause of sin to himself. If so, then Pharaoh does not possess free will. . . . There is also the declaration in Ezekiel, "I will take away their stony hearts and will put in them hearts of flesh so that they may walk in My precepts and keep My commandments." This might lead someone to think that it was God who gave the power to walk in His commandments and to keep His commandments—by His withdrawing the hindrance (the stony heart) and implanting a better heart of flesh. And let us look also at the passage in the Gospel . . . "That seeing they might not see and hearing they may hear and not understand. Lest they would be converted and their sins be forgiven them."
There is also the passage in Paul: "It is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God who shows mercy." Furthermore, there are declarations in other places that "both to will and to do are of God" and "that God has mercy upon whom He will have mercy; and whom He wishes, He hardens." . . . And also, "But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, 'Why have you made me like this?' Does the potter not have power over the clay—from the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonour?" Now, these passages are sufficient of themselves to trouble the multitude—as if man were not possessed of free will, but as if it were God who saves and destroys whom He wills. Let us begin, then, with what is said about Pharaoh—that he was hardened by God so that he would not send the people away. . . . Some of those who hold different opinions [i.e., the Gnostics] misuse these passages. They essentially destroy free will by introducing ruined natures incapable of salvation and by introducing others as being saved in such a way that they cannot be lost. . . . Let us now see what these passages mean. For we will ask them if Pharaoh was of a fleshly nature. And when they answer, we will say that he who is of a fleshly nature is altogether disobedient to God. And if he is disobedient, what need is there for his heart to be hardened—not only once, but frequently? Unless we are to think that . . . God needs him to be disobedient to a greater degree in order that He could manifest His mighty deeds for the salvation of the multitude. Therefore, God hardens his heart. This will be our answer to them in the first place.
Since we consider God to be both good and just, let us see how the good and just God could harden the heart of Pharaoh. Perhaps by an illustration used by the apostle in the Epistle to the Hebrews, we may be able to show that, by the same operation, God can show mercy on one man while he hardens another, although not intending to harden. . . . "The earth," he says, "drinks in the rain that often comes upon it and produces crops to those for whom it is farmed, receiving the blessing from God. But that which produces thorns and briers is worthless, and is in danger of being cursed. Its end is to be burned." . . . It may seem profane for the One who produces rain to say, "I produced both the fruit and the thorns that are in the earth." Yet, although seemingly profane, it is true. If the rain had not fallen, there would have been neither fruit nor thorns. . . . The blessing of the rain, therefore, fell even on the unproductive land. But since it was neglected and uncultivated, it yielded thorns and thistles. In the same way, the wonderful acts of God are like the rain. The differing purposes are like the cultivated and the neglected land. . . . If the sun had a voice, it might say, "I both liquefy and dry up." Although liquefying and drying are opposite things, the sun would not speak falsely on this point. For wax is melted and mud is dried up by the same heat. In the same way, the operation performed through the instrumentality of Moses, on the one hand, hardened Pharaoh (because of his own wickedness), and it softened the mixed Egyptian multitude, who departed with the Hebrews. . . . Now, suppose that the words the apostle addressed to sinners had been addressed to Pharaoh. Then, the announcements made to him will be understood to have been made with particular application. It is as to one who—according to his hardness and unrepentant heart—was treasuring up wrath for himself. For his hardness would not have been demonstrated nor made manifest unless miracles had been performed, particularly miracles of such magnitude and importance. . . .
If it is not we who do anything towards the production within ourselves of the heart of flesh—but if it is [all] God's doing—it would not be our own act to live agreeably to virtue. Rather, it would be altogether an act of divine grace. This would be the statements of one who from the mere words annihilates free will. But we will answer, saying that we should understand these passages in this way: It is like a man who happens to be ignorant and uneducated. On perceiving his own defects—either because of an exhortation from his teacher, or in some other way—he spontaneously gives himself up to an instructor whom he believes can educate him and teach him virtue. Now, on his yielding himself up, his instructor promises that he will take away the man's ignorance and implant instruction. Yet, it is not as if the student contributed nothing to his own training. . . . In the same way, the Word of God promises to take away wickedness (which it calls a stony heart) from those who come to Him. But not if they are unwilling to come. It is only if they submit themselves to the Physician of the sick. . . .
After this, there is the passage from the Gospel where the Saviour said, . . . "Seeing, they may not see, and hearing, they may not understand. Lest they would be converted and their sins be forgiven them." Now, our opponent [the Gnostics] will say . . . it is not within the power of such ones to be saved. If that were so, we are not possessed of free will as regards salvation and destruction. . . . In the first place, then, we must notice the passage in its bearing on the heretics, who . . . daringly assert the cruelty of the Creator of the world. . . . They say that goodness does not exist in the Creator. . . . Come, then, and let us (to the best of our ability) furnish an answer to the question submitted to us. . . . The Saviour . . . had foreseen them as persons who were not likely to prove steady in their conversion, even if they heard the words that were spoken more clearly. For that reason, they were treated this way by the Saviour. . . . Otherwise, after a rapid conversion and healing through obtaining remission of sins, they would despise the wounds of their wickedness, as being slight and easy to heal. As a result, they would again quickly relapse into them. . . .
"Shall the thing formed say to him who formed it, "Why have you made me this way?" Has not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour?" . . . Now we must ask the person who uses these passages whether it is possible to conceive that the apostle contradicts himself. I presume that no one will venture to say it is. If, then, the apostle does not utter contradictions, how can he, according to the person who so understands him, justly find fault with anyone? How could he condemn the individual at Corinth who had committed fornication, or those who had fallen away? . . . And how could he bless those whom he praises as having done well? . . . It is not consistent for the same apostle to blame the sinner as worthy of censure and to praise him who had done well as deserving of approval—but yet, on the other hand, to say (as if nothing depended on ourselves that the cause was in the Creator for the one vessel to be formed to honour and the other to dishonour. . . . The power that is given us to enable us to conquer may be used—in accordance with our faculty of free will—either in a diligent manner (in which case, we prove victorious) or in a slothful manner (in which case, we are defeated). For if such a power were wholly given us in such a way that we would always prove victorious and never be defeated, what further reason would there be for a struggle—for such a one could not be overcome? Or what merit would there be in a victory, if the power of successful resistance is taken away? However, if the possibility of conquering is equally conferred on all of us—and if it is in our own power how to use this possibility (either diligently or slothfully)—then the defeated can be justly censured and the victor can be deservedly praised." —Origen