Do angels have free will?

"Do angels have free will?"
Dr. Bruce Ware answers in Honest Answers | Episode 111

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[ILikeYouUC]

Thank you SO much for continuing this series. I'm feeling extremely happy right now! Please keep it up!

[toneojosu]

If they hadn't, there would have been no rebellion.

[HarryNicNicholas]

free will : the ability to choose things you would never choose.

[maxaplin]

There is an enormous problem with what Bruce Ware says about freedom being the freedom to choose according to what we most desire, and it is this:

It would mean that when Adam and Eve sinned, they found themselves, through no fault of their own, desiring to sin as their greatest desire, and they could not possibly have avoided acting on that desire. So God would have created human beings in such a way that we could not possibly have avoided sinning, and then would have condemned us to hell for that. This is enormously difficult to reconcile with the goodness of God.

This would seem to mean essentially that God caused human beings to sin.

I admit that it is a mystery how Adam and Eve desired to sin, although they were perfect. But to go further and say that they couldn't possibly have avoided sinning is another thing entirely.

The Bible is explicit that 'the Lord is good' (e.g., Psalm 100:5), and the goodness of God must be goodness as we understand goodness. If God's goodness were completely different from goodness as we understand it, then 'the Lord is good' would be as meaningless to us as 'the Lord is something'. So God's goodness must be goodness as we understand goodness. And we have a strong sense that to cause someone to do wrong and then punish them for it is not good.

We need to be clear that Scripture never, ever suggests that Adam and Eve could not have avoided sinning. This is just an inference made from theological presuppositions.

And I wonder too, did any Christian before Jonathan Edwards in the 18th century believe this? I don't think Calvin, for example, did.

[LeonLKC]

Let the faithful dwell in His grace with Gospel hymns and angels' voices shall proclaim their Heavenly blessings on His name.

[strangelaw]

6:32 There is more than one fallen angel?

[robbiebob]

Thank you for this clear
I know this is a side issue and somewhat & maybe confronting, but a few denominations believe that Jesus is Michael the archangel....
A presentation on that issue one day??.
God bless.

[AnotherWasted]

I don't think his points were necessarily incorrect, but his argument for them

[vipper]

How about those angel who rebel are they us ?

[reubenlemn]

Keep in mind, most of what he said cannot be backed by scripture it’s mostly opinion drawn from scripture. There’s a difference.

[drsmapdi]

This is a long way to say there are 2 definitions of freedom

[AbrahamknewJesus]

The problem with saying that there are certain angels that not only never sinned but never will sin is like calling them righteous. Don't the Bible teach there is nothing non-righteous but God. Isn't that one of the things that make God Holy and distinct from his creation.

If there are Holy angels who never sinned what is the difference between them and the Holy Spirit beside being all knowing and all powerful.

[aritrabhattacharyya]

Animals too have rational faculty and the ability to learn.

[HarryNicNicholas]

go back to the moment you became a believer, if you did that moment over would you change your mind? how many times would you do that before you randomly become atheist?

free will is an illusion.

[americanwarriorluke]

That’s playing it pretty fast and loose with the ‘choosing’ and ‘desires’ with the help of the Holy Spirit. It is only because the Holy Spirit takes complete control, according to the will of the Father, do we have any hope.

Thankfully, through God’s election and only because of God’s election, I do not have a “free wil” to chose the most desired. Because human beings would chose evil every time. God’s glorious grace is irresistible.

[isaacmwangaza]

This is so good, so a quick question,
does desire preceded will?

[JonHurley-oo]

I have freewill within Christ's doctrine,

[vinrico]

God is also all knowing, God also exists outside of time; Alpha and Omega, the begining and the end at the same time, therefore God must know the future. God knew Lucifer would sin, and then temp Eve, and then Adam and Eve would eat from the tree of knowledge or life; God's devine plan?

[AnotherWasted]

I do not see how god, angels, or people, choose what they desire most. This is definitely, most often, not the case..

[Belliferous]

Yes and our inclinations are created through our environment. Naturally we can’t dictate most aspects of our environment. God dictates our environment. Can’t get around it. Fact is, our “free will” is little more than multiple choices setup by God. Preordained means preordained.