F. Wilson
Custom software development

Thanks for your comment.

I think there may be a misunderstanding. Calvinists never say man doesn’t “choose.” Of course he chooses.
Then you say “can there be good without free will?” If you define “free will” in the terms of being able to make any of all possible decisions, for example, then God does not have free will because He cannot choose to sin. All created beings can only choose what their nature allows them to choose. By your definition, then God cannot love and I don’t think that’s really what you believe.

Upon what basis do you ponder the issue of God creating man without free will? God is not obligated to crate us in the manner we see fit – He creates as He sees fit and He is indeed the potter over the clay and He created the clay and all its characteristics as well. Paul addresses this in Romans 9 when he knows people will object to his teaching that God sovereignly chooses some for salvation and reprobates (hardens) others and he knows the objections will be a) “That’s not fair!” and b) “How can God hold man responsible for the hardening that God Himself causes?” Paul’s response: who are you to question God? A hard one to swallow but swallow we must.

God did not need to create. His own love and fellowship within the Trinity has always been perfect and in need of nothing. He created by His own sovereign will and pleasure in bringing glory to Himself. Beyond that, we don’t have the answer and best not try to find it. Praise God.

I don’t believe the reason God created man was so that man would love God. To my thinking, that seems to imply that there was something lacking on God’s part, so he created man to fill that void. God by his very nature cannot lack anything, so there has to be a different reason God created man.

Furthermore, God was not obligated to create man – the potter does not consult the clay. God was also not obligated to redeem man after the Fall. BUT, even before He created the world in which He permitted sin, He planned the Cross. The lamb was slain from the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8)

1689 Baptist Confession of Faith – Ch. 2, Par. 2:

“God is all-sufficient, and all life, glory, goodness and blessedness are found in Him and in Him alone. He does not stand in need of any of the creatures that He has made, nor does He derive any part of His glory from them.”

Why did God create man? The only answer that makes sense to me is that creating man brings Him glory. He is glorified by justly sending unregenerate sinners to an eternal hell, and glorified by mercifully saving regenerate sinners. Showing both His justice and His mercy brings glory to Him.

I would reject any reason for creating man that makes man the focus.

Hope this helps a bit.

In the theology with which I am most familiar, God created man with free will so that man will choose to know, love, and serve Him. Can man truly love if he does not have free will?
So, then, why would God create man without free will? In a predetermined world, it seems that man could not love; this would require a different reason for God to create man.

Could someone please enlighten me on the Calvinist teaching of why God created man in the first place? Or does God need a reason at all? I am so confused…

Thanks

The free choice of what to eat for breakfast is limited to what is in the cupboard – waffles or french toast. So as much as he would freely choose to have Cinnamon Life for breakfast, that choice is not available to him if there is none in the cupboard.