My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
GOD GAVE MAN FREE WILL
"Man bears the image of God in the higher qualities of the soul, especially in the SOUL’S IMMORTALITY, IN ITS FREEDOM OF WILL, in its reason, and in its capability for pure love without thought of gain.
a) The Eternal God gave immortality of soul to man, even though the soul is immortal not by nature but ONLY BY THE GOODNESS OF GOD.
b) God is completely free in His actions, and He GAVE MAN FREE WILL AND THE ABILITY TO ACT FREELY WITHIN CERTAIN BOUNDARIES.
d) God is Most Wise, and He has given man A REASON WHICH IS CAPABLE OF BEING NOT LIMITED ONLY TO EARTHLY, ANIMAL NEEDS AND
TO THE VISIBLE SIDE OF THINGS, BUT IS CAPABLE OF PENETRATING TO THEIR DEPTHS, OF RECOGNIZING AND EXPLAINING THEIR
INWARD MEANING…" [Orthodox Dogmatic Theology)
"All indeed depends on God, but not in such a way that our free will (τό αυτεξούσιον) be hindered…It is both up to us {έφ ημίν) and up to Him (εφ΄ αυτώ). For we must first choose, then He brings in His own part. He does not anticipate our acts of will, lest our free will should suffer indignity; but when we have chosen, then He brings great assistance." Saint John Chrysostom
God created man "without evil, just, virtuous, free from pain and care, glorified with every virtue, adorned with all that is good, sort of a second microcosm…subject to a higher King, of the earth and of the heaven, temporal, and eternal, belonging to the realm of sight and to the realm of thought, midway between greatness and lowliness, spirit and flesh..,he is changed and–to complete the mystery–becomes DEIFIED BY MERELY INCLINING HIMSELF TOWARD GOD, BECOMING DEIFIED, IN THE WAY OF PARTICIPATING IN THE DIVINE GLORY AND NOT IN THAT OF CHANGE INTO THE Divine Being. God made him by nature SINLESS, AND ENDOWED HIM WITH A FREE WILL."
By sinless, I mean not that sini could find no place in him (for that is the case with Deity alone), but that SIN IS THE RESULT OF THE FREE VOLITION HE ENJOYS RATHER THAN AN INTEGRAL PART OF HIS NATURE, that is to say, HE HAS THE POWER TO CONTINUE AND GO FORWARD IN THE PATH OF GOODNESS, BY COOPERATING WITH THE DIVINE GRACE, AND LIKEWISE TO TURN FROM THE GOOD AND TAKE TO WICKEDNESS, FOR GOD HAS CONCEDED THIS BY CONFERRING UPON HIS FREEDOM OF WILL. Also, God made man, "transplanting to him His own Divine Grace thus bringing him INTO COMMUNION WITH Himself. " Thus, man has been made in accord, in harmony with Go, inclined toward Him and toward the universe.
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According to Saint Basil the Great, man, being FREE, could and ought to develop into moral perfection, and thus be elevated "through progression, to the status of the Angels–THROUGH STRIVING FOR PERFECTION HE WAS ABLE TO ATTAIN TO THE STATUS OF THE ANGELS", ACHIEVING "NOT A FEIGNED ELEVATION BUT A TRUE ONE, HAVING BEEN ARMD BY THE GOODNESS OF GOD WITH WISDOM, AND POSSESSING THAT WHICH IS GREATER IN VALUE THAN ALL ELSE: ETERNAL LIFE." Moreover, according to Theophilus of Antioch, God, in placing man into Paradise, gave him "A MOTIVATION TO PROGRESS, TO INCREASE HIS PERFECTION, TO PROVE HIMSELF, AS IT WERE, A SMALL god, that he might scale the very heavens, and possess them for all eternity."
Thus, all of the SPIRITUAL AND MORAL ATTRIBUTES, all of the qualities of man in his situation PRIOR to the Fall, were neither (as Roman Catholics allege) "superficial" and absolutely excellent; nor was man (as Protestants believe) in a situation of "natural perfection." Rather, MAN WAS IN AN EVOLUTIONARY SITUATION, MOVING TOWARDS PERFECTION.
In Orthodox Christian Theology, FREE WILL is a vital concept that is considered to be axiomatic. It is believed that people have freedom TO CHOOSE how much they follow their conscience or their arrogance. Following one's CONSCIENCE is said to lead to good results, while following one's arrogance leads to bad results. Orthodox Christians believe that the Most Holy Trinity can work through people's choices to bring them to salvation. This is called SYNERGY, which occurs when a PERSON'S FREE WILL ALIGNS WITH THE ETERNAL PURPOSE OF THE TRINITY. We, as Orthodox Christians, do NOT believe in predestination as Protestants do. We believe that Jesus said, "Whoever wants to come after Me, let him take up his cross and follow Me" [Mark 8:34]. In a "religious" context, FREE WILL IS OUR ABILITY TO CHOOSE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL, BETWEEN RIGHTEOUSNESS AND SIN. We acknowledge the limitations of human nature itself on free will, physical and spiritual. In every choice we risk falling into sin without the grace of God to guide us. And sin limits our choices, drawing us AWAY FROM GOD.
The Orthodox Church holds to the teaching of synergy (working together), which says that man has the freedom to, and must if he wants to be saved, accept and work with the grace of God. In Protestant Christianity, many Denominations believe MAN DOES NOT HAVE THE CAPACITY FOR THIS CHOICE BECAUSE OF "ORIGINAL SIN." These Denominations view human nature AS TOTALLY DEPRAVED, INCAPABLE OF CHOOSING BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL OR TAKING ANY PART IN OUR SALVATION. It follows, then, that they believe God IS THE ONE WHO MAKES THE CHOICE FOR YOU.
The Orthodox Christian view of free will further asserts that everything in our earthly lives IS A CHOICE, even accepting the grace of God. God is the Source of all that is good. Therefore, without His COOPERATION and help, we can’t do any good thing. It is our choice whether we live a life that pleases God or one that saddens Him. God knows ALL THINGS WE WILL DO, but He does NOT make those decisions for us. He wants us to follow Him, to love Him and do what is good. But it is not God’s will that we be forced to do this. [Resources: Orthodox Dogmatic Theology, A Synopsis of the Dogmatic Theology of the Orthodox Catholic Church, Saint John the Evangelist Orthodox Church]
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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 