Question: Did God take away Pharaoh's free will when He "hardened Pharaoh's heart" (Exodus:10:1-2 [1] And the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my signs before him:
[2] And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the LORD.
)? What verses point to free will in the Bible?
Response: According to Adam Clarke's commentary, the Hebrew word translated harden "literally signifies to strengthen, confirm, make bold or courageous." An illustration commonly heard is that of a sponge squeezed (made hard) in the hand. Anything that comes forth from the squeezed sponge was already there. When God "hardened" Pharaoh's heart, He simply forced out what was already there, strengthening Pharaoh's own convictions.
The Bible teaches that God elected (predestined) to save all (any) who "feareth him, and worketh righteousness" (Acts:10:34-35 [34] Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
[35] But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
). According to Ephesians:2:10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them., one must fear God (be saved) before he can work righteousness, the works themselves being foreordained. Long before the creation of man, God predestined that men would be saved "in Christ" (Eph:1:3-4 [3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
[4] According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
,7-12). The Lord God "predestined" His plan for the redemption of man (Eph:3:10-11 [10] To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
[11] According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
).
God has also granted that man would have free will, which is simply the ability and responsibility to choose to obey Him (Gn 3:1-6; Josh:24:15And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.; Mt 11:28; Jn:3:16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.). As we have noted in previous Q&As, if there were no moral response possible on man's part, then "...choose you this day whom ye will serve" (Josh:24:15And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.) would therefore be impossible. James:4:17Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. instructs us that "...to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." This verse recognizes accountability based upon ability to do good or evil. Again, if there were no possibility of making that choice, then this verse is also meaningless.
The argument advanced by some Calvinists is that to acknowledge any measure of "ability" (i.e., "free will") in man is to leave room for boasting. The exhausted, drowning man, who hears the voice of those in the boat, cries out, "save me," and then permits the strong arms of his rescuer to pull him into the boat, has certainly done nothing to contribute to his salvation. Yet we know that some drowning men will push away their rescuers in their unreasoning panic. In each case, both are exercising choice, but neither has cause to boast. There is no room in heaven for a regenerated human heart and mind to indulge in imagined boasting for simply acknowledging one's inability to save oneself and then not interfering with the subsequent rescue.
Finally, God is certainly sovereign, but we must not deny the clear responsibility of man, regardless of our human inability to fully comprehend these differences.
