Hi Mike,

You asked:

Quote
John, if God created a world where everyone had free will, not just Adam, wouldn't that still allow us to say He foreordained everything in it? I believe we all do have free will, but I see your point about how it might all be foreordained nonetheless. Is this a fair conclusion?

You got it. It is possible to foreordain all of our genuinely free actions, and this foreordination is not simply foreknowledge, either. It is more than that.

That said, with the fall, humans became sinners. Consequently, there are some things that they are unable freely to do. This inability, however, is simply due to the fact that we have naturally bad character. If God changes our character and gives us His Spirit, then we can again freely choose to do good--God gets all the glory, however. He was at the back of our free choice.

One more thing: the picture I've suggested also means that God has foreordained in a strong sense sinful actions for which He is not responsible. They were, after all, genuinely free sins.

Regards,
John


"He that hath light thoughts of sin, never had great thoughts of God." ...John Owen