The Power of Choice

And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Gen 2:15-17 (KJV)

Our text reveals that man was created as a free moral agent. That is to say that he was given the privilege of choice and immediately presented with an option to exercise it. The skeptic may ask why would a loving God who is all-knowing put man in such a position. Why put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden if you know that man is going to eat from it? I believe the answer has to do with the power of choice. Nature is a system of causality. That is to say, what is happening is the result of what has happened and what will be is based on what is. One thing leads to another by necessity. As the earth rotates on its axis, it will appear that the sun will rise and set continuously throughout time. We will have a continuing stream of day followed by night. This is the way it has been, this is the way it is, and this is the way it will be until time ceases. The beasts of the air and those of the field are continuously driven by instinct to survive and multiply. They make no plans to do anything but that. It was in the midst of this orderly display of nature that God placed a creature that had been fashioned in his image and after his likeness. This creature would not simply conform to the pattern of nature and move in a predictable orderly fashion. This creature would have the power of choice. This creature would be capable of changing the very face of nature


I. Choosing comes with Responsibility

II. Choosing is a Privilege

III. Choosing produces Consequences

IV. Nature displays a System of Causality that Man chooses to exempt Himself from by exercising Choice

V. The essence of Choice reflects the Image of God in Man

Every new phase of life brings a person to a point of decision. A choice has to be made that will have a lasting effect. Unlike beasts that are instinct driven, mankind must make decisions. When a lion wakes up on the plains of Africa, its instincts will drive it throughout the day. If a person wakes up on that same plain, they have an inexhaustible list of options available that will be set in motion by the first decisions they make that day. A person’s life is often the sum total of all of the decisions they have made and the consequences that resulted. Joshua as well as Elijah demanded that Israel choose to follow the Lord. The power of choice presupposes that man has the ability to affect his own outcome. The only outcome desirable is what God has provided for us. Jesus should always be our first and only choice. However, we do err because we have a tendency to do so. When this occurs, God has provided the opportunity to make another choice. If we are lost, Jesus says come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. If we are saved but have erred, God says if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. No matter what choice you made yesterday, you can make another decision right now. Choose Jesus.


Robert C. Hudson
May 24, 2009