The problem with free will is that we are responsible for our actions

More than one Church Father, theologian, philosopher has commented that God created us with free will. The consequences of that free will is that we really can make the wrong decisions. And, when we make the wrong decision there may be consequences that we do not like. What is amazing is how often we blame God when the decisions that we wrongly make blow up in our face. Somehow, God should give us full free-will but protect us from our wrong decisions. (Note: some of our decisions are not simply wrong, some are intentionally sinful.)

But, there is one bit of extremely hopeful news.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten son so that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” So, while there is no getting away with our sin, there is most certainly a solution. The problem for many is that the solution involves admitting that you are a sinner, that you are not capable of eternal joy on your own, and that you have no choice but to accept someone else’s help.

More than that, the solution involves admitting that you really do not have the full free will that you claim that you have. But, you already know that you do not have that, don’t you? Think, how many times is it that you plan to do something, but end up doing precisely what you said you would not do? How many times have you realized that your free will is not a effective as you thought it would be? How many times have you realized that someone else’s free will has overridden your free will? In fact, our free will is a rather limited thing, and much less effective than we would wish. So, we catch ourselves in the dilemma that we have enough free will to make the wrong decisions, but not enough free will to carry out all that we would wish to carry out.

The Orthodox are not Western. We do agree with the West that our free will is not pure and undamaged. But, we do not agree that our free will is so damaged that we are totally incapable of making right decisions. We have received enough grace to use the free will that we have, in such a way we can cooperate with God. Synergy is possible. There is a rather long quote from the Confession of Dositheus that explains it for the theological geeks among us:

And we understand the use of free-will thus, that the Divine and illuminating grace, and which we call preventing [or, prevenient] grace, being, as a light to those in darkness, by the Divine goodness imparted to all, to those that are willing to obey this — for it is of use only to the willing, not to the unwilling — and co-operate with it, in what it requires as necessary to salvation, there is consequently granted particular grace. This grace co-operates with us, and enables us, and makes us to persevere in the love of God, that is to say, in performing those good things that God would have us to do, and which His preventing grace admonishes us that we should do, justifies us, and makes us predestinated. But those who will not obey, and co-operate with grace; and, therefore, will not observe those things that God would have us perform, and that abuse in the service of Satan the free-will, which they have received of God to perform voluntarily what is good, are consigned to eternal condemnation.

So, do yourself a favor, and use your limited and somewhat ineffective free will to decide to follow Our Lord Jesus Christ.