Yes — God created humans with free will so they could genuinely choose to love, obey, and fellowship with Him rather than being forced robots.
Les Feldick teaches that God made the human race with an indwelling attribute of will to either respond to His love or reject it. Because angels could not respond in love, mankind had to be a free-will creature. God then placed a choice before Adam so his obedience would be voluntary. The marriage relationship pictures this love extended and returned willingly.
Genesis 2:17 — God's one prohibition made Adam's obedience a real choice, showing that free will was built into creation.
Romans 5:12 — Shows the consequence of the first free-will choice: sin and death entered the world through Adam.
God created the first man and placed him in a garden with full permission to eat from every tree but one. He commanded, "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" (Genesis 2:17). This command made obedience a genuine choice, not an automatic response. Scripture also shows what came from Adam's choice: "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Romans 5:12), and "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). At the same time, Scripture points to the intended outcome of freely choosing to love God: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9). The marriage relationship also pictures this love: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it" (Ephesians 5:25).
Les Feldick answers the question directly: God made the human race with an indwelling attribute of will so that man could either respond to God's love or reject it. Angels could not respond in love, so God created mankind to be an object of His love and to return love. The whole purpose was to have creatures who would fellowship with Him and return His love of their own free will. To keep that will from being meaningless, God had to put man in a place of choosing. Les explains that God didn't create men to be robots; He created them with the power of choice. That is why the forbidden tree was placed in the garden and why Satan was permitted to enter and tempt them. Without the alternative, there would have been no exercise of the will. Les traces the plan back to eternity past, when the Godhead determined that man would be given a free will choice to respond to God's love or reject it. He also reminds us that the body is only a temporary tent; the real person—mind, will, and emotions—comes from the heart of God and is eternal. In marriage, God pictures exactly what He desired: love extended and love returned willingly.
Les Feldick teaches that God could not simply create man to obey automatically. In order for man to show he really loved his Creator, God had to give him an alternative; otherwise, Adam would have been a robot. That is why God placed the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden and said, "Thou shalt surely die." The presence of the command made obedience a genuine expression of will.
Les Feldick explains that angels could not respond to God's love in the way God intended. He says angels couldn't respond, and so God made the human race with that indwelling attribute of will to either respond to His love or reject it. Mankind was made to be an object of God's love and to return love in a way angels could not.
Les uses the marriage relationship to illustrate why God created mankind with free will. God extends His love to the human race, and He has placed within the responder a capacity to return that love. Just as husbands are told to love their wives and wives respond, so God's love to humanity is meant to be willingly received and returned. The whole idea was to have someone He could love and a creature who could respond.
Les teaches that the body is just a temporary tent—a tabernacle used for time. The real person, which includes the mind, the will, and the emotions, was directly created by God and is eternal. This means the will is not a temporary feature of the physical body but an eternal aspect of the person God made for fellowship with Himself.
Man's Eternal Will
Les teaches that the body is just a temporary tent; the real person—mind, will, and emotions—was directly created by God and is eternal. The will is therefore part of who we truly are.
Why God Made the Human Race
Les answers the question directly: God made the human race with the indwelling attribute of will so that people could respond to His love or reject it. Angels could not respond in love, which is why God created mankind.
God Didn't Make Robots
Les teaches that God had to give man an alternative or Adam would have been a robot. The forbidden tree was the means God used to put Adam in a place of exercising his will and choosing obedience.
Love Returned in Marriage
Les uses the marriage relationship to illustrate why God created mankind: God extends His love and has placed within humans a responder. The whole idea was to have someone He could love and who could respond to that love.
Free-Will Response to Love
Les teaches that God prepared people to fellowship with Him and to return His love of their own free will. He doesn't want anyone in heaven who cannot respond to His love.
Planned in Eternity Past
Les teaches that back in eternity past, the Godhead determined that man would be given the free will choice to respond to God's love or reject it.
The Choice in the Garden
Les explains that God had to provide a choice to activate Adam's and Eve's free will. Satan used the only thing they didn't have—to be like God—so they could choose to remain true to God or follow the tempter.
Sovereign Alternative to Robotism
Les teaches that God sovereignly allowed the fall to leave man with an alternative. Without that alternative, the human race would have been like robots with no exercise of the will.
Genesis 2:17: 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.
God gave Adam a direct command, creating a real choice between obedience and disobedience.
Romans 5:12: Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Adam's free-will choice to sin brought death to all, showing the significance of the gift of will.
Romans 3:23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
All of Adam's descendants are sinners, confirming the universal result of that first choice.
1 Corinthians 2:9: But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
God prepared eternal blessings for those who freely love Him, which is the purpose of free will.
Ephesians 5:25: Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
The marriage relationship pictures love extended and willingly received, just as God desires from His people.
God had to give Adam and Eve a choice, otherwise they would have been robots. Les Feldick teaches that the tempter came in order to activate their free will, offering them the choice to remain true to God or follow the adversary. That is why Satan was permitted in the garden.
No. Les teaches that God doesn't want anyone in His heaven who cannot respond to His love. The entire program of the human race was to have people who respond to His love of their own free will.
Yes. The body is a temporary tent, but the real person—the mind, the will, and the emotions—was directly created by God and will never die. The will is part of the eternal person God made for fellowship.
Back in eternity past, the Godhead determined that man would be given a free will choice to respond to God's love or reject it. This was part of the predetermined counsel of the Godhead before creation.
Watch the Teaching: Genesis 1:26-27: Who Are "Us"? The Trinity in Creation