Will we have free will in heaven?
Question 10113
This is a question that troubles many believers: if we have free will in heaven, could we sin again? Could there be another fall? And if we don’t have free will, are we just robots? Understanding what Scripture teaches about our glorified state helps us see that heaven offers something far better than the freedom to sin—it offers the freedom never to want to sin.
Defining Free Will
Before we can answer whether we’ll have free will in heaven, we need to clarify what we mean by “free will.” Philosophers and theologians have debated this for centuries, but we can identify two basic concepts.
The first is libertarian free will—the ability to choose between options, including the genuine ability to do otherwise than we actually choose. This is what most people mean when they talk about free will.
The second is compatibilist free will—the freedom to act according to our desires without external compulsion. On this view, we are free when we do what we want to do, even if what we want is determined by our nature.
Here’s the key insight: our will is always shaped by our nature. A lion doesn’t choose to eat grass because its nature is carnivorous. We don’t choose to fly by flapping our arms because our nature doesn’t permit it. Similarly, our moral choices flow from our moral nature. A perfectly holy being would always freely choose what is good—not because it’s forced to, but because its nature desires nothing else.
Four States of Human Will
Augustine helpfully identified four states of human will throughout redemptive history.
Before the Fall, Adam and Eve were posse peccare, posse non peccare—able to sin and able not to sin. They had genuine freedom in both directions and tragically chose rebellion.
After the Fall, unregenerate humanity is non posse non peccare—not able not to sin. Our fallen nature is enslaved to sin (Romans 6:17-20). We can choose among various sins, but we cannot choose perfect righteousness. As Jesus said, “Everyone who practises sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:34).
At regeneration, believers become posse peccare, posse non peccare again—able to sin and able not to sin. We have a new nature, but the old nature remains. This is why Paul describes the internal war in Romans 7 and Galatians 5:17.
In glory, believers will be non posse peccare—not able to sin. This is not because we’ve lost something but because we’ve finally been perfected. Our nature will be fully conformed to Jesus, and sin will hold no attraction whatsoever.
Will We Still Have Genuine Choice?
Yes, absolutely. Being unable to sin doesn’t mean being unable to choose. God Himself cannot sin, yet He is the freest being in the universe. He always acts according to His perfectly holy nature, and that is true freedom.
In heaven, we will make countless choices—whom to talk to, what to explore in the new creation, how to worship, what to learn, how to serve. We will be far more free than we are now because we will no longer be hindered by sinful impulses, selfish motives, or the limitations of fallen bodies and minds. Think of it this way: sin doesn’t expand our freedom; it restricts it. A person enslaved to addiction is not more free than someone who is not. In heaven, we will be free from all that holds us back from true flourishing.
Why Won’t We Want to Sin?
Several factors ensure that glorified believers will never desire sin.
First, our nature will be transformed. We will be fully conformed to the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29; 1 John 3:2). Our glorified bodies and minds will be perfect instruments of righteousness with no capacity for sinful desire.
Second, we will have complete knowledge of sin’s nature. We will have seen its full consequences—the cross, the Tribulation judgements, the final judgement, the lake of fire. Who, having seen all that, would ever be attracted to sin again? We currently sin partly from ignorance and deception. In heaven, the deception will be gone forever.
Third, we will be in the unmediated presence of God. We will see Jesus face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12; Revelation 22:4). In that glorious presence, sin will be utterly unthinkable. It would be like choosing to drink sewage while standing at the fountain of living water.
Fourth, Satan and his demons will be eternally confined (Revelation 20:10). The tempter who deceived Eve and who has harassed humanity ever since will never trouble us again.
The Example of the Angels
Consider the angels who did not fall. Scripture speaks of “elect angels” (1 Timothy 5:21), suggesting that those who remained faithful have been confirmed in their holiness. They have seen Satan’s rebellion and its consequences. They have witnessed God’s redemptive plan unfold. They have no desire to sin—and they are still genuinely free, personal beings who serve God joyfully.
We will be like them—indeed, greater, for we will have been redeemed, not merely confirmed. We will know both the horror of sin from our own experience and the wonder of grace that rescued us from it. This knowledge will make sin forever repulsive to us.
Is This Really Freedom?
Some might object: “If I can’t choose sin, am I really free?” But think about what freedom actually means. True freedom is the ability to flourish according to your nature. A fish is free when it can swim in the ocean, not when it’s flopping on dry land. We are free when we can be fully what God designed us to be—holy, joyful, loving, creative beings in relationship with Him.
Right now, sin interferes with that freedom. In heaven, we will finally be free to be ourselves—our true selves, the people God created us to be before sin distorted everything. Far from losing freedom, we will gain it in its fullest sense.
Conclusion
Will we have free will in heaven? Yes—in the deepest sense, we will be freer than we’ve ever been. We will have the freedom of perfected beings who always do what is right because we will always want what is right. We will be like Jesus, like the holy angels, like God Himself in this respect. Sin will be not only impossible but unthinkable. And in that state, we will worship and serve and enjoy God forever, exploring the infinite riches of His grace throughout all eternity.
“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2
Bibliography
- Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology. Zondervan, 1994.
- Packer, J.I. Knowing God. InterVarsity Press, 1973.
- Augustine. Enchiridion. Trans. Albert Outler. Westminster John Knox Press, 1955.
- Hoekema, Anthony A. The Bible and the Future. Eerdmans, 1979.
- MacArthur, John. The Glory of Heaven. Crossway, 1996.