Best Books on Free Will
Free will concerns how human choice relates to God's sovereignty and human sinfulness. Reformed theology holds that the fallen will remains free from outward compulsion but is enslaved to sin, unable to turn to God apart from the Spirit's regenerating grace, a position historically defended against Arminian and semi-Pelagian views of an uncommitted, self-determining will.
Start Here
basic
Chosen by God
Top pickR.C. Sproul · 1986
Sproul's classic, highly readable case for divine election and the will's bondage to sin.
What Is Predestination?
R.C. Sproul · 2019
Short booklet clearing up common misunderstandings about God's sovereign choice.
Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God
J.I. Packer · 1961
Pastoral classic that holds together God's sovereignty and real human responsibility.
Willing to Believe: The Controversy over Free Will
R.C. Sproul · 1997
Readable survey of how major theologians through history have understood the human will.
Go Deeper
intermediate
The Bondage of the Will
Top pickMartin Luther · 1990
Luther's foundational Reformation rebuttal of Erasmus on the will's bondage to sin.
Chosen But Free
Norman L. Geisler · 1999
Best-known modern defense of libertarian free will from an Arminian-leaning evangelical.
The Potter's Freedom
James White · 2000
Point-by-point Reformed rebuttal of Geisler, defending monergistic grace and predestination.
Still Sovereign: Contemporary Perspectives on Election, Foreknowledge, and Grace
Thomas Schreiner · 2000
Multi-author scholarly defense of unconditional election against Arminian and open theist views.
For Study
advanced
The Freedom of the Will
Top pickJonathan Edwards · 1996
Edwards's dense philosophical masterwork against Arminian free will, still unsurpassed.
The Bondage and Liberation of the Will: A Defence of the Orthodox Doctrine of Human Choice Against Pighius
John Calvin · 2002
Calvin's fullest, most technical treatment of grace and the will against a Catholic opponent.
The Providence of God (Contours of Christian Theology)
Paul Helm · 1994
Philosophically rigorous treatment of divine sovereignty, providence, and human freedom.
No One Like Him
John Feinberg · 2001
880-page systematic treatment including an extensive defense of compatibilist free will.
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A tiered reading guide of the best books on Free Will.