#75 The First Apology of Justin - Part 11

By Justin Martyr, from The Ante-Nicene Fathers

Chapter 43 - We Are Responsible for Our Choices

But in case anyone thinks from what we have said that whatever happens is unavoidable because it was foretold as known beforehand, we will also explain this.

We have learned from the prophets and hold it to be true that punishments, disciplines, and good rewards are given according to each person's actions. If this were not so and everything happened by fate, nothing would be in our control.

If it were fated that one person would be good and another evil, the first would not deserve praise nor the second blame. Unless humanity has the power to avoid evil and choose good by free choice, they are not accountable for their actions of any kind.

That people both walk uprightly and stumble by free choice, we demonstrate this way: we see the same person changing from one opposite to another. Now, if it had been fated that a person would be either good or bad, they could never have been capable of both opposites or of so many changes.

Furthermore, if people were simply fated to be good or bad, fate would be the cause of evil and would be acting against itself. Or else what was stated earlier would seem to be true - that neither virtue nor vice is real, but things are only considered good or evil by opinion. As the true word shows, this is the greatest impiety and wickedness.

But we maintain that this is unavoidable fate: those who choose good receive worthy rewards, and those who choose the opposite receive their deserved punishments. God did not make humanity like other things - trees and animals that cannot act by choice. If people were created without the ability to choose and did not choose good themselves, they would not be worthy of reward or praise. And if they were evil not by their own choice but were unable to be anything other than what they were made, they would not be worthy of punishment either.

Chapter 44 - Prophecy Does Not Cancel Free Will

The holy Spirit of prophecy taught us this by telling us through Moses that God spoke to the first human: "See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil: therefore choose life."

And again, through the prophet Isaiah, the following was spoken as if from God the Father and Lord of all: "Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it."

That expression, "The sword shall devour you," does not mean the disobedient will be killed by the sword. The sword of God is fire, which those who choose to do wickedly become fuel for. That is why he says, "The sword shall devour you: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it." If he had been speaking about a sword that cuts and immediately kills, he would not have said "devour."

So too, when Plato says, "The blame is his who chooses, and God is blameless," he took this from the prophet Moses and repeated it. For Moses is more ancient than all the Greek writers.

Whatever philosophers and poets have said about the immortality of the soul, punishments after death, contemplation of heavenly things, or similar teachings, they received insights from the prophets that enabled them to understand and interpret these things. This is why there seem to be seeds of truth among all people; but they are blamed for not understanding accurately when they contradict themselves.

So when we say that future events were foretold, we do not say they came about by unavoidable fate. God foreknows everything that all people will do, and it is his decree that people's future actions will all be repaid according to their value. He foretells through the Spirit of prophecy that he will give appropriate rewards according to the merit of actions done, always urging humanity to effort and memory, showing that he cares for and provides for people.

But through the demons' agency, death has been decreed against those who read the books of Hystaspes, the Sibyl, or the prophets, to prevent people from receiving the knowledge of good through fear and to keep them enslaved. However, this could not always be done. Not only do we fearlessly read these books, but as you see, we bring them for your examination, knowing their contents will please everyone. If we persuade even a few, our gain will be very great, for as good husbandmen, we shall receive our reward from the Master.