Agency is the ability God gave us to be able to act, choose, and decide for ourselves. In other words, it is our free will. God created every human being with free will. This means we can choose, decide, and believe what we want. Free will is a privilege that we must use for good. With that being said, how much agency does God want us to take in life?
Agency According to the Latter-Day Saints
Within the Church of the Latter-day Saints, previously known as the Mormon Church, agency was a key doctrine within their belief system. It is important to note here that the Church of The Latter-day Saints are not biblical, and they are a false belief system.
The Church of the Latter-day Saints is a cult that Christians do not need to participate in or support. Many ecumenical churches try to include the Church of the Latter-day Saints under the umbrella of “Christians,” however, this is wrong. Members of the Church of the Latter-day Saints are not Christians because they do not have the correct doctrine.
Rather than believing salvation is by grace through faith as told to us in the Bible (Ephesians 2:8-9), the Church of the Latter-day Saints teaches that an individual must work towards salvation and obtain it by good deeds and following the commandments of the Mormon church.
Salvation is not based on our actions, but rather on placing faith in Christ. In addition to the erroneous view of salvation according to the Mormons, they have many other additional incorrect views of God and the Bible.
The concept of agency according to the Church of the Latter-day Saints consists of “the privilege of choice which was introduced by God the Eternal Father to all of his spirit children in the premortal state.” To the Latter-day Saints, our entire lives are based on tests, in which the decisions, choices, and actions we make are conditional to our salvation.
Within the concept of agency according to the Latter-day Saints, it is up to us to use our agency to do the right things in order to obtain salvation and redemption from hell. As with other teachings of the Mormon faith, their concept of agency is wrongly interpreted, taught, and understood.
The Purpose of Agency
Agency is extremely important within Christian circles and denominations. If a person does not use their agency, they would never be able to make the decision to place faith in Christ and to follow Him. Making the decision to place faith in Christ is based entirely on our free will.
God did not design us as robots who are programmed to say yes or no. Instead, God created us with the capacity, ability, and privilege to make our own decisions. The Lord wants us to take all of our agency in life; however, He wants us to make the right decisions.
It is true that we all have free will, yet many people use their free will to their own detriment. As an example, every person in the world has free will, which means a person could, with their free will, hurt others, hurt themselves, and hurt God.
Just because we have free will does not mean everyone uses their free will correctly. In fact, the Bible tells us that we are all sinners in need of salvation (Romans 3:23). Nobody will be perfect all the time. We all mess up and we all need help.
This is a side effect of free will because, with our free will, we can all sin and do the wrong things. Doing the right thing can be hard, but God wants us to choose to do the right thing with our free will.
Once a person becomes a believer, the fruits of the Spirit will begin to manifest in the believer’s life (Galatians 5:22-23). With the help of the Holy Spirit, the Christian will be able to cultivate good decisions with their free will.
A person without the Holy Spirit can still make good decisions; however, their decisions will not be based on the Spirit of God but rather based on the moral ethics of the world. Whether a person is a believer or not, they have free will because God has given all people free will from the time they are born.
Thus, all people have free will and it is very important for individuals to use their free will correctly. As we have established, free will can entail either doing the right thing or doing the wrong thing. It is up to us as Christians to use the agency God has given us and use the great privilege to live for Him and extend Christ in our actions.
Agency Throughout the Bible
The concept of agency is seen throughout the Bible. It can be used for good or for bad. As an example, with Cain’s own free will, he killed his brother Abel (Genesis 4:8). Cain became the first murderer as a result of his free will. In the same way, with the agency God has given us, we can do many bad things.
The Lord wants us to use the agency He has given us for good. With the agency God gave Abraham, he believed and obeyed God (Genesis 15:6). Just like Cain and Abraham had free will, so do we. Will we, like Abraham, choose to do good with the agency God has given us, or will we, like Cain, choose to do bad things?
The Lord wants us to take all of the agency in our lives to do the right thing. He does not want us to be mindless robots where we follow along with whatever other people say and do. God wants us to use the agency He has given us to make decisions that honor and glorify Him.
If we let other people make our decisions, then we are not truly using the gift of agency that God has given us. The Lord created each of us uniquely and wonderfully (Psalm 139:13-16). Each of us has something unique to offer the world that nobody else can.
If we are without our own uniqueness, personality, and creativity, we are not making the most of the agency God has given us in our lives. As a final example from the Bible, if Paul did not use the agency God gave him, the events of history could have turned out in a radically different way.
If Paul continued to follow the Jewish leaders rather than follow Christ, much of the New Testament we would have today would not be in our hands. With the free will God gave Paul, Paul chose to make a difference.
He did not want to stand by and live a life in rebellion against God. He chose with the agency God gave Him, to obey God and preach Christ across the known world. This is the same call God gives us today (Matthew 28:18-20).
With our free will, will we obey God and live our lives in full devotion to Him or will we use the agency God gave us to sin and rebel against Him? If we chose the former rather than the latter, our lives will be much better and glorifying to God.
The Lord wants us to take all of the agency He has given us; however, He wants us to use our agency wisely and faithfully in full devotion to Him.
For further reading:
How Do God’s Sovereignty and Our Free Will Work Together for Salvation?
How Does God's Sovereignty Work with Our Free Will?
Is it Biblical ‘Where God Guides, He Provides’?
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