What is the Difference Between Free Will and Freedom in Theology?

By -
There is the classic argument that John Calvin would believe that people were meant to be mindless automation when he had the battle against the evils of the doctrine of free will which they say directly violates freedom.  However now it's time to answer at the theological point of view and I hope I will clarify things up with this argument.  First, we must define freedom from free will to which is one reason why I am against Arminianism (which also teaches conditional security which is still rooted on works salvation and tells the slanderous like that eternal security is a doctrine of Antinomianism never seeing that eternal security is inseparable from daily sanctification...) as a whole:

Freedom

  • The quality or state of being free such as...
    • The absence of necessity, coercion or constraint in choice of action
    • Liberation from the power of another
    • The state of quality of being exempt or released from usually something very onerous
    • The quality of being frank, open or outspoken
    • Improper familiarity
    • Boldness of conception or execution
    • Unrestricted use

Free will

  • A voluntary choice or decision
  • freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention

Looking at it, I presented the differences already.  So here's now a rank Calvinist like myself would define free will...

  • Free will is really self will
  • Self will seeks the will of self, not the will of God
  • Self will is the sin of Satan and his disciples
  • Satan is lawless and opposed to God
  • Therefore free will is lawlessness

Here's the reality- we all have freedom and the ability to make our own decisions.  Christians have their freedom in Christ- they are free from the burden of sin, they do good without being coerced by God but because they love God, they are free because of lawfulness where they don't need to worry about completely falling away, they have true freedom because God's grace where they choose willingly God's will over their self-will (or the flesh).  In the case of all human beings, there is freedom to them in a sense that despite restrictions by rules, they can still enjoy nature, eat food, they have the right not to be deprived of their needs, the right to complain against unjust treatment, the right to proper education, the right to live, the right to get their basic needs... however free will is another issue.

So what's the real problem of free will?  It's like this- a man has the freedom to cross the street as long as the pedestrian lane signal says, "GO."  Nobody is forcing him to cross the street.  He crosses the street with his freedom of mind.  However he has the free will to cross the street while the pedestrian lane signal says, "STOP."  Obviously when he does use his free will to cross the street while there are trucks, buses, cars and motorcycles running to and fro, he obviously puts himself in danger.  That free will makes him lose his freedom because he chose to oppose to law.  Although the consequence is not always death or injury, he also violates the freedom of those who are maneuvering their vehicles street smart because they have to keep stopping for that reckless pedestrian or risk losing their freedom of having to pay up for their bills out of the incident.