Since man was created in innocence of sin, did he have the willpower to decide on whatever he wanted to do like we do now?
Yes, Adam was created with the same FREE WILL as man has today. This is illustrated by the fact that God gave him a CHOICE in the Garden of Eden as we see in Genesis 2:15-17, “Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (NKJV). We know Adam made a FATAL CHOICE (by eating of the forbidden fruit…Genesis 3:6). By doing so, he plunged the whole human race into the bondage of sin and death (Romans 5:12), with all of the untold misery and suffering that goes along with it.
The question is usually asked, “Why didn’t God create man without free will so that he would not be free to disobey Him?” The simple answer to that is, “God wanted man to obey Him WILLINGLY, from a heart that was free to love to Him.” Surely God could have created us without free will, but He didn’t want programmed robots doing His bidding; He wanted intelligent, free-thinking creatures responding to His love with obedient hearts.
The same can be said of God’s creation of angels, for they too were given FREE WILL. Yet we know that “some” of them chose to rebel against Him. We are all familiar with the Fall of Lucifer (who became the Devil and Satan). Listen to these solemn words describing his fall in Isaiah 14:12-14, “How are you fallen from heaven, o Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I WILL ascend into heaven, I WILL exalt my throne above the stars of God; I WILL also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I WILL ascend above the heights of the clouds, I WILL be like the Most High.” Lucifer surely exerted his FREE WILL, for we read no less than FIVE TIMES the words “I WILL” as he planned to dethrone God and to enthrone himself upon God’s throne. If you study carefully the Devil’s suggestions to Eve in the Garden of Eden, you will see that he was planting that very same desire in her heart to be “like God” (see Genesis 3:5). Once that desire took root in Eve’s heart, it was only a matter of time before she “took of the fruit and ate” (verse 6).
Ever since the fall in the Garden of Eden, man’s “free will” has kept him in bondage to sin. He still has the power to choose to do good or evil, but the fact is he has a “sinful nature” (which gives him “sinful impulses”) which leads him to choose the evil over the good. Paul described this sad condition in Romans 7:14-20, “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, SOLD UNDER SIN. For what I am doing, I do not understand, For what I WILL TO DO, THAT I DO NOT PRACTICE; but what I hate, that I do, If, then, I DO WHAT I WILL NOT TO DO, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for TO WILL IS PRESENT WITH ME, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For THE GOOD THAT I WILL TO DO, I DO NOT DO; but THE EVIL I WILL NOT DO, THAT I PRACTICE. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.” What is remarkable about this passage is Paul is describing a true believer who has the will to do good, yet he does the evil instead because of the sin (nature) that dwells in him. With an unbeliever there may not even be the desire to do good at all!
Thankfully there is deliverance from the bondage of sin for the true believer. In John 8:34 & 36 Jesus said, “More assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin…therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” The Lord Jesus came into this world to save us (1st Timothy 1:15 and Luke 19:10), not only from hell, but from the bondage of sin. He came to the object of our heart which would give us the power to CHOOSE THE GOOD and the power to DO THE GOOD! As a believer allows the Holy Spirit to occupy us with Christ, we will indeed experience this glorious freedom. Romans 8:2 speaks to this, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” I want to close with a precious verse that deals with the subject we’ve been musing on. In Philippians 2:13 we read, “For it is God who works in you both TO WILL and TO DO of His good pleasure” (KJV). If we will yield ourselves to God, He will faithfully “work in us” to 1) give us the will/desire to do His will; and 2) give us the power to carry out His will. (350.5) (DO)