In any amount of free will, whatsoever? If not, how is it we can make bad choices at times and good choices at times when God hates sin, particularly as it relates to day to day sin. Those such things as regularly overeating or smoking a cigarette, otherwise why should a person even try to quit such habits, if they have no control over them?
There are a few different angles a Calvinist could come at this question.
First, we Calvinists believe in man's free will in the sense that men are free to act according to whatever they want. The thing is, they only want evil until the Holy Spirit regenerates them.
Genesis 6:5 - The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil all the time.
(before the flood)
Genesis 8:21 - The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though
every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.
(after the flood)
So the situation of men's hearts did not change. No one does any good ever, and all of our intentions are evil from our childhood. However, when the a man is born again of the Spirit, he is a new creation. He now has the ability to do good. Romans 7 talks about the warring of our spirit and our flesh. These are the two natures at war within us.
Second (and the most obvious), God is in control of everything. Period. We all believe this. Though, God is never morally lacking, since He is the standard by which morals are are measured. When man sins, he is still culpable before our Holy God, but God is not responsible for the moral corruptness of man.
Let me give you a for instance from the Scriptures.
Genesis 45:8 shows that Joseph understood that God sent him to Egypt, not his brothers.
Gen 45:8 - Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
In Genesis 50, Joseph explains the actions of his brothers. That Joseph's brothers' evil intentions were God's good intentions.
In Gen 50:20 - As for you,
you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.
The "it" in the above sentence appears to refer to the evil Joseph's brothers plotted. That God meant to actually use the evil they plotted for good. This implies that God Himself had a good purpose for the evil (namely to save many who were alive in that day), not that He was the origin of evil itself. But that God caused the evil actions of His brothers in order for a good thing to be brought about. His brothers were still evil for doing what they did (as evidenced by Joseph calling what they did evil), but God was not since he knew that Joseph needed to be sold into slavery in order to save many lives.
This kind of Divine Sovereignty that God has over all of creation is expanded upon in Romans 9 when the Apostle mimics his expected opponents' responses to God electing some people and not others based upon His will and not on theirs.
Romans 9:14-18 - What shall we say then?
There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.” So then it
does not
depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH.” So then
He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.
(This referring to God's desire to harden the hearts of people towards Him and soften the hearts of others.)
Paul anticipates more objections from his audience.
Roman 9:19-24 - You will say to me then,
“Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?” On the contrary,
who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And
He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory,
even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.
This was Paul's basic reaction to such a charge against God. That just because God is in control of everything, even the hearts and desires of men, that doesn't somehow mean this causes unrighteousness in God (in Rom 9:14-18) or that it is not man's fault that he sins (in Rom 9:19-24).
His response to his objectors is not some philosophical speculation or correction on their understanding of God's control over all matter. It was more along the lines of, "How dare you talk back to God?"
Therefore, God controls all things (even the hearts of men who create evil and those who produce good), and that does not mean that God has any evil in him (Rom 9:14), and men are still held accountable for their own sins (Rom 9:19).
The important question is,
do you hear your own objections ring along with Paul's opponents in this chapter or
do you submit to God's total sovereignty and control and still realize your own culpability despite this control?
