The Security of the Redeemed
The question of whether the redeemed in the New Heaven and New Earth will possess free will, and thus the possibility of a second fall, addresses the very finality and perfection of God’s redemptive work.
The short answer, drawn from the promises of the Lord’s Return, is: Yes, there will be free will, but the capacity to choose rebellion will be removed.
1. Freedom Perfected, Not Removed
Freedom in eternity is not the liberty to choose both good and evil, but the power to choose only good. The will remains free to love, obey, and serve God, but the inherent desire or inclination towards sin—the root of rebellion—is eradicated.
2. The Final Transformation
Our security rests upon the ultimate promise of glorification. The former, corrupt nature is forever done away with, as the scripture attests:
Behold, beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (I John 3:2, KJV)
To be made “like him” means the absence of sin becomes a matter of perfected nature, making the choice for rebellion spiritually impossible.
3. The End of the Curse
Furthermore, the external environment will no longer permit the conditions for sin. The Tempter is gone, and the Earth is cleansed.
And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: (Revelation 22:3, KJV)
Because the sin nature is removed internally, and the curse and tempter are removed externally, the redeemed will choose righteousness eternally, not by coercion, but by perfected, unhindered desire.