Justin Martyr:
“I have proved in what has been said that those who were foreknown to be unrighteous, whether men or angels, are not made wicked by God’s fault. Rather, each man is what he will appear to be through his own fault.”
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Methodius:
“Man received power and enslaved himself – not because he was overpowered by the irresistible tendencies of his nature. . . . For if he had been made as any of the elements of creation, . . . he would cease to receive a reward befitting deliberate choice. Instead, he would be like an instrument of the Maker. And it would be unreasonable for him to suffer blame for his wrong-doings. For the real author of them would be the one by whom he is used.”
Methodius:
“Man was made with a free will . . . on account of his capacity of obeying or disobeying God. For this was the meaning of the gift of free will.”
Cyprian:
“The liberty of believing or of not believing is placed in free choice. In Deuteronomy, it says: ‘Look! I have set before your face life and death, good and evil. Choose for yourself life, that you may live’ [Deut. 30:19]. Also in Isaiah: ‘And if you are willing and hear me, you will eat the good of the land’ [Isa. 1:19].”
Origen:
“It is our responsibility to live virtuously. God asks this of us as being our own doing – not as being dependent on Him, nor on any other, nor on Fate (as some think). The prophet Micah proves this when he says: ‘If it has been announced to you, O man, what is good, or what does the Lord require of you, except to do justice and to love mercy?’ [Mic. 6:8] Moses too, said: ‘I have placed before your face the way of life and the way of death. Choose what is good and walk in it’ [Deut. 30:19].”
Clement of Alexandria:
“Choice depended on the man as being free. But the gift depended on God as the Lord. And He gives to those who are willing, are exceedingly earnest, and who ask. So their salvation becomes their own. For God does not compel.”
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Clement of Alexandria:
“The Lord clearly shows sins and transgressions to be in our own power, by prescribing modes of cure corresponding to the maladies.”
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Clement of Alexandria:
“Neither praises nor censures, neither rewards nor punishments, are right if the soul does not have the power of inclination and disinclination and if evil is involuntary. . . . In no respect is God the author of evil. But since free choice and inclination originate sins, . . . punishments are justly inflicted.”
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Irenaeus:
“Because man is possessed of free will from the beginning, and God is possessed of free will (in whose likeness man was created), advice is always given to him to hold fast to the good, which is done through obedience to God. God has preserved the will of man free and under his own control. This is not merely in works, but also in faith.”
Theophilus:
“He who acts righteously will escape the eternal punishments, and he will be thought worthy of the eternal life from God.”