A lot of people are misunderstanding the Reformed Faith's view of freedom and choice. This is happening from all kinds of Anti-Calvinists and also from at least one High Calvinist Brother Hernandez. Whom despite my not agreeing with his attitude and lack of charity is a Brother in Christ. In this post I will be addressing both areas of misunderstanding from outside Reformed Theology and from High Calvinists.
We need to start by addressing the elephant in the room and that is the term "free will." Reformed Theology and the Bible nowhere teaches the Unbiblical understanding of free will held by our Arminian Brethern. Nor the view held in philosophy of free will which usually means Libertarian freedom. Libertarian free will makes the claim that you have no inclinations nor nature to make one choice or another and could have chosen otherwise in all circumstances. This is usually what is meant by Free Will outside of Reformed Circles in Arminian or non Christian secularism.
When High Calvinists say the Scripture does not affirm the idea of free will, if meaning libertarianally free choices then they are correct and no Reformed person should be using the terminology of free will in this way. However, audience is everything and if you mean by free will that you within God's Divine Determination have choices that you really make then, yes, all Calvinists even High ones that prefer the Term Theological Determinism to Compatibilsm agree we do.
The problem is that people are misunderstanding what Reformed folks whom say free will is true mean. They do not mean Libertarian freedom and they do not mean our choices are not ultimately part of God's Decree. They simply mean that we do make choices based on our greatest desire and our nature at the moment of choosing. This, however, is not "free will" in the sense most people outside of the Reformed Faith use it.
Reformed people whom use the term free will are referring to Compatiblist Freedom and not counter casual freedom which is what most people whom use the term are referring to. No Calvinist/Reformed person argues against Divine Determinism and in this way all Calvinists are at least Soft Determinists. This as Monergism.com states quite well is no less deterministic then hard determinism in that God knows via his Decree from Eternity past exactly what choices you will choose. Nothing comes to pass that is not in someway part of God's Decreedal will. However, you also are making real choices within that Decree within time.
Compatibilism is not as some High Calvinists over at Reforming America Ministries think the compatibility of Providence and libertarianally free choices. The Scriptures are not supportive of libertatianally free choice. No Reformed person believes they are. I will provide below what is said on Monergism.com as to the definition of compatibilism as well as links to other resources linked at the end of this post.
Compatibilism (also known as soft determinism), is the belief that God's predetermination and meticulous providence is "compatible" with voluntary choice. In light of Scripture, human choices are believed to be exercised voluntarily but the desires and circumstances that bring about these choices about occur through divine determinism (see Acts 2:23 & 4:27-28). It should be noted that this position is no less deterministic than hard determinism - be clear that neither soft nor hard determinism believes man has a free will. Our choices are only our choices because they are voluntary, not coerced. We do not make choices contrary to our desires or natures. Compatibilism is directly contrary to libertarian free will. Therefore voluntary choice is not the freedom to choose otherwise, that is, without any influence, prior prejudice, inclination, or disposition. Voluntary does mean, however, the ability to choose what we want or desire most. The former view is known as contrary choice, the latter free agency. (Note: compatibilism denies that the will is free to choose otherwise, that is, free from the bondage of the corruption nature,for the unregenerate, and denies that the will is free from God's eternal decreee.)
There is no reason for High Calvinists to be debating fellow Reformed folks over the issue of compatibilism as if they are endorsing libertatianally free choices or counter casual free choice. Some Reformed folks use the Term Free Will simply to mean we make choices in time. As affirmed by the definition above no solid Reformed folks mean that choices exist outside God's complete Sovereignty and meticulous control of his Creation. Meaning that they are simply wanting to make sure that Reformed Faith/Calvinism is not mistaken to be Fatalist in nature as many Anti-Calvinists imply in their rejection of The Doctrines of Grace and the Canons Of Dort.
Similarly, the compatibility of making choices while also acknowledging Divine Determinism does not make us into robots as anti-Calvinists claim. We do make real choices within time and we do act on our greatest desires and self-determination in that sense is real. We have very real Moral Responsibility within God's Decree. Both determinism is true and moral responsibility is true. God's Sovereignty, His meticulous control is true and so is his prescriptive will of what our responsibilities are. This does not require that we would have ever done otherwise for us to be self-determined. Only that we make uncoerced and voluntary decisions. In that sense we are free, but, it is as free moral agents and not absence of bandages of the will.
https://www.monergism.com/topics/free-will/compatibilism
https://www.monergism.com/compatibilistic-determinism
https://triablogue.blogspot.com/2007/04/contemporary-compatibilism.html?m=1
