You must receive Christ in order to become a child of God.
If that is not an act of the will, I don't know what is.
John 1:13 shows us that we cannot muster up salvation as an act of the will; which does not preclude that we must not make a free will decision to receive Christ in order to obtain the right to become a child of God.
"RECEIVE" DEFINITION BY EXAMPLE:
The woman received a punch to her face dislocating her septum - not by choice - but in the fury of her assailant's surprise attack.
The pedestrian received a series of traumatic injuries - not by choice - but a result of the car jumping the curb.
A lover receives a love letter - not by choice - but in gladness.
RECEIVED MEANS A THING THAT UNAVOIDABLY CAME IN FROM A SOURCE TO A RECIPIENT - RECEIVE IS NOT A CHOICE LIKE ACCEPT - RECEIVE JUST HAPPENS.
The Apostle John wrote receiving Christ is a result of being born of God in John 1:12-13.
The Apostle John wrote receiving Christ is not an act of the will of man in John 1:12-13.
The ones who received Christ are the ones "who were born" "of God".
Let's follow the blessed chain linking these people of whom John wrote which is the "born of God" (John 1:13, John 3:3-8) links with "believe in His name" (John 1:12, John 6:29) links with "many as received Him" (John 1:12, John 9).
Each of these are exactly the same people:
- "many as received Him"
- "children of God"
- "believe in His name"
- "born of God"
See that John states none of these enumerated people achieved this by "the will of man".
Here is the passage:
"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:12-13).
John 1:12-13 shows that you cannot cause yourself to receive Jesus.
John 1:12-13 shows that God causes people to receive Jesus.
I cannot say one day, "I am going to be saved" and thus be saved.
That is a bald-faced lie. You most certainly do think that a person can say one day "I choose to open my heart for you so you can now come in to rule, Jesus" and thus be saved.
There is a prescribed method for obtaining salvation; and God is the One who does the saving.
I do not save myself.
However, I can be absolutely certain that I have procured salvation if I ask the Lord to save me, calling on His name.
You wrote "procured" because you think that you purchased salvation with your choice toward Jesus.
That which you have is not grace because grace is unearned love - not purchased - not procured.
Furthermore, that which you wrote is antichrist because Jesus says "you did not choose Me, but I chose you" (John 15:16) as well as "I chose you out of the world" (John 15:19, includes salvation) as well as ""he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God" (John 3:21).
To which I reply that, "I think that I also have the Spirit of God" (1 Corinthians 7:40).
Your additions to and subtractions from the Word of God indicate a contrary position to your claim.
So, yes, interpretation is up to the Spirit of God; and I think that I also have Him in my heart.
So, how is my interpretation going to be very far off from what the author of the Book says is the interpretation?
It is written "do not add to His words or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar" (Proverbs 30:6), and the above explanation of your thoughts shows where you added to scripture.
Of the new Jerusalem, the Apostle John wrote "nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life" (Revelation 21:27) - notice that no one who practices lying gets in, and a human adding to scripture is the human lying.
Your free will assertion is referring to man attempting to override God's thoughts with man's thoughts, and that is pure evil.