Only God has free will. Man has a will.
God wills with nothing from any outside source pressuring or affecting His will. He wills as He desires. His will is free from any outside influence. Man, however, has many outside influences weighing upon his will, both in the physical and spiritual realm. Man is oft times placed in a position where there is no right answer but he must decide one way or another. He doesn't want to make the decision, but he must. His will is not free. His will is that he was never in this position. But he is and can do nothing about it. He must decide. His will is not free.
A man says I have free will and I will show you. I will jump out of a window in the 20th floor of a 20 story building. OK, jump. But when he jumps, what is his will? He wills that he could get back to that window. But he can't. He doesn't get his will. His will is affected by gravity. And so you don't have a multitude of people jumping out of buildings because gravity will affect that decision. But gravity doesn't affect God's will. He can come and go out that window all day long. His will is free to choose to go out that window if He wants to. Yours is not.
Unless you can control all things that act upon your will, you do not have 'free will'. And only God can do that.
OK, you don't agree that fallen man cannot of his own will, come to God. Understand that your 'will' comes into play but it will only choose to follow God if God works upon your will to do so. If left to yourself, to your own choosing, you will not choose God. Thus God's Spirit must first work upon your will. (John 1:12-13) "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 3:8) "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is everyone that is born of the Spirit."
So even though you will exercise your will, it is only because God has influenced your will to the degree that you will come to Him. And He does that to you, because He has chosen you. (2 Thess. 2:13) "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:"
God not only chooses you, but He chooses the way by which you will come to Him. You will come to God through the exercise of your will. But later you will see that you chose Him because He first chose you.
Stranger
Been busy. Also, I tend not to argue points indefinitely.
You do, however, make statements that contradict each other.
Above you say the following:
Man is oft times placed in a position where there is no right answer but he must decide one way or another. He doesn't want to make the decision, but he must.
Then you go on to say that man must make the decision even though he doesn't want to. Don't you see the contradiction is this? If I'm placed in a position to make a decision, it means I AM MAKING that decision. Doesn't Deuteronomy 30:19 give us a choice to make? Didn't A and E have a choice to make?
Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us that God will DIRECT our paths. If we LISTEN to His guidance we will always walk the straight path. It does NOT say that He will PUT US ON the right path by force. Yes, by force, if I cannot choose which path to take.
Ephesians 6:10-13 we battle not against flesh and blood. Why do we battle at all if it's God that makes our way for us? Why do we need His strength if He does everything and has already decided everything for us.
The verses I could post go on and on because they are TRUE. Nowhere in the bible does it state that God chooses all for us. This reminds me of Islam. Allah's will be done...and they just sit around expecting Allah to do everything.
I've already said that the jumping out of the window is NOT what free will means for biblical purposes. You could read up on this, I'm not here to teach anyone.
Free will biblically has to do with moral choice. It has to do with choice that has to do with God. Even choosing a job could entail a moral choice.
You bring up the following:
(John 1:12-13) "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 3:8) "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is everyone that is born of the Spirit."
John 1:12-13
Let's exegete.
Start on
verse 9
The true light that comes into the world enlightens EVERY MAN, not just the ones that God "chooses".
verse 10 When the light came into the world, the world did not know it.
verse 11 He came to His own (the Jews), but they rejected him -- generally speaking - of course not all Jews rejected Him or the church would never have started.
verse 12 BUT AS MANY AS RECEIVED HIM, to them He gave the right to be called Children of God, to those WHO BELIEVED in His name. So the receiving of Him came FIRST, a free will act, THEN God gave them the right to be called children of God. We must believe first to be called children.
verse 13 Those that believe are born of the spirit as Jesus says in John 3:5.
They are now begotten of God, not of flesh anymore, nor of sex (the will of man, once again our free will) but of God.
God, the light, has made Himself known to all the world.
It's up to US to choose to follow that light.
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