Everyone was born with free will, but the tragedy is that no one will, of their own free will, choose to believe in Jesus Christ for salvation. When Jesus presented Himself to the nation of Israel as their Messiah He was rejected (John 1:11), even though He had: 1) Performed miracles to prove He was God’s Son and their Messiah (John 2:11 and 20:30-31), 2) Lived a perfect, sinless life before them (John 8:46), and 3) Preached the Word of God with power and authority (Matthew 7:28-29 and John 7:46). Even his own brethren who grew up with Him and witnessed His perfect life did not believe in Him as the Son of God and Israel’s Messiah (John 7:1-5). In John 5:40 Jesus brought out that they were NOT WILLING to believe on Him: “But you are NOT WILLING to come to Me that you may have life.” Why wasn’t anyone willing to come to Jesus Christ and believe on Him for eternal life? The answer is found in John 3:18-20, “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and MEN LOVED DARKNESS RATHER THAN LIGHT, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” In short, men LOVE THEIR SIN, and they HATE THE TRUTH! Though they were born with “free will,” they “choose” to live in sin instead of believing in Christ for salvation and eternal life.

So, the solemn truth is that if man is left to himself (to his own will), he will refuse the gift of eternal life that God graciously offers to him. God knew that men would not respond to His offer of salvation, so by an act of sovereign grace and mercy He ELECTED (i.e. CHOSE) some to be saved as we see in 2 Thessalonians 2:13, “But we are bound to  give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, BECAUSE GOD FROM THE BEGINNING CHOSE YOU FOR SALVATION through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.” This “election of souls to salvation” took place “from the beginning” (in eternity) as we see also in Ephesians 1:4, “Just as He CHOSE US IN HIM BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” Yet in time He drew us to Himself by a work of the Holy Spirit who convicted us of our sin and then brought us to believe in Christ for salvation. Jesus had said in John 6:44, “No man can come to Me, except the Father who sent Me draws him” and we can be sure that all those whom He has chosen will come to Christ for salvation. Jesus said in John 6:37, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will in no wise cast out.” We read of this same truth in Acts 13:48, “And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.”

In conclusion, men do have a free will and are responsible to believe on Christ for salvation and eternal life and they will be judged for not believing on Christ (John 3:17-18, 36). With those whom God has chosen He does not “set aside their will,” but He uses the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to “MAKE THEM WILLING to desire salvation and then to come to Christ.” We read of this truth in Philippians 2:13, “For it is God who works in you both TO WILL and TO DO of His good pleasure.” Those who die in their sins and are separated from God forever will “have only themselves to blame” for rejecting God’s great salvation (Hebrews 2:2-3), and those who die in faith and live with God forever will “have only God to thank” for His grace that chose them and then drew them to Christ for salvation.  (DO)  (684.1)