In spite of what you may have heard, most everyone with the exception of a small minority, believe in the free will of man. Baptists, did not invent the notion of soul liberty. There are those who declare that certain theological camps don’t believe in free will. Those individuals usually know very little about the theological system that they are crying against. Even Calvin in his institutes admitted that man is endued with free will. If then, most everyone hold to some form of free will, what then is meant by free will. I am sure that there are others who have addressed this issue in a more clear fashion than I will, but I do hope to enlighten a few.

Though man has free will, it is very important to understand that his will is bound by his nature. The sinner’s will is bound by sin, and the saint’s by grace. The sinner, though he has free will can not will to be saved of himself. Many preachers make impassioned pleas for people to make decisions for Christ, but that sinner apart from the power of the Spirit is simply not able. Christ said in John 6:44 ” No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.” Scripture also declares in Romans 3:11, “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” Jeremiah asked ” Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? It is clear from scripture that though a man is free, he can not possibly will that which is good. To use a natural example, you indeed have free will but you can not fly. Why cant you fly? Because your will is bound by your nature. If a sinner can not will himself saved or will to do that which is good, why the fuss over free will?

A person can only will to do that which is good after the Spirit of God has enlightened their soul and renewed their mind. Scripture is clear in Philippians’s 2:13, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” It is very important that we understand the bondage of man’s will. There are many people who have made a decision, signed a card, repeated a prayer, or got dunked who are strangers to spiritual life. These individuals curse as much as before their profession, their music tastes have not changed, nor have their filthy appetites. We can be assured that when a person is truly converted, He which hath begun good work shall perform it.