Theology

Do People Have Free Will To Choose or Reject Christ?

by Dale Partridge

When a person comes to Christ, do they decide to repent and place their faith in Jesus and, as a result, are born again? Or, is a person born again by the Spirit of God and, as a result, see their sin, repent, and place their faith in Christ?

The first view believes that humans, prior to Christ, can freely accept or reject the Gospel. The second view believes that humans will always reject the Gospel unless God sovereignly regenerates them through a spiritual birth. In this episode of Real Christianity, pastor Dale Partridge looks at the Scriptures to discover what the Bible says about free will and fallen man’s ability to accept and reject Jesus Christ.

This Episode’s Question

“According to the Bible, do fallen human beings have a free will? That is, can they, on their own, choose to accept or reject the Lord Jesus Christ?”

Additional Resources

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Scripture References

  • Romans 3:12

    “There is no one who does good, There is not even one.”

  • Genesis 50:20

    “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

  • Romans 14:23

    “For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”

  • Jeremiah 17:9

    “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick;”

  • Genesis 6:5

    “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

  • Isaiah 64:6

    “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our good deeds are like a filthy garment;”

  • John 3:19

    “The light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.”

  • 2 Corinthians 4:4

    “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

  • Romans 3:10

    “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.”

  • Ephesians 2:1-3

    “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

  • 1 Corinthians 2:14

    “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolish to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”

  • John 3:3

    “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

  • Ephesians 2:4-5

    “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace, you have been saved.”

  • James 1:18

    “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

  • Ezekiel 36:26

    “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

  • John 3:7-8

    “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

  • Titus 3:5

    “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,”

  • Ephesians 2:8

    “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

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After watching or listening to this episode, what is your opinion? Do you have any questions or comments? Maybe you have something to add to the discussion? If so, let us know in the comments below.

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