Does man have Free Will?

The question of free will is one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented truths in all of theology. When someone asks, “Does man have a free will?” we must not answer according to human reason or sentiment, but according to God’s Word, which alone reveals the true condition of man. The Bible does not leave this question in doubt. It declares that man does indeed possess a will—but that will is not free in the moral or spiritual sense. It is in bondage to sin until God sets it free.
 

The Nature of Man’s Will

To have a will means to be capable of making choices, and in that sense, man certainly has one. But the essential question is: What governs those choices? Every choice arises from the heart—the moral center of a person’s being. Jesus said, “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander” (Matthew 15:19). In the fall, Adam’s heart was corrupted, and all his descendants inherited that same depraved nature (Romans 5:12). Therefore, though man chooses freely according to his desires, those desires are always bent toward sin. He sins willingly, not by compulsion, because his nature is enslaved to sin.

Jesus said plainly, “Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). The Apostle Paul echoes the same truth: “You were slaves of sin” (Romans 6:17). A slave is not free to act contrary to his master’s will, and the sinner is not free to act contrary to his sinful nature. His will is in bondage to corruption. He may choose between one sin and another, but he cannot choose to love or serve God apart from divine grace.
 

The Inability of the Natural Man

The Scriptures repeatedly testify to man’s spiritual inability. “The mind set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:7–8). Likewise, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them” (1 Corinthians 2:14). Notice the language of inability: “cannot,” “not able.” These are not the words of a will that is free.

When Adam fell, the entire human race fell with him. Man did not lose his capacity to think, reason, or choose, but he lost his moral ability to choose what is right in God’s sight. His will is not destroyed—it is corrupted. Like a lion that chooses meat over grass, fallen man will always choose sin over righteousness, because that is what his nature desires.
 

The Grace That Liberates the Will

True freedom of the will does not come through human decision but through divine regeneration. Only when the Holy Spirit changes the heart does the will become truly free. Jesus declared, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44). Left to himself, no sinner ever seeks God (Romans 3:11). But when God, in sovereign grace, grants a new heart, that heart begins to desire what it once hated and to hate what it once loved. The sinner is made willing in the day of God’s power (Psalm 110:3).

This is why salvation is entirely of grace. Paul wrote, “It depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (Romans 9:16). The will is not the cause of salvation; it is the result of God’s saving work. When the Spirit regenerates, He liberates the will to love, trust, and obey Christ. Then, and only then, can a person be said to have a truly free will—a will freed from sin’s dominion and enabled to choose what pleases God.
 

The Believer’s Ongoing Freedom

Even after conversion, the believer’s will is not yet perfectly free from the presence of sin. The flesh still wars against the Spirit (Galatians 5:17). Yet the difference is radical: the believer now can choose holiness because God works within him “both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). The bondage is broken, and the new nature delights in the law of God.
 

Conclusion

So, does man have a free will? The answer is both yes and no. Man’s will is free in the sense that he acts voluntarily and never against his desires. But it is not free in the moral or spiritual sense, for apart from grace, those desires are enslaved to sin. The natural man cannot choose God, cannot love God, and cannot please God. Only when the Holy Spirit gives new life does the will become truly free—to love righteousness, to serve Christ, and to glorify God.

As Augustine wisely said, “Free will without grace has the power to do nothing but sin.” But when grace renews the heart, the sinner can finally echo the psalmist: “I will run in the way of Your commandments, for You have set my heart free” (Psalm 119:32).
(The above article was AI generated.)