Many people still want to believe that God has given us all free will and that we have no right to pursue and pressure people into the Kingdom of Heaven. However, the Apostle Paul tossed out the mythical idea of "free will".
We have no real free will to choose between good and evil until Jesus saves us and baptizes us with the Holy Spirit.
"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it" (Romans 7:15-20)
Paul reveals the answer to sinful nature in Romans 8:1-6 when he said:
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free (liberty) from the law of sin and death... Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace" (Romans 8:1-6).
In other words, until we receive the indwelling/baptism of the Holy Spirit, we are powerless against sin. Our choices although they may seem our own, are influenced and directed by the god of this world, Satan. The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to choose from what is right and wrong because "the Spirit of life (Holy Spirit) has set us free from sin and death."
When a person has discovered the new life that Jesus gives us, filled with enthusiastic love for Him and empowered by the Holy Spirit, he or she is compelled, like any sport fan, to be a witness:
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witness in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
"Do you know that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?" (Romans 2:4)
Because most people have never had a personal, exciting relationship with God, whether in church or out of church, they find it difficult to accept the idea that they can have such a relationship where free will is determined by that relationship through the Power of the Holy Spirit.
Excerpts from Rev. Gordon Williams', "THE FORGOTTEN KEY TO CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE."
THE FORGOTTEN KEY TO CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE
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