While no epistle would say this at the beginning, the very fact that Paul told the Philippian jailer "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" IMPLIES a free will decision to believe. Agrippa said to Paul "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian" (Acts 26:28). Had he been persuaded, would that not have been a free will decision? What about the 3,000 Jews who were saved on the day of Pentecost? Were they not convicted, and made free will decisions to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ?
The whole point of preaching the Gospel is for sinners to RESPOND to the Gospel. And such a response is in fact a free will decision. God will compel none to be saved, and God will exclude none from salvation.
I have a question for you. Where does the credit and glory for the "choice" we make to follow Jesus go? It's our choice and not His right? With what you're pushing here it should go to us, yet His word tells us that NONE seek for God, and that our salvation is ALL Him lest any of us boast, right? But if "I" make the choice then "I" have something to boast about over the sad sap that rejects Him. Right?
See besides the part where all scripture says that God is sovereign, repentance is a gift, God chooses us, and that salvation is all God to the point we have NOTHING to boast about because there is NOTHING we can do to save ourselves, besides those points my personal testimony leaves absolutely NO room for what you're saying to be true. Please let me explain before this seems completely arrogant, for no reason.
See I wasn't born in the Church or anywhere near it. I thought about religion as most "pop culture" does today still. It was a system of control created by the power elite to keep the weak minded under thumb. Once I saw my first son was born when I was 22 I now felt there was more to the world than matter and energy, I didn't run to Jesus or anything, but no longer called myself an atheist. Okay shortly after this my wife was saved, she was awesome and not ever too pushy but slowly attracted me to church and this Jesus fella. I started going and then one day I responded to the alter call. I went up front and repeated the prayer and was told I was saved and now a Christian. I even went out and was baptized as well, to declare it publicly. Life went on and our next son was born 7 years later and life was pretty good. Right up to the day of my motorcycle wreak.
I was leaving work one day thinking "Man, I just paid all the bills, my bank accounts sitting fat, am leaving my awesome job, with my long Viking braid hanging halfway down my back, to hop on my motorcycle to go home to my beautiful wife, who happens to be making my favorite dinner, and 2 awesome sons. Bow down world, I got this whooped!"
Well after that I woke up 19 days later with no function at all in my right and dominate arm. There were more injuries like I had a external fixator on my left wrist and hand, and a few lacerations, but the main thing was the arm. Slowly figured out what was wrong and that it couldn't be repaired, my big insurance payout was 6,000, and life on top of it all. I was blessed in so many ways, but 100% blind to it. I still had my job, it came with insurance that made sure I never missed a check, a wife that had been by me through everything in life, and was still there unconditionally, friends that helped in ever way they could, so much. Yet I wanted nothing but to die. Remember at this point I thought I was a Christian and had "done that" and it wasn't helping. The doctors couldn't help, not science, nor insurance, not even God could help me in my mind.
For 2 years I wanted to kill myself every day. The suicidal thoughts I couldn't stop no matter what. Every 5 minutes for 2 solid years I would run it through my head that my job could replace me, my wife could find a better husband, and I'd justify doing it in ever way up to my two boys. I knew that no man on this earth would love them and fight for their well being like I would. Like their father would. So one day, Sept. 29th 2013 to be exact, it all came to a head. I was home alone and I just hit my knees in complete defeat. If I had ever believed in God, I didn't now. At this point in my head, God couldn't help me. I hit my knees and this was what I said through the waterfall of weeping tears "I can't do this anymore, I can't do this anymore, I can't do this anymore, world you win, I lose, and I QUIT!!"
That was it. I then woke up the next day, got ready, went to work, and it wasn't until lunch that it hit me. "I haven't thought about killing myself all day!". Right there I KNEW, whatever this is, it's God. And I KNEW" Jesus was His Son. Form there He lead me strait to His word and I read John. After 3 I went out to the receptionist and told her "I think I was born again!" That was when He saved me. Before this day I did NOT know Him.
You don't have to believe me, but this was how He saved me. When "I chose Him" as pop Christianity sells it today with the sinners prayer thing, I was not saved. Not at all. Please don't get me wrong, I believe He did this for a reason, but it wasn't until He granted me repentance and showed me exactly how much power I have to save myself, that He saved me. There is no way I chose Him, at the time I thought I already had and He was lacking. This seems to go against exactly what your saying we do to be saved.
I would love to hear how your we choose doctrine fits this into it, but I could be wrong. Maybe my first salvation had a delay and I was really saved then, but in my life I did not know Him until He made me new ALL by His power.
