Does man have a libertarian free will?

Of course He is.

But this is not the point being discussed (and I'm not even referring to the concept of "hardening" when I say this! That's not what I mean when I say this is "not the point being discussed" ).

[For example, I have spoken of John 12:32 a number of times (even in this thread)]

But why would you say a heart even needs to be "hardened" when it is already "a stone" from conception/birth, according to the viewpoint being put forth? (again, may the reader note the CONTEXTS of: Ezek11:4-21,19 ; 36:21-38,26 ; Zech7:8-14,12[and chpt 8]--ALL about "ISRAEL" who'd already had some history behind them)

Look at John 11. These religious leaders saw an undeniable miracle that could not easily deny nor turn a blind eye to. A man had been raised from the dead in their midst. Did they do the right thing and glorify God? No. They sought to kill Him and also Lazarus because he was a witness to that miracle. God was actively hardening their hearts as these miracles took place.

This fulfilled Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;[Matthew 13:13-14]

I do not see that in the text

Does man have a libertarian free will?

Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, [that] I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

Out of context! This is a verse directed to the nation of a Israel. It is the promise of God to the Israelites before they enter Israel. It is also warnings to them about what will happen if they don't obey God. It is also about occupying the land and the blessings for obedience. And it was important, because the Israelites forgot God over and over, and they eventually were taken into captivity for Israel in 722 BC, and 586 BC for Judah!

It has nothing to do with salvation, or choosing to be saved.

You will have to do a lot better than that!

Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, [that] I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

This corresponds to the saying of Christ regarding the two gates:

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:13,14)

People literally enter gates because they choose to. The same applies to these metaphorical gates which apply to salvation (life) or damnation (destruction).

Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, [that] I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

No, a man’s will is given, programmed if you will. Man born after the fall is wired for sin, his nature is sin, less he’s been granted faith unto salvation and given a new nature, a new will. At which point the Lord begins a work in him that He will finish, a work of subduing the fallen nature and building up the new nature, the new will, to be about the Fathers business. Either way a man’s will is not his own, this according to scripture that we may see the hand of the Lord and the miraculous work He performs in transforming one who is dead in sin to one who is alive in Christ.

We don’t choose to sin? Where’s the accountability?

We don’t choose to sin? Where’s the accountability?

Free Will: Does Salvation Depend on a Person's Choice?

At the time of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther wrote a book entitled, The Bondage of the Will. This book was written against a man named Erasmus and his teaching that man has free-will, that is, the ability to choose whether or not he would be saved. Luther told Erasmus that this question about free-will was the most important issue of the Reformation. He said, "You [i.e., Erasmus] have not worried me with extraneous issues about the papacy, purgatory, indulgences, and such like, trifles rather than issues ... you, and you alone, have seen the hinge on which all turns, and have aimed for the vital spot."

In spite of what Luther wrote, the teaching of Erasmus concerning free-will has become the teaching of most of Protestantism today. Free-will is:

(1) A denial of predestination. Predestination means that God's will (God's choice) determines all things, including who will be saved (Ephesians 1:3-6). Free-will teaches that man's choice is the decisive thing in salvation.

(2) A denial of the biblical truth that saving faith is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-10). Free-will teaches that faith is a person's own decision to trust in Christ.

(3) A denial of the truth that Christ died only for His people (Matthew 1:21). Free-will teaches that Christ died for all without exception and that their salvation now depends on their accepting Him, that is, on their "free-will" choice.

Belief in free-will also shows itself in the kind of preaching and evangelism that is most popular today, the kind that begs sinners to accept Christ, that uses altar calls, appeals, decision times, raising of hands, and other such tactics to persuade them to do so. All these things presuppose that a person's salvation depends on his own choice.

We believe that man's will is in bondage to sin and that he not only cannot do good, but he cannot even want (will) to do it (Romans 8:7-8). Especially he cannot do the greatest good of all, of choosing God and Christ.

We believe, therefore, that man cannot believe in Christ unless it is "given him from above" (John 6:44).

We also believe that not man's will, but God's sovereign and eternal will (predestination) is the decisive thing in salvation (Acts 13:48; Philippians 2:13).

What, then, is the point of preaching the gospel to all? It is "the power of God unto salvation" (Romans 1:16), the way in which God gives faith and repentance to all those whom He has chosen from eternity and redeemed in Christ. May it be that power unto salvation for many!

The Reformation Resurgence View attachment 213144

You do not make a choice to go through the gate.

God gave me a sort of vision, the second year I was a Christian, using Matt 7:13-14. He told me that before, I was on that broad road to destruction, before he saved me. He gave me the desire to repent, or turn around, and then I was in the narrow road which leads to life, or God. I've spent some time on that road sitting, a few times I looked back, and was horrified to see so many people walking eagerly towards hell, but mostly, like Christian in Pilgrim's Progress, I have tried to move forward. The reason, is because I see a bright light ahead, which I know is Jesus.

Jesus saved me, set me on the path, and we have been walking together, for 40 years this May. You do not make a choice to go through the gate. God makes us alive in him, and gives us the ability to repent and follow him. No need for decisional regeneration at all. And lots more reasons to testify and preach the gospel to those who are walking on the broad road to destruction!!