Excellent question, Thirsty!

I would have to say that every belief one has MUST be the reaction to some prior external action. In the same way, every unbelief one has MUST be the reaction to some prior external action.

So, my answer to your question would have to be no, I can't just arbitrarily decide to no longer believe something. There has to be some external influence to initiate a response of unbelief. The reverse must also be true...right? Or am I way off here?

Somebody with some smarts want to answer this question???

I agree with Brian.

Good answer, Brian. I was hoping to hear from someone who disagrees, but I think you've shut them down.

Would you agree, then, that the question of free will--the ability to make free choices--is not even relevant to believing the Gospel?

I've heard it said recently that the gospel in not something that happens IN you as much as it is something that happens TO you. So, I agree with Brian on the response to an external action as well...i.e. Paul on the Damascus road, definitely an external influence there. Sorry I can't choose to disagree...

:)

David,

I hope I didn't run any disagreeing comments off. If you want, I could contact a few friends to put up some good arguments for freedom of the will in salvation...well, they would be arguments anyway...I'm not so sure they would be good.

I guess I would have to agree that free will is not relevant to believing the gospel, from the perspective of someone who is still dead in his/her sin. Scripture seems quite clear that the person who is void of the Spirit (who's mind is set on the flesh) is not only hostile toward God and does not subject himself to the law of God, he is NOT even able to do so, and he CANNOT please God (Rom. 8:5-9). However, I believe completely that the person who has had his heart of stone removed and replaced with a heart of flesh comes of his own free will to the Savior. There is no coercion, no twisting of the arm...the soul who can now see wants to do nothing but repent and run to Christ.

Surely, if not the most pleasing thing, one of the most pleasing things to God is when someone comes to saving faith in Christ...and free-willers have people accomplishing this while they are still in the flesh, yet Scripture says the flesh profits nothing. As I've heard Sproul say in the past...Scripture says that it is the Spirit who gives life...the flesh profits nothing. Yet those who put forth that man can assent to saving faith, of his own choice and volition, have the flesh profiting everything.

Scripture seems unambiguous regarding man's ability to believe on his own:
1. We hear in Acts of those Gentiles who were appointed to eternal life believing as a result of their being appointed. The order is unmistakable...believing does not exist apart from being appointed to eternal life.
2.Also in Acts, we see that Lydia was unable to respond to the things Paul was speaking of until the Lord opened her heart. She could not believe on her own free will apart from the work of the Lord.
3.Jesus also stated clearly that there is a one-to-one correlation between those given to Him by the Father and those who are drawn and those who come to Him and those who are raised. I would take the coming to Christ as coming in true faith (believing), and according to Jesus it doesn't happen unless you are first given to Him by the Father and drawn by the Father.

I'm afraid I have rambled way too much here...sorry about that. These are some great questions you are asking, David. And it is my position that honestly addressing these kinds of questions is what is needed in most of the man-centered churches of today.

Brian, I agree with that. My focus here is narrowed to the relevance of the freedom of the will to belief only.

There may be a problem with the ambiguity of the word "believe." For instance a man who is personally a liar can choose not to believe his wife because internally he is a liar and then externalizes that to others. But such a belief is a mental consideration and may be different than from what Paul would say to a Jailer in Acts.

No offense but this will be the extent of my response.

I think my three examples above show that the will - apart from the work of God - is not free to believe (have saving faith). There is a difference in the belief such as the demons have and the belief that justifies...I am assuming you are referring to the latter.

According to my three examples above, exercising a belief that justifies is impossible without AT LEAST the following taking place first:
1. One must first be appointed to eternal life
2. One must first have the Lord open the heart
3. One must first be given and drawn by the Father

In other words, the will is not free to exercise saving faith (belief) apart from at least those three things above.

One mo thang...

The will is NOT free to believe if the person has never heard the gospel, because faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Brian, you're getting away from the topic. I'm not asking if there is such a thing as free will, or to what extent the will is free. I'm also not talking about faith. Belief is not faith.

My only question is whether or not the will, free or not, has any connection to belief. I think it does not.

Rey, I would say that the man in your example believes his wife is a liar due to that flaw in his own character. It isn't a matter of choice, he really can't help it. People who are untrustworthy are frequently unable to trust others.

If I know you (correct me if I'm wrong), you probably think I'm setting up a Calvinist attack on the freedom of the will. Not so. I happen to believe that the will is completely, entirely, utterly, totally, absolutely, and in all other ways, free; but that's not the topic here.

Sorry, David...I didn't realize I was getting off topic. It might be beneficial for you to define what you mean by 'belief'.

Is it:

a)Intellectual assent/agreement that something is what it is(as in, "the demons believe and shudder").
or
b) Trusting in something (as in, "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved").

How would you define belief in the context of what you are asking?

Thanks.

No, I didn't think that brother!

Sorry, Rey. I wouldn't have bamed you if you did.

Brian, as I said, belief is not faith. It is simply having the confidence that something is true, as in your definition a.