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[Tom Johns]

So, in Mark 1:15 Jesus says; "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
The word repentance in the Bible literally means "the act of changing one's mind."
So when He said to repent and believe, what was He saying? Well, it seems to me that He is saying to turn from unbelief to belief. repent and believe.
Romans 11:19-23 talks about this very thing: You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. See then the kindness and severity of God: to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; for otherwise you too will be cut off. And they also, IF THEY DO NOT CONTINUE IN THEIR unbelief, will be grafted in; for God is able to graft them in again.
So, in verse 23 it says that if they do not continue in their unbelief... if they turn or repent from unbelief to belief, they will be grafted back in... So repentance is a decision or a choice that we make. Turn from unbelief to belief...
Sounds pretty much like free will to me.

[CatieladyB]

That's exactly the way I interpret what I read in the Bible, God loves us no matter what, but He wants us to believe in Him and follow Him and do His will which can only be done if we turn from unbelief to belief! Yes God does give us free will! All through the Bible it tells how God gave the people a choice and when they chose wrong they suffered the consequenes.

[rickyz]

I believe our God is omniscient (all knowing). That being said, He gave us the opportunity to choose our own destiny. To be with Him in eternity or not. (free will.)

[Tom Johns]

    

[dhenning3]

I see examples of this within my own household. As a father, I love my children no matter what and hope they use their free will to love me back and trust me wholeheartedly. If/when they make choices to the contrary, it disappoints me but I love them no less. However when they use their free will to choose to love and trust me, it is a great feeling comparable to little else; as opposed to if they were simply forced, yielding an empty love.

All thanks to God-given free will.

[Tom Johns]