The problem with this assumption is that on his own, man can do nothing but sin:
"For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God." (Rom. 8:7-8)
"The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Cor. 2:14)
"All...are under sin, as it is written: 'No one understands; no one seeks after God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless, no one is good, not even one.'" (Rom. 3:9-12)
So, do we have free will? Of course, but on our own all we will choose is sin, and we certainly will not choose Christ. In other words, free will means I am free to do whatever I want to do, & what I want to do is sin. This is our nature. (Psalm 51:5; Eph. 2:3)
John Calvin put it this way, "[Like Satan, Man], by his fall, was so estranged from goodness (God) that he can do nothing but evil." (Institues II, 3.5)
Without some kind of power to overcome our free will, it will only damn us. It's only when the truth of the Gospel, by way of the Holy Spirit, overcomes our resistance, we will be irresistibly drawn to Him and be saved. (John 3:8; John 6:44, 65; Eph. 2:5, 8-9; 2 Tim. 2:25-26, Rom. 9:15-16; Acts 13:48)
"It is not of man who wills or runs, but of God who shows mercy." (Rom. 9:16)
"For God is the one who is at work both to will and to work for His good pleasure." (Phil. 2:13)
But don't we choose God by faith? Yes, but if "none is righteous" and "no one seeks after God," where does that ability to respond in faith come from?
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one can boast." (Eph. 2:8)
So, the correct picture of our salvation is not simply, "I chose Christ by walking down the aisle and saying a prayer."
Instead, it's a picture of a dramatic rescue mission, where we were on the precipice of death, unable to save ourselves, when Christ came, and said, "It will be OK. I've got you." And He snatched us up and saved us.
In the end, if I am going to be damned by my free will, then I need to be rescued and "set free" from the bondage of my will in order to see and savor Christ for who His is (my Savior).
"For freedom Christ has set you free; stand firm therefore; and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." (Gal. 5:1)
