We are born into this world without real freedom. But Jesus has made us free so we can freely choose to do God's will.  

At breakfast time, you pull two eggs out of the fridge and crack them open. They are rotten. Their sulfurous odor makes you wince. So you go to the cupboard and grab a box of cereal instead. It's stale; you notice the green around the edges of the flakes. It's probably edible, you think. You pour it in a bowl and then add milk that's lumpy, long past expired. You look through your pantry and refrigerator. Everything is spoiled.

Agree or disagree: You are free to eat whatever you want for breakfast.

Yes, you are free to choose between a wide variety of rot, mold, and decay. You may exercise your free will to decide between ingesting bacteria or fungi. You may even choose not to eat and go hungry. So, yes, in a sense, you are free to eat whatever you want. Yet all your options are awful. Your free will may only decide between something bad and something even worse. That is how we are born into this world.

Freedom lost

Our first parents had free will in the fullest sense. They were created in the image of God. Adam and Eve knew that all creation was the loving Lord's gift. Both were fashioned with perfect, grateful hearts that beat for their Creator. They knew God and understood his will. Thus, they could choose to listen to God, trust his love and goodness, and never taste the forbidden fruit. But they also could choose to ignore God's goodness and disobey him—a truly free choice.

After the fall, the image of God was lost. Adam handed a sinful nature down to his children. That meant that no one born in the natural way would be born with a correct knowledge of God. Mankind does not, by nature, desire to please God. Indeed, we are born "hostile to God" (Romans 8:7). And so, natural man has free will, but it is not to choose between doing good and doing evil. Without God's help, we only have the ability to choose between that which is rotten and that which is foul.

Perhaps you are thinking, "Now hold on! I have seen unbelievers do some very good things." Maybe you know of unbelievers who give thousands to charity or donate time to a local shelter. Indeed, at face value, it looks like they exercise their free will to do good. But let's look deeper.

The man writing the check to a charity does so, in part, to help the needy but also because he enjoys the pat on the back and the satisfaction of helping others. His motives are not entirely pure. Pride enters looking for honor and recognition. Thus, while his action might help people, it is spoiled. God, who is entirely pure, sees that the act is not as pure as he demands.