Agreed it can't be earned. But it seems to me it can be either accepted or rejected.
Unregenerated man has the “free will” to choose to sin or not sin at any given time.
OK, well that's is hardly what I would call "totally depraved".
Regenerated man has the “free will” to sin, not sin, or please God. We all make choices every day. However, the unregenerated man will NEVER choose to please God, because he can’t.
It seems to me the "unregenerated" man can start pleasing God by accepting the free gift of grace. As I understand it all of heaven rejoices on such occasions.
***Agreed it can’t be earned. But it seems to me it can be either accepted or rejected.***
This puts man ahead of God. In your scenario, God offers the bait and man can grab it or not. This means that man can, to use a fishing reference, skunk God. God is fishing for converts and either the fish (us) take the bait or not.
I think that God NEVER fails in what he sets out to do. God is not on a fishing trip, he knows exactly who his children are, and he knew it before the beginning of time.