Why do you say "free will" isn't used in the Bible?
One of the Greek word used is hekousios and means:
of free will, voluntary, willing, with right good will, spontaneous.
As used in Philemon 1:14 but without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your goodness would not be, in effect, by compulsion but of your own free will.
Also, in II Corinthians 8:3 For I can testify that to the utmost of their power, and even beyond their power, they have of their own free will given help.
The Greek word used for this is authairetos which means: voluntary, of free choice, of one's own accord
It was used twice in the New Testament, both times by Paul in the above verse as well as II Corinthians 8:17 when speaking of Titus, For indeed he accepted the exhortation; but being more forward, of his own accord he went unto you.
Though the word used is translated as "free will" in certain translations, and in others as "willing", "of themselves", "choosing", "own initiative", etc., I believe we can understand the meaning pretty well. Rather than impugn those who hold to sola Scriptura, I think we have adequate Scriptural warrant for believing that man does indeed have free will in certain areas. Though the word "Trinity" isn't used EVEN in translations, we still have adequate Scriptural warrant to believe in the triune nature of our God and can prove the deity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
I interject this, not to get in an extended argument over free will vs. predestination, but to defend the doctrine of the efficiency of the Bible to prove the tenets of the Christian faith. Like I said earlier, I believe the truth of the dichotomy between man's will and predestination is found somewhere in the humanly unfathomable middle and we need not stir up discord among each other over a doctrine that cannot be proven dogmatically between the two extremes.
Spot on! Thanks once again for clarity!
According to my Strong dictionary, the Greek word that you used are two seperate words. 2 Cor 8:3 is authairetos which means voluntary. Strong does not relate this word to "free will". Only voluntary. Your second example in Philemon 1:14 is hekousion, a neuter of a derivative from G1635; voluntariness: - willingly. Please note that in neither of these cases is it used in terms of salvation.
But let's go with your definition. If you want to define salvation as "volunteering" to give yourself to Christ, you are saying you're offering yourself to God for His service and presumably you can't forgo volunteering for Christ's service. Just to be clear, is this correct? YOU are "voluteering, willingly, freely" giving yourself to the service of Christ or you are "not voluteering, unwillingly, rejecting" the call. Is that your definition?