The fact that this man supposes he has so-called "free-will" is the very essence of prideful self-righteousness. It is not until a sinner realizes that he is fully deserving of Hell and that there is not one thing he can possibly do about it (not even faith), that is when a sinner is finally ready to believe on, rely on, and fully trust Christ as his/her only way they can possibly be delivered from God's just condemnation of the rest of humanity. Until such time, men remain in their pride that they can do some thing in order to approve their selves to God. While this makes the sinner feel good to make a "choice" for Jesus, the problem is that in doing so they deny the finished work of Christ, and at worst they deny Christ Himself.