Man’s Moral and Natural Ability, Part 12

Over in Acts 17, we come across an interesting verse. 

“Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man (Jesus) whom He has appointed” (vv. 30-31). 

Salvation is a command!  If it wasn’t, then God could not hold people responsible for rejecting the gospel in the day of judgment (cf. Luke 24:47; Acts 26:20).  Furthermore, if salvation is not a command by God, but left to each person to choose their own destiny without consequences, then those who respond to God’s command and believe in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), would not be held accountable to live righteously afterwards (cf. Titus 2:11-13).

My point is this:  Since God commands people to believe in Christ, how is it possible to do so when one is “dead in their trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1)?  We’re told that those who are “in the flesh” (in their natural state) “cannot please God” (Rom. 8:7-8).  Who are those in the flesh?  They are the ones who have not the Holy Spirit living with them (Rom. 8:9). 

Such people in their natural state cannot respond to God’s command unless they are first “born again” by the Spirit of God.  If an unsaved person could choose Christ in his fallen state apart from the assistance of God, then they could be subject to at least one of God’s commands and they could at least do something that is pleasing to God.  But the Bible says that “those in the flesh CANNOT please God” (Rom. 8:8).  It is impossible for anyone apart from being born again to keep any of God’s commands with respect of pleasing Him.

Therefore, the Bible concludes with this thought for all eternity: Man is free to choose what he desires, but because he desires are only wicked he lacks the moral ability to come to Christ for salvation which is the highest possible good.  He lacks this desire unless God Himself puts the desire within His heart to respond.  As long as man remains in the flesh or in his unregenerate state, he will never choose to come to Christ for forgiveness of sins.  Man needs divine help.  He needs to be born again in order to believe in Jesus.

No one is going to act against his will. Man’s fall is great. It is so great that only the effectual grace of God working in his heart can bring him to faith.

In my next series of studies on predestination, I will tackle the issue of “double predestination.”

End of Part 12