Spiritual Inability

"No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day...And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father." (John 6: 44, 65 KJV)

Jesus taught a truth that was clearly taught in the Old Testament regarding the sinful state and condition of fallen man. Because of sin, spiritual corruption and depravity have come to characterize man. Because of sin and its consequences, man has lost all spiritual ability to please God, or to will and do any spiritual good.

Salvation is in coming to Christ, in believing on him, and trusting in his atoning death for justification and forgiveness of sins, and for deliverance from sin and from its consequences.

"No man CAN come..." Sin has made man spiritually impotent, and powerless to spiritually renew himself in heart, will, and in understanding.

The sinful state is one of unbelief in God and spiritual truth. No man can spiritually and savingly believe, or repent in heart, or make himself love God and righteousness, for he is addicted to his sin, unbelief, and hardness of heart.

"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." (Romans 5: 6 KJV)

Man is "without strength," or spiritually impotent, so that he cannot "will" or "do" spiritually anything good or pleasing to the Lord. He is weak and powerless, absolutely helpless.

"Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard (change) its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil." (Jeremiah 13: 23 NIV)

Salvation is in man being radically changed, and in as great a way as a black man becoming white, or a leopard becoming spotless.

For sinful man, on his own initiative, to suddenly stop loving sin, and to begin loving God and righteousness, would be a drastic change indeed. But, the sinner is powerless to affect it and so is shut up to the mercy and power of the Lord alone.

Because of his love for and addiction to sin, he does not even have a desire to be saved from sin. Man, if he is to be saved, must be "made willing" by the power of another, yea, by the Lord himself. (See Psalm 110: 3 KJV)

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." (John 3: 17-20 NIV)

How do you get a man "off" a drug that he is completely addicted to, and from which all his love, pleasure, and delight stems? How can you get a man, who is addicted to sin, to lying, to stealing, to cursing, to sexual immorality, to suddenly "fall out of love" with such? It is as Jesus said - "with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19: 26 KJV)

The "verdict"! Men love spiritual darkness and sin! Men hate the light of spiritual truth, hating God's revelation, God's word and law. Men have an averseness to God and to his word because they possess a heart and nature that is evil. Man is spiritually stubborn and bull headed.

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God." (Romans 8: 5-8 NKJV)

"Cannot please God" - what a verdict! The verdict from on high is that the sinner is impotent towards willing and doing that which pleases God. He has a heart that is rebellious towards God. Those who are lost in sin, who live according to the flesh and sinful nature, have a hard and impenitent heart, an heart of unbelief, and unless the Lord initiate action to save such an one, and unless the Lord "draw" such by his power and grace, such an one will never have a change of heart.

"Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say." (John 8: 43 NIV)

"Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see!" (Isaiah 42: 18 NIV)

Man, because of sin, has become spiritually blind and deaf, and cannot therefore see nor hear spiritually. Yet, the call still goes out to the deaf to hear and the blind to see. Man is responsible whether he is still able or not. Men who are deaf and blind spiritually must look outside of themselves, and to the Lord alone, in order to obey these commands to those who are spiritually unable and impotent to do what he commands, in and of themselves.

"This is why it is said: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."" (Ephesians 5: 14 NIV)

All men are "dead in sins" (Ephesians 2: 1) and need a spiritual resurrection and rebirth. In the gospel the Lord says to all men, to all sinners, to all the spiritually dead, - "get up! arise from the dead!" This of course, does not imply that the dead can, of themselves, obey such a command. But, in the case of the elect, power and grace is given to obey it.

"A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." (Matthew 7: 18 KJV)

So, unless the Lord renew the heart and will, and unless he changes the nature of the sinner, the sinner will never bring forth spiritual fruit, or please God. His heart is an unbelieving heart, "whatsoever is not of faith is sin." (Romans 14: 23 KJV) Because man lacks faith and trust in the Lord, everything he does, though morally good and an external conformity to the law of God, is nevertheless, sin. This is why Solomon said - "the plowing of the wicked, is sin." (Proverbs 21: 4 KJV) Without faith, men do not do things with the right motive, one that is pleasing to God; rather, they act in their own self interest.

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11: 6 KJV)

"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." (I Corinthians 2: 14 NIV)

Man is not saved by human education, but by a revelation of saving truth to the sinner by the Spirit of God. Without this revelation, without this drawing, and without this initiatory work on the part of God, no sinner would or could be saved.

"What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God." (Romans 3: 9-11 NKJV)

"To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it." (Jeremiah 6: 10 KJV)

"Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye." (Acts 7: 51 KJV)

"They would not be like their forefathers—a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him." (Psalm 78: 8 NIV)

"And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." (John 5: 40 KJV)

"See how each of you is following the stubbornness of his evil heart instead of obeying me." (Jeremiah 16: 12 NIV)

So, where do each of us stand? Can we be honest about the matter? Do we love God or not? Do we love sin or not? Are we being stubborn and hard in heart towards God and his word?

"But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them." (John 12: 37-40 KJV)

If you are blind, then ask the Lord to give you eyes. If you are deaf spiritually, then ask the Lord to open your ears. If you are dead to God and to righteousness, then ask the Lord to do for you what you cannot do for yourself.