Distinguishing Between Moral and Natural Inability

Posted by Dan C. on

“No one can come to Me unless that Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:44

“… Edwards distinguished between moral and natural inability. Because man’s inability is moral and not natural, according to Edwards, the individual is responsible for the choices he or she makes. Here is a simple illustration: in the natural world there are animals that eat nothing but meat. They are called carnivores, from caro, carnis, which means “meat.” There are other animals that eat nothing but grass or plants. They are called herbivores, from herba, which means vegetation. Imagine taking a lion, who is a carnivore, and placing a bundle of hay or a trough of oats before him. He will not eat the hay or oats. Why not? It is not because he is physically or naturally unable to eat them. Physically, he could munch on the oats and swallow them. But he does not and will not, because it is not in his nature to eat this kind of food. Moreover, if we were to ask why he will not eat the herbivore’s meal, and if the lion could answer, he would say, “I can’t eat this food, because I hate it. I will only eat meat.”

Now think of the verse that says, “Taste and see that the LORD is good” (Ps. 34:8), or of Jesus saying, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eat of this bread, he will live forever” (John 6:51). Why won’t a sinful person “taste and see that the Lord is good” or feed upon Jesus as “the living bread”? To use the lion’s words, it is because he “hates” such food. The sinner will not come to Christ because he does not want to. Deep in his heart he hates Christ and what he stands for. It is not because he cannot come naturally or physically.

Someone opposed to this teaching might say, “But surely the Bible says that anyone who will come to Christ may come to him. Didn’t Jesus invite us to come? Didn’t he say, ‘Whoever comes to me I will never drive away’ (John 6:37)? The answer is, “Yes, that is exactly what Jesus said, but it is beside the point.” Certainly, anyone who wants to come to Christ may come to him. That is why Jonathan Edwards insisted that the will is not bound. However, this liberty is what makes our refusal to seek God so unreasonable and increases our guilt. Who is it who wills to come? The answer is, No one, except those in whom the Holy Spirit has already performed the entirely irresistible work of the new birth, so that, as a result of this miracle, the spiritually blind eyes of the natural man are opened to see God’s truth, and the depraved mind of the sinner, which in itself has no spiritual understanding, is renewed to embrace the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.”

– James Montgomery Boice, Philip Graham Ryken, The Doctrines of Grace, p. 85, 86

6 responses to “Distinguishing Between Moral and Natural Inability”

  1. Rom 8:29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren.
    Rom 8:30 And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

    First, God foreknew (knew in advance–or in His point of view, knew in eternity). Because He knew us, He also predestined (two different things.)Since He predestined us, He calls us, and since we come (as He knew we would), He justifies us and glorifies us by placing His own life–the life of His Son–within us.

    So this says to me that God, through divine prescience, knew before He ever made us which of us would respond to the wooing of His Spirit. These are they for whom He prepared a portion of the life of His Son to be placed within them upon their answer to this wooing.

    Does He woo those who will not respond? I think, in most cases at least, He does not. Scripture seems to indicate this, since Jesus said:

    Joh 6:44 No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day.
    Joh 6:45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.

    Does the Father’s pre-knowledge of what we will do and His acting accordingly negate our free will? No. Just because God knows what we will do doesn’t negate our choice to do it or not do it.

    If, as it appears, the Father only calls to people He knows will respond positively, then I suppose you could say the call is irresistible. Not that we couldn’t resist it, but because we won’t. He knows this, which is why He calls.

    Love, Cindy

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  2. Lots of intresting thoughts there, Cindy!

    You mention predestination, God’s foreknowledge, and man’s free will specifically.Entire books have been written about each one.

    Are you sure that foreknowledge and predestination are two completely separate things? Is the widely accepted thought that God predestines/chooses/adopts as His own those who He knows, by looking down through time, will someday choose Him? Where is that language in scripture? That should tell us what’s what.

    If God does know who who will choose Him, why would He not know who would not? He would have to know, by default, wouldn’t He?

    Why will some choose and some not? The author of the material I posted suggests that those whom God enables are drawn irresistably to the Cross of Calvary. Once enabled by God to come to Christ, a man comes to Christ eventually.

    Is His will still free to choose what it most strongly desires? The author would probably say yes, but the ‘drawn’ person’s greatest desire (and thus his choice) is to choose Christ. After all, God started the whole thing by regenerating (giving life) and His word always comes to pass, or He would not be God. That’s what I hear that author saying.

    The bottom line concerning predestination, foreknowledge and man’s free will (his nature) is what scripture says it is, not what we would like it to mean.

    The list of what I have at one time believed and accepted as spiritual truth because of what I was taught by those who were my spiritual mentors is a long one. A lot has dropped off that list through the years.

    What’s my point? Sure I would like folks to believe what I believe (it makes me feel good), but that’s not the point. I might be right, or I might be wrong. If I am right, it’s only because God ’embedded’ His truth in my heart through the teaching power of the Holy Spirit, not because I might be smart or anything.

    I love encouraging folks to read scriptures for themselves. For the believer, God will take care of the rest. If, along the way, there are these awesome ‘light flashes on’ experiences and I find out about them, I am encouraged to keep encouraging.

    Thanks for stopping by again!

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  3. Hi, Dan (I’m sorry if I got that wrong, but I think I remember someone calling you Dan–my little brother’s name, too, btw)

    You are quite right in calling me Dan.

    It’s fun to discuss this. I think I gave you the impression that I felt threatened in some way by my comments about intelligence–sorry about that. I think I’m above average in intelligence, and in the past I’ve felt my worth threatened when I encountered people obviously a lot smarter than me. Likewise, I’ve felt superior to people I perceived as less intelligent. Both are wrong.

    Been there, done that!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Intelligence is no more valuable than any of God’s other gifts. This is quite a revelation to me, so if I mention it, it’s more likely with a sense of amusement at my long-term misapprehension about this over-valued gift. 😉 Amen

    I like Jonathan Edwards, and I’ve enjoyed reading a few of his pieces. He’s got a lot of profound and insightful things to say. Like many of my brothers, I don’t always agree with him on everything. For example, I don’t see Jesus being as harsh (except with the Pharisees, and even then he doesn’t appear as graphic as Edwards. That would take a lot of transcribing, though. 😉 ) Anyway, my opinions on that are worth what you paid for them . . . .

    Did you know that Jonathan Edwards actually read “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God with none of the ‘fire and brimstone’ delivery we attribute to that sermon? He did want to paint a graphic picture of Hell, and judging by the results, the Holy Spirit used his words mightily.

    The first passage speaks for itself, imo. “For whom He foreknew, these He also predestined . . . ” Why does Paul write as if these are two separate things if they are, in fact the same thing? Paul goes on to say that these foreknown and predestined people were then the ones God called. That Paul states that the called are justified (not that those who answer the call are justified) seems to presume that the called always answer positively. (A concept I think I see you agreeing with) And of course, he goes on to say that God glorifies those He justifies.

    Those passages are called the Golden Chain of Redemption, also the Ordu Salutis (Order of Salvation) and a very good study. I have a post on it somewhere.
    The foreknowledge/predestination connection is also a good study. There is a good discussion of it here.

    As for free will, I think that was demonstrated in the garden. God gave Adam and Eve the choice.

    One could say that only God has complete free will. Adam and Eve’s will were inclined toward obedience to God, making their disobedience ‘willfull’ disobedience. The fall did not remove free will, it changed it – corrupted it so that every man born thereafter is born in rebellion against and God and inclined toward sin, and dead to God. When the Holy Spirit regenerates a person (gives live) He acts upon the human will and inclines it back toward God, so that when the gospel is presented to a regenerated will, and a person confrints the nature of their sin, they ‘willingly’ run to the cross. I hope that makes sense. I understand it that way.

    What a cruel deception if He had actually predestined them to fail from the beginning. Of course He foreknew it, but to say that He predestined their failure doesn’t sound like Him. I believe they were capable of success even though He knew what their choice would ultimately be.

    I don’t think God predetermined the fall, and I am sure He could have created a people for Himself that would not have fallen. He also knew they would fall. We might never know why it all happened the way it did. More food for study, if we are so inclined. 🙂

    I’m not sure what I said to give you the impression that I believe God doesn’t know who will refuse to choose Him. I agree with you there–it only makes sense.

    I misread “Does He woo those who will not respond? I think, in most cases at least, He does not.” I read ‘know’. Hadn’t had my 2nd cup of coffee? 🙂

    God commands all men everywhere to repent. It would be wrong for Him to demand repentance of people who are powerless to obey, and He does not do wrong. I think it would be like me demanding that my dog play the guitar, and then beating her when she doesn’t. We are not, in our fallen state, capable of refraining from sin, but we are capable of obeying God’s command to repent–if we want to.

    OK, here’s another question – Why does one man want to repent and another NOT want to repent? Might that be the regenerating work we spoke of earlier?

    As far as I’m aware, you and I don’t disagree on anything here unless I’m misunderstanding something you’ve said. Even if we did disagree on the mechanics of conversion, I’m not sure that matters. As you said before, what matters is to be in Christ. I’m sure He’ll eventually set us straight on all the details.

    That He will!

    And the extra questions – they are the kind I have ended up asking and sometimes made my brain hurt if I tried to use plain human wisdom and logic to try and find answers. However when, in reading and studying God’s word, the Holy Spirit had a chance to ‘teach’, all I can say is huge lights beamed on.

    Love, Cindy

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  5. Hey, Dan

    One could say that only God has complete free will. Adam and Eve’s will were inclined toward obedience to God, making their disobedience ‘willfull’ disobedience. The fall did not remove free will, it changed it – corrupted it so that every man born thereafter is born in rebellion against and God and inclined toward sin, and dead to God.

    This makes sense, and you’re probably right, but I’m not sure where it comes from. Seems like I’ve heard it before. Do you have a reference or two for it?

    OK, here’s another question – Why does one man want to repent and another NOT want to repent? Might that be the regenerating work we spoke of earlier?

    I dunno–could be, but again, it’s speculation until we find scripture for it. God doesn’t tell us everything. 🙂

    Love, Cindy

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