1st Corinthians 2:14
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
The lost deem Christianity as “foolishness,” which is why God must intervene. Consider Acts 26:14. When Paul was having Stephen stoned to death, he certainly considered Christianity to be foolish and heretical, but yet, all the while, the Holy Spirit was at work in his heart, as Jesus says, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’” This shows that the Holy Spirit is at work upon the heart of the unregenerate “natural man,” which is referred to as Prevenient Grace.
Jerry Vines explains: “The lost man or woman has no desire for the things of God. Unregenerate souls have no interest in finding out what God wants them to be and to do. But the new-birth experience puts into our heart a desire really and actually to do what God wants.” (Exploring 1-2-3 John, p.49, emphasis mine)
Whereas the Unregenerate, natural man does not seek the things of God, the Regenerate, Born Again, “new creature” (2nd Corinthians 5:17) does. So how, then, can the Unregenerate become saved? Calvinism answers that an Irresistible Grace is the only way. However, this inevitably presupposes that God’s hands are tied by man’s depravity. For why can’t God enable an Unregenerate person to repent, without having to use an Irresistible Grace? The Calvinist keeps pointing to man’s weakness, but while failing to realize that this simultaneously supposes that God’s hand is being forced. The reality, however, is that fear is a powerful weapon, and the Gospel not only declares the way of salvation, but it also declares the imminent threat of perishing in Hell, as per John 3:16. In fact, if fear is any kind of motivation, which it is, then the Unregenerate definitely have a reason to pause. John 16:8 indeed confirms that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of its sin, and Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes from hearing the Gospel. So although man is depraved, there are other factors which may lead an Unregenerate person to stop and take notice. Simply look at the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who, through the constant fear of Armageddon, regularly go door-to-door in their proselytizing efforts. So, obviously, fear works, and is a real factor in whether the Unregenerate can be motivated without an Irresistible Grace.
John Calvin explains: “The natural man, says Paul, does not receive the things of God (I Cor. 2:14). Because he does not will so? This is indeed true: all are rebels who are not tamed by His Spirit. But Paul carries the matter to a higher level. There is such foolishness in man that he is unable to understand; no one has been God’s counsellor, nor are His secrets to be known except by His Spirit alone. Hence he concludes that those only are true disciples of God who are granted the spirit not of the world but of heaven, that they may know the things given them by God. What is intended by the comparison between the spirit of the world and the Spirit of God? Just this, that men subsisting on the earth are wise in their own way only, while the heavenly Father illumines His sons specially.” (Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, p.104, emphasis mine)
By the language of “tamed by His Spirit” and “illumines His sons specially,” John Calvin conveys what Calvinism teaches as Irresistible Grace.
Calvin continues: “For he teaches that it is due not only to the stubborn pride of the human will, but also to the impotence of the mind, that man by himself cannot attain to the things of the Spirit. He would have been saying no more than the truth if he had said that men do not wish to be wise, but he goes further, and says that they do not even have the power. From this we conclude that faith is not something that depends on our decision, but it is something given by God.” (Calvin’s Commentaries: The First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians, p.62, emphasis mine)
Here John Calvin repeats a frequent assertion that faith comes by Election, even though Romans 10:17 states that faith come from hearing the Gospel.
Calvin writes: “But here we are speaking of that special revelation of heavenly wisdom, of which God thinks only His sons are worthy. Because of that there is all the less ground for tolerating the ignorance of those who think that the Gospel is offered to men universally in such a way that it is free to all without distinction to lay hold of salvation by faith.” (Calvin’s Commentaries: The First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians, p.62, emphasis mine)
Arminianism agrees that the natural-man does not seek Christ. Therefore, the solution rests in God to seek man. So the real question is how does God seek man? That’s what lies at the core of the debate. Exactly how does God intervene? Jesus seeks the lost (Luke 19:10), draws the lost, (John 12:32) and knocks upon the heart’s door of the lost (Revelation 3:20), through the supernatural power of the faith-producing (Romans 10:17) life-giving (John 6:63), supernatural (Hebrews 4:12), cleansing power of the Gospel (Ephesians 5:26), which makes men clean (John 15:3), such that when the Holy Spirit convicts the heart (John 16:8), pricks the heart (Acts 26:14) and opens the heart (Acts 16:14), a person is divinely enabled to positively respond to the Gospel in repentance. While Calvinists preach the all-consuming, all-encompassing power of the total depravity of man, Arminians preach the life-giving, supernatural, cleansing power of the Gospel.
Calvinist, Erwin Lutzer, explains: “Thus the doctrine of total depravity leads directly to that of unconditional election--a dead man cannot respond to the gospel’s appeal.” (The Doctrines That Divide, p.181, emphasis mine)
Lutzer explains: “The Calvinist says that the difference is in God, for all men are equally in bondage to sin. Any difference in disposition is due to his work in the human heart. Thus since some are saved, it must be that God has elected them. Arthur Pink, a Calvinist, said, ‘To say that salvation turns upon the sinner’s own acceptance of Christ would be like offering a sum of money to a blind man upon the condition that he would see.’” (The Doctrines That Divide, p.181, emphasis mine)
That analogy doesn’t work because it assumes that the alternative of Calvinism, is that God does nothing to enable the unregenerate to receive Him, which simply ignores the doctrine of Prevenient Grace.
Question: What is a “natural man”?
Answer: Those who are not Born Again; the fallen, unregenerate man in Adam.
Question: What are the “things of the Spirit of God”?
Answer: The deep things of God, which not only the “natural man” is unable to digest, but also what the regenerated new Christian struggles with as well. Paul explained: “I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able.” (1st Corinthians 3:2) Hebrews 5:12-13 states: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.” Peter also states: “Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.” (1st Peter 2:2)
Question: If even a regenerated new Christian struggles for growth, how can the unregenerate lost person, ever overcome their fallen nature in order to repent, believe and be saved?
Answer: God must intervene and come to his aid. Jesus seeks (Luke 19:10), draws, (John 12:32) and knocks (Revelation 3:20), while the Holy Spirit convicts the heart (John 16:8), pricks the heart (Acts 26:14) and even opens the heart so a person can respond to the Gospel. (Acts 16:14)
This is typically what lost people think about Christianity, tithing, missionary work and sharing the Gospel. They neither care about it, nor do they want to hear about it. In fact, sometimes lost people will purposely avoid friends who are Christians if they think that they’re going to get witnessed to. This is why Christians must pray for the lost and why the Holy Spirit must operate upon the heart of the lost, in order for anyone to be saved.
