Inability

There are often objections to Reformed theology that revolve around the claim that Scripture teaches that natural Man cannot come to Christ on his own. This "inability" claim is a sticking point for many people. I think the biggest reason that it is a sticking point is that it is misunderstood. So I thought I'd examine something on which we can all agree and see if the similarity there might help here.

In Matthew 19, Jesus tells the disciples that it was very difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. The disciples are shocked. But Jesus tells them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matt 19:26). It is a common perception that nothing is impossible for God, and that perception most often comes from this verse. However, it isn't quite an accurate perception. Why do I say that? Because we know from other references that there are things that God cannot do.

In Titus 1:2 we read that God "cannot lie." This opens the door to a whole list of things. He cannot lie or change His mind (1 Sam. 15:29). He cannot be tempted by evil (James 1:13). He cannot be unjust and He cannot fail (Zeph. 3:5). He is eternal and cannot cease to be (1 Chron. 16:36). He cannot tire (Isa. 40:28). He is omniscient and cannot fail to know anything (Psa. 139). This list goes on and on. Something else God cannot do is the illogical. I don't mean that everything He does must makes sense to us. I mean that He cannot violate the law of non-contradiction. He cannot make a square circle because the square and the circle have separate and distinct definitions that cannot be made to match. When God says He will save those who place their faith in His Son, He cannot then say He won't. That would violate the law of non-contradiction. And we should all be happy about that. Indeed, then, there are lots of things that God cannot do.

When we say that there are things that God cannot do (as demonstrated in Scripture), what do we mean? Is it a contradiction of what Jesus said? It is not actually a contradiction. God can do anything in theory. What He can do, in fact, is "exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think" (Eph. 3:20). However, the things that I listed that Scripture says He cannot do He cannot do because it would violate His nature. You see, He has the power to do them, but it would violate His nature to do them, so He cannot. Let me put it another way. God can do anything at all, but because of His nature there are some things He will not do.

All the things I listed about what God cannot do are all good news to me. They bring God into the realm of knowable. They give us stability. They give us confidence. A god who lies or changes His mind or sinned or could fail would be a god we couldn't trust. His nature makes Him GOD. I'm glad there are things He cannot do.

Similarly, then, when we speak of Man's inability, we are not speaking of the lack of power or even the lack of will. When we say that Man cannot come to Christ without God causing it, we are not saying that there is something lacking in Man that prevents him. We are saying that it would violate his nature to do so. There are no external constraints. Nothing outside of Man is preventing him. It is simply that he is hostile to God by nature, dead in sin, and cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God. In other words, Man can come to Christ, but because of his nature he will not do it.

God's inability makes Him good. Man's inability is eternally fatal. Praise be to God that He has an answer to Man's inability.