Scott Warren, ETS National Conference, November 17, 2005
Page 8
understanding is consistent with holding sinners guilty for their wicked
stubbornness.
Biblical and Everyday Language of Ability and Inability
I have argued that sinful humans have the ability to be saved by repenting
and trusting Christ in response to the Gospel. The problem, I contend, is not that
the abilities of sinners are weak, but that their inclinations are wicked. It is not that
they cannot respond to Christ, but that they will not. This clearly raises a question
about many biblical texts that use language of inability, suggesting that sinners lack
the ability to turn to Christ, to obey God, etc.
14
A clear example is John 6:65 where
Jesus says "no one can
15
come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the
Father." What are we to make of the scriptures that use the language of human
inability in this way?
Calvinists have commonly interpreted such texts in the plain sense of
inability. While I have taken a different path, I believe nonetheless, that such texts
do undermine the Arminian position that the prospect of genuine faith is a
possibility prior to regeneration. In short, my understanding of many such texts
16
is
that "cannot" essentially means, "certainly will not." This, I hope to demonstrate, is
a convention of both biblical and everyday language. It is not uncommon to use the
language of inability as a sort of hyperbole in expressions that speak not of ability,
but of inclination. Consider texts that state such things as that God cannot lie,
17
that
it is impossible for God to lie
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or that he cannot deny himself.
19
We are told many
other places in Scripture that God can do anything; nothing is too hard for him.
20
Clearly, the statement that God cannot lie (or that he could not do any particular
thing) is not a reference to a limitation in his capability to act. Scripture is not
suggesting that it is "too hard" for him.
14
These are generally among the texts that Calvinists have used to argue against Arminian positions.
15
"ouvdei.j du,natai" c.f., 6:44
16
I say many, as I do not mean all texts that speak of human inabilities, as noted later.
17
o` avyeudh.j qeo.j in Titus 1:2.
18
dia. du,o pragma,twn avmetaqe,twn( evn oi-j avdu,naton yeu,sasqai Īto.nŠ qeo,n in Hebrews 6:18.
19
e`auto.n ouv du,natai in II Timothy 2:13.
20
E.g., Gen 18:14; Job 42:2; Jer 32:17; Matthew 19:26, c.f. Mark 10:27, Luke 1:37, 18:27.