“There is great danger to hear, read, and converse, in an unfeeling and unsuitable manner on the them of human inability. There is a danger of mistaking, or drawing inferences, from this doctrine, respecting man’s weakness to holy things.
We ought to be on our guard, lest we think that man’s inability makes him excusable in his sin, or in neglecting his duties and the great salvation. By his inability he does not become unaccountable to God. the Lord’s authority to demand obedience from man, and man’s obligation to obey his Maker, are the same. Our disobedience is not less sinful because we are naturally sinners; and our vileness is not less evil because of our strong opposition to be holy. Let us beware lest we imagine that it is not sinful for us to be sinners. We should also beware of the thought that, as man is unable to change his nature, he is therefore excusable in living in his sin. It is no excuse whatever to him, neither does it lessen his fault at all, for he delights in his sin, and hates to be kept from it. He does not like to live a godly life, nor to be made willing and able. He contends with his Maker, opposes His Spirit, and rejects His invitations. Genesis 6:3, Acts 7:51, Proverbs 1:24-25.
We ought to take care, on the other hand, lest, by proving that it is not the lack of members, senses, or faculties that accounts for man’s inability to act in a spiritual manner, we should set forth that weakness as something small, and that man may remove it by some endeavor of his own; or that ministers may overcome it by strong reasons, solemn, alarming, threatenings, and winning, captivating invitations; and thereby disregard and lose sight of the truth respecting the Spirit’s work in man’s salvation. There is danger lest ministers and people should fail in observing the need of the Holy Ghost working by his grace and infinite strength in man’s salvation. There is as much need of His applying it, as of the Son’s accomplishing it, as already observed. There is room to fear that preachers and hearers grieve the Holy Spirit by losing sight of this; and are, consequently, left destitute of his powerful influences and operations, because they do not seriously consider, nor humbly acknowledge, the necessity of the Spirit working powerfully by the ministry of the Word for man’s salvation.”
On The Moral Inability of Man — pg. 366-367
John Elias — Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Minister
Check again on that title… Iron ink is the only place on the Internet that “On The Moral Inability of Man” appears. If indeed that is the exact title – where in the world did you pick that up?
The quotes and the reference to where the quotes come from appear in a larger work by Edward Morgan entitled,
“John Elias: Life, Letters and Essays”
Published by Banner Of Truth Trust
I culled this from another publication I finished last year entitled
“The Atonement Controversy in Welsh Theological Literature and Debate, 1707 – 1841.”
The Atonement Controversy should be widely read because a understanding of the issues examined here would go a long way to helping people see through the current justification brouhaha raging in Reformed churches. The debates or debates very similar have all been had before in many other places in many other times.