The question of whether humanity lost the power to believe the Gospel due to Adam's sin addresses profound theological issues about the extent of human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and the interplay between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. Let's explores this issue: We will critique the Arminian perspective and defend the Reformed understanding of faith as a gift of God’s grace, which is entirely dependent on His sovereign will. This essay examines the implications of Adam’s fall for the power of belief, drawing on the theological insights of the Reformers and grounding them in Scripture.
Humanity Lost the Power of Faith in the Fall
Through Adam's sin, humanity suffered a catastrophic loss of original purity and righteousness. This included not only the moral inclination toward holiness but also the inherent capacity to believe God’s word. Before the Fall, Adam possessed a natural disposition to trust in God and obey His commands, a faculty that reflected his unbroken relationship with the Creator. However, as Romans 5:12 affirms, "sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned." This inherited depravity extends to every aspect of human nature, including the power of belief. (Jeremiah 17:9; 1 Cor 2:14)
Faith, encompassing love for God and obedience to His will, was part of the original human condition. Yet, the Fall rendered humanity incapable of this faith apart from divine intervention. As Ephesians 2:1 describes, human beings are "dead in trespasses and sins," a state incompatible with the living faith required to trust in the Gospel.
Adam’s Faith Obligations and Its Loss
Before the Fall, Adam’s faith obligations were general rather than specific to Christ, as the Savior had not yet been revealed. Nevertheless, Adam was called to trust in God’s word and to obey His commandments. This general faith would have extended to believing any future revelation from God, including the promise of a Redeemer. When Adam sinned, this natural inclination to trust and believe God was not just corrupted—it was lost.
Tthe power to believe in Christ, while not explicitly required of Adam, was inherent in his prelapsarian state. This capacity to believe was not a distinct faculty but rather an integral part of his spiritual wholeness. By the Fall, humanity was deprived of this capacity, necessitating a restoration by God’s grace.
"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." - Ezekiel 36:26-27
This passage emphasizes the necessity of divine grace to restore what was lost in the Fall. Humanity's "heart of stone" represents the spiritual deadness and inability to respond to God. The transformation described—receiving a "heart of flesh" and the indwelling Spirit—is entirely a work of God's grace, enabling faith and obedience. It vividly demonstrates that the restoration of the capacity to believe is a sovereign act of God.
Faith and the Law: A Unified Framework
A key argument we should make is that faith in the Gospel is not entirely distinct from obedience to the Law. The Law serves as a tutor to lead sinners to Christ (Galatians 3:24), and rejecting Christ constitutes a violation of the Law’s demands to love and obey God. Deuteronomy 6:5 commands, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." This command encapsulates the essence of faith, as belief in God inevitably results in love and obedience to Him.
Faith in Christ fulfills the Law by directing sinners to the one who perfectly kept it on their behalf. Thus, the loss of the power to believe in Christ through the Fall is simultaneously a loss of the ability to uphold the Law’s demands, leaving humanity in desperate need of divine grace.
The Necessity of Grace in Restoring Faith
A central theme of Bible is that God’s grace is essential for restoring the power of belief to fallen humanity. Ephesians 2:8-9 underscores that "by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Faith, including the ability to believe in the Gospel, is entirely a divine gift.
This restoration is neither earned by human effort nor granted universally. Rather, God, in His sovereignty, bestows the gift of faith upon His elect. This restoration of faith is a work of the Holy Spirit, who enables sinners to perceive the truth of the Gospel and respond in trust.
Faith as a Divine Gift, Not a Human Effort
Arminian theology argues that God is obligated to grant everyone the power to believe, suggesting that faith is a cooperative effort between divine grace and human free will. However, this perspective undermines the biblical teaching of total depravity and the sovereign grace of God. John 6:44 declares, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him," emphasizing that belief begins with the Father’s sovereign initiative. Furthermore, Jesus affirms, "All that the Father gives me will come to me" (John 6:37), guaranteeing the certainty of salvation for those whom the Father has chosen.
Fallen humanity lacks the spiritual capacity to believe apart from God’s intervention. When God intervenes, He regenerates the sinner, giving a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26-27), and faith naturally follows as the heart is renewed by His Spirit.
Faith is not merely the restoration of an innate human ability but a supernatural work of God. Philippians 2:13 affirms that "it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." Furthermore, Ephesians 2:8-9 reminds us, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." The very act of believing is a result of God’s sovereign action, ensuring that salvation is entirely of grace.
Adam’s Fall and the Inherited Inability
Adam’s sin not only corrupted human nature but also rendered humanity incapable of comprehending or cherishing spiritual truths without divine illumination. As 1 Corinthians 2:14 states, "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." This inherited inability underscores the depth of human depravity and the necessity of God’s grace in enabling belief.
Faith and Responsibility: A Paradox Resolved
We must highlight the paradox that faith is both commanded by God and granted by Him. Humanity is obligated to believe in the Gospel, yet the power to do so is entirely dependent on divine grace. This duality reflects the interplay between human responsibility and God’s sovereignty. While belief is commanded, as in Mark 1:15 ("Repent and believe in the gospel"), the capacity to believe is a gift from God.
This paradox finds resolution in the doctrine of election. God, in His sovereignty, chooses whom He will save and grants them the faith necessary for salvation. This ensures that faith is not a human work but entirely a product of God’s grace.
Conclusion
The power of believing the Gospel was indeed lost by the sin of Adam. Humanity, rendered spiritually dead and incapable of faith, stands in need of God’s sovereign grace to restore this ability. The Scripture affirms that faith is both commanded by God and graciously granted by Him. This theological truth highlights the depth of human depravity and the necessity of divine intervention, ensuring that salvation is entirely to the glory of God. As Ephesians 1:6 declares, salvation is "to the praise of His glorious grace."
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