bmooremaninhisnaturedoesnotseek

Man in His Nature Does Not Seek God!

by Elder Brian Moore

"There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God."

Romans 3:11

Throughout the airwaves along the cables and via satellite, millions are invited and encouraged daily to "seek after God." This Arminian plea, which is unbiblical and contrary to the teachings of the bible, encourages all men everywhere to seek the Lord of glory and depart from their sinful ways. In nature, man is incapable of doing such an act.

In order for one to first understand the falsity of the above request, they must first realize the natural state of man. The bible plainly teaches the total depravity of man and his inability to save himself. That teaching, although unpopular, is still the TRUTH. Therefore, why is it that a man cannot seek God? What prevents him from doing so?

The bible plainly states that man in his natural state is unable to seek the ways of God. In the book of Romans Ch. 3:11 we read "There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God." It is first necessary to realize to whom Paul was addressing his letter. In the first chapter, following his salutation, Paul indicates to whom he is speaking. In Ch. 1:7 he says "To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints, Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." Therefore, he is not addressing his letter to the entire Adam race, nor to the entire civilization of Rome, but rather to the Roman citizens who are beloved of God and have been CALLED to be saints. " With this clarified one can now discern to whom Paul is speaking, when he says in Ch. 3:29 "Is he the God of Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also." Paul is indicating, to the believing Romans, that the God that he preaches is also the God of the Jew and of the Gentiles. Many believed that Jesus Christ was only the Saviour of the Jewish nation. Paul is in essence saying, not only is Christ the Messiah of prophecy but he is also your Saviour as well, as there is only one God who can justify the circumcision by faith.

The text being addressed to the " beloved of God, called to be saints" further indicates the importance of the message as well as Paul's understanding of divine Grace. Paul could have written his letter to "all of the Romans in the world, or the entire Roman empire" but Paul knew that only regenerated believers could have a desire to seek and understand the truth. In the book of Psalms Ch. 10:4 we read "The wicked through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts." This Psalm indicates the understanding that David had regarding the nature of man. David knew that man in his nature was wicked, corrupt, vile and in need of regeneration. The bible teaches that man in his best state is but vanity. Vanity and pride are only two innate characteristics of a wicked man, we could include many more but the pages of the world would fail to hold them. The verse goes on to add "God is not in all of his thoughts." Many suggest that this verse argues that man does have wicked and evil thoughts but not all of his thoughts are as so. However, this final piece rather indicates that God is not in any of his thoughts. In other words, of all of wicked mans thoughts, God is not present in any of them. With this in mind, how then may a man seek God?

In order for evil man, man in his natural state, to seek God he must first be made good. Man must have his conscience purged from dead works, and must be made a new creature. It is necessary for one to realize that man in his natural state is lost, ruined and undone, dead in trespasses and sins. He is without life (spiritual), and is in darkness. He is a corrupt tree and a corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit. Therefore, man in his natural state is incapable of bringing forth fruits of repentance. Consider the scriptures, in the book of Matthew 7:17,18 we read the words of Christ," even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bringeth forth good fruit." The above is also reiterated in the book of Luke 6:43,44. We can further read about the state of man in the book of Hebrews. In Ch. 9:13,14 Paul writes "For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" In this letter Paul is explaining the greatness and fullness of the perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ. What does Paul say the blood of Christ did? He indicates that it purged your conscience from dead works to serve the living God! To purge something is to remove it or to wash it out. Therefore, the removal must take place by God and cannot be made by man. The end result of the biblical teaching is.man is totally dependant upon God when it comes to seeking the ways of God.

The continuation of this essay will be titled The Necessity of God's Drawing Power.