This essay was written as part of the requirements for the Systematic Theology I class I took through Reformed Theological Seminary via their distance education program. www.rts.edu I hope this essay is as much a blessing to you reading it as the blessing I received in writing it.
Man's spiritual body is afflicted with a disease called sin. Unless the correct treatment is applied for this disease, the patient will suffer eternally. Therefore, extreme care must be taken to understand man's spiritual condition. The utmost care must be taken to diagnose a disease that can cause the everlasting ruin of the patient. This disease has been diagnosed by the church in basically two different ways.
The diversity of these two conditions should cause great alarm, since the treatments for each are quite different. Those thinking man is only sick prescribe spiritual therapy in the form of an exercise. They say agree with a few facts, and pray a prayer to God. If this indeed is all that is needed, the man to whom this is prescribe to may not take his problem seriously. He may choose to put off the therapy until he has some open time in his schedule. On the other hand, if man's condition is that his heart is on the verge of collapse and a replacement is needed, putting off the search for a donor heart could prove fatal for the man. Those who believe this is the spiritual condition of man say, God is the only suitable donor, and that man is at God's mercy to receive this new heart.
It is a serious matter that the church today correctly determines the spiritual condition of its patients. As serious is the offense of malpractice is in the medical realm, it is much more serious in the spiritual realm. Malpractice in the spiritual realm has everlasting consequences.
In this essay, the spiritual condition of man will be examined. One must determined if man can restore himself through spiritual therapy, or if his heart is too far gone and needs to be replaced. This is a critical distinction that needs to be determined, for one cannot minister effectively unless he knows the condition of his patient.
Man was originally created without any defect, and perfect in God's sight. After God created man on the 6th day, He said His creation was "very good" [Gen 1:31]. Soon after this declaration by God, something went very wrong. Sin entered God's creation. Adam and Eve were created in a righteous state, but broke the only law God had given them and brought a curse on all of humanity. God's creation changed instantly due to the sin they committed. Creation in a moment was transformed from a state of perfection, to a state of corruption. This sin brought death, and destruction to every part of creation. The most notable affect on man was the corrupting of his heart. Before the fall all his thoughts were pure and holy. After the fall, sin so corrupted his mind that his thoughts were only evil continuously.
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. [Gen 6:5]
Before the fall Adam and Eve were in constant fellowship with God. They fellowshipped with God daily. They considered God their friend, but sin so corrupted their hearts that they now find God as their enemy, and they do what they can to hide from his presence.
And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. [Gen 3:8]
Thus we see the life of Adam and Eve now heading in a different direction. They once fellowshipped with God and were not ashamed, but now they are fearful of God and try to avoid his presence. Sin so infected their hearts, that what once seemed good to them now seems bad. Where they once pursued righteousness, they now pursued wickedness.
As bad as the consequences of this sin were for Adam and Eve, we learn from the scriptures that they were not alone when sinning this sin. Scripture teaches that all of mankind were present at the time the sin was committed.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. [1 Cor 15:22]
This verse concludes that mankind was either present by Adam's representation, or that in some profound way all of mankind were actually present in Adam when he committed the sin. Both positions conclude the exact same thing. The sin Adam committed was treated by God as if every person committed the exact same sin. So whether every person actually committed the sin, or it was only counted to their record as their very own makes no difference. The result is the same. Man starts out from the womb before having committed any actual sins in his own flesh guilty and condemned before God.
As a result of the fall, all of mankind have inherited from their father Adam a corrupted nature. John Calvin refers to this as man having a seed of sin sown in his heart.
Indeed, their whole nature is a seed of sin; hence it can be only hateful and abhorrent to God. [John Calvin. Institutes of the Christian Religion. The Westminster Press, Book 2, ch1.8 pg 251]
This seed of sin is the root of all man's works. Everything man does or plans blossoms from that root. When man does a thing he considers good, he thinks it is so because he is comparing himself to a mass of others just like himself. As long as man sees his works in the light of corrupt humanity, he will have a wrong opinion of himself. God is the only standard of holiness that one is to measure his life against, not corrupt humanity. If perhaps man does do something in exact accordance with God's holy standard, it would not be done in faith, and thus is seen as wickedness in the eyes of God.
God did not put up any barriers to prohibit man from obeying His command. Man is his own barrier to doing good acts that are pleasing to God. His heart desires only to please himself, and not God. Jesus pictures man's situation as a tree, growing according to its seed. The tree will only produce that which was determined by the seed.
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. [Mat 7:18]
Man's problem is that he is a bad tree, and all he can produce is bad fruit. Man's need is to produce one piece of good fruit named repentance, but from what branch will it blossom from? How is this evil tree to bear the one piece of fruit necessary for salvation?
The tree is helpless to change the kind of fruit it produces. The tree needs to be transformed by God, and the same goes for the human heart. Man is a wild olive tree and needs to be grafted into [Rom 11:7] the "Tree of Life". Let's hear the testimony of the scriptures.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? [Jer 17:9]Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one. [Job 14:4]
The bad tree is producing exactly as one would expect. If a bad seed is planted, and nourished by polluted water, it follows that the fruit should be polluted also. If this were not the case, one would be exceedingly amazed. We find a similar case operating in the area of farming. When farmers are not careful to see that their fruit crops are nourished with pure water, the resulting fruits that are produced are polluted and can cause harm to those that eat them. This being the case for polluted water and good seed, how much worse will be the fruit produced by man who has a corrupt seed, and nourishes it was polluted water?
Some propose that man is not born with this seed of sin, and it was not imputed to mankind as a result of the fall. They claim that man is basically good and that he learns sinful behaviors from those around him. They say sin is pass by imitation, not imputation. This position cannot be supported from the scriptures. There is no language in the Bible to support this claim. Instead we find much evidence to support that sin was indeed passed by imputation. That is to say, man is born with the seed of sin in his heart.
For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. [Rom 5:19]
This verse does not make any room for sin being propagated by imitation. Since all were made sinners because of one man's disobedience, then all were made sinners before they even had the opportunity to imitate another's sin. That is, they were made sinners without committing any personal sins in their flesh.
Let's suppose for a moment that Adam was only an example as the objector proposes, and the results of his disobedience was not imputed to his posterity, then they are forced by the text to conclude the same about Christ. The verse would then simply teach that Adam was a bad example, and Christ was a good example. This conclusion, if true, would leave humanity in a most pitiful condition. If the only hope one has in his life to be righteous, is to copy the example of Christ, he has failed before he even started, for he has many past sins that could not be forgiven by simply following Christ's example. What he really needs is Christ righteousness imputed to him. Only by Christ's full obedience being credited to one's account, can any be considered righteous in God's sight.
Through the sin of Adam all were made sinners, but through the obedience of Christ many will be made righteous. Scripture teaches us that Adam was a pattern of him that was to come.
Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. [emphasis mine] [Rom 5:14]And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [emphasis mine] was made a quickening spirit. [1 Cor 15:45]
The parallel between the disobedient work of Adam, and the obedient work of Christ is crucial to our understanding of Christ's work on the cross. We learn through this parallel the profound principle of imputation. When first looking at the principle of imputation it seems unfair, but upon closer inspection this principle is the only way any person can be saved. If Christ's righteousness could not be imputed to a sinner, then the first sin a person committed would secure his eternal punishment, for he would have no way to remove that offence from his account. If the teaching that Adam's disobedience resulted in the imputation of sin is rejected, the teaching that Jesus's obedience resulted in the imputation of righteousness must also be rejected.
Therefore, the doctrine of Adam's imputed sin must be boldly affirmed, knowing there is still hope for mankind through the imputed righteousness of Christ!
Man's corruption by sin is so complete, that he is incapable of even desiring to be saved. Instead of fully embracing God's gracious provision of salvation, man curses the thought of holiness, and any god that gets in his way of limiting his pleasure.
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. [Rom 8:7-8]
Many today think that man can please God while still being in the flesh. They will not admit to this teaching, but that is what their doctrine of salvation teaches. When they say, man aided by the Holy Spirit can either accept or reject the gospel, they are saying man has the natural ability in his flesh to desire salvation. They say, when man accepts the gospel, God gives him a new heart, forgives his sins, and then he becomes a child of God. They pass over the essential detail of what happens to cause a person to want to desire God, when his whole life was spent running away from Him. They don't even consider for a moment that God may have changed the person's heart.
Asking them a simple question should help them see the real issue. Is man in the flesh or in the spirit when he accepts the gospel? Their doctrine forces them to say in the flesh, for they believe God gives the new heart after a person accepts the gospel. But the scripture clearly lays out for us that man can do nothing in the flesh acceptable or pleasing to God. Since faith and repentance are good things, and very pleasing to God, man cannot be in the flesh and produce such works. His heart corrupted by sin cannot produce such a work. He must be in the spirit and have a changed heart, or he would not do such a noble thing as believe the gospel. God must change a person's desire and will, or he will never respond to the gospel. It is only after God renews a person's heart that he will desire to be saved.
The Bible speaks of salvation as God opening the eyes of the blind. The Bible never speaks of salvation as God opening the eyes of the blind man, closing them, and then waiting for the poor sinner to cry open! Once God opens a person's eyes to see the glory of heaven, and the stench of hell, he will always choose the glory of heaven. People are not looking forward to spending eternity with the reprobate in hell. Therefore, if this is currently the direction they are heading, it is because they think otherwise. As long as man remains in the flesh, his eyes remain forever shut and unable to grasp a single gospel truth.
There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. [Rom 3:11-12]
I particularly like the way John Calvin's phrases this.
We must now analyze what human reason can discern with regard to God's Kingdom and to spiritual insight. This spiritual insight consists chiefly in three things: (1) knowing God; (2) knowing his fatherly favor in our behalf, in which our salvation consists; (3) knowing how to frame our life according to the rule of his law. In the first two points- and especially in the second- the greatest geniuses are blinder than moles! [emphasis mine] [John Calvin, Book 2, ch 2.18 pg 277]
Unless God opens a blind person's eyes to see the beauty of Christ, he will forever be shut out from the kingdom of God. Many sinners are deluded by preachers who teach that man can produce faith while still being in the flesh. Is it then any wonder why so may choose to put off salvation, thinking one day they will commit their life to Christ? Instead, it would profit the sinner greatly if the preaching he heard destroy all of this confidence. A sinners confidence in his flesh will bring him to ruin.
The flesh will keep putting off salvation while it tries to get its fill of sin, but it never gets its fill. Thus the poor sinner goes through life thinking he can be saved any day he chooses. The tragedy is the sinner truly believes that he can be saved any day he chooses, for this is what has been told to him many times. He is not told that he is dependent on the mercy of God to be saved, and that his flesh will never choose to be saved, nor will his flesh ever desire to be saved. Thus he goes happily through life planning to get right with God some time in the future.
The poor sinner is happy being held captive by satan, thinking he has the key to set himself free any day he desires. When the real story is that he needs God to change his heart to desire the things of God.
And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. [John 6:65]
Once God does this, man's first desire will be to be saved. He will desire to be delivered from his wretched state, and live according to the righteous standard of Christ.
In addition to the seed of sin that man has in his heart, he also has the seed of religion that was planted in his heart by God. This phrase "seed of religion" is used by John Calvin to convey an important truth in scripture.
As experience shows, God has sown a seed of religion in all men. [John Calvin, book 1 ch 4.1 pg 47]
Though the seed of religion is a noble seed, it is not able to take root and blossom, because it has been overtaken by the seed of sin. The seed of sin blossomed quickly and therefore keeps the seed of religion from getting "Son light", or water from the Word. Thus this seed of religion never produces any profitable fruit. It does however from time to time awaken the sinner from his slumber. This seed may only awaken the sinner for short periods of time, but when it does, the message it gives is unmistakable. It informs the sinner that there is a God, and that his evil deeds will be judged one day. This message discomforts the sinner for a time, until his heart can cause him to forget about this sacred message. But the sinner can only forget for a season, for every man has etched on his heart that there is a God, and that he will have to face this God someday. He tries to efface this sacred message, but is never successful.
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: [Rom 1:20]
So rather than deal honestly with his thoughts of God, he tries to convince himself that he is rather righteous. Some accomplish this by performing token deeds in hopes of appeasing this God. John Calvin has a very cleaver way of stating this.
But while they know that his inescapable power hangs over them because they can neither do away with it nor flee from it, they recoil from it in dread. And so, lest they should everywhere seem to despise him whose majesty weights upon them, they perform some semblance of religion. [John Calvin, Book 1 ch 4.4, pg 50]
This fake appeasing of God makes the sinner feel quite good about himself. He knows that serving God full time would get in the way of his pleasure, yet he does not want to offend such a powerful being. Therefore he may go to church once in a while, donate some money to the poor, and give up a sin or two. These acts instead of bringing the man closer to God, actually take him further away, for they give him a false sense of righteousness. The longer a man engages in this game he plays with God, the more he convinces himself that all is well with his soul. So much so that if he should ever hear the gospel, he may not be willing to trade his pile of garbage for faith alone in Christ.
Bible describes man as running away from God, corrupted by sin, completely unprofitable, and blind. If one still thinks man is capable of believing the gospel while still being in that state, the Bible provides another word to silence those skeptics, who should be speechless by now.
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) [Eph 2:5]And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; [Col 2:13]
The Bible does not present a picture of man as simply handicapped by sin. Nor does it teach man is a little sick and just needs some help from God. Instead, the Bible presents the picture of man as a corpse. Man is spiritually dead and is utterly helpless to change his situation. Just as Lazarus, when dead needed to be given power to obey the command "come forth", so man in his depraved state must be given power to believe the gospel.
.. he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth.. [John 11:43-44]
How was it that Lazarus being dead was able to hear the command of our Lord and obey it? How is it that one dead in sins is able to hear the command repent and believe? The answer is this, God quickens [makes alive] the person so that he can respond. This is exactly the description we are given in the Bible concerning salvation. Man in his natural state, with the seed of sin in full bloom, cannot apply the meaning of God's words concerning salvation to his life, let alone respond in faith to them!
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. [1 Cor 2:14]
The natural man is dead concerning his need for salvation. He may hear of everlasting judgements for those without Christ, but is convinced he has no such sins in his own life worthy of such punishment. Thus commanding the one dead in sins to repent and believe, is similar to commanding a corpse to rise. Neither has any power to respond to the command. Both are equally dependent upon the power of God to respond.
Objections may be raised to the doctrine of man's total depravity. One is certain to say, if man is utterly unable to respond to the gospel in his natural state, why is man then responsible to obey God when he is unable to do so?"
Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions. [Eccl 7:29]
That verse answers our objector's question well. God created man perfect. Man corrupted himself, through disobedience. Man is eternally obligated to fulfil all manners of God's holy commands. The fact that man disobeyed God and corrupted himself, does not change any of God's holy requirements. Man's inability to obey all of God commands in his natural state will never be a justification for doing evil. The standard, "be ye holy; for I am holy" [1 Pet 1:16] will stand throughout eternity as the only measure of righteousness. The problem is not with God's perfect and holy law, the problem is in man. God remains forever faithful, it is man who sought out many inventions !
A second objection is raised . To those who hold to the doctrine of the total depravity of man, it is asked, why even bother preaching the gospel? If man in his natural state is unable to respond, why trouble yourself in praying or preaching to them?
The answer is quite simple. God uses means to accomplish his purposes. God has ordained the gospel as the only means of salvation, and He is present doing whatsoever He wills when the gospel is given out. A person needs to be given power from God to be able to respond to the gospel. The Christian's job it to give out the gospel. God's job is to give out the power. If God did not change a person's heart so he could believe, then certainly all preaching would be vain. For none would ever respond.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: [John 1:12]
George Whitefield answered this very objection years ago when John Wesley raised it. Here is how Whitefield responded to this charge in his day.
O dear Sir, what kind of reasoning—or rather sophistry—is this! Hath not God, who hath appointed salvation for a certain number, appointed also the preaching of the Word as a means to bring them to it? Does anyone hold election in any other sense? And if so, how is preaching needless to them that are elected, when the gospel is designated by God himself to be the power of God unto their eternal salvation? And since we know not who are elect and who reprobate, we are to preach promiscuously to all. For the Word may be useful, even to the non-elect, in restraining them from much wickedness and sin. However, it is enough to excite to the utmost diligence in preaching and hearing, when we consider that by these means, some, even as many as the Lord hath ordained to eternal life, shall certainly be quickened and enabled to believe. And who that attends, especially with reverence and care, can tell but he may be found of that happy number? [Whitefield's Letter to Wesley, Bethesda in Georgia, Dec. 24, 1740] A B
Great harm can be done to the sinner when he is told he has the power to believe the gospel. If people are deluded by that lie, they may choose to put off salvation thinking a more convenient season will come. Whereas the doctrine of total depravity has a natural tendency to awaken the lethargic sinner, creating a crisis in his soul. Thus by telling a one he can do something in his natural state to make himself right with God might just lull him to sleep.
A third objection is, if the natural man is not able to respond to the gospel, then is Christ making fun of man through His invitation?
Absolutely not! God earnestly offers salvation to all of man-kind. He truly desires for all men to receive the gospel and be saved.
For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye. [Ezek 18:32]
God's offer of salvation is very reasonable, it was man's free choice to sin that has made him very unreasonable. God has not denied salvation to any that are willing to come to Him on His terms. Man is the problem, not God! The examples in scripture of God's love and mercy are too numerous for us to conclude otherwise.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! [Mat 23:37]
God is willing to save any that accept his generous offer of salvation, though He is not obligated to save any. John Bunyan states this truth the following way.
But I say, as I have also said already, there is a great difference between his being willing to save them, through their complying with these his reasonable terms, and his being resolved to save them, whether they, as men, will close therewith, or no; [John Bunyan. The Works of John Bunyan Vol 2, Reprobation Asserted, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1991, pg 353]
Consider this humorous illustration of a house on fire and people trapped inside. Firemen stand beneath a window with a net yelling "jump" to those trapped inside the house. The firemen are quite strong and able to keep those that jump into the net from hurting themselves. The firemen wait for someone to jump, but none jump. The firemen cry louder, "jump or else you will die", but those inside are busy merrily seeking their pleasures, and ignore all the warning sounds around them. They heard the firemen yelling jump, smelled the smoke, and saw the fire truck outside. But they thought the problem was with their neighbors house and not theirs. They reasoned, certainly if the problem was with our house we would have heard our trusty smoke detector sound a warning.
Deluded, those trapped inside continue in their merriment. One fireman who sees the blaze getting stronger and more fierce, spies two inside the house and he determines to go in after them. When he reaches the two he previously spied, he takes them by the hand, and walks them outside of the house. As soon as they are outside the house, the roof collapses and those left inside die instantly. Upon the two seeing this, they express there gratefulness to this fireman. The two thought to themselves, unless the fireman came and led us out, we too must surely have perished.
This simple illustration shows that the firemen with the net did indeed offer salvation to all that were in the house, yet those in the house were so deluded they perceived not the real value of the firemen with the net below. God's offer of salvation is to all of mankind, yet man in his folly does not perceive the peril surrounding him. The one firemen who went inside, for reasons known only to himself, choose two of the group in the house to effectual call and bring out. This parallels those whose heart God changes so they will desire to escape the judgements for their sins. Those that perished, did so because of their own choosing. No one prohibited them from jumping to safety. The firemen were not laughing at the lack of response from those inside. In fact, the firemen cried all the louder.
Those inside had believed a lie, and no violence was done to them by not being taken out as the two. Those that died in the house left a powerful image on the minds of those that were led out. This is the same image left on the minds of those to whom God has changed their hearts. They think to themselves, but for the grace of God, there go I.
Man with his corrupt heart is not the least concerned with the things of the Spirit, nor will he ever be unless God changes his heart. Man is more concerned with collecting stuff, and sinning as his heart pleases. When he looks at his life, he finds many things that he thinks should be improved upon, but he considers none of what he finds worthy of the judgement of God. He compares his life against some more vile sinners than himself, and considers his own situation quite good. This he hopes and trusts will be enough to gain him entrance into heaven. As foolish as this is to a logical mind, it seem quite reasonable to a man with a heart corrupted by sin. John Calvin's way of stating this truth is quite interesting.
For errors can never be uprooted from human hearts until true knowledge of God is planted therein. [John Calvin. Book 1 ch 4.3 pg 73]
The natural man's heart is so overtaken by sin, that if the gospel reaches it, it soon disappears in a mire of wickedness. If God does not change his heart, the gospel will never profit him.
Many are deluded and believe they have all they need to save themselves when a convenient season arises. When the truth is, they don't have what is essential for salvation, that is, the power to believe. If a natural man is ever to believe the gospel, something external to him must cause it. God must convince his heart of his need for Christ. When God changes a person's heart, his response will be a joyful acceptation of the gospel. The Bible is very clear that this kind of joy cannot be produced by the flesh. A heart loving evil will not suddenly rejoice in righteousness, without a change taking place. The heart of the natural man delights in wickedness, not righteousness.
Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. [emphasis mine] [Rom 1:31-32]
Logically, those who reject the total depravity of man should conclude that they made better use of their mental faculties than all those who are perishing and on their way to hell. Whether it be they were wiser, or maybe humbler, they should confess that they made the difference in salvation rather than God. John Bunyan captures well the seriousness of this error by referring to it as a "high crime against Emmanuel our Prince". Bunyan reasons,
thou hast robbed God of his glory, and given it to a sinful man; thou hast robbed Christ of the necessity of his undertaking, and the sufficiency thereof, and hast given these to the works of the flesh. Thou hast despised the work of the Holy Ghost, and hast magnified the will of the flesh, and the legal mind. [John Bunyan, The Works of John Bunyan Vol 3, The Banner or Truth Trust, 1991, The Holy War, pg 368]
Once one rejects that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, he should be consistent and adjust his life-style to fit that doctrine as well. He needs to stop praying for God to save those that are lost and without Christ. For if each person can accept or reject the gospel without God changing his heart, why pray for God to do something that the sinner already has the ability to do? Charles H. Spurgeon once proposed a prayer for these people who's prayer and doctrine do not agree. In order for their prayer to match their doctrine Spurgeon suggests this prayer.
"Lord, I thank thee I am not like those poor presumptuous Calvinists. Lord, I was born with a glorious free-will; I was born with power by which I can turn to thee of myself; I have improved my grace. If everybody had done the same with their grace that I have, they might all have been saved. Lord, I know thou dost not make us willing if we are not willing ourselves. Thou givest grace to everybody; some do not improve it, but I do. There are many that will go to hell as much bought with the blood of Christ as I was; they had as much of the Holy Ghost given to them; they had as good a chance, and were as much blessed as I am. It was not thy grace that made us to differ; I know it did a great deal, still I turned the point; I made use of what was given me, and others did not, that is the difference between me and them." That is a prayer for the devil, for nobody else would offer such a prayer as that. [C. H. Spurgeon, The New Park Street Pulpit, Baker Book House, 1994, Free-Will-- A Slave, No. 52, pg 401]]
Just thinking about mouthing such a prayer should cause one to tremble. The words expressed in that prayer are foreign to any teaching in the Bible. The Bible exhorts those called by Christ to be meek and humble, not arrogant and proud. Yet this prayer is consistent with the false teaching of man being able to respond to the gospel in his natural state.
In prayer, people speak what they really believe concerning the state of the natural man's heart. They pray in unison for God to open eyes, open ears, change hearts, and save sinners. This is the true doctrine they believe no matter what they profess with their mouth. They do not pray for a person to make better use of his natural abilities so he will come to Christ. Man's problem is his heart is tainted by sin. Making better use of such a heart, will not bring salvation. The heart of the natural man will not respond to the gospel no matter how many fine sounding arguments it is presented with. He will conclude all arguments irrelevant to him, unless God changes his heart.
So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. [Rom 9:16]