Jonathan Edwards on the Moral Inability of Man
March 23, 2009
From The Preaching of Jonathan Edwards, John Carrick
… Edwards maintains, that fallen man suffers moral inability and there are certain things that he simply cannot do. First, (Edwards explains to the Indians in the latest preaching on this text), [December 1751] men cannot make satisfaction for their sins; only God can do that. Second, men cannot earn a righteousness that makes them acceptable before God; only he can provide that. Third, men cannot change their hearts which, yet, must be changed by God. This alone is enough to demonstrate that Edwards was no incipient Arminian. John Calvin never enunciated the sinner’s moral inability more explicitly and lucidly. The sinner suffers total moral inability to save himself or to cooperate in his regeneration.
Other Helpful Resources:
- A Jonathan Edwards Reader
- Ephesians 2:1-5
- Jonathan Edwards: Legacy
- Jonathan Edwards Books
Posted in Jonathan Edwards, Sin, Sovereign Grace, Theology
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