Natural Foolishness

Everything in nature is against believing in Jesus Christ. What beauty can the blind man discern in a crucified Savior, for which he is to be desired? How can the will, naturally impotent, yes, and averse to good, make choice of Him? Well may the soul then say to Him in the day of the spiritual siege, as the Jebusite said to David in another case, “Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither” (2 Samuel 5:6b). The way of nature is to go into oneself for all according to the fundamental maxim of unsanctified morality, “That a man should trust in himself ” which, according to the doctrine of faith, is mere foolishness—for so it is determined that “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool” (Proverbs 28:26). Now faith is the soul’s going out of itself for all—and this, nature, on the other hand, determines to be foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18-23). Therefore, there is need of the working of mighty power to cause sinners to believe (Ephesians 1:19; Isaiah 53:1). We see the promises of welcome to sinners in the gospel-covenant are ample, large, and free, clogged with no conditions (Isaiah 55:1; Revelation 22:17). If they cannot believe His bare word, He has given His oath upon it (Ezekiel 33:11); and, for their greater assurance, He has annexed seals to His sworn covenant, namely, the holy sacraments—so that no more could be demanded of the most faithless person in the world to make us believe Him than the Lord has condescended to give us, to make us believe Himself. This plainly speaks nature to be against believing; and speaks of those who flee to Christ for a refuge to have need of strong consolation (Hebrews 6:18) to balance their strong doubts and propensity to unbelief. Further, it also may be observed how in the word sent to a secure, graceless generation, their objections are answered beforehand; and words of grace are heaped one upon another as you may read in Isaiah 55:7-9; Joel 2:13. Why? Because the Lord knows, that when these secure sinners are thoroughly awakened, doubts, fears, and carnal reasonings against believing will be getting into their breasts as thick as dust in a house raised by sweeping a dry floor.

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