Podcast Summary: Renewing Your Mind

Episode: Man’s Radical Fallenness

Date: September 1, 2025
Host: Ligonier Ministries
Featured Speaker: Dr. R.C. Sproul

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the doctrine of "man's radical fallenness" and the absolute necessity of God's grace in salvation. Drawing from classic teachings in his series Chosen by God, Dr. R.C. Sproul unpacks key New Testament texts to demonstrate humanity's total inability to come to Christ apart from divine intervention. The tone is deeply scriptural and theological, eschewing lightheartedness for sober engagement with the logic and language of the Bible.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Human Inability and Divine Initiative

• Salvation starts with God: “The first step of our justification… is the gracious work of God, the Holy Spirit, and is never the fruit of the flesh.” (A, 00:00)
• Human state without Christ: Before salvation, people aren’t just sick but spiritually dead (Ephesians 2).
• Only the Holy Spirit can quicken us from this state.

2. John 6: Fundamental Verses on Ability

• Universal Negative:
  “No one can come to me unless it is given to him by the Father.” (John 6:65)

  • “No one” is an absolute categorical statement. “It is all inclusive. What Jesus is saying is without exception…” (A, 01:47)

• Clarifying “Can” versus “May”:

  • The word “can” (dunamai in Greek) is about ability not permission.
  • “No one has the ability to come to Jesus.”

• Necessary versus Sufficient Conditions:

  • The phrase “unless it is given by the Father” signals a necessary, not always sufficient, condition. It is a prerequisite—but does not by itself guarantee the outcome.

3. The Meaning of “Draw” in Salvation

• John 6:44: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.”
• Debate on “Draw”:
  • Arminian/Semi-Pelagian view: “Draw” is an enticement, a wooing or attracting, but still resistible.
  • Augustinian/Reformed view: “Draw” (Greek: helkō) means to compel or drag.
• Lexical studies:
  • Sproul refers to lexical sources and New Testament usage where helkō means “to drag” (James 2:6, Acts 16:19).
    • “But when her master saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace…” (A, ~15:40)
  • Kittel’s Theological Dictionary: Defines “draw” as “to compel by irresistible superiority.”
    • “The force of this verse is the force of divine compulsion.” (A, ~18:00)

4. Regeneration Precedes Faith

• John 3 and the Necessity of the New Birth:

  • “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
  • Regeneration (being born again) is required before saving faith or understanding.
    • “Regeneration precedes faith.” (A, ~20:00)
  • Critiques the Semi-Pelagian view that people can choose Christ before regeneration.

• Ephesians 2:

  • While we were dead in sins, God “made us alive.”
  • “Faith is the gift of God that is the result of… the Spirit’s work of regeneration within us…” (A, 22:10)

5. Nature of Man’s Fallenness in Romans 8

• Hostility and Inability:

  • “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:8)
  • The unregenerate are “hostile toward God,” “cannot be subject to the law of God,” and “cannot please God.”

• Transition from Flesh to Spirit:

  • Only those in whom the Spirit dwells—regenerate people—are able to please God and respond in faith.

• Summary Statement:

  • “The crucial prerequisite for salvation is a work of the Holy Spirit. That is the necessary condition, the prerequisite for faith to be present.” (A, 23:35)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “No man can come to me unless it is given to him by the Father.” (A, 01:48)
• “The word ‘can’ has to do with ability... it is to say that no one has the ability to do something.” (A, 01:53)
• “Regeneration precedes faith… even as Paul elsewhere teaches in Ephesians 2, when he says that while we were dead in sin and trespasses, God has quickened us.” (A, 21:55)
• “If we believe that God entices us to Christ, and all we have to do in the flesh prior to our regeneration is cooperate… Then I ask you, what would the flesh profit? Not just something, everything. Your eternal salvation.” (A, ~21:00)
• “The crucial prerequisite for salvation is a work of the Holy Spirit.” (A, 23:35)

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp (MM:SS) | Topic/Quote | |-----------------------|-----------------| | 00:00 | Opening statement on justification and spiritual death | | 01:47 | Introduction to John 6 and man's inability | | 06:30 | Distinction between necessary and sufficient conditions | | 10:10 | The meaning of “draw”—comparison of Arminian and Augustinian views | | 15:40 | Greek word “draw” illustrated with James 2:6, Acts 16:19 | | 18:00 | Lexicographical authority on “draw” - Kittel’s definition | | 19:30 | John 3 and the necessity of regeneration | | 21:40 | Regeneration precedes faith—Augustinian axiom | | 22:20 | Ephesians 2 and faith as a gift | | 23:35 | Salvation’s prerequisite: a work of the Holy Spirit |

Final Summary

Dr. R.C. Sproul thoroughly argues that fallen man is utterly unable to come to Christ apart from the compelling work of the Holy Spirit—a stance rooted in Scripture and Augustinian theology. The episode robustly challenges semi-Pelagian and Arminian perspectives, insisting on the necessity and priority of regeneration by grace alone (sola gratia). The analogies, Greek word studies, and careful distinction between logic categories aim to provide clarity on one of the most fundamental doctrines of Christian salvation.

This summary captures the richness of Dr. Sproul’s teaching to aid those seeking clarity and depth in understanding man’s fallenness and God’s sovereign grace.