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Hi.

I've been seeking the Lord for my Salvation and I come across the responsibility of man as mentioned in the Bible.

 

So, I  wanted to ask about the Responsibility of man and the Grace of God, Sovereignty of God.

The Bible in different places commands us to do something, or rather, to change.
For example,

In 1 Peter 5:6, 
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time."

James 4:10
"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up"

Matthew 23:12
"And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Ezekiel 18:31
"Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel?"

2 Chronicles 7:14
"if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

And GOD, throughout the old testament, keeps telling Israel and even other nations also at times like- Nineveh (Jonah), through Prophets, etc  to Repent and turn to HIM.
And in the New Testament, we are told to Repent and Believe.

These verses seem to put it up, like humbling oneself or having a new heart and a new spirit, to Repent, as human responsibility to do what's been asked of us to do.
And so it implies also that we naturally have the ability to do what's been asked of us to do and  that it's possible for us to do it without God's help, just by our will? Because if we can't', then why would He ask that of us?

But the Bible also puts things the other way, which seems opposite, that we can do these things only by God's Intervention/ Grace, power:

Acts 16:14
".....The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul"

Luke 24:45
"Then He[Jesus] opened their minds to understand the Scriptures"

Acts 18:26-40, The case of the Ethiopian Eunuch

Ezekiel 11:19 (cf. Ezekiel 36:26, Hebrews 8:10, Jeremiah 32:33)
"And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh"

In Daniel 4, God humbles Nebuchadnezzar, after which he praises God, for doing so and humbling him.

So, what should we do when we come across such commands in the Bible?

Should we wait for God to do something that we can't or we don't have the ability (will) to unless God intervenes in some way, or,
should we do what we are commanded to (to Repent, be Humble, change our hearts and minds) assuming that have the ability(the will)?
It is said that we have the ability and faculties for dong what we are commanded to do, that if we 'will', we can do it, but that the problem is that we can't Truly 'will' without the work, influence of God in our heart.


Spurgeon says about this :
"The question is, are men ever found naturally willing to submit to the humbling terms of the gospel of Christ? We declare, upon Scriptural authority, that the human will is so desperately set on mischief, so depraved, and so inclined to everything that is evil, and so disinclined to everything that is good, that without the powerful. supernatural, irresistible influence of the Holy Spirit, no human will ever be constrained towards Christ".


If this is True, then,
How should we then carry out our Responsibility ?
 

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God does the enabling according to scripture, this is absolutely true.

 

John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

 

When a person is drawn to God, it is at that point they must humble themselves and cry out to Him for salvation.  For some this happens quickly, others are more obstinate.  Whether one reaches rock bottom before they humble themselves or not is entirely up to them, the Lord is patient.

God bless

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