The Bible teaches that while all men are under obligation to believe in God, fallen humanity lacks the inherent capability to do so due to their sinful nature.
The concept of duty faith asserts that all individuals are called to believe in God and respond to His commandments; however, the Scripture reveals a profound reality about human nature's depravity following the Fall. Passages like 1 Corinthians 2:14 and Romans 8:7-8 articulate that the natural man is incapable of spiritual comprehension and responsiveness due to his sinful state. Consequently, while God's perfect law commands faith and obedience, fallen man, depraved and alienated from God, lacks both the will and the ability to fulfill this duty inherently. The denial of duty faith emphasizes that urging unregenerate individuals to believe without acknowledging their inability and the sovereign grace of God is to misjudge the true condition of the human heart. Hence, as elucidated in Ecclesiastes 12:13 and Luke 17:10, while it is indeed every man's duty to fear God and keep His commandments, this obligation presupposes an ability that unregenerate man does not possess apart from divine intervention.
Scripture References:
I Corinthians 2:14, Romans 8:7-8, Ecclesiastes 12:13, Luke 17:10, Ephesians 2:8-9, John 1:12-13, Romans 9:15-16, 2 Peter 1:1, John 6:44, Acts 16:31, Acts 2:38
Commentary