The gospel of man proclaims that he can do much, more even than God. The gospel of man proclaims God the Father wills to save all men, God the Son died to save all men, and God the Spirit offers salvation to all men and gives them grace to believe. But God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is unable to save them all because man is able to resist and overcome His grace.

The gospel of Jesus proclaims something entirely different. Natural man, ungodly man, unregenerated man, is not able. He is not able to live, move, or have any being apart from God (Acts 17:28). Being spiritually dead (L.D. 8), man is not able to do good works (L.D. 24) and not able to resist God’s will or grace (Rom. 9:19). Man is ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth (II Tim. 3:7). Many will seek to enter the kingdom but shall not be able (Luke 13:24). Man mocks God, saying He is not able to save or to fulfill His promises (II Chr. 32:14; Deut. 9:28). Believing not, man will not be able to abide the Lord’s indignation (Jer. 10:10). Silver and gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath (Zeph. 1:18). They will not be able to hide or be able to escape (Jer. 49:10; Jer. 11:11), but shall be cast down and not be able to rise (Ps. 36:12).

God, however, is able. He is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matt. 10:28). He is able to save and to destroy (James 4:12). He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think (Eph. 3:20). He is able to deliver from the burning, fiery furnace (Dan. 3:17). He is able to abase those that walk in pride (Dan. 4:37). And He is able to make all grace abound toward us (II Cor. 9:8). Being God, our Lord Jesus Christ is equally able. He is able to subdue all things unto Himself (Phil. 3:21). He is able to save to the uttermost those who come unto the Father by Him since He ever lives to make intercession for them (Heb. 7:25). And in that He Himself suffered being tempted, He is able to help those who are tempted (Heb. 2:18).

Being God-breathed and applied to our hearts by the Spirit of God, the Scriptures are also able. They are able to make us wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus (II Tim. 3:15). Engrafted in us, the word is able to save our souls (James 1:21). It is able to build us up and give us an inheritance among all them who are sanctified (Acts 20:32). Elders who hold fast the faithful word that they have been taught are able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers (Tit. 1:9). And the church must commit the teachings of Scripture to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also (II Tim. 2:2).

With few exceptions, no one born-again, regenerated, justified, converted, and sanctified through Jesus by the Spirit of God should ever say, “I can’t.” We like to, in order to excuse our sins. But then we blame God. For God is able to make all grace abound toward us, that we may abound to every good work (II Cor. 9:8). He makes us able to receive His Word (Matt. 19:12), able to stand (Rom. 14:4), able to serve in His house (I Chr. 9:13), able to fight sin (I Chr. 5:18), able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked (Eph. 6:16), able to speak wisdom (Luke 21:15), able to admonish one another (Rom. 15:14), and able to believe. Especially we believe that God is able to do what He says (Matt. 9:28). Abraham was fully persuaded that what God promised He was able also to perform (Rom. 4:21). Paul likewise, knowing whom he believed, was persuaded that God was able to keep that which was committed to Him (II Tim. 1:12). Therefore our faithful God will not allow us to be tempted above what we are able (I Cor. 10:13). No man is able to pluck out of His hand those whom He has given to Jesus (John 10:29). And nothing is able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:39). Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling and able to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.