Pastor John, you said humans do not have free will as in having ultimate self-determination

in choosing Christ. That was last time in episode 307. And so if there is no free will in this sense,

and therefore God is the ultimate determining cause that finally decides my choice of Christ,

then how are sinners held accountable for what they cannot do?

Right. So we saw last time from Romans 8, 7, and 1st Corinthians 2, 14, we cannot, we don't have

the moral ability to grasp and submit to God's will in Christ. We don't have the ability to see him

as beautiful. He is not compelling to us. We are spiritually blind, dead.

Can we then be held accountable? That's the question now. The Bible says that we are accountable

for what we can't do in this regard. And so what we're really asking is, is there a way to understand

that? I mean, it clearly we are accountable, and clearly we can't come up with the kind of freedom

we have to have in order to embrace Christ as compelling. That's the question. And I think there

is some help in the Bible for understanding how this works. In Romans 1, 18, goes like this,

the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,

who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. So that's what we do. We suppress the truth

for what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. So everybody

knows God. Everybody has seen God and knows God. Verse 20, therefore, so they are without excuse.

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give him thanks. So I mean, that

word, therefore, is theologically really packed. Therefore, they are without excuse.

Therefore, they are responsible for suppressing the truth. So the Bible does address the terms

of accountability. There's something before that. Therefore, what are they? Well, here's what it

appears from the text. You must have access to knowledge. You're expected to respond to. Therefore,

they have that knowledge. Therefore, they are without excuse. If you didn't have the knowledge,

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