Could we agree that man is a reactionary?
By this I mean: Man acts depending upon what external forces motivate him.
a. I work, earn money, primarily to provide shelter, (motivated by external need to provide shelter).
b. I work, to provide sustenance for my physical body
c. I work to pursue accumulation of "wealth" at least to an extent to which I am able to live a more comfortable life.
d. I work to provide for my family (as the other things also are provided), those things I perceive they are desirous of.
e. I work righteously because God has worked in me His righteousness. Not before am I able to work the righteousness of God, but only that comparable to the Pharisees. Jesus said: except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees...
The will of man, is something which motivates toward certain of these goals. The will of man, however is depraved, like it or not, it fell, being part of Adam, when Adam fell, like it or not I have inherited this depraved will. When I attempt from out of this depraved will to bring forth righteousness, it results in something less than the righteousness of God revealed in Christ. Unless God moves upon me to provide me with that righteousness, I am unable to obtain it.
Consider this and reconcile it with your ideas of the ability of man to will himself into a relationship with God through Christ:
"And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever. Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." Gen. 3.22-24
Why did God expell man from the Garden? Because man disobeyed God. What else do we learn from vs. 22? "...lest he put forth his hand and eat, and live for ever." God also expelled man from the garden of Eden to prevent the eating of the fruit of the tree of life in his depraved condition and living in this condition. Note the words: "lest he take" also note the tree of life, while man was in his original state of innocence was not forbidden to be eaten from, yet in the will of man, yet sinless, he chose to hearken to the pleasures of sin for a season and partake of that forbidden, how now can we hope the fallen will of man can do any thing but the same or worse? Without the Spirit of God to turn him, he cannot be turned.
God Bless.
Bro. Dallas