Actually, Van and I agree on this particular point. I was simply asking for clarity on his point of view and he gave it when he said, "Naturally, if we never hear the gospel, we were never "enabled" to trust in it."
In John 6 Jesus said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him."
The question is why aren't these people able to believe and come to Jesus and what must God do in order to enable them?
There are two ways to answer that question:
Calvinistic Answer:
They aren't able to believe and come to Jesus because they were born Totally Depraved by nature, thus God must regenerate them in order to enable them to believe and come to Christ. Thus, this is true of all mankind for all time.
Biblical Answer:
"For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: "He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn--and I would heal them." -John 12:39
Israel was being judicially blinded from the truth of who Christ was, thus they were unable to believe and come to him.
"But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." -John 12:32
After Christ is crucified by the Jews who have been hardened and he is raised up, he will send his chosen remnant into all the world to preach the Gospel, the power of God unto salvation, and thus the MEANS God has chosen to ENABLE or DRAW all men to himself.
The reason the audience in John 6 couldn't believe isn't because they were born "totally depraved," but because they were rebellious for generations and God was now hardening them in that rebellion for a time in order to accomplish redemption for the world. Thus, the way God must enable them is by sending the Gospel as he does once he is lifted up (Acts 1:8) and the Holy Spirit as he does at Pentecost (Acts 2) and look what happens. Many of the same people who cried out "crucify him" were the same people who believed Peter's message and were saved.
