God's Grace Alone

This text clearly reveals fundamental truths that fueled the preaching of the Reformers: mankind's plight because of their spiritually dead nature and God's predestinating love (cf. chapter 1) and electing grace. Man is not just sick or weak and needing a little help from God to cross over into salvation, but he is "dead on arrival" when he is born. He is as helpless to raise himself from spiritual death as Lazarus was helpless to raise himself from 4 days of death. It is only God's initiating grace that brings about our deliverance from spiritual death and our entrance into spiritual life through the saving work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.