john calvin

"We certainly obey God with our will, but it is with a will which he has formed in us. Those, apart from the grace of God, do nothing else than rend the Holy Spirit. Paul declares, not that a faculty of willing is given to us, but that the will itself is formed in us (Phil. 2:13), so that from none else but God is the assent or obedience of a right will. He acts within, holds our hearts, moves our hearts, and draws us by the inclinations which he has produced in us. So says Augustine. What a preparation can there be in a heart of iron, until by a wondrous change it begins to be a heart of flesh?" - John Calvin

So I read this (from R.C. Sprouls book "Willing to Believe") and the first thought to mind is, if there is an inclination towards good and that only comes from God, what happened in the garden of eden? How did Adam, created perfect, incline himself towards eating of the fruit? I then must understand that it was not God who inclined Adam to do wrong, but, it is Him, who inclines us to do good. Even today with a regenerate heart my decision process begs of me to choose between right and wrong. I am inclined towards good, and the only reason I know that is by how bad I feel when I do wrong ("the shadow proves the sunshine"). If we were living in darkness, we would hate the light, but a child of God has an opposite perspective. Until the Lord has begun a work in me, and inclined my will toward good, I am a servent to sin. But who saves us, the Messiah, Yeshua, Jesus. All praise belongs to Him!