the sinner is spiritually dead and unable to respond to divine stimuli. This lack of ability does not excuse him from guilt or make him any less responsible to God, because his inability is his own doing. The sinner cannot respond positively to God because he will not. Although he possesses the necessary capacity to both know God and understand His revealed will, he suppresses what he knows to be true.8 His love for unrighteousness and desire for autonomy makes him so hostile to God that he simply cannot bring himself to acknowledge Him or obey His law.
