The Bible teaches that in our natural, fallen state, humans do not seek after God. Left to ourselves, we are inclined to go our own way and live for our own purposes rather than seeking after the one true God. This does not mean that people are incapable of religious seeking or spiritual interest. But true seeking after the biblical God only occurs when God draws us to himself.
There are several passages in Scripture that point to the human tendency to avoid seeking after God:
- “As it is written: ‘There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.'” (Romans 3:10-11)
- “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way.” (Isaiah 53:6)
- “The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.” (Romans 8:7)
- “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19)
These verses indicate that, in our natural state, we avoid seeking God. Instead, we seek our own interests and pursue our own agendas. Part of the impact of the fall into sin was a heart inclined away from God and toward sin and unrighteousness. So even religion and spirituality that does not arise from God’s initiative tends to be self-seeking rather than God-seeking.
The book of Romans further explains this concept. In the opening chapters, Paul shows how all humanity is under the power of sin and therefore under just condemnation from God. Both Gentiles and Jews are declared to be under sin (Romans 3:9). And being under sin means that our natural tendency is to avoid seeking after God. Romans 3:11, quoted above, is clear that in this sinful state no one seeks after God.
This changes, however, when God takes the initiative through the work of Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. By God’s grace, he draws us to himself, opens our eyes, changes our hearts, and enables us to turn to him in repentance and faith. He is the one who seeks after us even when we were running from him. As Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15:16). And no one can come to the Father unless he is drawn by God (John 6:44).
The effects of the fall into sin
To understand why humanity does not seek God, we have to start with the effects of the fall into sin as described in Genesis 3. Prior to the first sin, Adam and Eve lived in perfect communion with God. But after rebelling against God’s command and eating the forbidden fruit, several consequences occurred:
- Their eyes were opened to their nakedness and they hid from God (Genesis 3:7-8)
- They became fearful of God’s presence (Genesis 3:8-10)
- They were banished from Eden and God’s presence (Genesis 3:23-24)
- The ground was cursed on account of Adam’s sin (Genesis 3:17-19)
- Pain was multiplied in childbirth for Eve (Genesis 3:16)
- Adam would have painful toil in work (Genesis 3:17-19)
- Death entered the human race (Genesis 3:19)
In addition to these consequences, the most fundamental result of the fall was the inclination of the human heart against God. Created for relationship with God, humans now rejected God’s rule and sought autonomy. Made to reflect God’s glory, humans now sought self-glory and hid from God’s presence. The impulse of the human heart was now turned away from God.
The book of Romans affirms this tragic result of the fall. Romans 1:18-32 describes how humanity “suppresses the truth” about God (v. 18) and denies proper worship to him (v. 21). futile thinking and darkened hearts characterize the human condition after the fall (vv. 21-22). Romans 3:9-20 summarizes that no one is righteous before God and no one seeks after God. This is the state of sin and its effects on the human heart.
So the fundamental reason that no one seeks God is because the innate impulse of the human heart is now turned away from God. Humans seek their own interests, suppress truth about God, and avoid seeking after him. The sinful mindset is hostile to God (Romans 8:7).Our only hope is for God to change our hearts.
The blindness and darkness of sin
The Bible frequently uses metaphors of blindness and darkness to describe the spiritual state of those who do not know God. For example:
- “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)
- “You were dead in your transgressions and sins … following the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” (Ephesians 2:1-2)
- “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14)
- “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of human beings who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” (Romans 1:18)
This blindness and darkness stems from sin. In rejecting God, we became blind to spiritual truth and the reality of God’s glory and character. Driven by sinful desires and bent toward unrighteousness, we cannot accept or comprehend the things of God apart from the Spirit’s work in our lives.
Jesus described himself as “the light of the world” (John 8:12) who came to bring sight to the blind (Luke 4:18). When talking with Nicodemus, he said that people loved darkness rather than light because of the evil in their hearts (John 3:19-20). Paul, before his conversion, was blinded by hatred for Christ (Acts 9:1-9). But after his conversion, his spiritual eyes were opened and the scales fell away so he could see the truth.
This blindness to spiritual truth and inability to truly seek God is the natural human condition after the fall. We need God to shine his light into our darkness through the gospel message and the illuminating work of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 4:6).
The natural hostility toward God
In addition to spiritual blindness, the human heart is characterized by hostility toward God after the fall. Paul describes this reality:
The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:7-8)
The values, pursuits, and priorities of the world are opposed to God’s standards and precepts. The fleshly mind does not accept God’s law. It refuses to submit to him. It cannot please him. So in our natural, fleshly state, we are actively opposed to God, not inclined to seek him or desire his rule in our lives. We follow the value system of the world, not of the kingdom.
Jesus highlighted this truth when he said no one can follow him unless God enables them (John 6:65). Even Peter swore allegiance to Christ but then denied him three times. He was willing but unable in his own strength. Only through the Spirit would the disciples have power to be witnesses for Christ (Acts 1:8).
The hostility of the human heart against God is why no one seeks him apart from the work of the Spirit. We follow the desires of the flesh, not the convictions of the Spirit, when left in our natural state (see Galatians 5:16-17). God must crucify the fleshly nature in order for us to walk in the Spirit and truly seek after him.
God’s initiative in drawing people to himself
Given these realities of human sinfulness, darkness, and hostility toward God, the only way someone begins seeking after God is if God takes the initiative to open their eyes, change their heart, and draw them to himself. Scripture makes it clear that illumination and repentance are gifts from God, not natural human responses.
In John 6:44, Jesus stated bluntly that “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” Apart from the Father’s drawing, no one seeks Christ. But when God does draw someone, it leads to spiritual life. Jesus continued in John 6:63: “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.”
Likewise, Paul states that repentance is a gift from God designed to lead people to the knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 2:25). God’s lovingkindness leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). We love God because he first loved us (1 John 4:19).
God’s drawing includes at least two aspects. First, he sends the gospel message to open blind eyes. Paul describes how faith comes from hearing the word about Christ (Romans 10:17). The gospel is “the power of God that brings salvation” (Romans 1:16). Through the preaching of the gospel, God shines light into dark hearts.
Second, God gives people spiritual life and the ability to respond in faith. 1 Peter 1:3 says God has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Christ. Ephesians 2:4-5 says that because of his great love, God made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in sin. The new birth precedes and enables our faith response.
By taking these initiative steps – sending the gospel and granting new life – God enables people to seek after him when they never would apart from his grace. He is the great evangelist and the seeker of the lost. Salvation is entirely his work from beginning to end.
Our responsibility to respond to God’s initiative
While God takes the initiative in drawing us to himself, we do have a responsibility to respond in faith and repentance. Scripture calls us to turn from sin and turn toward God in faith:
- “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out.” (Acts 3:19)
- “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” (Acts 2:38)
- “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” (Romans 10:9-10)
These commands indicate that, although God initiates salvation, we do have a role to play. We must willingly turn from sin and turn toward Christ in faith, trusting in his finished work on the cross for salvation.
Even this act of faith, however, relies upon God’s grace. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that faith is a gift from God, not something we generate on our own. But God enables us to believe and grants us the faith to receive Christ’s payment for sin and follow him as Lord. Our role is to say yes to this gift in faith and repentance.
So in summary: No one seeks after God on their own because of the blindness and hostility caused by sin. But God takes the initiative to seek after lost people, open their eyes, change their hearts, and grant them repentance and faith. We are then responsible to lay hold of that gift of faith and turn to Christ as Savior and Lord.
Practical implications
Understanding this biblical truth has several practical implications for evangelism and how we view unbelievers:
- It gives us urgency to share the gospel since people will not seek God on their own.
- It creates grace and compassion for the lost since we were also blind without God’s initiative.
- It humbles us knowing that none of us would have sought God without his work in our hearts.
- It reminds us that salvation is fully God’s work, not the result of human initiative.
- It encourages us to pray for God to open eyes and draw resistant people to himself.
- It fuels worship knowing that God sought after us even in our rebellion against him.
- It makes us patient and persistent when sharing the gospel, knowing that illumination is God’s work.
This truth puts evangelism in proper perspective. We do not coerce people into the kingdom but rather plead with them to respond to God’s gracious initiative in their lives. We sow the seed of the gospel, but only God can produce spiritual life (1 Corinthians 3:7). So we share the good news of Christ faithfully, while trusting God to open blind eyes in his timing and by his Spirit.
Conclusion
Why does no one seek God? Because the human heart is blinded to spiritual truth and hostile to God’s rule after the fall into sin. In our natural state, we pursue our own interests and suppress the truth about God. We follow the flesh, not the Spirit. We cannot submit to God or please him while dead in sin.
But God, in his great mercy, takes the initiative to seek after lost people. Through the gospel message and the regenerating work of the Spirit, God grants repentance, faith, and spiritual life to people who were formerly dead in sin. He draws us to Christ though we would never have sought him left to ourselves. Salvation is God’s work of grace from start to finish.
This amazing truth humbles us and fuels worship of God for his grace. It gives us urgency to share the gospel while making us gracious and patient toward unbelievers, knowing that spiritual sight is a gift from God. It reminds us that salvation relies fully on God’s initiative, not human seeking. Let God’s seeking love propel us to share this good news with compassion and dependence on the Spirit to open blind eyes to see the glory of Christ!