How, then, did the sinner reply to the faithful and gracious inquiry of the Blessed God? Alas! the reply only reveals the awful depth of evil into which he had fallen. "And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom _thou gavest_ to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." Here, we find him actually laying the blame of his shameful fall on the circumstances in which God had placed him, and thus, indirectly, upon God himself. This has ever been the way with fallen man. Every one and every thing is blamed but _self_. In the case of true conviction, the very reverse is exhibited. "Is it not _I_ that have sinned?" is the inquiry of a truly humbled soul. Had Adam known himself, how different would have been his style! But he neither knew himself nor God, and, therefore, instead of throwing the blame entirely upon himself, he threw it upon God. Here, then, was man's terrible position. He had lost all. His dominion--his dignity--his happiness--his innocence--his purity--his peace--all was gone from him; and, what was still worse, he accused God of being the cause of it.[7] There he stood, a lost, ruined, guilty, and yet, _self-vindicating_, and, therefore, _God-accusing_ sinner. Now, it is perfectly true, that no man can believe the gospel, except by the power of the Holy Ghost; and it is also true, that all who so believe the gospel are the happy subjects of God's eternal counsels. But does all this set aside man's responsibility to believe a plain testimony set before him in God's Word? It most certainly does no such thing. But it does reveal the sad evil of man's heart, which leads him to reject _God's testimony_ which is plainly revealed, and to give as a reason for so doing _God's decree_, which is a profound secret, known only to himself. However, it will not avail, for we read in 1 Thess. i. 8, 9, that those "who obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, shall be punished with everlasting destruction." Men are responsible to believe the gospel, and they will be punished for not believing it. They are not responsible to know any thing about God's counsels, inasmuch as they are not revealed, and, therefore, there can be no guilt attached to ignorance concerning them. The apostle could say to the Thessalonians, "knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God." How did he know it? Was it by having access to the page of God's secret and eternal decrees? By no means. How then? "Because ([Greek: hoti]) our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power." (1 Thess. i. 4, 5.) This is the way to know the election of any. When the gospel comes in power, it is a plain proof of God's election.