I once heard of a debate between a Primitive Baptist minister and a "Reverend" from one of the popular churches. The Rev. made his argument that the way the plan of salvation worked was like a man falling into a well and the preacher coming along and letting down the gospel bucket. "The man can either accept the chance of salvation and get in the bucket, or he can reject it and be lost," said the Rev. 

    When it came the Elder's turn to speak and he got to the point about the plan of salvation, he said, "There's just one problem with my worthy opponent's argument, and that is, when the man fell in the well, it killed him, and now he can't get in the bucket." That is exactly the case with Adam in the Garden of Eden. When he ate of the forbidden fruit he fell from his innocence into a state of death in sins, so that even if it were possible to "let the gospel bucket down to him", he couldn't get in. In man's fallen state, while in an unregenerate condition, "there is none that seeketh after God," and "there is none that doeth good, no, not one" (Rom. 3:11,12). 

    When I was a boy we had a cat to fall in the well on a couple of occasions (not the same cat), and in neither case did the fall kill the cat. These cats were perfectly aware of their desperate situation, and they called for help rather loudly. In neither case did we have to try to persuade them to get in the bucket when we let it down. They were more than happy to get on board and be drawn up out of that horrible pit. But suppose the fall had killed them. Do you suppose they would have been interested in getting in the bucket? 

    Christ said, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him" (John 6:44). A lot of people still haven't learned what that simple language means.