Does the Bible teach the doctrine of Total
Inability?
First off I want
to thank Moses for starting this debate. I pray it will be
encouraging to others as well as a revelation to them and us. I think foremost
I
should state my position on the doctrine of Total depravity or Inability, and
this I shall do Lord willing.
The doctrine of Total depravity is something that I affirm, however the effects
of it are what will be debated. As was stated, man is, without a shadow of a
doubt, unable to initiate his or her salvation apart from the graceful work of
God; "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw
him: and
I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:44 KJV).
The drawing of God is of
much importance, for without this work of God, also known as illumination,
natural man cannot understand the things of the Lord. This is seen in the
scripture, "But the natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God:
for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned"1 Corinthians 2:14KJV. The gracious word of the Lord
has
revealed to us that only by the work of God Himself can salvation be initiated.
Natural man is, in fact, a sinner, and born this way, for the scriptures say,
"Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world,
according
to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh
in the
children of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:2KJV). We are sinners not only
because we
sin, but because we are born this way. This sinful nature has affected all of
man, including his will.
I am not making a case against man's ability to initiate salvation. As I said,
this is impossible as only God can initiate the process by his drawing
"And I,
if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto
What I want to address are the effects of this sinful nature. The doctrine of
Total Depravity is used to teach that man does not have the ability to respond
to God apart from regeneration. Let me address the texts that are used
specifically to prove this point. "Because the carnal mind is enmity
against
God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then
they that are in the flesh cannot please God." (Romans 8:7-8KJV). I think
the
key here is the "law of God". Natural man cannot subject itself to
the (law) of
God and therefore cannot please God by the (law). Now we must note that this
text is speaking of those who have a carnal mind. As Paul noted a chapter
earlier, "For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under
sin." (Romans 7:14KJV). Reformed theologians have consistently attributed
the
text to natural man alone, however as Paul so graciously notes, this applies to
regenerated man alike. Even those that are born again cannot subject themselves
to the law of God. Glory is to God, as seen in the beginning of chapter 8 of
the
book of Romans "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are
in
Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit". (Romans
8:1KJV).
"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;"
(Ephesians
2:1KJV). Now, according to the Calvinist, dead means
inability, hence the
doctrine of total inability. Dead is man without the life (Holy Ghost),
however, to present the false dichotomy that man is unable to put his trust in
the living God after God has drawn him is in contradiction with the living
word.
The rest of my thesis will be to prove man's ability to respond to God, and by
doing so, force the Calvinist to modify their doctrine of inability. As noted
before, this ability to respond to God is thus: it is a response to God's
initiation. It is not man initiating salvation apart from the drawing/
illumination of God. As seen in the affirmation of the Calvinist, unregenerate
man or natural man cannot, apart from being regenerated, respond to God
positively. To prove biblically man's ability to respond to God positively in
the way he desires apart from regeneration is to destroy the Calvinistic
understanding of total inability. This will be done Lord willing.
I think the best place to start is directly after the fall of man. "And
Abel
also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the
Lord had regard for Abel and his offering", (Genesis 4:4ESV). "By
faith Abel
offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the
testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through
faith, though he is dead, he still speaks." (Hebrews 11:4NASB95). The
point I am
trying to make is:
1. He had the ability to positively respond to God. According to the Calvinist
natural man is dead and unable apart from regeneration to respond to God. Man,
specifically Abel, had the ability to put his trust in the Living God. As the
glorious word of God says "Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to
us by
his example of faith." "And it came to pass, as they still went on,
and talked,
that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted
them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven". (2
Kings
2:11KJV) "By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and
he
was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was
commended as having pleased God." (Hebrews 11:5ESV) "Enoch, on the
other hand,
reflected the kind of life that pleases God since he walked with God by faith
(as the readers also should). If Christ had come in their lifetimes (cf. 10:37),
the readers also would not have experienced death. In any case they could only
please God by continued confidence that He exists and . . . rewards those who
earnestly seek Him." "And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is
come
before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I
will destroy them with the earth." (Genesis 6:13KJV) "Thus did Noah;
according
to all that God commanded him, so did he". (Genesis 6:22KJV) "By
faith Noah,
being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for
the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an
heir of the righteousness which is according to faith." (Hebrews
11:7NASB95)
2. Noah—faith working (v. 7).
Noah's faith involved the whole person: his mind
was warned of God; his heart was moved with fear; and his will acted on what
God
told him. Since nobody at that time had ever seen a flood (or perhaps even a
rainstorm), Noah's actions must have generated a great deal of interest and
probably ridicule as well. Noah's faith influenced his whole family and they
were saved. "Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy
country, and
from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew
thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make
thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I
will bless them that bless
thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee
shall all families of the
earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot
went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of
out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not
knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as
in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the
same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has
foundations, whose
designer and builder is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to
conceive,
even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had
promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as
dead, were born descendants
as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by
the seashore." (Hebrews 11:8-12ESV)
3. Faith is the key to knowing God. Here we have the great "father of the
believing", who is one of the OT's greatest examples of faith. Abraham
believed
God when he did not know where (vv. 8–10), when he did not know how (vv. 11–12),
when he did not know when (vv. 13–16), and when he did not know why (vv.
17–19).
It was faith in God's Word that made him leave his home, live as a pilgrim, and
follow wherever God led. Faith gave Abraham and Sarah power to have a child
when
they were "as good as dead." Abraham and his pilgrim descendants did
not turn
back, as the Hebrew leaders were tempted to do, but kept their eyes on God and
pressed on to victory (vv. 13–16; 10:38–39). "And it came to pass after
these
things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said,
Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine
only son Isaac, whom
thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a
burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham
rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young
men
with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and
rose
up, and went unto the place of which God had told him." (Genesis
22:1-3KJV) "It
was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing
him.
Abraham, who had received God's promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son,
Isaac, even though God had told him, "Isaac is the son through whom your
descendants will be counted." Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was
able
to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son
back from the dead." (Hebrews 11:17-19NLT )
4. "The theme of testing emerges here as the writer returned to Abraham.
The
readers can learn from that supreme test in which the patriarch was called on
to
sacrifice his . . . son. Though this seemed to contradict the divine promise,
Abraham was able to rise above the trial and trust in the resurrecting power of
God. So also Christian readers must sometimes look beyond the experiences of
life, in which God's promises do not seem to be fulfilled, and realize that
their resurrections will bring those promises to fruition. "And he came
unto
his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am
I; who art thou, my son?
And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according
as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of
my venison, that thy soul
may bless me." (Genesis 27:18-19KJV) "By faith Isaac invoked future
blessings on
Jacob and Esau." (Hebrews 11:20ESV) "And
who are these? And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath
given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I
pray thee, unto me, and I
will bless them." (Genesis 48:8-9KJV) "By faith Jacob, as he was
dying, blessed
each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his
staff."
(Hebrews 11:21NASB95) "And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God
will
surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to
Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the children of
hence." (Genesis 50:24-25KJV) "It was by faith that Joseph, when he
was about to
die, said confidently that the people of
commanded them to take his bones with them when they left." (Hebrews
11:22NLT)
"By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents,
because
they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's
commandment. By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called
the
son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people
of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach
of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto
the recompence of the reward. By faith he forsook
of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. Through faith he
kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the
firstborn should touch them." (Hebrews 11:23-28KJV) "By faith they
passed
through the
drowned. By faith the walls of
about seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab perished
not with them that believed
not, when she had received the spies with peace." (Hebrews 11:29-31KJV)
"And
what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of
Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also,
and Samuel, and of the
prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained
promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped
the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight,
turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to
life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they
might
obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings
and
scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
They were stoned, they were
sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in
sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the
world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens
and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through
faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us,
that they without us should not be made perfect." (Hebrews 11:32-40KJV)
As the author of Hebrews says, "what more shall I say?" All of these
people
believed, or put their trust into the living God, apart from being regenerated.
This is key to the argument against Total Inability.
As the word of God says,
"let God be true and every man a liar". I have chosen to use
scripture only for
most of my argument. If this debate is to change anyone's view, perspective, or
life, then it will be done by the word of God. My own words do not change
people, but the living word of God does. Thus I affirm what the bible teaches
and not what man has taught me about the bible. In order for my opponents
assertions to be correct, he would have to prove either they were regenerated,
which there is no biblical evidence for, and which John says "But this He
spoke
of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit
was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified". (John
7:39NASB95). It
is also said "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It
is expedient for you that I
go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I
depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the
world
of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not
on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father,
and ye see me no more; Of
judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to
say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth,
is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself;
but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things
to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it
unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he
shall take of mine, and shall shew
it unto you".John 16:7-15KJV.People were not
regenerated in the old testament. The Holy Ghost came upon people for certain
reasons and purposes. The fact is no one can be born again without the blood
sacrifice of Jesus Christ. When one is born of the Spirit his sins are washed.
They are not counted against him because the Lord's righteousness is credited
to
him. In the Old Testament they looked forward to the day when true regeneration
would occur. "And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit
within
you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an
heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 11:19KJV).
The free will offering is very important to the study of the unregenerate. Let
us start off by defining the term. Freewill offering: offering or sacrifice
that
is voluntary and not compulsory, and thus prompted only by the impulse of the
donor (Ex 35:29; 36:3; Lev 7:16; 22:18, 21, 23; 23:38; Nu 15:3; 29:39; Dt 12:6,
17; 16:10; 23:24[EB 23]; 2Ch 31:14; 35:8; Ezr 1:4;
3:5; 8:28; Ps 54:8[EB 6];
119:108; Eze 46:12(2×); Am 4:5 . To teach total
inability you must deny that man
had the ability to offer a freewill offering. The freewill offering, as is
noted, proves man's ability to respond to God apart from regeneration. Thus the
Calvinistic understanding Total Inability must be reformed.
As the word so clearly affirms, faith precedes regeneration. Thus, man must
have
the ability to believe. "But as many as received him, to them gave he
power to
become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born,
not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God."
(John 1:12-13KJV) λαμβάνω:
to take, receive
verb, aorist, active, indicative, third person, plural. This aorist verb, to
receive, clearly denotes a past timing sequence as seen because it is in the
indicative. Thus, man actively must receive prior to being regenerated. We are
not born of God because of our righteousness, for the scriptures affirm our
righteousness is that of filthy rags. We are born of the will and grace of God,
to be regenerated by faith.
This is also seen in "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word,
and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come
into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." (John 5:24KJV),
the word
is clear that man has the ability to believe and the responsibility to believe.
I, too, was moved by the preaching of the Calvinist, and while it is partly
true, I must in all good conscience deny the points that don't line up with the
word of God. My desire is to form my theology around the whole council of God.
I
do not fret when presented with new truths that contradict my own
understanding.
It is not the word of God which contradicts only what I have been taught by man
and me. I pray that this will enlighten those who read, and make those on the
other side of the fence really consider taking the time to study the
contradictions of their theology.
Blair Laird
[1]Walvoord, John F. ; Zuck,
Roy B. ;
Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures.
Books, 1983-c1985, S. 2:807-808
[2]Wiersbe, Warren W.: The Bible Exposition
Commentary.
Books, 1996, c1989, S. Heb 11:1
[3]Hughes, Robert B. ; Laney, J. Carl: Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary.
S. 672
[4]Wiersbe, Warren W.: Wiersbe's
Expository Outlines on the New Testament.
[5]Walvoord, John F. ; Zuck,
Roy B. ; Dallas Theological Seminary: The Bible
Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL : Victor
Books, 1983-c1985, S. 2:808
EB English Bible versification
(2×) The word defined occurs twice in this verse
[6]Swanson, James: Dictionary of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains :
Hebrew (Old Testament). electronic ed.
Inc., 1997,