Does the Bible Teach the Doctrine of Total Depravity?

 

Closing Statement:  Nick Norelli

 

I would like to thank Moses for a great debate as well.  I think this series is going great!  It is my prayer that we each leave this with a better understanding of the other’s position and the reader leave with a better understanding of both.

 

I would like to respond to a couple of things before making my closing remarks.  The first is the drawing of John 6:44 never being resisted.  I agree that there is nothing in scripture which would show that this drawing is resisted, but at the same time this passage is speaking specifically of believers.  There would be no reason for them to resist because had they resisted, they wouldn’t be believers.  Secondly, it does not follow that because a thing is not resisted that it can not be resisted.  Thirdly, I agree that the drawing is effective and I would say (as I did in my last response) that it is a drawing beyond our ability.  Where I believe we differ is that I don’t believe it is a drawing against our will, meaning that it is not coercive, as the Lord spoke through the prophet Jeremiah, “…with loving-kindness have I drawn [eilkusa, LXX] thee” (Jeremiah 31:3).[1]

 

Staying with Jeremiah for a moment, I would like to comment on the question asked in Jeremiah 13:23 where he said, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil” (NIV).  Clearly we cannot change ourselves, as true change is only possible with God.  Jesus very plainly said that we can do no good thing apart from Him (John 15:4).  It is not my position that a man can do any good thing in and of himself without the Grace of God.  I believe this has been clearly stated throughout.

 

I would also like to point out that simply because sin is inevitable (which I completely agree with) it does not follow that it is necessary.  We have all committed some sin or another at some point in our lives, but we have not all committed every sin there is at every point in our lives.  Calvinists would certainly agree with this as is evident from their definition of Total Depravity which states that man is not as bad or sinful as he could be, but rather his entire being has been affected by sin.  That being said, we can see that sin in particular is avoidable whereas sin in general is not.  Therefore there is no necessity to sin, because if there were then we would not be able to avoid any sin in particular.  Rather the propensity to sin inevitably leads us all into some form of sin, but we would never claim that a murderer of necessity murders or a rapist of necessity rapes.  These are particular sins which could have been avoided had the murderer or rapist so chosen to avoid them.     

 

Concerning the statement that “…one must be willing to assert that man may choose to stop sinning “at will” as well,” I believe that this is true.  We can choose to stop sinning (or rather receive power over sin) by receiving Christ.  Through the Grace of God we can believe the gospel (Acts 18:27), repent of our sins (Romans 2:4), be saved (Ephesians 2:8-9), and receive a way of escape from all sin (1Corinthians 10:13).  The believer is said to be “dead to sin” (Romans 6:2) and “he that is dead is freed from sin” (Romans 6:7).  So once again, it is not in and of ourselves that we can stop sinning, but rather through God.  It is the Grace of God that is at work within us prior to regeneration that makes these choices possible. 

 

Moses asked the question “how are we to understand the grace of God if it is merely defined as something given that enables men to choose of their own wills whether or not to believe in Christ or not?”  I would assert that grace is not merely defined this way.  Grace is the unmerited favor of God.  Grace is divine empowerment to do what is right.  Grace is that which restores right relationship with God.  Above were listed just a few of the many things that the Grace of God enables us to do and rest assured, there are many more.[2]  Moses then asked, “But what happens if we don’t’ believe.”  Jesus answered this question in John 3:18 when he said, “…he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (NKJV)  I find the rest of the question to be loaded and full of emotional language.  “Is the grace slammed back in the face of the Creator?”  No, it is simply not received.  “How can this be?”  It can be because God has given man the ability to choose between the options he has set before him.  “How can the creature be in such a position to confound the grace of God?”  I don’t believe that not receiving salvation is confounding the grace of God and it would first have to be shown that it was.  These questions follow from the presupposition that the doctrine of irresistible grace is true, which of course I disagree with.  But we will cover this in the debates to come. 

 

I also adamantly object to the idea that God giving men choices is essentially the same as giving man the opportunity to save himself!  Man is not the source of salvation, God is.  Man is not the giver of the gift, God is.  Man is merely the recipient of that free gift which has been offered.  To quote Arminius,

 

“Take away FREE WILL, and nothing will be left to be saved. Take away GRACE, and nothing will be left as the source of salvation. This work [of salvation] cannot be effected without two parties — one, from whom it may come: the other, to whom or in whom it may be wrought. God is the author of salvation. Free will is only capable of being saved. No one, except God, is able to bestow salvation; and nothing, except free will, is capable of receiving it." Bernardus, De Libero Arbit. et Gratia.”[3]

 

The old analogy goes that the man who is drowning and is thrown a life preserver does not save himself he merely accepts the salvation which was offered.  The Calvinist might object and say that dead men are not capable of grabbing hold of life preservers and that the sinner has already drowned, but this would create a faulty analogy that is inconsistent with scripture.  Yes, scripture presents us with a picture of men who are dead in their trespasses and sins, but spiritual death is relatively dissimilar to physical death.  Even in our state of spiritual death and depravity we are said to be created in the image of God (Genesis 9:6), we are given choices to choose from (Deuteronomy 30:19, Joshua 24:15), and we have our faculties of reason (Isaiah 1:18).  The physically dead have not these things therefore it is fallacious to compare the sinner who is spiritually dead with someone who is physically dead. 

 

Is man depraved?  Absolutely!  Can man attain salvation apart from the grace of God?  Absolutely not!  Is man so depraved that he needs to be born again in order to believe?  Impossible!  For the Bible declares that we must believe on the Lord Jesus to be saved (Acts 16:31), that God saves those who believe (1Corinthians 1:21), and that it is by grace through faith that we are saved (Ephesians 2:8)!  To God alone be the glory and honor forever, amen!