“Calvinism” series: (post #2)
And you He made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins… (Ephesians 2:1, N.K.J.V.)
And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together, with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses… (Colossians 2:13, N.K.J.V.)
These two verses plainly teach that Christians were “dead in trespasses and sins” before being made alive in Christ. Calvinism defines this state of death as “total depravity,” the term which serves as the “T” in the T-U-L-I-P acrostic. Consequently, Calvinists say concerning a lost person making the decision to place saving belief (faith) in Jesus, “A dead person can’t make a decision.” In this way, Calvinism equates “total depravity” with “total inability.” This leads Calvinists to two conclusions. First, mankind’s freedom of choice has been forfeited since the fall into sin in the garden of Eden. Second, salvation is 100% of God.
Someone says, “But the individual has to play at least some role in salvation because he has to provide the saving belief (faith) that leads to the born-again experience.” Calvinism’s answer to that is, “No, the saving belief (faith) itself is actually a part of God’s gift of salvation.” You see, Calvinists do not dispute the fact that the sinner must make the personal decision to place saving belief (faith) in Jesus in order to get saved. However, it is their contention that God has to first sovereignly regenerate the dead sinner to the point where the sinner has the spiritual life to make the decision.
Putting it another way, Calvinism teaches that God has to first create the born-again experience within the person before the person can arise from being “dead in trespasses and sins” and therefore have the ability to place the belief (faith) in Jesus. As Arthur Pink, one of the most famous Calvinists who ever lived, wrote in his book, The Sovereignty of God, “Faith is not the cause of the new birth, but the consequence of it.” This is why non-Calvinists often criticize Calvinism by saying, “Calvinists believe that you have to get saved before you can get saved.”
Here are some passages (all from the N.K.J.V.) that Calvinists cite to support their idea that God has to impart the saving belief (faith) to the sinner who is dead in trespasses and sins:
- John 1:13: But as many as received Him (Jesus), to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
- John 5:21: “For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.”
- John 6:65: And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”
- John 8:43,47: “Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word…He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”
- John 12:39: Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.”
- 1 Corinthians 2:14: But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
- 2 Peter 1:1: Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.
Now, to be clear, the Bible does teach that each person has the nature of sin coursing through him from the moment of conception (Psalm 51:5). This means that the person doesn’t become a sinner by committing acts of sin, but rather that he instinctively chooses to commit acts of sin because he is a sinner (Romans 3:9-23). Him being conceived a sinner is the inevitable result of him being a byproduct of Adam’s sin-corrupted seed (Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22). And it is because the individual is a sinner by conception that he can rightly be described as being “dead in trespasses and sins.”
What must be understood, however, is that there is a difference between being spiritually dead and physically dead. A good passage here is Ephesians 2:1-3. As you read these verses, notice the things “dead” men can do:
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. (N.K.J.V.)
Along the same lines, in John 4:23 Jesus tells the lost Samaritan woman:
“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth: for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.” (N.K.J.V.)
What’s odd about that last quote is the fact that Jesus didn’t say to that lost woman, “The Father knows that you are dead in trespasses and sins, and a dead person can’t worship or do anything else spiritually.” No, what He did was make a distinction between true worship and false worship. Obviously, then, people who are “dead in trespasses and sins” can offer false worship. But Calvinists act like a person who is “dead in trespasses and sins” might as well also be physically dead.
On this same subject, consider the following passages (all references from the N.K.J.V., emphasis mine):
- In Matthew 23:37 (and Luke 13:34), Jesus mourns over the fact that the inhabitants of Jerusalem would not let Him gather them to Himself as a hen gathers her chicks. He says, “I wanted to gather your children together…but you were not willing.”
- In John 5:40, Jesus says to a group of lost Jewish religious leaders, “But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”
- In Acts 26:28, Agrippa displays his free will in refusing Jesus or believing in Him when he says to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”
- In Luke 15:18, the prodigal son exercises his free will when he says, “I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.'”
- In Genesis 4:5-8, God offers forgiveness and salvation to Cain, but Cain exercises his free will, refuses to heed God, and ultimately dies lost. (Jude verses 11-13)
- In Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Moses offers God’s blessing or cursing upon the Israelites. They had a freewill choice which one they wanted.
- In Joshua 24:1-28, Joshua makes the same offer to another generation of Israelites, and they had the same freewill choice to make.
- In Isaiah 1:18-20, Isaiah makes the same offer to the Jews of Judah.
- In Exodus 35:21, we read about the Israelites “whose spirit was willing” to obey the Lord in bringing the articles to be used in the building of the Tabernacle.
- In 1 Chronicles 29:5, David asks the question, “Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the Lord?”
Let’s be honest, any offer of salvation that is made to a person who doesn’t have the innate ability to accept it is little more than a taunt. Even more than being a taunt, it’s downright cruel for God to command belief (faith) from individuals who can’t give it. If salvation is a gift (which it is), what kind of sick God would sing the gift’s praises to corpses/skeletons who can’t possibly hear what He is saying, let alone actually accept the gift?
For example, Jesus might as well have said to those inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Oh, if only you weren’t dead in your trespasses and sins, I could gather you together as a hen gathers her chicks.” He might as well have said to those lost Jewish religious leaders, “Boy, spiritual life is great! It’s such a shame that you can’t have it because you are incapable of making the decision to receive it.” Moses, Joshua, and Isaiah might as well have said to their audiences, “You can have God’s blessing or God’s cursing. Oh, wait, you’ll have to take the cursing because you are still dead in your trespasses and sins. Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to get your hopes up.”
By the way, anytime a passage speaks of Jews not being willing to come to Jesus so that He could give them life, we should keep in mind that the Jews were God’s chosen, covenant people from Old Testament times. Therefore, the question becomes, “Shouldn’t these people have been among ‘the elect'”? Clearly, though, a wide swath of them weren’t. As John 1:11 says: “He came to His own, and His own did not know Him” (N.K.J.V.).
Of course, we shouldn’t overlook the opening part of that verse, either. It says that Jesus came to His own. Why is that important? It’s important because there’s no disputing that it is God who has to take the initiative in coming to those who are “dead in trespasses and sins.” As Romans 3:11 says: “There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God” (N.K.J.V.). (Other passages that prove this point are Matthew 16:13-17, John 3:27, and John 6:44,65.) But once God has started dealing with an individual, the individual’s free will does come into play.
The classic passage on this is the story of Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit. In doing so, they became “dead in trespasses and sins” (Genesis 3:1-7). This spiritual death caused them to hide from God rather than run to Him (Genesis 3:8) as the desire to avoid Him and remain spiritually dead showcased their depravity.
But God, in His mercy, grace, and love, began the process of reconciling Himself to them by seeking them out and calling to Adam (Genesis 3:9). It was at this point that Adam and Eve’s free will came into play as they could either accept God’s call or remain hidden. After all, even though God knew exactly where they were all the time, He wasn’t going to drag them out of the bushes and make them talk to Him.
Thankfully for all of us, Adam spoke up and began a conversation with God, one in which Eve also participated (Genesis 3:10-13). This proves that even in a fallen, sinful, depraved state — one in which God hasn’t yet altered the individual in any way — the individual can make a decision to accept God’s call or shun it. In other words, “total depravity” isn’t the same as “total inability.” What “total depravity” really means is that the sinner cannot save himself by way of his supposedly “good” works. He can’t do this because, in reality, none of his works are actually “good” (Isaiah 64:6-7; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10-18; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:3-7).
One final objection the Calvinist might offer to all this is Hebrews 12:2, which says: “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…” (N.K.J.V.). Calvinists love to point out that the Greek word translated as “author” can be translated as “originator” or “source,” the implication being that the individual has no faith of his own to place in Jesus but only has faith that Jesus originates in him. The fact is, though, that the Greek word in question, archegos, primarily denotes someone who takes the lead in an endeavor. This explains why the same word is also translated as “captain” (Hebrews 2:10, N.K.J.V.) and “Prince” (Acts 3:15, 5:31, N.K.J.V.)
Here again, there’s no question that Jesus has to take the lead in getting the sinner saved, just as God took the lead in seeking out Adam and Eve. But does this mean that the sinner merely becomes a hand puppet in the process, one with no free will of his own? No, it doesn’t. Notice that even the Hebrews 12:2 verse opens with the words “looking unto Jesus.” Those words are very important because that “look” is the sinner’s part, the part that Jesus won’t do. This, then, is how salvation works. You can’t do Jesus’ part, and He won’t do your part.
The Disciple's Road 
Thank you. I did find the article you mentioned and read it.
Thank you again. I had read something recently about the “look to the bronze snake on the pole in order to have your life saved (O.T. verses Numbers 21:8-9) and that just “clicked” in my mind with you writing here, “Notice that even the Hebrews 12:2 verse opens with the words “looking unto Jesus.” Those words are very important because that “look” is the sinner’s part, the part that Jesus won’t do. This, then, is how salvation works. You can’t do Jesus’ part, and He won’t do your part.”
Charles Spurgeon, the great English preacher, got saved after hearing a lay preacher preach from Isaiah 45:22, where God says, “Look unto me; and be ye saved…”
I gave away all my Sermons by Spurgeon and tend to mostly avoid the Calvanism that he seemed to lean towards.
I do believe the scriptures (Isaiah 45:22 “Look unto me; and be ye saved…”).
Interesting article, but I ask you, sir-what do you do with these verses from scripture?
“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 1:12-13
“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For EVERY ONE THAT DOETH EVIL HATETH THE LIGHT, NEITHER COMETH TO THE LIGHT, lest his deeds should be reproved” John 3:19-20
“NO MAN CAN COME TO ME, EXCEPT THE FATHER DRAW HIM” John 6:44
“Therefore said I unto you, that NO MAN CAN COME UNTO ME, EXCEPT IT WERE GIVEN UNTO HIM OF MY FATHER” John 6:65
“There is none that understandeth, THERE IS NONE THAT SEEKETH AFTER GOD” Romans 3:11
“So then (it is) NOT OF HIM THAT WILLETH, nor of him that runneth, but OF GOD THAT SHOWETH MERCY” Romans 9:16
“But OF HIM are ye in Christ Jesus…” 1 Cor. 1:30
“For by grace are ye saved through FAITH, AND THAT NOT OF YOURSELVES: it is THE GIFT OF GOD, not of works, lest any man should boast” Ephesians 2:8-9
Seems to me that in order to maintain your position of man’s will cooperating with God in order to bring salvation (synergism) that you will have to overlook these and many other passages which clearly say what they say, or else you must wrest them to mean something other than what they clearly say.
1. John 1:12-13: These verses simply mean that the new birth is not a product of the human will. Man cannot “work up” the new birth or will it to happen. It is, instead, a miracle of grace (undeserved favor). The individual is responsible for providing the belief (faith) in Christ. God is responsible for providing the new birth.
2. John 3:19-20: The verse that follows these two verses, John 3:21, helps explain the two verses. It doesn’t say that no man can come to the light. Instead, it says that he who does the truth comes to the light. You see, according to that verse an individual does have some part in coming to the light. By divorcing verse 21 from verse 20 you lose the purposeful contrast Jesus is conveying. He’s not lumping the entire human race into the “every one that doeth evil won’t come to the light” category. We know He’s not doing that because in the next verse He describes certain people who actually do come to the light, and they come to it by DOING the truth.
3. John 6:44: In John 12:32, Jesus Himself answers this one by flatly stating that if He is lifted up from the earth (i.e., crucified), He will draw ALL men to Himself. This doesn’t mean that all men will get saved just because Jesus got crucified. But it does mean that they will have the legitimate opportunity to get saved because He got crucified.
4. John 6:55: Jesus basically makes this same statement in John 6:44 except there He adds in the word about the Father drawing the individual to Himself. So, John 6:44 provides the Bible’s own commentary on John 6:55 and links both passages up with John 12:32, where Jesus promises to draw all men unto Himself. And, of course, in light of God being a Trinity, there is no conflict between Jesus doing the drawing and God the Father doing the drawing.
5. Romans 3:11: No one is arguing that God doesn’t have to make the first move in regards to wooing an individual to Himself. When Adam sinned and thus became lost, it was God who came looking for him (“Adam, where art thou?”). God does the same for every lost sinner. We only seek Him after He comes seeking us.
6. Romans 9:16: Calvinists make the mistake of thinking this entire chapter has to do with individual salvation when, in reality, it has to do with roles of service for nations on earth. God didn’t say to Rebecca, “Two INDIVIDUALS are in your womb.” He told her, “Two NATIONS (PEOPLES) are in your womb, and one PEOPLE shall be stronger than the other” (Genesis 25:23). Esau’s nation (the Edomites) would serve Jacob’s nation (the Israelites).
7. 1 Corinthians 1:30: This verse is similar to the John 1:12-13 passage in that it teaches that only God can produce salvation (the new birth) in an individual. As Psalm 3:8 says, salvation belongs to the Lord. The question is not, “Where does salvation begin and end?” It begins and ends with God. The question is, “How can an individual get in on God’s salvation?”
8. Ephesians 2:8-9: Saving faith (belief) is not a “work.” It is, instead, the means by which the sinner receives the free gift of God’s salvation that was purchased by Him by Christ’s death on the cross. As someone has said, “Faith is the hand that reaches out to accept God’s gift.” The “gift” in question in this passage is the salvation, not the faith. Obviously, if salvation is a gift, it can’t be of works. If it was of works, it would be payment earned rather than a free gift.
John 1:12-13-I am sorry, sir, but with all due respect you have misunderstood the passage and are providing an answer wherein you are contradicting yourself wherein you say that man cannot “work up” the new birth, meaning to do anything to initiate it, then you say that faith is required before the new birth can be bestowed. John 3:3 says “except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God”-the new birth must precede a man being able to see and believe.
John 3:19-20-clearly shows that lost mankind, if left to himself, will never come to the light. (this is lost man’s fallen condition), and if anyone does come to the light, it is done in God-verse 21-God made it happen. Look what happened throughout Israel’s history-whenever God left the choice up to them-e.g. Deuteronomy 30:19-20-what choice did they always make? All through their history from Moses to Christ they turned to him the back and not the face, and were stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart. God gave them the choice in order to show what happens when the choice is left up to man-he will always make the WRONG choice, because his fallen will is bound to his fallen NATURE.
John 6:44&65-say what they say. Your linking of these to John 12:32 is a common response by those in leadership of the visible churches but is misusing John 12:32 out of context from the chapter. Taken by itself (when used out of context) John 12:32 APPEARS to support what you say; however when one reads the context of the chapter of John 12 the true meaning becomes evident. You will recall that in that chapter Greeks came up to worship at the feast and said to Phillip “sir we would see Jesus”, and so the “all men” of verse 32 is not a reference to each and every human being without exception, but rather all men without distinction-Gentiles as well as Jews-this is the reference of the verse back to the subject at hand, which was that Greeks were present seeking Jesus. They sought Jesus because God drew them. This is none else but the same truth that is referred to in John 10:16 where he says “other sheep I have which are not of this fold”. God does not draw every human being without exception as 12:32 is misused to attempt to prove-rather he draws his people from every tribe tongue and nation-Jew and Gentile alike, all without distinction. In the Authorized Bible the word “men” is in italics, and correctly rendered so. The phrase “All men” sounds like each and every human being if used by itself and out of context, but the AV clearly shows that all-elect Jew and elect Gentile alike without distinction-are drawn, not “all men” without exception.
Romans 3:11-shows clearly that man’s nature is such that he will not of his own volition seek after God; he must be made willing to come to God, or else he never will. He is made willing by the new birth.
Romans 9:16-sorry but you are dead wrong here. Again, you have not understood the context of Romans 9. Verse 8 clearly shows that the passage refers to who is a true elect child of God within the nation of Israel versus who is merely a natural physical descendant of Abraham (the rest of the nation) compare 11:5-remnant within the nation according to the election of grace, and the rest of the nation are merely physical descendants only. 9:26 restates this by showing that those Jews within the nation who are the true elect of God, together with elect Gentiles taken from every tribe tongue and nation, are the true children of the living God. The passage is not about some supposed national temporal election to service as is popularly claimed-it is rather about who is merely a natural descendant of Abraham only versus who is the elect of God, i.e. those chosen to everlasting life-compare Acts 13:48, Ephesians 1:4-5 & 2 Thess. 2:13-14, 1 Peter 1:2.
1 Corinthians 1:30-says what it says-if anyone is in Christ, God did it-they didn’t “help” him or contribute anything, including their faith-their being in Christ is God’s doing and God’s doing alone. Compare James 1:18-“OF HIS OWN WILL BEGAT HE US WITH THE WORD OF TRUTH” His will-not my will or my faith.
Ephesians 2:8-9-first of all I must address the use of the term “saving faith” (often used by Calvinists-I am not a Calvinist) as a gross misnomer, because faith does not save, Jesus saves-God saves by his mercy and grace alone through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Secondly, the gift in the verse refers to the whole package of salvation which is stated there-“by grace are ye saved through faith”, including the faith. It is all of God-faith included. Your position turns faith into a work of man by making it to be man’s contribution to salvation, thus turning salvation into a two-party contract where man does his part after God has done his part, thus making man into his own savior by believing. Any human contribution to salvation makes salvation to rest upon that contribution of man instead of upon the sovereign mercy and grace of God alone, which then means that man has something to boast about, having made a “contribution” to his salvation. Jesus saves-it’s not “Jesus and me are going to get me saved”. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link-add the weak link of human contribution into the chain of salvation (see Romans 8:28-30) and you then have a faulty chain which strength depends on the weak link of man’s contribution instead of upon the sovereign work of God alone from beginning to end as Romans 8:28-30 clearly shows. Do you know what a gift is? Salvation is not an offer, extended upon condition that one “reaches out and takes” it as you say. A gift by definition has no conditions. A gift is that which is freely bestowed, not that which is offered upon condition that one “takes” it. Again, your view would have God doing the potential saving but actually saving no one at all unless they choose of their own will to “accept” it, which I have already shown from scripture does not happen. Was Lazarus asked whether or not he wanted to be resurrected in John 11? Was he given a choice? Did Paul “make a decision” on the Damascus road? Did the house of Cornelius make a “decision” while Peter yet spake to them in Acts 10? Your theology of salvation depending upon the will of man simply does not stack up against the clear testimony of scripture. Acts 18:27 further shows that those who believe do so by God’s grace, not by their own will, strength or contribution.
Another verse must be added here-that of the very testimony of Christ Himself who said “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant (slave) of sin”-John 8:34. This verse is checkmate to your position, for the Lord clearly shows here that the unregenerate sinner’s will is bound by his sin nature and is thus not free to choose God and righteousness as those of your position claim. Unsaved unregenerate people can only choose in accordance with their fallen Adamic nature which is bent away from God instead of towards him, and John 3:19-20 clearly shows this-man left to himself will always reject God. Compare Psalm 14:1-3. God must change one’s nature via the new birth, thus changing his will so that he then repents and believes. Faith is the evidence of the new birth, not the means of acquiring it, nor the road to it. “This is the work OF GOD, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent”-John 6:29. The work of God-not of man. Salvation (belongeth) unto the LORD-Psalm 3:8
If you aren’t a Calvinist, you sure do have the interpretations to be one (lol). Anyway, I knew when I answered your first comment that it wouldn’t end there, but I gave it a shot out of genuine respect to you. At this point, though, it’s obvious that you are fixed in your interpretations, and I know that I’m fixed in mine. That’s why I’m ending the back-and-forth here, not out of fear of more theological debate (or because I think you “checkmated” me) but simply out of a lack of time and desire to continue crossing swords. I wrote a blog post on my personal blog, you commented on the post and included questions, I gave you my honest answers to your questions, you disagreed with my answers, and that needs to be the end of it. You have your take on scripture and I have mine. One of us is correct and one of us is wrong, and I’m willing to wait until heaven to find out which is which. So, until then, let’s both move on.
Dear Russell-Yes, on your last answer we are in agreement about moving on and about not continuing to cross swords as you say. I would like you to know that I bear no personal grudge or animosity towards you-my point of contention has not been with you personally but only with the doctrine that you hold. The reason I stated that I am not a Calvinist is because I do not subscribe to the Reformed/Calvinist system as a whole; although its doctrine of soteriology mostly agrees with scripture, it contains a number of unbiblical concepts which I disagree with, such as amillennial eschatology and the practice & defense of infant baptism (Calvin defends these in his Institutes, thus they are part of Reformed tradition) plus I see the Calvinist misusing certain texts of scripture to prove his doctrine (for example Psalm 110:3 to “prove” irresistible grace when in context it is a reference to the millennial kingdom-shown by the previous verses 1 & 2; Jer. 31:3 to prove God’s love toward his elect when it actually speaks to the temporal nation of Israel-shown by the following verse 4-again, it’s about context!, etc, etc.) so the Calvinist misuses certain verses to support his system the same way that the Arminian misuses other texts to support his doctrine-both sides are systems of truths mixed with error, and both sides are guilty of misunderstanding & misusing texts to support their preconceived systems. I believe the way I do because I see it in the scriptures, and it was not taught to me by man’s theological tradition, but by (I believe) illumination from the word of God. As you say (and I agree)-one of us is right and one of us is wrong; may God vindicate his word and show which is which. Mark
There’s no personal grudge or animosity on this end, either. And we’re in agreement in regards to standing against amillennial eschatology and infant baptism. No question about that. God bless.
russellmckinney: I so appreciate your taking the time and care to address scriptures in context. It’s refreshing. I’m also glad you can recognize when someone questioning you is learning. I’m glad you don’t want to just go back and forth with nobody changing. How loving and Biblical. To God be the glory!!!
Thank you. And, yes, to God be the glory. Great things He hath done.
I’m reading in my personal devotions today in Romans 6 and then I stumbled on your blog.
I see several times that in Romans chapter 6 it says we are dead in Christ, crucified with Christ, dead to sin Etc …yet we still sin.
That makes me think of my Calvinist friends who say, “dead men don’t make choices” meaning that we have to be regenerated before we can choose or we have to be given faith.
I don’t see scripture saying this. It does say that we are dead to sin and still do it.
Just like in Luke 15:The prodigal Son was “dead” —–Jesus says it two times —- and yet he still “came to his senses” .Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much. And by the way, those are excellent points you make about Romans chapter 6 and the prodigal son.