Jesus spoke of a man "in whom there is no deceit" Total depravity is the T in TULIP, and is the first point of Calvinism. The fall of Adam and Eve
Human beings have "fallen short of the glory of God"
Calvinists believe the natural human condition is total depravity. They say that
"utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly
The Sense in which 'Total' is Meant
The above is easily misunderstood. The doctrine does not mean to say that human beings are devoid of all good, but rather that none of the
Imagine a child tips some salt into the bowl of sugar. If we take the bowl away quickly, we might be able to lift out a part of the sugar, and in doing so remove all of the salt with it. But if the little monkey has stirred the sugar, then we may find no part unspoiled by the salt. Now all the sugar is
It is in that sense that defilement is said to be "total". Good there may be, as there was sugar, but it is all marred and made useless. Sin has affected the person's will, understanding, affections, and every other faculty, rendering the person
What Jesus Believed
Jesus, however, did not think that all men were utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil. He could see some good in people that was still pure and some faculties
Jesus spoke of a man "in whom there is no deceit"
Calvinists say that "fallen nature" is passed on from Adam and Eve to the newborn through all generations. When Adam and Eve, our first ancestors, committed the sin of eating
"...fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and so became dead in sin, and wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body. They being the root of all mankind, the guilt of this sin was imputed and the same death in sin and corrupted nature conveyed to all their posterity descending from them
Jesus and Paul disagree with that. They believe people are born without moral corruption or "sinful nature", but become victims of moral pollution
What Paul Believed
Paul pictures human depravity in Romans 1:18-32. The people were not depraved by nature, but deliberately perverted what was good in their nature and knowledge. They chose to exchange good for evil,
Romans 5:12 tells us how sin spreads: "Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned..." It is true that Adam and Eve fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and so became dead in sin. But there is no truth in the statement, nor does the verse say, that the guilt of Adam and Eve's sin was imputed to all their posterity, or that and their death in sin and corrupted nature was conveyed by ordinary generation to all those
Look again at Romans 5:12. It says, "Death spread to all men, because all sinned". A person who has never yielded to enticements to commit sin, is not dead in sin, and death in sin is spread by contagion, not heredity. People deceive others
What Jesus Said
Jesus spoke of little children. "Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven". Jesus went on to declare woe upon anyone who "causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin", and he warns, "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father..." Later Jesus says, "Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven"
Note that these children had a capacity, not a disability. They were able to be humble and to believe. Jesus foresees that these children will become sinners, but how? "Offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!"
The human nature of Christ
What about Christ's human nature? Because he was a real human with a lineage from Adam and Eve, Jesus called himself "The Son of Man". If he did not share our nature, how can he be called "man" --and how can he be a High Priest who is able to sympathise with our weaknesses having been tempted in all points as we are?
Did Jesus suffer from hereditary total depravity? Was he "made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil"? Was he "wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body"? Was he "utterly indisposed and disabled" in his attempt to be righteous? You say "No! No!" Of course you are right --and you've just seen one of the gaping holes in Calvinistic theory. It requires one to invent a theory to explain how Jesus can be wholly human, one of Adam's children, sharing their nature, yet not born depraved
Sometimes "total depravity" is called "total inability". Calvinists say we are "utterly indisposed and disabled". We have no ability whatever to help ourselves in becoming righteous or to contribute to our own salvation. God must do everything and take
Imagine a girl and boy are out sailing together. The girl falls overboard. The boy throws out a rope to the girl which she seizes. She swims as best she can towards the boat while the boy hauls for all he is worth and shouts encouragement. The girl is saved by synergy or acting together with the boy on the boat. If the girl in the sea was for some reason unable to grasp the rope, or to swim, or do anything else to help with her rescue, then the boy on the boat would have to do all things necessary and take full responsibility
What Paul Believed
Paul said, "Work out your own salvation... for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure"
Calvinists quote two texts which they feel prove their point about human nature
"You were by nature children of wrath, "The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God... nor can he know them because they are
The "nature" in these verses is not inherited, but acquired by experience in a sinful society. "Nature" refers to the world and environment one grows up in, the traditions and culture one acquires, and the things one absorbs. For example Peter speaks of redemption "from your futile conduct received by tradition from your fathers"
One can live in a society whose ways are futile and wicked. One can learn and accept those ways and become darkened by them. Culture may influence a person's thinking and behaviour enormously. Yet one can turn to a belief system based on the ways of the Lord, being re-educated so that a new nature supplants the old nature (Rom 6:4-6). [Calvinists do not believe
What Paul Believed
Human "nature" is as much capable of upholding God's law as it is capable of perverting and rejecting it. The depraved people in Romans 1:26 had grown up in a world where the knowledge of God was clear. They had gone "against nature", having suppressed and perverted what, by nature, was theirs.
Romans 2:14 says people "do by nature the things written in the law". Their lives and thoughts were obviously influenced by God's law which was present in the milieu of their existence, and they did not suppress or pervert that truth but chose instead to live by it. Thus one can "by nature" do right (Rom 2:14) and one can "by nature" do wrong
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