Few Christians outright argue against the doctrine of the depravity of man – the biblical concept of man’s inherent sinfulness and tendency towards rebellion against God. A glance at Jeremiah 17:9 (“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”) or Romans 3:10-11 (“As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.’”) is sufficient to establish the truth of the matter for a Bible-believer.
If “total depravity” is so widely acknowledged among believers, and is at the same time so closely connected with the doctrines of grace, why do so many professing Christians reject the Calvinistic view of salvation? I believe it’s due, at least in part, to various misunderstandings of what the Calvinist means by the term “total depravity.” Let’s try to clear up some of those misunderstandings by taking a look at this important teaching under these headings: first, comparing what total depravity isn’t teaching with what it really is teaching; then looking at Scripture and asking if what the Calvinist actually does believe about man’s depravity is biblically justified; then wrapping it up by asking the question “Does it really matter?”
1) What It Isn’t and What It Is Though it may be obvious, we can start by pointing out that the Calvinist is definitely not saying that people are as bad as they could possibly be. Everyone, saved or not, is morally capable of saying “no” to many sinful impulses for a variety of reasons. Even the most hostile among us are able to commit acts of kindness (or at the very least civility) when the mood strikes, or perhaps when they stand to gain something from showing good behavior. The doctrine in question here is not at all concerned with this ability, which all people clearly possess.
Next, we can note that holding to the doctrine of total depravity does not necessitate reducing a person, saved or not, to little more than a puppet or robot, with no ability to make real decisions for which they can (and will) justly be held accountable by God. Some non-reformed believers are surprised to learn that, though some clarification of terms is definitely in order (and since most folks are rarely willing to take the time to clarify their terms, I generally avoid using the phrase), the Calvinist is able to affirm a sense in which even the unsaved possesses “free will” (from whence comes his responsibility before God to do what is right). A central point so thoroughly established by the highly-respected Calvinist Jonathan Edwards in his work “Freedom of the Will” is that a person is always free to choose that which he is most strongly inclined towards at the moment of decision. Self-evident, right? In regards to salvation, if, when presented with the gospel, a person was somehow naturally (this is, apart from God’s working in their heart) inclined towards responding with repentance and faith, I can think of no physical, psychological or theological barrier to God accepting them and their truly being saved in that moment. The problem with the as-yet unregenerate fellow who is presented with the gospel is not a lack of intellectual ability to understand the need for repentance and faith, but a complete lack of desire on his part to do so. In short, man is indeed “free” to respond to God however he wishes; and apart from God’s saving grace, his free, whole-hearted response will be rejection.
Lastly, the Calvinist is not trying to say that the unregenerate will never express a desire to be saved, or express a love for God. The Calvinist is fully aware that people like Joseph Stalin, who spend even their last moments before death visibly raging against God, are the exception. Obviously there are also those who will swear up and down that they really are looking for “the truth,” or even that they have found that truth in God and are happy to be serving Him. Possessing a desire to escape God’s wrath or simply claiming to be Christ’s follower does not make one a true believer, however. Jesus speaks of this in Matthew 7:22-23: “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Note also that those saying “Lord, Lord” are most certainly expressing a desire to be saved.) Jesus says in John 16:2 that there will be those who will believe they are serving God even as they are persecuting His true followers! Those who hold to the doctrine of total depravity do not so much insist that men will never in any way express a love for God or a heart for service, as they insist that–apart from God’s work in the heart–man will never truly love and serve Him as the holy, just, sovereign God of the Bible.
2) Is It Biblical? Who cares what Calvinism teaches if it’s not absolutely biblical! Are there actually any passages of Scripture that clearly teach this doctrine? Well, aside from the verses we looked at in the previous post and those noted in the opening paragraph of this one, I submit the following for your consideration:
“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” - Genesis 6:5 (Are sinful natures today any less sinful than theirs were then?)
“Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.” - Jeremiah 13:23 (Responding to the gospel in repentance and faith would be to “do good,” don’t you think?)
“And [Jesus] 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 6:65 (Jesus is not saying that no one is permitted to come to Him for salvation; He is saying that no one is spiritually able to come to Him. See also John 6:44.)
“Jesus said to [the Jews], ‘...Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. ...And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.’” - John 8:42-44, 46-47 (Note that Jesus does not say “You are not of God because you do not hear,” but “you do not hear because you are not of God”; in other words, they were spiritually unable to hear Christ’s words due to the blinding effect of their sinful nature.)
“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins” - Ephesians 2:1 (If “dead in trespasses and sins” doesn’t indicate spiritual inability, I don’t know what does.... See also verse 5; Colossians 2:13.)
“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.” - I Corinthians 2:14 (This has to be one of the most straight-forward statements in the Word of God regarding man’s spiritual inability.)
Of course, the danger for you the reader in skimming multiple texts like those I’ve provided here is that I could have easily taken these passages out of their context in order to provide backup to make my point. Don’t take my word for it; look them up and prayerfully consider whether or not the author of each is indeed making a case for the heart’s natural inclination away from God and towards sin and rebellion. I’m convinced that, properly interpreted, these passages (along with many others I haven’t cited) confirm the Calvinistic understanding of the depravity of man.
3) Does It Really Matter? Even if the doctrine of total depravity is found to be standing on solid ground Scripturally, what difference does the truth of it make in day-to-day living–in how we share the gospel with people, or in our own prayer life, for example? All the difference in the world. The implications of this doctrine could fill whole books, so part of a blog post can barely give even a partial summary, but let’s glance at just a couple areas of application.
We can be sure that, when we share the gospel with others, we will never, ever be able to bring anyone to true repentance and faith through the strength of our own bulletproof arguments. We should always be able and willing to give “a defense to everyone who asks [us] a reason for the hope that is in [us]” (I Peter 3:15), but we must do so remembering that God alone is able to use our words to convert the sinner’s stony heart to a heart of flesh that will submit to His authority and cry to Him for salvation. When we realize that it’s not merely ignorance of the evidence for the historical accuracy of God’s Word holding our unsaved friend back from submitting to Christ (though that may be part of it), it frees us to witness as God gives opportunity with confidence that it is up to God, not us and our “perfect presentation,” to draw the sinner to Himself.
In our prayer concerning ourselves, understanding the depth of our own depravity should increase our thankfulness towards God for saving us a hundred-fold. We should thank Him for His work in us while we were still inclined to reject Him, and of course we must take absolutely no credit for any part of our salvation (not even for the having the “good sense” to accept it). When I consider what the Bible says about my pre-regenerate nature, coupled with the tendencies towards that nature that still reside within me, it scares me just to think how justified God would have been to leave me to myself and let me rush headlong into an eternity of punishment. When we think of unsaved loved ones around us, we’re driven to prayer for them when we see that only God can possibly effect their salvation. We must see ourselves and the lost around us as God’s Word declares us to be, rather than as a motivational speaker would lead us to believe; and this will lead us to see God as He declares Himself to be: “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6-7a). Now that’s truly awesome!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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