OceanSide church of Christ

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CALVINISM (4)

Total Hereditary Depravity (2)

Victor M. Eskew

 

            According to Calvinism, man is totally depraved.  His flesh is depraved.  His mind is depraved.  His soul is depraved.  This depraved state was inherited from Adam and Eve who passed on their depravity to all following generations.  Because of this depraved state, man is completely incapable of coming to God.  He does not know spiritual things.  In fact, he cannot know anything spiritual until God operates on his heart. 

            Total hereditary depravity is a false doctrine.  There are two ways to refute it.   First, we can show that is stands in opposition to plain teachings of God’s Word.  Second, we can examine the verses from the Bible that the Calvinists use to teach this doctrine and properly interpret them.  In this article, we want to show that Calvinism contracts plain teachings of God’s Word. 

            First, the Bible teaches that it is God who creates the spirit of man within him.  “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was:  and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it” (Eccl. 12:7).  Zechariah stated this same truth in his book of prophecy.  “The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him” (Zech. 12:1).  In Hebrews 12:9, the inspired penman refers to God as “the Father of spirits.”  When a child is conceived and begins to develop in the womb, the mother and father are responsible for the fleshly part of the child.  The spirit, however, was not instilled by human beings.  The spirit was formed by God.  If an individual is totally depraved in both flesh and spirit at birth, then it is God who is responsible for that evil spirit.  Why?  Because the Bible teaches that it is He that formed it.  Would anyone be willing to admit that an all-holy God would put an evil spirit into a little child?  Let’s hope not.

            Another thought here involves Jesus.  Jesus took became flesh when He became a man.  “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14).  If Jesus was conceived by Mary who at one time had been depraved, how did He escape being depraved at birth?  What doctrine have the Calvinists devised to explain the birth of Jesus?  The Catholics have their doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.  What teaching does the Calvinist advocate that explains how Jesus how could born without being totally depraved?  Remember, half of His being involved his one-time depraved, human mother Mary.

            Second, the Bible clearly tells us that sin is not something that is passed on from one generation to the next.  In other words, sin cannot be inherited.  In Ezekiel 18:20, we read:  “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.  The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son:  the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.”  Sin is something that is committed.  It is not something that is inherited.  When little children are born into the world, they are sinless.  They do not know good from evil.  In fact, they do not even know their left hand from their right hand.  As they age, they learn about good and evil.  They eventually reach the age of accountability wherein they are responsible for their own transgressions.  This harmonizes with the words of the wise Solomon in Ecclesiastes 7:29.  “Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.”

            Third, when Jesus was on the earth, one of the objects He used in His teachings was little children.  “And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:2-4).  In the very next chapter of Matthew’s gospel, we see Jesus using children again in His teaching.  “Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray;  and the disciples rebuked them.  But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me; for of such is the kingdom of God.  And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence” (Matt. 19:13-15).  Two times Jesus acknowledges that little children are examples of citizens of the kingdom of heaven.  If they were totally depraved, this would not be a very good comparison to say the least.  In the lectureship book, entitled, Calvinism, edited by David P. Brown, B.J. Clarke, has a chapter entitled, “Total Hereditary Depravity.”  On page 329, he makes two salient statements.  He says:  “If the children are totally depraved and the kingdom of God belongs to them, then the kingdom of God belongs to those who are totally depraved…Furthermore, if little children are totally depraved, and we are to become like little children in order to enter the kingdom of God, then we must become totally depraved to enter the kingdom of God.”  The fact is that Jesus knew little children are innocent and pure.  Every person who is a member of the Lord’s kingdom needs to be just an innocent and pure.  Too, they need to look to little children as examples in other ways as well.

            Fourth, total hereditary depravity teaches us that man is completely unable to accept the teachings of God’s Word until God opens man’s heart to receive those teachings.  This position calls into question the power of the divine Word of God.  God constantly exhorts human beings to hear His Word (Matt. 13:43; Mark 4:24; Luke 8:15; Acts 2:22; Rom. 10:17; James 1:19).  We are also told that Word is God’s power to save the souls of those who are lost.  “The law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul…” (Ps. 19:7).  “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:17).  And again:  “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21).  None of this makes sense if man cannot truly understand the Word of God until the Holy Spirit operates on the heart of the depraved.  He can hear the truth proclaimed a thousand times, but it will have effect on his heart until it is opened by God.  It makes no difference how powerful the Word is as long as the depraved heart is operated on by the Spirit of God. 

            We have briefly looked at four teachings of God’s Word that conflict with Total Hereditary Depravity.  We will close this article with one last thought.  If a person is a Christian according to Calvinism, then his entire nature has been changed by the gospel and by the blood of Christ.  If this is so, how can he pass on a depraved nature to his children?  Is the man still partly depraved?  Was he not completely changed in the process of conversion?  Again, this shows just how ridiculous this doctrine is.