Dear BPCWA worshipper, Last week, we saw that our relationship as a human race to Adam is more than just about tracing our ancestry to one man. We saw how the significance is more than physical. We are all sinners because of Adam’s fall. This is because Adam is the federal head of mankind (Rom 5:18-19). This is what theologians rightly identify as original sin, which results in the total depravity of man.  Be aware that some Christians reject this state of man after Adam’s fall, despite undeniably clear affirmations of it in the Scriptures. This week, I hope to answer the questions that are often asked to Calvinists, “If man is totally depraved and cannot choose God due to Adam’s fall, then how can God hold man responsible for his choice to sin and reject God? After all, Calvinists teach that total depravity means that man “cannot” choose God, correct?” Dear reader, you must be clear about what God says and what we believe, or else you may find that you, or your child, may begin to reject Biblical beliefs over time due to such false accusations about God and our Biblically based beliefs.

Accusation: If Calvinists teach that “man cannot choose God anymore after the fall” then how can a man be responsible for his sins?  Being of the Reformed faith, I do hope that you know what you believe and will not misrepresent or allow someone to misrepresent the faith. When Calvinists say that “man can no longer choose God after the fall”, it is exactly because God said so in John 6:44, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” But, “can” is not merely about ability, as I will explain further below. Neither is it about permission. God is not saying that no man is “permitted” to come to Christ. Rather, it is about the natural man’s utter refusal to come to God. It is just like when you find something so utterly disagreeable to your nature, you naturally say, “I just cannot bring myself to agree, I am unable to accept that, let alone seek after it”.  God says that man cannot bring himself to turn to God because, “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. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God” (John 3:19-21).  What is meant by “man cannot” is that fallen man loves sins so much (because it is what makes up his fallen nature) he simply cannot bring himself to even imagine submitting to the idea of being in total agreement with what God says.  He certainly would not seek to worship, love, obey, and serve God to bring glory to his Creator without it being mixed with personal motives. So, it does not mean that God intentionally ensured that fallen man has no ability to turn to God even if they wanted to!

Accusation: Total depravity is a wrong doctrine because man can understand the Gospel and do good deeds! Total depravity is not that man will only do the most heinous deeds and nothing else. Rather, it means that fallen man is in every aspect (total) of his nature inclined to love sin (depravity). Even if a man does anything seemingly “morally good”, it will always be tainted with sin. Fallen man will never do good out of pure obedience to the Holy God and wholly out of love to glorify the Creator. We rightly propound total depravity because of God’s assertion, “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God” (Rom 3:11). The Greek word for “understandeth” (Greek: suniemi) is not merely about cognitive understanding i.e. merely mental and intellectual comprehension. We know that anyone who speaks a language can comprehend what a sentence may mean though they may not agree with what has been said. We must know that the word “understandeth” means more than just knowing the meaning. It has to do with being joined together in agreement of the heart. This word is not just about being able to consciously know the facts presented, but about spiritually embracing in submissive agreement to what is perceived. And the phrase “seeketh after” God is also more than just intellectual interest in God. It is a craving and even a begging after God. A beggar seeks with a most humble bowing of heart, willing to agree to anything to obtain what he acknowledges he is sorely in need of. And God repeatedly asserts that there is none among fallen man who understandeth, i.e. would agree fully with and totally submit to His Truth. And there is none that will crave and beg for His Truth so that they may be saved to obey, love, worship, and serve Him for His glory alone. Man must first agree (understand) before he will want to obtain to keep (seek).  In the parable of the sower and the seed, the Gospels describe the response of the believer, the good soil. These will understand (also Greek: suniemi, i.e. agree, is used in Matt 13:23), “receive” (Greek: paradechomai, ie accept onto oneself, Mark 4:20), and “keep” (Greek: katecho, act to retain and hold firm possession). So, “understand” is not a mere mental and logical assent but a hearty agreement that brings about active obedience. Yes, men may go to church and seem excited to seek God. But often, many leave the moment they realise that Christianity is against certain practices or lifestyles of the world.  Unbelievers cannot understand (agree with their hearts).  Christ describes their hearts as being either the stony ground or the thorny ground. They will get offended by the Truth, though they initially seem joyful and interested in God.

Accusation: If Calvinists teach that God has elected, then God, not man, should be blamed for the lost. Some even absurdly accuse the Calvinists of teaching that God prevents the non-elect from understanding to ensure that they do not get saved.We teach no such an idea at all! An unbeliever may also accuse Christians, quoting “That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them” (Mark 4:12). The accusation is “How can God make sure that I do not see to prevent me from being converted and be saved?” The misinterpretation of these passages leads to false accusations of what we believe, and these false accusers cause some to reject Christianity. Ridiculously, some Christians who are against Calvinism blame Calvinism for people rejecting Christianity. Let us see what Matthew records about this very same event, “For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them” (Matt 13:15). God expounds clearly that it is “they have closed” their own eyes i.e. the hearers themselves refused to agree with what they heard from Christ. God did not close their eyes. It is back to the reminder that none “understandeth” (agree) and none “seeketh” (crave after and beg for God). Man, not God, is always to be blamed. Fallen man is entirely to be blamed for their rejection of God, as James Oliver Buswell rightly stated, “The chargeable cause of the loss of the lost is in the lost.”

I hope that you are clear about what Calvinists mean when we use the terms “total depravity” and “man’s inability” to choose God. Do not allow erroneous caricatures to make you doubt what God has revealed clearly about man’s state after the fall. But there remains the question, “If God knows that none will agree with Him or seek Him and that He has elected those to be saved, then why is the Bible full of verses calling man to repent when He knows the non-elect simply will not? God is double-minded!” God willing, we will answer this question in next week’s pastoral.

Yours in our Lord’s service,
Pastor