What is Calvinism?
Calvinism is not a denomination or a religion within Christianity but rather a way of understanding how Christianity works: more specifically our salvation. Calvinism gets its name from 16th-century French theologian John Calvin (1509-1564) who developed this framework and was one of four key men who led the protestant reformation, a historical event during the 1500s where Christians broke away from the Roman Catholic church which had grown incredibly wealthy and corrupt selling things like indulgences which is where you could have to pay money to have your sins forgiven.
Calvinism and TULIP
When it comes to Calvinism, there is only one thing you need to know and that is TULIP. TULIP is an acronym that explains 5 doctrines of this theological framework. Below are the 5 points of Calvinism, also known as doctrines of grace,
T = Total Depravity
U- Unconditional election
L- Limited Atonement
I – Irresistible Grace
P- Perseverance of the Saints
In understanding these 5 doctrines, you will know what a Calvinist believes in regard to how someone is saved by the Grace of God through Faith in Jesus Christ.
Total Depravity
Total Depravity, also called Total Inability, is the backbone of Calvinism. If Total Depravity is biblical then the other four doctrines of Tulip naturally fall into place. Of course, every single one of these doctrines must be tested by scripture. Do not accept something just because it is logical. Nevertheless, understanding total depravity and proving whether it is biblical is critical to proving whether Calvinism and the rest of Tulip are scriptural.
Total depravity asserts that as a result of the fall of Adam and Eve, all humans are born sinful and spiritually dead. This concept is known as original sin. In Psalm 51:5 where he says, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” David is not saying that the act of his parents conceiving him was sinful nor is he saying that it was a sin for him to be conceived but rather he is speaking that he is born with a sinful nature. He was born a sinner. We are sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners. This is why we can say things like nobody is perfect.
Now it is important to understand that total depravity does not mean you are as bad as you can possibly be as if to say you are utterly depraved. We can agree that despite how evil and wicked we may have been in this life, we can think of ways we could have been even worse. Instead, total depravity teaches that the negative consequence of the fall of humanity affects and corrupts every aspect of our being. It affects us physically, that is why we become sick. It affects our minds and that is why we think wicked evil and perverse things. It affects our will. The Bible teaches us that we are all born with our wills in bondage to the evil one. (John 8:34) Jesus said that,” Truly, truly I say to you everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.”
Many Christians would agree with me up to this point. But the debate is actually when we start looking at what degree has human beings fallen. Essentially, Calvinism asserts that our original sin (inherited sin nature) has corrupted all men to the point where no human being is capable of choosing on their own will to turn from living sinfully and choosing to deny themselves and obey one true God by first putting their faith in his son, Jesus Christ.
Many People tend to believe that man is born essentially good but has been tainted by sin. This is why many people want to fix society by fixing the environment in which people live. The problem is not outside of ourselves, the problem is inside of us. The problem is seen to be the school, the government, the neighbors, etc. The problem is everything except you. This is why we see slogans like Just Be You and Embrace Yourself and Love Yourself as you are. People believe humans are inherently good. That they may do bad things but deep down they have a good heart.
The Calvinist view however is that the corruption of man has polluted the nature of humans to the very core. We have been so corrupted that there is no righteousness left in us. The evil is so intertwined within the very fibers of our being that the whole man, every little bit of him is corrupt. The only thing in the heart of man is wickedness and selfish ambition.
The Big Question
Does the Bible teach that all men are incapable of their own will, of hearing and accepting the gospel, by forsaking their sin and placing faith in Jesus Christ, all without the spirit of God first working within them? Can a man with a heart of stone have the desire to put his faith in Jesus Christ or must God first give you the heart of flesh before you can even believe? Does the Bible teach that before a person can be receptive to the gospel and things of God, God must first bring them to life spiritually before they can even believe and place their faith in Jesus Christ?
What Does the Bible Teach?
- The hearts of all men are evil from Birth.
Jeremiah 17:9 says, “ The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it?“ David says in Psalms 51:5 that he was guilty when he was born and he was a sinner when his mother conceived him. In Romans chapter 3, apostle Paul emphasizes that there is none righteous, not even one clearly showing that we are all sinners.
“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks after God. Romans 3:10. If no one seeks after God, can anyone therefore seek God without God working in their heart first?
These verses show that all men are born wicked. The evil naturally springs from the heart of man.
- Men are incapable of Hearing, Understanding, and Putting their faith in Jesus Christ prior to Regeneration by God.
Romans 8:7-9 – For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.
Notice how the spirit of God and the spirit of Christ is used interchangeably. This shows that the only people who are not hostile to God are those who have the spirit of Christ within them. Now, will someone hostile to God submit to God, confess their sins to God, admit his need for a savior, and believe in Jesus Christ? The above passage makes it very clear that those who do not have the spirit of Christ working within them are governed by the flesh and are incapable of submitting to God.
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:14
The natural man, the man without the spirit of Christ (unbeliever) is incapable of understanding anything spiritual. It is foolishness to him. This verse teaches us that unbelievers cannot understand anything spiritual. Can someone put their faith in something they cannot understand? Would someone entrust their soul and govern their lives based on something that is foolishness to their ears? Interestingly, we don’t need to wonder because Paul answers this question in the previous chapter verse 18.
“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
Who are the ones who fall into the category of those who are perishing? It is those who are not being saved. Who are those who are being saved? It is those who have the spirit of Christ within them. It is those people who have placed their faith in Christ Jesus and repented of their sins, believing the message of the cross. Those who are not being saved are perishing i.e. unbelievers.
So the message of the cross is foolishness to unbelievers. But also note that unbelievers cannot become believers unless they put their faith in Christ Jesus believing the message of the cross, which is foolishness to them.
Did Jesus say that anyone could come to him, irregardless of their carnal state, hear his message of the gospel, understand it, and place their faith in Him? Jesus said;
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life.”
John 6:63
Jesus says that the words he speaks are spirit. Now does the natural man accept spiritual things? We have already seen in 1 Corinthians 2:14 that natural man does not accept the things of the spirit, for they are foolishness to him. Again, in John 3:19-20, Jesus said, “And this is the judgement: that the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.”
For whom can it be said that before they came to Christ they were not practicing evil? According to Jesus, all who practice evil hate the light and do not come into the light. This is similar to Romans 8:7 which says that the mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God and does not submit to God.
The condition of the fallen man is such that he is incapable of:
- Submitting to the law of God. (Romans 8:7-9)
- Understanding the Gospel (1 Corinthians 2:14)
- Coming to the Light. (John 3:19-20)
How Do We Come to Christ Then?
How are we then saved? Because when I was being saved, I heard the gospel, I heard that I was a sinner before the Holy and Just God. I submitted myself to God as a sinner for mercy. I repented of my sins and trusted Christ Jesus for salvation. If an unbeliever by himself cannot choose God, then how did it happen to me that I was able to love things of God?
In John 6:44, Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day.” The word draw used in this verse comes from the Greek word elko which means force against one’s will. This word is also used in Acts 21:30 to show how Paul was dragged out of the temple. And Acts 16:19 where Paul and Silas were dragged out of the marketplace.
No one can come to God unless the Father makes them want to come. (CEV translation). God is sovereign above all and he does all he pleases for his glory including saving sinners. Jesus said in John 6:65, “…This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted to him by the Father. Jesus is saying that no one can believe in him unless the Father enables the person.
This means that God is sovereign over everything including salvation. God has to drag us to His feet and enable us to believe in His Son Jesus Christ. If then it is God who makes the decision, when did he choose for us to be saved?
In 2 Timothy 1:8-9, “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.”
In the above passage, Paul calls himself a prisoner to show that God has saved him for His own purpose and Grace. It was decided by God before the ages began. God’s plan for our salvation was before we were born. In fact, it was actually before God created Adam and Eve. That is the meaning of the words before the ages began.
Salvation is wholly the work of God. It is not based on any single decision we have made. Salvation is not about work or merit. It is all about God and what he wants to accomplish. This is why he can say through Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:8-9,” For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Your faith is part of the gift otherwise how could grace be considered a gift if it requires you to first come up with the faith? The gift does not require anything of the receiver. Therefore, if you need faith to receive grace then faith must be part of the gift. This is enabling that Jesus spoke of.
True faith is a gift from God. God does not give dead faith. True faith will produce good works (Ephesians 2:10). You can be confident that you will not lose your salvation because God never takes back his gifts. God’s gifts and the calling are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). Believers have assurance of salvation.
Summary.
Is Total Depravity Biblical?
Does the Bible teach that all men are born evil?
Yes. Psalms 51:5, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
Does the Bible teach that an unregenerate man is incapable of making sense of anything spiritual?
Yes. 1 Corinthians 2:14, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
Does the Bible teach us that the Gospel is Spiritual?
Yes. John 6:63, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
Does the Bible Teach that the natural man is incapable of understanding the Gospel making him incapable of being affected by the gospel?
Yes. 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
Does the Bible teach us that to believe the gospel the Father must first bring you to Jesus and give you the ability to believe in Jesus?
Yes. John 6:44, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”
John 6.65, “And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.””
