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发帖数: 3781 | 1 Calvinism consists of theological doctrines which use words found in the Bib
le. However, Calvinism consistently redefines those words, takes them out of
context, applies the doctrines inappropriately, exaggerates the meaning of
the words to the extreme, or in some other way distorts the Word of God to m
atch the theology written by John Calvin in his book, Institutes of the Chri
stian Religion. The following is a typical definition of Total Depravity, th
e First Point of Calvinism, written by one of the popular Calvinist authors.
Total Depravity or Total Inability
"Because of the fall, man is unable of himself to savingly believe the gospe
l. The sinner is dead, blind, and deaf to the things of God; his heart is de
ceitful and desperately corrupt. His will is not free, it is in bondage to h
is evil nature, therefore, he will not - indeed he cannot - choose good over
evil in the spiritual realm. Consequently, it takes much more than the Spir
it's assistance to bring a sinner to Christ - it takes regeneration by which
the Spirit makes the sinner alive and gives him a new nature. Faith is not
something man contributes to salvation but is itself a part of God's gift of
salvation - it is God's gift to the sinner, not the sinner's gift to God."
The Bible clearly teaches the sin nature and evil ways of mankind. This is t
he case with every person and is fully supported by Scripture, but Scripture
certainly does not teach a state of Total Depravity or Total Inability. Rej
ection of this exaggeration by Saint Augustine and John Calvin is critical i
n the proper understanding of a multitude of scripture verses.
Genesis 6:5 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. 6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and
He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the Lord said, "I will destroy man whom I
have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing
and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them." 8 But Noah fou
nd grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Romans 3:10 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 Ther
e is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have a
ll turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who d
oes good, no, not one." 13 "Their throat [is] an open tomb; With their tongu
es they have practiced deceit"; "The poison of asps [is] under their lips";
14 "Whose mouth [is] full of cursing and bitterness." 15 "Their feet [are] s
wift to shed blood; 16 Destruction and misery [are] in their ways; 17 And th
e way of peace they have not known." 18 "There is no fear of God before thei
r eyes."
Psalm 36:1 An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wic
ked: [There] [is] no fear of God before his eyes. 2 For he flatters himself
in his own eyes, When he finds out his iniquity [and] when he hates. 3 The w
ords of his mouth [are] wickedness and deceit; He has ceased to be wise [and
] to do good. 4 He devises wickedness on his bed; He sets himself in a way [
that] [is] not good; He does not abhor evil.
One definition for the word righteous is to be without sin, meaning one is t
otally sinless. The Apostle Paul in Romans 3:10 is paraphrasing Psalm 36:1 w
here King David was describing the transgressions of the wicked, not the tot
ally depraved condition of all people. David is specifically separating the
wicked from the general population. Everyone sins to some degree and cannot
be declared righteous unless that sin is taken away as was done on the cross
by Jesus. This does not mean that everyone is totally depraved as suggested
by Saint Augustine and John Calvin.
The Apostle Paul wrote the letter of Romans to the church in Rome with a ple
a and arguments against trying to keep the law (Ten Commandments) as the Jew
ish believers were attempting to do. He was teaching that no one is without
sin. No one is perfect. None are righteous. Trying to keep the law does not
justify one before God. Paul was not telling the Romans that people are "Tot
ally Depraved" as falsely taught by Saint Augustine and John Calvin.
Another definition used in the Bible for the word righteous is the lack of f
aith. Unbelief in God is certainly unrighteousness. Throughout the Bible peo
ple lacking faith in God are described a being unrighteous. Unbelief is cert
ainly a sin, but the Bible never declares that unrighteousness is a state of
totally depravity that requires every person to be continually sinful in a
ll thoughts and deeds. The Bible never states that every person cannot do on
e thing or have one thought that is not sinful. The Bible say just the oppos
ite. The Bible continually describes the good deeds, right actions, and righ
t decisions made by people. Saint Augustine and John Calvin developed the fa
lse doctrine called Total Depravity, but it is not in the Bible.
Romans 3:23 says "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." The s
tatement "all have sinned" means that no one is perfect and no one is withou
t sin. It does not mean that everyone is totally depraved. Likewise, the sta
tement "fall short of the glory of God" indicates a partial "short" falling
only, not a condition of total depravity. Romans 3:23 clearly refutes the "t
otal depravity" doctrine of John Calvin. The total depravity doctrine is fal
se. The exaggeration of Scripture is heresy. John Calvin was a heretic. Yet
John Calvin murdered people by burning them at the stake simply because they
disagreed with him. Jesus taught to "turn the other cheek" (Matthew 5:39) a
nd to "brush the dust off your feet" (Mark 6:11) when people disagreed with
you.
Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed,
being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of G
od, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there
is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Ch
rist Jesus, 25 whom God set forth [as] a propitiation by His blood, through
faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had
passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at th
e present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of
the one who has faith in Jesus.
John Calvin says all mankind are Totally Depraved. If so, who are the righte
ous mentioned more than thirty time is the Book of Psalms such as in Psalms
37:17? Job was described as blameless and upright in Job 1:1 and God saw Noa
h was righteous in Genesis 7:1. The Bible talks of righteous people numerous
times. Calvinists will say these people and all the other examples were mad
e righteous by God, but there is absolutely no scripture to support that doc
trine.
Psalms 37:17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, But the Lord uphold
s the righteous.
Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name [was] Job; and that ma
n was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.
Genesis 7:1 Then the Lord said to Noah, "Come into the ark, you and all your
household, because I have seen [that] you [are] righteous before Me in this
generation."
Calvinistic preachers falsely teach that Noah was totally depraved. They pre
ach falsely because to teach correctly would be contrary to the false doctri
nes of Calvinism. However, the Bible teaches that Noah was "perfect in his g
eneration" and "walked with God." The false teachers of Calvinism give the w
ord "perfect" a different definition in order to distort Scripture. We know
that Noah was righteous because he "walked with God." Noah's faith was count
ed to him as righteousness because he believed God. Abraham was exactly the
same. God would not have had such a close relationship with a depraved man.
God considered them to be righteous, not depraved. We know Noah and Abraham
were righteous because God threw Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden beca
use of one simple sin of disobedience. Before Adam's sin he also walked and
talked with God. Noah and Abraham both showed they were not perfect later in
life but neither could be described as depraved and certainly not totally d
epraved as falsely taught by John Calvin.
Genesis 6:9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in h
is generations. Noah walked with God.
Abel brought the best of his sheep as an offering to God. The Lord respected
Abel and his offering. Abel did well. This certainly rebukes the doctrine o
f Total Depravity and Total Inability.
Genesis 4:2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a
keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in the process o
f time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the gro
und to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of th
eir fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not resp
ect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell
. 6 So the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenan
ce fallen? 7 "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do
well, sin lies at the door.
All of mankind have a sin nature since the fall. Many verses of Scripture ta
lk of the exceedingly sinful nature of a generation, group or city. Indeed t
hey were, but one cannot take these verses out of context and apply every si
tuation to all mankind in an effort to support a false doctrine. According t
o John Calvin's doctrine a man who admits to unbelief in God and yet saves a
drowning child at the risk of his own life would be performing an act of to
tal depravity.
John Calvin followed in the footsteps of Saint Augustine by applying the the
ology of the heretic Gnostic Christian sect and those of the Manichaeism pag
an religion to the Bible to describe man's sin nature as Total Depravity. Th
e word "depravity" is not found in the Bible but has its source in Augustine
and his pagan religion. Calvinists exaggerate the sin nature of man to the
extreme in an effort to claim man cannot believe the gospel when it is prese
nted to him, a condition of Total Inability. We know this definition by Calv
inists is untrue because the Bible continually calls upon the unregenerate u
nbeliever to believe, and many respond. John Calvin taught that man cannot r
espond to God's call for sinners to believe because of man's total inability
. This doctrine is a blasphemous assault on God's character by suggesting Go
d is asking something of man that God knows man cannot do and then punishing
man for not responding.
Calvin's Distortion of the Attributes of God
Calvinism teaches that man's depravity and inability are of such an extreme
that man cannot do anything good or evil, believe or disbelieve, without bei
ng directed or controlled by God. This doctrine is certainly depraved becaus
e it makes man a puppet of God and God the author of sin. In Calvinism, God
creates a totally depraved man, God causes the man to sin, God punishes man
for this sin by sentencing him to eternal torment, and although God has prov
ided a way of salvation for a glorious life in heaven, He elects some men fo
r eternal damnation. This doctrine is justified by Calvinists by pronouncing
that God's sovereignty allows it. They ignore and violate all of God's othe
r attributes of love, justice, grace, and mercy by their doctrine of Total D
epravity. This distortion of God is nothing short of blasphemy.
The Bible says:
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, th
at whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
Calvinism does not accept the clear message of John 3:16. Calvinism teaches
that God didn't love the world but instead loved only a few and hated the re
st. This error in Calvinism is a direct result of their failure to correctly
understand Christ's total removal of our sins as we shall see in our study
on Limited Atonement. Calvinism teaches that "whoever believes in Him shall
not perish" does not really mean what it says but instead means that only so
me may believe. Obviously, Calvin has twisted a lot of Scripture in the atte
mpt to force it to match his own theology.
The Apostle Paul taught man's sin in the context that man on his own merits
cannot become acceptable to God because man cannot be perfect as required by
God in this Dispensation of Grace or Church Age. The Bible verses reference
d by Calvinists describe man's sin nature, not a condition of Total Depravit
y or Total Inability.
Total Depravity is Disputed by Scripture
The existence of God has been manifested in every person in his unregenerate
(unsaved) state by the attributes of God clearly seen in all of His creatio
n so that no one is without excuse for rejecting the eternal Godhead. This S
cripture is in complete contradiction to the erroneous doctrine of being bli
nd and deaf to the things of God in Total Depravity. In fact, this Scripture
teaches that no one on earth, even the most vile person whoever lived, is t
otally depraved, but rather that every person is responsible for knowing the
existence of God by the observance of creation around him.
Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodli
ness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown [
it] to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible [attribute
s] are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] Hi
s eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, al
though they knew God, they did not glorify [Him] as God, nor were thankful,
but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of th
e incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man--and birds and f
our-footed animals and creeping things.
Since the time of Adam, the Bible affirms man's ability to respond to the Go
spel while in a fallen state. The following verses are in clear contradictio
n to the erroneous doctrines of Total Depravity or Total Inability which inc
orrectly teach that the unregenerate man does not have the ability to believ
e in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ for his salvation. The Bible solidl
y teaches that every person is given "the measure of faith" and has been enl
ightened by Jesus Christ while still in his unsaved, fallen state.
Romans 6:17 But God be thanked that [though] you were slaves of sin, yet you
obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is amo
ng you, not to think [of] [himself] more highly than he ought to think, but
to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
John 1:9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into
the world.
Cornelius was a Gentile and not a Jew. He could not be classified as one of
the elect, but he was accepted by God because of his faith, Acts 10:4. He ha
d faith in God even though God didn't ordain any Gentile to receive the gosp
el at this time. God turned to the Gentiles with salvation, Acts 11:1. These
verses are in contradiction to the erroneous theologies of Total Depravity
or Total Inability and Unconditional Election. Notice in Acts 13:42 that the
unbelieving Gentiles were begging for the Word of God to be preached to the
m also. Cornelius was not saved and had not received the Holy Spirit before
Peter arrived at his house. Yet he was a devout man and one who feared God w
ith all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to
God always. This is certainly not a condition of Total Depravity as describ
ed in Calvinism. This story about Cornelius proves the basic foundational do
ctrine of Calvinism, Total Depravity, to be totally false.
Acts 10:1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion
of what was called the Italian Regiment, 2 a devout [man] and one who feared
God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and pra
yed to God always. 3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vis
ion an angel of God coming in and saying to him, "Cornelius!" 4 And when he
observed him, he was afraid, and said, "What is it, lord?" So he said to him
, "Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God."
Acts 11:1 Now the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gen
tiles had also received the word of God.
Acts 11:17 "If therefore God gave them the same gift as [He] [gave] us when
we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?"
18 When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God,
saying, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life."
Acts 13:42 So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged t
hat these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.
Lydia was a Gentile in an area that is now the country of Turkey. She was no
t a Jew. Yet she worshipped God before being saved and before God open her h
eart. Because of her faith God opened her heart to the gospel spoken by the
Apostle Paul. God will draw people to Him, but the first move must be by one
's own free will to seek and worship God. God would never approach a "Totall
y Depraved" man, if there were such a person.
Acts 16:13 And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside,
where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women wh
o met [there]. 14 Now a certain woman named Lydia heard [us]. She was a sell
er of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened h
er heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. 15 And when she and her househol
d were baptized, she begged [us], saying, "If you have judged me to be faith
ful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." So she persuaded us.
All mankind is commanded in the Scriptures to believe in God and Jesus Chris
t. These verses overthrow the false doctrines of Total Depravity, Total Inab
ility, and Unconditional Election. Mark 16:16, John 20:31, Acts 16:31, Roman
s 10:9, 1 John 3:23 and 1 John 5:13 have no meaning without the free will of
mankind. God calls upon mankind to believe in Christ because mankind has th
e free will to believe or reject Christ. God would have no reason to call up
on mankind to believe if mankind were in a state of Total Depravity or Total
Inability to respond.
Mark 16:16 "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does n
ot believe will be condemned."
John 20:31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Chri
st, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
Acts 16:31 So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be
saved, you and your household."
Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe i
n your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
1 John 3:23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name
of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.
1 John 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of th
e Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may
[continue] [to] believe in the name of the Son of God.
Isaiah 45:22 "Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I [am
] God, and [there] [is] no other."
Mark 1:15 "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent,
and believe in the gospel."
Acts 17:30 "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands
all men everywhere to repent."
Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who h
ears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him tak
e the water of life freely.
Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all [you] who labor and are heavy laden, and I wi
ll give you rest."
John 7:37 On the last day, that great [day] of the feast, Jesus stood and cr
ied out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."
Scripture Supports Man's Faith is by Free Will
Scripture clearly teaches that "your faith" is required in order for God to
administer His blessing upon you. The phrase "your faith" or "their faith" i
s given thirty-three times in the New Testament New King James Version. Stat
ements such as "God's faith" or "Jesus' faith," as one would expect under Ca
lvinism, do not appear.
John 3:36 "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does
not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
Matthew 9:2 Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Whe
n Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; y
our sins are forgiven you."
Matthew 9:22 But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of go
od cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well."
Matthew 9:29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith le
t it be to you."
Matthew 15:28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great [is] your
faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from th
at very hour.
Mark 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your si
ns are forgiven you."
Mark 5:34 And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in
peace, and be healed of your affliction."
Mark 10:52 Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you wel
l." And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.
Luke 7:50 Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.
"
Luke 8:48 And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has ma
de you well. Go in peace."
Luke 17:19 And He said to him, "Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you
well."
Luke 18:42 Then Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made
you well." 43 And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glori
fying God. And all the people, when they saw [it], gave praise to God.
John 6:39b "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees
the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him
up at the last day."
Romans 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your
faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
2 Corinthians 1:23 Moreover I call God as witness against my soul, that to s
pare you I came no more to Corinth. 24 Not that we have dominion over your f
aith, but are fellow workers for your joy; for by faith you stand.
1 Peter 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if n
eed be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of y
our faith, [being] much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is
tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation o
f Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see [
Him], yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9
receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of [your] souls.
The "faith of Jesus" appears once in Scripture but does not say that Jesus g
ave faith to the unsaved that they might believe as required by the Calvinis
tic doctrine of Total Depravity. Rather, it indicates that the believer kept
the same faith as Jesus, or the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints; here [are] those who ke
ep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
The following verses are a few of many that clearly show that a personal bel
ief in Jesus Christ is required for salvation. Believing is not thrust upon
anyone by God but requires a conscious free will decision by each individual
. Nowhere in Scripture is there any verse, verses or concepts which supports
the blasphemous doctrine that God predestined any specific individual to et
ernal life and others to eternal damnation.
1 John 5:5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus
is the Son of God?
Acts 15:11 "But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ w
e shall be saved in the same manner as they."
Acts 16:31 So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be
saved, you and your household."
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the powe
r of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also
for the Greek.
Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed,
being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of G
od, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.
Romans 9:33 As it is written: "Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and r
ock of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."
Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe i
n your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Galatians 2:16 "knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law
but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we
might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for
by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified."
Galatians 3:22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promis
e by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But befor
e faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which
would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor [to] [bring]
[us] to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Ephesians 1:13 In Him you also [trusted], after you heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were seale
d with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritanc
e until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glo
ry.
1 Thessalonians 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even
so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
2 Thessalonians 1:10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His sain
ts and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony amon
g you was believed.
Calvinists often use Isaiah 64:6-7 below to claim that the best works of man
are like filthy rags to God.
Isaiah 64:6 But we are all like an unclean [thing], And all our righteousnes
ses [are] like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like
the wind, Have taken us away. 7 And [there] [is] no one who calls on Your na
me, Who stirs himself up to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face
from us, And have consumed us because of our iniquities.
Isaiah is describing the deplorable sinful condition of Israel at that time.
He says, "And [there] [is] no one who calls on Your name." Certainly these
verses cannot be applied to all people in all generations because many have
called upon God as clearly seen in Scripture. We should not apply to all peo
ple of all generations the statement that "the best works of man is like fil
thy rags to God." These verses cannot be used to support the false doctrine
of Total Depravity.
In our Dispensation of Grace our faith that God has raised Jesus from the de
ad is our justification. A fireman may decide by his free will to rescue a c
hild from a burning building. This is certainly a wonderful act by the firem
an in risking his own life to rescue the child. However, the righteous act o
f rescue becomes a filthy rag to God if the fireman prays to God claiming hi
s righteous act justifies some of his past sins. The fireman's attempt to ju
stify his sins by good deeds make Jesus' death of no avail, refutes the gosp
el of Christ and blasphemes God. Good deeds used as justification for one's
own sin is certainly rejected by God as a filthy rag. All unsaved people are
encouraged in Scripture to call upon the Lord by his own free will. God wou
ld certainly not ask unsaved people to "call on the name of the Lord" if the
y were Totally Depraved with Total Inability.
Romans 10:12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same
Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For "whoever calls on th
e name of the Lord shall be saved."
Scripture Shows Man's Faith is Not Imputed From God
Calvinists falsely claim that man's depravity is so grave he cannot believe
or have faith unless this faith is imputed from God. John Calvin could not p
roduce any Scripture to support this false doctrine that Calvin's followers
continue to espouse. The Bible clearly tells us how a person obtains his fai
th. The responsibility for believing or rejecting the correct Biblical truth
is clearly one of choice or free will. We receive faith by hearing the word
of God preached or by reading the Bible ourselves.
Romans 10:17 So then faith [comes] by hearing, and hearing by the word of Go
d.
Where Does Faith Come From? Faith of the Son of God or Your Faith?
The story of Jesus' healing the Centurion's servant clearly shows that man c
an have faith in Jesus which is not imputed faith from God. Jesus marveled a
t the Centurion's faith. If the man's faith had come from God, Jesus would n
ot have marveled. This verse clearly disputes the Calvinist doctrine that Go
d imputes all faith to man because of his state of Total Depravity.
Matthew 8:8 The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You
should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be he
aled. 9 "For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And
I say to this [one], `Go,' and he goes; and to another, `Come,' and he comes
; and to my servant, `Do this,' and he does [it]." 10 When Jesus heard [it], | R*o
发帖数: 3781 | 2 why some so called "born again" favor Total Depravity? I think the partial
reason is the group of "born again" fear that they cannot obey god's laws.
So they must degrade themselves to the level of trashes. They use trashes t
o glorify our beloved God.
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【在 R*o 的大作中提到】
: Calvinism consists of theological doctrines which use words found in the Bib
: le. However, Calvinism consistently redefines those words, takes them out of
: context, applies the doctrines inappropriately, exaggerates the meaning of
: the words to the extreme, or in some other way distorts the Word of God to m
: atch the theology written by John Calvin in his book, Institutes of the Chri
: stian Religion. The following is a typical definition of Total Depravity, th
: e First Point of Calvinism, written by one of the popular Calvinist authors.
: Total Depravity or Total Inability
: "Because of the fall, man is unable of himself to savingly believe the gospe
: l. The sinner is dead, blind, and deaf to the things of God; his heart is de
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