Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism

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Random House Unabridged Dictionary
Total depravity Pronunciation (tot'l
di-prav'i-te), n. Theol. the Calvinist doctrine
that humankind's entire nature, including its
reason, is corrupt or sinful as a result of the
Fall and that people are therefore completely
dependent on God for regeneration.
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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Calvinism Total Depravity
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.
Because of the fall, man is unable of himself to
savingly believe the gospel. The sinner is dead,
blind, and deaf to the things of God his heart
is deceitful and desperately corrupt. His will is
not free, it is in bondage to his evil nature,
therefore, he will not - indeed he cannot -
choose good over evil in the spiritual realm.
Consequently, it takes much more than the
Spirit's assistance to bring a sinner to Christ -
From Steele and Thomas' The 5 Points of Calvinism
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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Arminianism Natural Inability
Although human nature was seriously affected by
the fall, man has not been left in a state of
total spiritual helplessness. God graciously
enables every sinner to repent and believe, but
He does not interfere with man's freedom. Each
sinner posses a free will, and his eternal
destiny depends on how he uses it. Man's freedom
consists of his ability to choose good over evil
in spiritual matters his will is not enslaved to
his sinful nature. The sinner has the power to
either cooperate with God's Spirit and be
regenerated or resist God's grace and perish. The
lost sinner needs the Spirit's assistance, but he
does not have to be regenerated by the Spirit
before he can believe, for faith is man's act and
precedes the new birth. Faith is

man's response to the
prevenient grace of God.

the sinner's gift to God it is
man's contribution to salvation.
From Steele and Thomas' The 5 Points of Calvinism
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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Random House Unabridged Dictionary
monergism Pronunciation (mon'ur-jiz"um), n.
Theol. the doctrine that the Holy Ghost acts
independently of the human will in the work of
regeneration.
synergism Pronunciation (sin'ur-jiz"um),
n. Theol. the doctrine that the human will
cooperates with the Holy Ghost in the work of
regeneration.
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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R. C. Sproul, Chosen By God
"Total Depravity is a very misleading term. The
concept of Total Depravity is often confused with
the idea of utter depravity... Total Depravity is
not utter depravity. Utter depravity would mean
that we are as sinful as we can possibly be. We
know that is not the case. No matter how much
each of us has sinned, we are able to think of
worse sins that we could have committed. Even
Adolf Hitler refrained from murdering his
mother."
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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John Calvin Institutes
intellect to the will, from the soul even to the
flesh, is defiled and pervaded with this
concupiscence or, to express it more briefly,
that the whole man is in himself nothing else
than concupiscence."
"For our nature is not only utterly devoid of
goodness, but so prolific in all kinds of evil,
that it can never be idle. Those who term it
concupiscence use a word not very inappropriate,
provided it were added (this, however, many will
by no means concede), that everything which is in
man, from the
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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The Works of John Wesley, vol. 6
But was there not good mingled with the evil? Was
there not light intermixed with the darkness? No
none at all "God saw that the whole imagination
of the heart of man was only evil." It cannot
indeed be denied, but many of them, perhaps all,
had good motions put into their hearts for the
Spirit of God did then also "strive with man," if
haply he might repent,
more especially during that gracious reprieve,
the hundred and twenty years, while the ark was
preparing. But still "in his flesh dwelt no good
thing" all his nature was purely evil It was
wholly consistent with itself, and unmixed with
anything of an opposite nature.
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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Calvinist "proof texts"
Jer. 13 23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or
the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good
who are accustomed to do evil.
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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Calvinist "proof texts"
1 Cor. 2 14 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.
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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Calvinist "proof texts"
Rom. 3 10 As it is written "There is none
righteous, no, not one 11 There is none who
understands There is none who seeks after
God. 12 They have all turned aside They have
together become unprofitable There is none who
does good, no, not one." 13 "Their throat is an
open tomb With their tongues 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 swift to shed
blood 16 Destruction and misery are in their
ways 17 And the way of peace they have not
known." 18 "There is no fear of God before their
eyes."
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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Calvinist "proof texts"
Rom.3 23 for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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Calvinist "proof texts"
Rom. 5 12 Therefore, just as through one man
sin entered the world, and death through sin, and
thus death spread to all men, because all sinned
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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Calvinist "proof texts"
Rom.8 5 For those who live according to the
flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh,
but those who live according to the Spirit, the
things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded
is death, but to be spiritually minded is life
and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity
against God for it is not subject to the law of
God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are
in the flesh cannot please God.
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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Calvinist "proof texts"
Eph. 2 1 And you He made alive, who were dead
in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once
walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit who now works in the sons of
disobedience
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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Calvinist "proof texts"
Col.2 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made
alive together with Him, having forgiven you all
trespasses
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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R. C. Sproul, Chosen By God
"A cardinal point of Reformed theology is the
maxim "Regeneration precedes faith."
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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The Calvinist's ordo salutis
1) Election
7) Justification
2) Presdestination
8) Santification
3) Gospel Call
9) Glorification
4) Inward Call
5) Regeneration
6) Conversion (faith and repentance)
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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John H. Gerstner, The Predestination Primer
"We must not get the notion that the people come
to Jesus, and as a result of that they are 'born
again'... Those who do come to Jesus are not
therefore born again, but on the contrary
indicate that they have been born again. In other
words, they are not born again because they have
come to Jesus but they have come to Jesus because
they have been born again."
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of
Predestination
"If a man were dead, in a natural and physical
sense, it would at once be readily granted that
there is no further possibility of that man being
able to perform any physical actions. A corpse
cannot act in any way whatever, and that man
would be reckoned to have taken leave of his
senses who asserted that it could. If a man is
dead spiritually, therefore, it is surely equally
as evident that he is unable to perform any
spiritual actions."
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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Two Questions
1) Is it necessary for us to be born again so
that we can believe the Gospel (as Calvinism
contends) or must we believe the Gospel in order
to be born again?
2) Can man be totally depraved and still exercise
a God-given faith in response to the Gospel?
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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John Calvin, Institutes
"Now, since Christ confers upon us, and we obtain
by faith, both free reconciliation and newness of
life, reason and order require that I should here
begin to treat of both."
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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Arminian "proof texts"
John 1 12 But as many as received Him, to them
He gave the right to become children of God, to
those who believe in His name 13 who were born,
not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor
of the will of man, but of God.
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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Arminian "proof texts"
John 20 31 but these are written that you may
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that believing you may have life in His name.
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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Arminian "proof texts"
Acts 17 30 Truly, these times of ignorance God
overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere
to repent
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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Arminian "proof texts"
Rom. 1 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation
for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and
also for the Greek.
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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Arminian "proof texts"
Rom. 10 13 For "whoever calls on the name of
the Lord shall be saved." 14 How then shall they
call on Him in whom they have not believed? And
how shall they believe in Him of whom they have
not heard? And how shall they hear without a
preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless
they are sent? As it is written
"How beautiful are the feet of those who preach
the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of
good things!" 16 But they have not all obeyed the
gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed
our report?" 17 So then faith comes by hearing,
and hearing by the word of God.
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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Arminian "proof texts"
2 Thess. 2 10 and with all unrighteous
deception among those who perish, because they
did not receive the love of the truth, that they
might be saved.
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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Arminian "proof texts"
John 3 16 For God so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes
in Him should not perish but have everlasting
life.
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"
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The Arminian's ordo salutis
1) Outward Call
7) Glorification
2) Faith/Election
3) Repentance
4) Regeneration
5) Justification
6) Sanctification
Shedding Light on Calvinism and Arminianism
Part Two, "The Depravity of Man"