Total Depravity Understanding the Doctrine
The Synod rejected the five truths of God’s Word. He is blind to the statements propagated by the blessings of God’s common grace. As Arminians, after careful consideration as a result of this inherited depravity, in the light of Scripture. As an answer, the will of man is in bondage to his to those statements, they formulated sinful nature. In other words, the five theses, the first of which was “total unregenerate man is dead in sin! depravity”. These theses later became known as the Five Points of Calvinism. The Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) clearly explains “total depravity” this way: “Man, by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation; so as a natural man, being altogether averse from that good, and dead in sin, is not able, by his own strength, to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto” (WCF chapter 9, section 3).
Furthermore, the Synod was also conscious of the fact that Calvin himself credited those truths to Saint Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo. In other words, the teaching of “total depravity” of man is not something new among the body of believers! The doctrine of “total depravity” has been confessed historically in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ since the early centuries, because it is founded on the Word of God.
Historical Context of Total Depravity
“Total depravity” is a term coined at the Synod of Dort. This Synod was convened in Holland from November 1618 to May 1619. The members of the Synod comprised representatives from Dutch Reformed churches within and without Holland. They came together to consider the five statements of counter-doctrine presented by the followers of Jacobus Arminius, a Dutch scholar in the early 17th century. These followers (called “Arminians”), also known as the party of “Remonstrants”, had in the early 17th century challenged the Reformed churches with their new unscriptural doctrines.
“Total depravity” refers to the corruption of human nature as a result of Adam’s sin. The word “total” points to the fact that the whole being of man has been affected by sin. Every part of man, his body and soul—including his faculties, such as his mind and his will—has been tainted by sin. As a result of this inborn corruption, the natural man is totally incapable of doing anything spiritually good.
Biblical Foundation of Total Depravity
“Total depravity” speaks of our inability to save ourselves from the consequences of sin and the sovereignty of God in the salvation of sinners. Man’s depravity came about as a result of the Fall in Genesis 3. “Therefore as by the offence of one (Adam) judgment came upon all men to condemnation For as by one man’s (Adam’s) disobedience many were made sinners” (Romans 5:18a, 19a). This innate tendency to evil being inherited from Adam is corroborated by Psalm 51:5—“Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” In other words, a man is born in sin. Consequently, “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10).
The apostle Paul further emphasized this truth in Romans 7:18—“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not”, so much so that “they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8). There is nothing an unregenerate sinner can do to save himself from the penalty of sin, except that God shows mercy to him. “So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy” (Romans 9:16).
Conclusion
Salvation of sinners is all of the LORD. It is entirely the work of the triune God. According to the Bible, God the Father hath chosen the elect before the foundation of the world (cf. Ephesians 1:4). God the Son came at the appointed time to fulfill the redemption plan of the Father with His life and death (cf. Galatians 4:4–5; Hebrews 9:28). This was accomplished through His active obedience as the sinless Lamb of God (to earn the righteousness for mankind), and through His passive obedience as the perfect Sacrifice (to take away man’s sin). God the Holy Spirit renews the mind and works in the heart of the elect unregenerate sinner, to convict him of his sin and his need of a Savior, and regenerates the sinner’s soul.
Without question, “total depravity”—which teaches mankind’s defilement and deadness in sin, as well as mankind’s natural disaffection towards God, and mankind’s damnation—is a biblical doctrine! It is essential for Christians to understand that man has no ability at all to save himself from the penalty of sin, nor can he work towards his own salvation. This truth is clearly taught in Scripture—“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast”
(Ephesians 2:8–9). To God alone be the glory!
Written by Kelvin Lim. This article is from Bible Witness Magazine Volume 23 Issue 6, “Five Points of Calvinism”.
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