Introduction

In the last message, we wondered how total depravity could be included with the doctrines of grace since it is a doctrine of sin and not of grace. Our answer is that grace, from whatever angle you view it, is grace to totally depraved sinners. Electing, atoning, regenerating, and persevering grace pertain to totally depraved sinners. Thus, there is a sense in which total depravity is fundamental to all the doctrines of grace because it reveals the nature and necessity of grace. If you have a poor view of sin you will have a poor view of grace. In this light, we can say that the proclamation of the five points of Calvinism, including total depravity, is a way for us to glorify God by magnifying His grace. This spirit of things runs through all the key passages such as Ephesians 1-2. This should become evident today as we take up "The Biblical Doctrine of Total Depravity." Our outline will consist of the following points: 1) definition, 2) support, and 3) application.

1A. Definition

We should never tire of defining terms.

1B. So let’s begin with some comments about definitions.

1) Good definitions are absolutely essential for good understanding and good communication. They aid us in arriving at a "meeting of the minds." One person has a thought. That thought is put into words. Another person hears those words and if correctly understood, the words will convey the same thought to his mind. Two people thus come to share the same thought. This is how we share in God’s thoughts and thereby fellowship with God and this is how we fellowship with one another in the things of life in general and in the things of God in particular.

2) Closely related is the need for clarity. That is why prayer regarding ministry is for clarity and boldness (Col. 4:4; Eph.6:19). For clarity to be realized, we need to become acquainted with terms and concepts (especially their historical usage). Terms are like handles on pots and pans that allow us to work in the kitchen without getting burned. In all learning, from carpentry to theology, terms are needed for proper understanding and application.

3) Regarding the doctrines of grace we need to exercise some caution. The words used can sometimes suggest things that are not true to the essence of the thing. We have to go beyond the initial sound of the words, beyond immediate impressions, to a deeper meaning, a truer meaning. When speaking to people about the doctrines of grace we need much discernment, much wisdom, and precise definition of terms to do our best to have an accurate meeting of minds. For example, just think of the emotional connotation of the word gay. I can truthfully say to you, "Today, I am gay, I am a gay pastor." To understand me and not prejudge me, you would have to go beyond the initial sound of things, beyond the present cultural meaning of the word to a deeper and truer meaning. Many people react to the terminology of Calvinism, limited atonement, etc. on a level that fails to get to the true sense of things. That is why I like to say that open-minded humility will cause us to pursue charitable listening and precise definition. Reaction is understandable because the terms in the tulip acrostic are not necessarily the best terms to use to get to the heart of things immediately.

4) Even total depravity has to be qualified because depravity in general, as something total, suggests a comprehensiveness regarding man's state in sin but it misses the intensity of man's sinfulness. The language does not direct us to the very center of the target though it does hit the target. Once we define the terminology and show its biblical basis, we can then see why the terminology of total depravity is useful but can be more precise.

2B. Some comments about Dort

1) The structure of the Canons (1618-19)

The Canons of Dort are listed under five headings. Interestingly, "the third and fourth heads of doctrine" are treated as a unit covering a) "The corruption of man" and b) "His conversion to God, and the manner thereof." This unit is treated in two steps (as is the case for each head of doctrine). First, articles of faith are listed (called article 1, 2, etc. to a total of 17 on corruption and conversion), and then a rejection of errors is listed by paragraph (called paragraph 1, 2, etc. to a total of 9 on corruption and conversion). We might wish that they did not mix the 3^rd and 4^th heads of doctrine together but it is easy to see how they go together in distinction from electing, atoning, and persevering grace. Corruption/conversion logically follows election and atonement, and corruption/conversion logically precedes perseverance. Corruption is discussed in relation to election, atonement, and perseverance but it is expanded on in relation to conversion and regeneration. It is this expansion that is isolated as one of the five points. We are discussing it first because it is presupposed in each doctrine of grace. (It turns out that the order of the tulip acrostic follows Dort with the exception of placing man's corruption first. This seems quite appropriate when we observe that depth of man's state in sin is presupposed throughout. For example, the very first words are: "As all men have sinned in Adam, lie under the curse, and are deserving of eternal death, God would have done no injustice by leaving them all to perish," FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 1.).

2) What is total depravity per the Canons?

A better term that gets to the heart of the doctrine being discussed under the heading of total depravity in the context of the doctrines of grace is total inability. So what is the filled out meaning of total inability per Dort? Probably the best statement in this regard is found in 3^rd/4^th Head, Article 3: "Therefore all men are conceived in sin, and are by nature children of wrath, incapable of saving good, prone to evil, dead in sin, and in bondage thereto; and without the regenerating grace of the Holy Spirit, they are neither able nor willing to return to God…" (cf. Westminster Larger Catechism, A. 25; Westminster Confession, ch. 9, sec. 3). Notice the language of inability: "incapable" and "neither able." All people are born in sin as fallen descendents of Adam and Eve. As fallen sinners they are "dead in sin and in bondage thereto." This means that they are incapable of saving good and unable to return to God "without the regenerating grace of the Holy Spirit." Total inability means that fallen sinners have no ability whatsoever to repent and believe. That is what is meant by "unable to return" because repentance and faith are conferred wholly by God (Art. 10) who enables sinners to believe (Art. 13) by His regenerating work so they "do actually believe" (Art. 12).

2A. Biblical Support

1B. In over view, we can identify three blocks of biblical material that overwhelm us with evidence of this doctrine of total depravity defined as the total inability of fallen sinners to do anything spiritually good especially the good of repentance and faith (cf. the great brief summary by Cunningham, Historical Theology, II, 586-88 on "The Bondage of the Will."). These are the description of man’s state in the fall, the explanation of salvation, and direct assertion. Let’s consider each of these briefly.

1) First, consider the graphic and powerful description of man’s condition in the fall. Fallen man is called the natural man or natural person (1 Cor. 2:14) in contrast to the spiritual man because he does not have the Holy Spirit dwelling within him (Rom. 8:9). Thus, fallen men and women are described as dead in sin (Eph. 2:1), slaves to sin (Rom. 6:17), and blind to the gospel (2 Cor. 4:3-4). To this we could add all the passages that describe us in sin as spiritually deaf, mute, alienated from the life of God, children of wrath with enmity toward God, lovers of self, and seekers of our own glory. You can simply mound up the passages into a huge block of evidence that indicates how totally incapable we are in our natural state in the fall to respond in any saving way to the gospel of Christ.

2) Second, consider the explanation given in Scripture regarding our salvation. A great change takes place. A change that is so great that it can only be produced by the power of God alone. What am I saying? I am saying that when a person returns to God responding in a spiritual and saving way that response is ascribed entirely to the active grace and power of God and God alone. What else is conveyed by the fact that our restoration is explained as a resurrection from the dead, a giving of life by a new birth, the opening of a closed heart, the cutting out of a heart of stone and replacing it with a heart of flesh, the giving of eyes to the blind, speech to the mute, and hearing to the deaf? Restoration involves a creation so that we become new creations in Christ. This is only a sample of the kind of passages that abound in Scripture and that indicate that we are totally unable to respond in any saving way to the gospel without the direct action of God in sovereign grace. This direct action of our sovereign is summarized in the doctrine of regenerating grace. It is by His regenerating grace that creates, resurrects, gives life, opens hearts, and gives eyes to see the glory of God in the face of Christ that enables sinners to believe so they "do actually believe."

3) Third, as if all of this were not enough, the Scriptures make total inability emphatically clear by direct assertion. Here I refer to what might be called "the cannot passages." There are a number of them with some less plain than others (Rom. 8:7-8). Here I sight just one context: John 6:44, 65. We will deal with the theme in verse 44 of divine drawing later. For our present purpose, it should be sufficient to comment on verse 65. Here Jesus says: "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." To "come" to Christ clearly means to "believe" in Him (because of the parallels that interface coming with believing: v. 35a with 35b; 36 with 37; and 64 with 65). So with remarkable clarity and plainness, Jesus teaches that no one has the ability to believe ("no one can come to me"). The only way that any can believe is if it is granted to them by the Father.

Thus by direct assertion in a number of different places and from a number of different angles, Scripture directly states that man does not have the ability to believe in the Lord Jesus or to turn in submission to God. His hatred, rebellion, and fear harden him more and more in his willing refusal to come to the light of the gospel (Jn. 3:19). He must be born again in order to see, understand, and embrace the gospel of the kingdom. No one can believe unless the Father draws him. No one is capable of any saving good and all are unable to return to God "without the regenerating grace of the Holy Spirit."

3A. Application

1) We must look back to the past.

We have to be reminded here of the pit from which we have been dug. Ephesians 2:1-3 adds phrase on top of phrase that describes our former condition. You were dead in trespasses and sins (v. 1). In these sins "you once walked" (v. 2). Shifting pronouns (from you to we) Paul says, "We all once lived in the passions of our flesh" (v. 3, the passions of our fallen/sinful natures). We were "by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind" (v. 3). It is surely the case that our experiences in life as sinners vary. Some of us had restraints on our sinning that others did not have. Every Christian cannot say equally with Paul, "I am the chief of sinners in how I sought to destroy the church of Christ." That being the case we can still say and need to say that this text describes who we were before we were given new hearts, before we were given the ability to believe. The pit from which each one of us has been dug is the total depravity pit. We need to look straight in the eyes of this awful fact. This can be somewhat unsettling. If we lay hold of this doctrine in a personal way, then we will say with trembling lips, "O Lord, I was totally depraved when you extended your hand of grace to save me."

2) We must look around in the present.

Let me ask you a question as we try to focus on the present. Do you trust in the Lord Jesus? Do you believe that He died on the cross for you and that He rose from the dead on the third day? If you can say a simple, yes, to these questions making no claim of being the greatest saint on earth or even a great saint, then here is the important question: How can we account for the great change from what you were to what you are now however weak you may be as a Christian? Total depravity teaches us the answer. It is God who made the difference so that you now have the ability to believe and trust in the Lord Jesus. That cannot be accounted for on the basis of anything in you (or anything you did) because your condition was one of being blind, deaf, mute, lame, hard-hearted, dead, unable to respond in any saving way, and totally unable to repent and believe. You were in desperate need and God was rich to you in mercy (Eph. 2:4-5a). You were entirely and completely undeserving and yet by grace you have been saved (2:5b). You were dead and God raised you up (v. 6). You were utterly helpless and God acted on your behalf with saving power, so it is not your doing that you now believe; you cannot boast, no one can boast. If there is to be any boasting let it be in the God of sovereign grace given to totally depraved sinners.

3) We must also look to the future.

There is a valuable lesson to be gleaned from looking back at something we may not want to remember. Looking at our sinful state is a negative and as we said earlier, it can be quite unsettling even frightening. It tells us immediately that the battle with sin remaining within us as sinner/saints in route to glory will take strenuous effort (cf. persevering grace).

But in looking at our condition and at the rich mercy and grace of God powerfully bestowed on us in Christ, we have a marvelous promise for the future. The promise can be stated in a powerful a fortiori argument. If God has been gracious to us in our state as totally depraved, helpless, and undeserving sinners then how much more gracious will He be to us as His redeemed children bought with the precious blood of Christ. If He has shown mercy to us in our great unbelief, enmity, and rebellion, then how much more will He show mercy to us in our faith, love, and obedience however small and frail it all may be (cf. even the "rebuke" saying, "O ye of little faith" in Matt. 6 is a gentle promise!). Thus, we are His workmanship; we are the work of His wise, powerful, and loving hands. He has joined us to Christ. So when we look out to the future there are good things in store and good things for us yet to do because He has prepared them beforehand (Eph. 2:10).

Yes, we were once totally depraved sinners but now we are sinners saved by sovereign grace and therefore our lives are encompassed behind and before with the promise of God’s love. You should know this then my friends and fellow members of Christ, as you look out to the future to this afternoon, to tomorrow’s challenges of work, and to the coming week: you step out there into the future clothed with Christ and embraced by His love. You are loved by a gracious Father and sovereign Lord who promises your safety, fully and forever! To Him be the glory forever, Amen.