Romans 9, Predestination & Total Depravity
A Critique of Reformed Theology
Total Depravity: Dead IN Sin - Dead TO Sin
In 1st Cor 15:1-11 Paul explicitly defines “…the gospel which I preached to you…in which you also stand, BY WHICH YOU ARE ALSO SAVED…”
In verse 3 he defines what is of “first importance.” There are 3 things that are of “first importance.” They are:
1) Jesus died for our sins and was buried.
2) He was raised from the dead on the third day
3) He appeared to over 500 people, i.e. His resurrection is verifiable by eyewitnesses.
In Romans 10:9 Paul says, “…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved…”
Furthermore, in verse 8 it says, “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.” This references Deut 30:11-14. Verse 11 says, “For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach.”
The Gospel that Paul preached was: Jesus died, Jesus rose, Jesus appeared. On the basis of His resurrection He is Lord. If you believe this (faith in His resurrection) and act accordingly (repent, turn from, your sins – act as if He is Lord) you will be saved.
In the Book of Acts we are given the content of several apostolic sermons (Acts 2:14-36; Acts 3:12-26; Acts 10:34-43; Acts 13:16-41; Acts17:22-31). In every case the point of each sermon is, Jesus died, He was raised from the dead, and He appeared to many. Believe, and you will be saved.
It's not complicated, it's easy to understand, it's not too difficult, nor is it out of reach. Jesus died, Jesus rose, Jesus appeared - believe it and be saved. Notice that all major streams of Christianity come down on the same side of this issue. They ALL hold that Jesus died, was raised, and appeared to many.
Everything else - beliefs, doctrines, theology - systematic or otherwise - is secondary.
Notice that there is nothing in these apostolic sermons about being “born again”, or “regenerated”, or experiencing a “spiritual birth” or any such concept. It’s real simple – Jesus died, Jesus rose, Jesus appeared. Believe it. Anyone can believe. It doesn’t take a miracle. You hear the news, and you either believe it or disbelieve it. Your choice.
If you haven't already done so, please read the page on COLOSSIANS 2:13.
In part I said,
"I think that we tend to take phrases like, “made alive” and “dead in trespasses and sin” and even “regenerated” and “born again” more literally than Paul used them. When Paul says that we have “died to sin” (Romans 6:1) does that mean that we are INCAPABLE of sinning? That unless someone else were to monergistically enable us to sin we COULDN’T sin?
[Concerning texts like Eph 2:1-3 Calvinists say that], “This passage states that fallen man is "dead in sin," that he has no spiritual life whatsoever. It is important to note that the Apostle Paul did not say that man is sick in sin or simply influenced by sin; he declared that fallen man has no spiritual life.”
Why don’t they also say that the believer is not mostly dead to sin, not just sick to sin; but DEAD to sin? Because, in fact, Reform Theology DOESN’T take “dead to sin” literally. It takes it as a figure of speech. Reform Theology does in fact hold that one of whom it is said that they are “dead to sin” can still actually sin. How can that be if they are “dead to sin”? But “dead in sin” is not a figure of speech, it’s literal. Why is one “dead” a figure of speech but the other “dead” is not?"
In fact, in the Greek, both the words “in” and “to” are one and the same. If one were to read the Greek text, he would be hard pressed to know which was rendered “in” and which “to.” There is NO DIFFERENCE in the original language between “dead [in] sin” and “dead [to] sin.” The translator must decide whether to use “in” or “to” based on the context.
Calvinists take “dead IN sin” completely literally, but they take “dead TO sin” completely figuratively. You can’t have it both ways – and be intellectually honest and consistent.
If “dead TO sin” is not literal, if one can in fact be “dead TO sin” and yet still have the ability to sin – and we have established that that is indeed the case in our previous page called, “DEAD IN TRANSGRESSIONS AND SINS – COLOSSIANS 2:13” - and Calvinists generally agree - then we MUST take “dead IN sin” to be figurative and not literal. This removes any “dead in sin”-type passage from the arsenal mustered forth by Calvinists in support of the doctrines of Total Depravity and Original Sin.
Nowhere in the Bible can we find the phrase, “dead in sin” equated with the concept, “no spiritual life whatsoever.” What we find is that the Apostle Paul equated “dead” with “consider yourselves” and “alive” with “consider yourselves.”
It's all about how and what you think.
What remains is to re-evaluate passages like Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus (“You must be born again”) from a different perspective, a perspective that realizes that “dead IN sin” is not literal but figurative. I will leave that for some other time. At this point I will only say that, in general, I believe the “born of the Spirit” and “born again”-type language in the Bible is either:
a) Speaking of the resurrection, or,
b) Is symbolic, metaphorical, and not literal. I have tried to show that it is a metaphor for a changed way of thinking, a changed way of looking at things, a changed understanding.
Jesus rebuked Nicodemus for his too-literal interpretation of Jesus’ “you must be born again” statement. All we’ve done is insert the word “spiritually” - as in “you must be SPIRITUALLY born again” – making Jesus say something He did NOT say - and continued merrily on our literal way, all the while thanking God that WE’RE not like Nicodemus, WE know what Jesus meant – He LITERALLY meant “born again ---SPIRITUALLY.”