Total Ability

[gmm4j]

Ahhh, let's just put it out there...

The “T” in Calvinism’s Total Depravity/Inability states:

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 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. 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.

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With the Calvinist view in mind, does Scripture say that sin caused or God cursed Adam with the inability to believe in God, thereby removing his ability to believe or respond to the call of God at the Fall?

Of course, there is no indication that Adam at any time ceased to believe in God. In fact, immediately after the Fall, both Adam and Eve recognized God when He was walking in the Garden.

Genesis 3:8 says,
"Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden"

They obviously still had a knowledge of God. They still believed He was real, but now they were afraid of Him. They were not in proper relationship with Him.

Genesis 3:10 says that Adam responded to God, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

Adam still retained the ability to believe God, so much so, that they feared Him due to their new fallen condition.

Or, perhaps God regenerated both Adam and Eve, after they fell and prior to verse 8 when He walked in the Garden, enabling them to recognize that it was Him (God) walking there in the cool of the day. Theoretically, if He had not regenerated them, they still would have heard the sound of Him walking, but they would have explained the noise away by saying, “That's not God. There is no such thing as a God. It must just be one of the animals. Anyway, I believe we just evolved.”

Or, maybe we should just stick with: Adam did not cease believing in God.

Upon the Fall, did God curse Adam and remove his ability to believe?

When God pronounced curses upon satan, the ground, woman, and man did He ever revoke man's ability to believe upon Him?

If this curse were to come upon man, or was part of the death sentence of sin, you would think God would have mentioned it here, but He did not. God did not remove Adam's ability to believe. He still retained the ability to recognize and believe in God.

Upon the Fall, did Adam lose the ability to respond to the call of God?

Genesis 3:9-10
But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" 10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

And, yes of course God did ban them from the Tree of Life. Man was expelled from the Garden. The way back, however, is by faith in Christ.

Although man had fallen, was afraid of God and hid from Him, when God called man, man was able to respond to Him. Adam retained the ability to respond to the call of God. By all indications this was not an irresistible inward call, but was an outward call that could have been resisted by Adam, but instead he answered.

Or perhaps, although it is not recorded, the Spirit of God irresistibly regenerated Adam between verses 9 and 10, allowing him to make a positive response to God's call. Or maybe we should just stick with: "He answered." Adam did not lose the ability to respond to the call of God.

And then, I'm glad that God regenerated Adam and Eve from their fallen state so as to enable them to receive the garments of skin that He provided. Or again, perhaps they just retained the ability to receive this gift from God all along?

 

[gmm4j]

2nd generation evil fallen creatures Cain and Abel each brought offerings to the Lord.

Genesis 4:2-5
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.

Although it is not mentioned, it appears God had regenerated both of these fallen, dead in their sins, men to enable them to believe in God and then subsequently prepare and bring offerings to the Lord. (According to Calvinism, I'm not sure how either one of them could have believed in God or wanted to bring Him offerings without the Spirit first coming upon their stubborn wills and regenerating them?) Well, maybe Cain didn't believe in God and brought offerings for another reason, however, we know with certainty that Abel must have been regenerated because his offering was accepted and we know from Hebrews 11:4 that he made his offering by faith.

According to Calvinism, Abel could not have had faith without first having a new nature, which could have only taken place by the Spirit of God irresistibly coming against his hostile will toward God and regenerating him. Of course the text does not indicate this, but according to Calvinism it must have taken place.

The text only says that the Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering. Note that it says He "looked" instead of saying that He made Abel and his offering acceptable.

Perhaps, as the text assumes, both men still had the ability to believe in God and respond to Him all along. Perhaps Abel's offering was brought with the right motivation and Cain's was not. Perhaps Cain still retained the ability to trust God and do what was right as God infers when speaking to him,

Genesis 4:7
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

If Cain's fallen nature would not have allowed him to do what was right (have faith), then God would not have used the word "if," which is conditional and cannot convey forced or preordained conditions. If Cain could not have done right, this would have been a great opportunity for God to have told him that he was unable.

Instead, both Cain and Abel retained the ability to believe God, communicate with Him, and do what was right by faith. Abel chose to walk in this faith, Cain did not. Two men, two choices, God looked with favor on one, the other was not accepted. God did not irresistibly force either. He looked upon them and their offerings.

If there is any weight to "First mention," so far there’s no suggestion of man's inability believe.

 

[gmm4j]

Next,

Genesis 4:26
Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD.

There is no mention of God regenerating these men or having to regenerate them in order for them to have the ability to call upon the Lord. From the beginning, the precedent Scripture sets is that wicked fallen men still retain the ability to choose God and call out for Him without first having to be regenerated.

 

[gmm4j]

Next,

Scripture continues to communicate that after the Fall men retain the ability to call out to God with no suggestion of an inability to do otherwise. There is also no indication of God regenerating men or directly making men call upon Him.

Genesis 5:21-24
When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

Again, there is no inference that Enoch did not have the ability or was unable to make the choice to walk with God, or that God first had to regenerate him.

 

[gmm4j]

Next,

Genesis 5:25-30
When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. 26 And after he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27 Altogether, Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died. 28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. 29 He named him Noah and said, "He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed."

Apparently the testimony of God was passed on through this line of faithful people thereby producing righteousness. This parallels the New Testament understanding that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Again, there is no mention of them somehow being unable to choose God or that God had to regenerate them in order to give them alone the special ability to believe.

 

[gmm4j]

Then finally, after the precedent of ability has been set, there comes a verse Calvinists can really sink their teeth into:

Genesis 6:5
The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.

Just an observation: I thought this all happened at the Fall. Anyway, If you take this one verse out of its context, then you could possibly build an arguement for inability. But, you can't rip a text from its context.

In the treatment of this text I would also love to deal with it as Calvinists treat other "every" and "all" texts referring to the provision of Jesus' salvation. It would go something like this: Every inclination of man's thoughts being evil actually is referring to only those thoughts that are actually evil and not every thought a person has. And, "all the time" that person is having evil thoughts their thoughts are only evil. "All the time" is all the time they are having evil thoughts, not "all the time" they are thinking. And, "man's wickedness on the earth" is only referring to the wicked on the earth and not all men.

Okay, that was fun but I can't do that! But... let's put it back in context:

Genesis 6:6-10
The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. 7 So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth — men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air — for I am grieved that I have made them." 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. 9 This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.

Noah, an unregenerate sinful man, was counted righteous because he believed God. “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith (Hebrews 11:7).

God considered Noah to be righteous, not depraved. And again, there is simply no suggestion that Noah, along with the rest of humanity, no longer had the ability to believe, have faith, or choose to walk with God and that God regenerated Noah and gave only Noah the special ability to believe. Again, the plain rendering of man choosing God throughout Scripture and the conspicuous absence of revelation indicating the inability of man to choose argues loudly for man’s God-given ability to do so.

 

[gmm4j]

Next,

Noah was a man who believed God. Just a few chapters later in the book of Genesis another man who believed God is also revealed.

Genesis 12:1-4
The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. 2 "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." 4 So Abram left, as the LORD had told him;

There is no suggestion that God regenerated Abram enabling him to obey His instruction. In fact, the suggestion is that Abram voluntarily obeyed while many other men throughout history have chosen to disobey God’s command. God commended and blessed Abram for his faith. God would not have commended him had the faith come directly from God Himself and were not Abram’s.

Genesis 12:6
There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.

Genesis 12:8
From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.

Genesis 13:3-4
From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier 4 and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD.

There is no indication of God somehow making Abram call upon Him. It appears over-and-over again that Abram of his own free volition chose to seek the Lord without having to have been given the special ability.

 

[gmm4j]

Next,

Genesis 14:18-19
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying,

Melchizedek also served God with no inference of him being regenerated or made to do so.

If you happen to think Melchizedek was a Christophony, then please feel free to discard this example. If you do think Melchizedek is a Christophony, I would love to find out why, maybe in a different forum.

Genesis 15:6
Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

The text does not suggest that God regenerated Abram and therefore he believed. No, instead, as a free moral agent he had the ability to believe and did so, and his faith was credited to him as righteousness (Romans 4:3).

Genesis 18:19
For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."

Here, God states that He has chosen Abraham. I would have chosen him too. He was a man who trusted God. Abraham was chosen based on something. It was not an arbitrary flip of the coin. God chose Abraham because he had faith – He believed. And, a person who believes shares that belief with those around him. God intended Abraham to direct his children to keep the way of the Lord. This teaching, which Abraham was to pass along, would of course not be necessary if man did not have the ability to choose. Teaching would have no affect, and the children would have no ability to choose which way they should follow, one way or the other. Training up a child in the way they should go so when they get older they will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6) is meaningless and in fact impossible, if total inability and Calvinism is correct.

 

[gmm4j]

Next,

Genesis 18:23-32
Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing — to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" 26 The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake." 27 Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?" "If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it." 29 Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?"He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it." 30 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there? "He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there." 31 Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there? "He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it." 32 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there? He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it."

In the discourse cited above, both God and Abraham, recognize the possibility of there being righteous persons living in Sodom. God would have spared the entire city if there had been at least ten. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Lot, however, was found righteous in the city, and he was allowed to bring his wife, daughters and sons-in-law out with him, if they were willing.

2 Peter 2:6-8
if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men 8(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)

Lot was certainly not totally depraved in the way Calvinism defines it. He obviously had the ability to seek God and therefore was considered a righteous man. And again, there is absolutely no suggestion that God had to regenerate him, or did regenerate him in order to give him this ability.

 

[gmm4j]

Next,

Genesis 24:57-58
Then they said, "Let's call the girl and ask her about it." 58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, "Will you go with this man?" "I will go," she said.

Rebekah, of her own free will, decided to marry Isaac. God works through the decisions of people in order to bring about His desired ends.

Genesis 25:21
Isaac prayed to the LORD.

There is no suggestion of God regenerating or having to regenerate Isaac to give him the special ability to have faith (Hebrews 11) or pray. Isaac chose to pray.

Genesis 25:22
So she went to inquire of the LORD

Likewise with Rebekah, there is no indication of her being regenerated or needing to be regenerated to give her the special ability to believe or pray. Rebekah prayed of her own choosing.

 

[gmm4j]

Next,

Genesis 24:26-27
Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD, 27 saying, "Praise be to the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives."

Again, there is no suggestion that this man had to be regenerated before he could believe and make a positive step toward God. Let's keep going...

 

[gmm4j]

Next,

Both Jacob and Joseph had faith (Hebrews 11, and throughout their stories in Genesis) with no suggestion of God regenerating them or having to regenerate them in order to give them the ability.

Genesis 32:9-12
Then Jacob prayed, "O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O LORD, who said to me, 'Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,' 10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two groups. 11 Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. 12 But you have said, 'I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.'"

Genesis 41:16
"I cannot do it," Josephreplied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires."

 

[gmm4j]

Let's move into Exodus to see if anything changes. Perhaps in Exodus fallen men will lose their ability to have faith in God.

Exodus 1:17
The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live.

Exodus 1:20-21
So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

Already in chapter one we see that the midwives were able to fear God more than the king of Egypt with no indication of them having to first be regenerated from their fallen, hostile nature toward God.

 

[gmm4j]

Next,

We know that Moses' parents and Moses himself had faith.

Hebrews 11:23-28
By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.

24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

Of course in the Exodus account (nor anywhere else in Scripture) does it say that they first were regenerated or had to be regenerated in order for them to have this faith. They simply believed.

 

[Forge3]

Goc only wants mercy.

 

[gmm4j]

Next,

Exodus 4:29-31
Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, 30 and Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, 31 and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.

If belief depends solely upon regeneration, then why doesn't the text say that the Lord gave them all a new nature enabling them to receive the message. It does not do this. In fact, Scripture says that they were given a message and miraculous signs, but time and time again the most important thing for belief according to Calvinist - regeneration - is left out. Perhaps, because they don't need regeneration in order to believe.

 

[gmm4j]

Next,

Exodus 18:9-12
Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the LORD had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 He said, "Praise be to the LORD, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly." 12 Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-lawin the presence of God.

Once again there is no mention that God had to regenerate Jethro, Aaron, or the elders of Israel for them to be able to believe in God or respond positively toward Him. Neither does the New Testament say that God has to first regenerate people to enable them to believe.

Again, compare this to what Calvinism teaches:

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 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. It takes regeneration, by which the Spirit makes the sinner alive and gives him a new nature.

 

[gmm4j]

Let’s move on to:

Exodus 25:1-2
The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give.

Exodus 28:1-2
Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests.

Exodus 35:29
All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the LORD freewill offerings for all the work the LORD through Moses had commanded them to do.

Even though there is no mention, the Lord must have regenerated the each of these people enabling them to choose good over evil in the spiritual realm and make positive responses toward God. Or, perhaps as the text suggests, as unregenerate sinners, they are able to choose God.

 

[gmm4j]

Next, let's go to Leviticus.

Leviticus 1:1-2
The LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting. He said, 2 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When any of you brings an offering to the LORD, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock.

Leviticus 2:1-2
When someone brings a grain offering to the LORD, his offering is to be of fine flour. He is to pour oil on it, put incense on it 2 and take it to Aaron's sons the priests.

Leviticus 2:14-15
'If you bring a grain offering of firstfruits to the LORD, offer crushed heads of new grain roasted in the fire. 15 Put oil and incense on it; it is a grain offering.

Leviticus 3:1-2
If someone's offering is a fellowship offering, and he offers an animal from the herd, whether male or female, he is to present before the LORD an animal without defect.

Every indication is that fallen, sinful, unregenerate man has the ability to repond positively toward the Lord. There is absolutely no indication that man first has to be regenerated in order to make these steps.

 

[gmm4j]

Here's some more:

Leviticus 3:6-8
If he offers an animal from the flock as a fellowship offering to the LORD, he is to offer a male or female without defect. 7 If he offers a lamb, he isto present it before the LORD.

Leviticus 4:13-16
If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD's commands, even though the community is unaware of the matter, they are guilty. 14 When they become aware of the sin they committed, the assembly must bring a young bull as a sin offering and present it before the Tent of Meeting. 15 The elders of the community are to lay their hands on the bull's head before the LORD, and the bull shall be slaughtered before the LORD.

Leviticus 4:27-31
If a member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD's commands, he is guilty. 28 When he is made aware of the sin he committed, he must bring as his offering for the sin he committed a female goat without defect. 29 He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering. 30 Then the priest is to take some of the blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 31 He shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.

Really? I guess he must have been regenerated first.

Leviticus 5:5-6
When anyone is guilty in any of these ways, he must confess in what way he has sinned 6 and, as a penalty for the sin he has committed, he must bring to the LORD a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.

Leviticus 14:19-20
Then the priest is to sacrifice the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. After that, the priest shall slaughter the burnt offering 20 and offer it on the altar, together with the grain offering, and make atonement for him, and he will be clean.

Why doesn't Scripture share that all of these men cannot do the things they are recorded as doing or told to do without the very necessary intervention of the Lord regenerating them to make it possible? The answer is, because it all is within the ability of fallen man to do these things. They can believe in God and have faith in Him. It was within their ability to present offerings to the Lord. It was within their ability to make sin offerings and they would be forgiven of their sins when they did these things.