John Calvin-Life,Legacy and Theology

JOHN CALVIN : LIFE, LEGACY AND THEOLOGY -
PROF. M. M. NINAN
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"TOTAL DEPRAVITY"
EVERY HUMAN BEING IS DEAD MORALLY AND SPIRITUALLY
"Total depravity", also called "total inability", asserts that as a consequence of the fall of man
into sin, every person is enslaved to sin. People are not by nature inclined to love God, but
rather to serve their own interests and to reject the rule of God. Thus, all people by their own
faculties are morally unable to choose to trust God for their salvation and be saved (the term
"total" in this context refers to sin affecting every part of a person, not that every person is as
evil as they could be). This doctrine is derived from Augustine's explanation of Original Sin.
While the phrases "totally depraved" and "utterly perverse" were used by Calvin, what was
meant was the inability to save oneself from sin rather than being absent of goodness. Phrases
like "total depravity" cannot be found in the Canons of Dort, and the Canons as well as later
Reformed orthodox theologians arguably offer a more moderate view of the nature of fallen
humanity than Calvin.
"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 good, and dead in sin, is not able, by his
own strength, to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto." Westminster Confession of Faith IX,3
That means simply MAN is DEAD. The Bible says that you and I are dead in trespasses and sins
(Eph. 2:1-6) unless we are born again. DEAD!!! More than that, the man or woman who is dead in sin
hates God, and his "carnal mind" is "enmity against God" (Rom. 8:7). His will is stubbornly steeled
against God. This Biblical idea changes a lot of modern talk about salvation.
1. Can a man do good works then, if he is not a Christian who is born again? No. "Whatsoever is
not of faith is sin" (Rom. 14:23).
2. Can a man want to be born again and follow instructions on "how to do it?" No, for that would
be like saying that a man in a grave can desire to come out of the grave, or follow instructions
on how to be made alive. It would be like trying to lure him out of the grave. "It is the Spirit that
quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing" (John 6:33).
3. Can any man "accept Christ" as his personal Savior, so that he becomes saved after that? Of
course not. Accepting Christ is a good work done only by a Christian. Only AFTER God makes
a person alive, can he and will he accept Christ. "No man can come unto me, except the Father
which hath sent me draw him" (John 6:44).
4. Can you "offer salvation" to anyone? That is surely impossible. One might as well offer food to
a dead man than salvation to a dead sinner (Eph.2:1-2).
ONLY GOD CAN MAKE US ALIVE. AND GOD DOES THAT SOVEREIGNLY - WITHOUT OUR AID,
WITHOUT OUR ASKING. From beginning to end, "Salvation is of the Lord" (Jonah 2:9). This is the
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