The Flaw of Unconditional Election
The Throne of Arbitrary Decree
Of all the pillars that support the grim edifice of Calvinistic theology, none is more foundational, nor more corrosive to the biblical understanding of man, than the doctrine of Total Depravity. It is the very bedrock upon which the entire system of fatalism is built. This teaching, in its starkest form, declares that the unregenerate man is not only sick, but a spiritual corpse; not just lost, but utterly incapable of even turning his head toward the voice of God. He is, in this view, a being stripped of all moral ability, powerless to believe, to repent, or to respond in any positive way to the gospel of Christ.
This is a doctrine that arises not from the fresh streams of Holy Scripture, but from the stagnant pools of pagan philosophy, particularly the determinism that infected the thinking of Augustine and was later systematized by John Calvin. It is a theological portrait of humanity so bleak, so devoid of the dignity of choice, that it renders God’s own commands and invitations meaningless. It paints man as a spiritual automaton, a piece of machinery that can only run according to its sinful programming until and unless it is forcibly rewired by an irresistible decree. One sees in this a profound misunderstanding, not only of man, but of the very nature of the God who created him and holds him accountable.
The Misinterpretation of Man’s Fall
The advocates for Total Depravity build their case upon scriptures that describe man’s fallen condition. They point to verses that say “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God” (Romans 3:11) or that man is “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). From these truths, they make a philosophical leap to the conclusion of total inability. The Bible does indeed teach that man is a sinner by nature and by choice, spiritually separated from God, and universally fallen. His heart is “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9).
However, to be spiritually “dead” is not to be unable to hear God’s call; it is to be separated from God altogether. The prodigal son was “dead” to his father, yet he was quite capable of making the choice to arise and go to him. Lazarus was physically dead, yet he could hear the voice of the Son of God and obey the command to “come forth.” The Bible’s diagnosis of man’s state is dire, but it is not a declaration of absolute inability. It is a declaration of his lost condition, his guilt, and his desperate need for a Saviour, a need to which he is commanded to respond .
The Unanswerable Testimony of Scripture
When we allow the Bible to speak for itself, free from the constraints of a deterministic system, the doctrine of Total Depravity is shown to be contrary to the overwhelming testimony of God’s word.
- The Command to Choose: Throughout the Scriptures, God sets before man a choice, thereby affirming his ability to make one. From the very beginning, the path of life and the path of death were presented as a genuine alternative. Joshua’s famous declaration, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve” (Joshua 24:15), would be a cruel mockery if the people had no capacity to choose. Jesus Himself commands men to “strive to enter in at the strait gate” (Luke 13:24) and to “labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life” (John 6:27). A command to strive or to labour implies the ability to do so.
- The Responsibility for Unbelief: The Scripture is clear that man’s condemnation rests not upon some pre-ordained decree of reprobation, but upon his own willful rejection of the Saviour. “He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). Men are held accountable for their unbelief, an accountability that would be unjust if belief were an impossibility . Christ’s lament over Jerusalem was not that the people were unable to come, but that “ye would not” (Matthew 23:37). The issue was one of will, not of ability.
- The Universal Work of the Holy Spirit: The Calvinist argues that only an “irresistible grace” can overcome man’s depravity. But the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit’s convicting work is universal, not limited to a select few. Jesus promised that when the Spirit came, “he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8). This conviction provides every man with sufficient light to know his need and to call upon God for mercy. Stephen’s indictment of the religious leaders, “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost” (Acts 7:51), proves that this gracious drawing of the Spirit is not irresistible.
A Responsible Creature Before a Gracious God
The Bible does not present man as a race of spiritual zombies. It presents us as fallen, sinful, and lost, yet retaining the faculty of a will that makes us responsible creatures. The very ground of man’s accountability before a holy God is the genuineness of the call to salvation. Man is held answerable not for a condition he is powerless to change, but for a choice he is free to make. His condemnation is rooted in the fact that he chose to sin, and until now, has willfully neglected the way of escape that God has graciously provided in His Son .
To believe otherwise is to descend into a labyrinth of philosophical confusion. A god who holds men accountable for sinful acts he himself predetermined, and then offers them a salvation he has made them incapable of receiving, is not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Such a being is a moral contradiction, a construct of speculative philosophy that is both senseless and nonsensical. It is a portrait of a tyrant who punishes puppets for dancing on the strings he pulls. The God of scripture, however, is a righteous Judge precisely because His commands are just and His offers are sincere.
We are not so utterly depraved that we cannot respond to God’s gracious, Spirit-empowered call. God’s grace is the source of our salvation, but it is a grace that works with, not upon, the human will. It is a grace that enables, convicts, and draws, but does not compel . The gospel is therefore a genuine offer of salvation to every man, woman, and child. It is the glorious news that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, and that salvation is found by turning from our sin and placing our faith entirely in His finished work on the cross. It is a call that demands a response. “The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17). Man is not a stone, a block, or a spiritual corpse. He is a sinner who is commanded to believe, and who, by God’s grace, is able to obey that command.
Pastor Thomas Irvin
George County Baptist Church
Lucedale, Mississippi
