Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2004 6:30 am -- Steve’s Reply to Micah’s First Paper
1.
The Doctrine
Hereditary Total Depravity is not as you say, "the Biblical
expression of the effects of sin on human nature." On the contrary, it is
the effects that Adam's sin allegedly had on human nature.
You write, "HTD does not mean that every person is as
bad as they can be." Well, the Reformed Creeds disagree with you.
So, man can choose what to eat, where to go, and what to
wear, but he cannot choose righteousness? Good news? Never! The gospel
according to Calvin is a bouquet of barbed wire.
In truth the effects of Adam's sin did not rob man of his
free will in matters of salvation. The Holy Spirit continually offers man
salvation choices (Dt 30:19; Jos 24:15). Jesus said, "You are unwilling to
come to Me so that you may have life" (Jn 5:40). Obviously, Jesus was not
a Calvinist. The gospel says, "God so loved the world, that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him may not perish, but have
eternal life" (Jn 3:16). The "whoever" is anyone who wishes (Rev
22:17). This is the word of the Lord! God be praised!
2. The Fall
Yes, God had warned Adam and Eve (Gen 2:17). But they
high-handedly disobey God, the result was both died spiritually that day, and
sin entered into the world. God drove them away from the tree of life. Adam and
Eve no longer had anything to sustain their physical bodies indefinitely. From
that day the long slow process of deterioration eventually led to their demise.
When Adam was barred from the tree of life, we (his posterity) also lost access
to the tree of life (Gen 3:22-24). In this way aging and physical death passed
to all his descendants. As the Scriptures say, "in Adam all die"
(1Cor 15:22).
I did not personally eat the forbidden fruit. I am not
guilty of Adam's sin although I suffer the consequence of his sin. Let me
illustrate, in Dublin Ireland there was a child happily playing on the footpath
of the street in front of her house. A car driven at speed by a drunken driver
turned into the street, as he turned the corner the drunk driver lost control.
The car mounted the pavement and pinned the child to her own garden wall. Her
injuries were horrendous and as a result she died. Question: was the child
guilty of drunkenness? Obviously not! But had she suffered the consequence of
the man's drunkenness? Yes she had! It is only because Adam is the father of
the race that "the many" (all) die as a consequence of Adam's sin.
Paul's argument is we die whether we sin in the likeness of Adam's sin or not,
that is, whether our sin had a death penalty attached to it or not.
Micah you say, "they (Seth/offspring) were fallen, no
longer good," if they were no longer good, they were bad. It stands to
reason, if they were bad (as per the doctrine of HTD), then they no longer had
the image of God.
In Romans 5:12-21 Paul uses Adam, as a type of Christ. But
Adam was not a saviour was he? No, he is only a type of Christ because he is
the federal head of the human race (physically), while Christ is federal head
of the human race (spiritually). In Micah's interpretation Jesus has a lesser
headship. For Adam is head of the whole race but Jesus is only head of the
elect. This restricted headship does not fit the scope of Romans 5.
When Adam sinned he brought sin and death into our world.
This curse and the other curses in Genesis 3 were unconditional. They are in
the world despite what we do or don't do. "Through one transgression there
resulted condemnation to all men." The condemnation is "For you are
dust and to dust you shall return" (Gen 3:19). In Adam every human is
cursed to die physically.
"While through the obedience of the One many (all) will
be made righteous." The same "many" who are condemned in Adam,
will be made righteous in Christ – righteous to the degree that the curse of
death has been removed from them. That means all men can be raised from the
dead. Micah believes; Adam's condemnation (physical death) extends to all men,
while Christ's justification is restricted to "His people, the
church." That is not what Paul is teaching. He is saying that in Adam
"the many" (all) die while in Christ "the many" (all) are
provided a "justification of life" unconditionally. This
"justification of life" counteracts Adam's sin; so all men can be
raised from the dead (Rom 5:17-19). However, Christ's death covers "much
more," than Adam's transgression, it also covers the "many
transgressions" of all men. Of course, only those who want of "the
abundance" will receive the "free gift of righteousness"
provided in Christ's death (Rev 22:17).
Micah argues that death in Romans 5 is both physical and
spiritual. Then as night follows day verses 18-19 teaches, "all men"
die and "all men" receive "justification of life," that is
universal salvation!
3.
Dead in sin
Micah understands that the slave of sin is one who “commits
sin” (Jn 8:34). Jesus was talking to His contemporaries, people who believed in
Him, who were commanded to abide in His word. So this verse too teaches that
actual commission of sin is required for one to be alienated from God.
We are spiritually dead in sin not because we are born that
way, but because we choose to live in sin. Psalm 58:3 teaches people were old
enough to speak lies. "They have gone astray" is not synonymous with
born astray.
"There is none who does good" (Rom 3:9-10). The
explanation is in the verse read on, "all have turned aside, together they
have become useless." It does not say, all were conceived astray and born
useless. So this passage does not prove HTD either.
"Walking" means living (Eph 2: 3, 4:1; 5:2).
Formerly, under the influence of Satan, these Christians had lived in
disobedience to God. They were dead in their sins because they had chosen to
live that way. The word "nature" as it is used in this context is
used, not of birth but of "long habit" (Thayer, Greek-English
Lexicon, 660). Yes, these Christians by living in sin and practicing sin were
depraved. There is nothing about being born dead.
Micah, the word "sick" is used by Jesus to
describe the spiritual condition of sinners (Lk 5:31-32; Isa 1:4 -6).
4.
Unable to please God
"But the natural man does not accept the things of the
Spirit of God." The natural man is described in Romans 8:5, "For
those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the
flesh." The natural man is a description of a mind-set. These people look
to nature, and the wisdom of man for answers to life. The fleshly minded mistakenly
believes there is nothing beyond what he sees, hears, tastes, smells and
touches. King Herod, Pontius Pilate and in our own day the evolutionists like
Richard Dawkins, and many humanists are typical of the natural man.
A person like this does not accept the things of the Spirit
(the gospel), for they are foolishness to him. The things of the spirit world
can only be appraised spiritually, that is by the revelation of God. Because
the natural man refuses to be guided by revelation, he rejects God, Christ,
redemption, heaven etc. These things are nonsense to him. Preaching Christ
crucified was to the Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness (1Cor
1:23). So, faith was impossible for them.
The people effected by the "natural man" syndrome
range from the naive youth to the College Professor, from the immature
Christian to the Atheist. However, God is putting constant pressure on the
natural man to give credence to the spiritual world. God has set eternity in
his heart (Eccl 3:11): The evidence for God is within him (Rom 1:19). The
glorious creation witnesses constantly to the Creator (Rom 1:20; Ps 19:1). Even
the futility of life plays it part by coercing the natural man to look for
something better (Eccl 2:11). Combine these subtle pressures with circumstances
that rock the natural man's world, and his unbelief can turn to faith. Remember
the Ninevites! (Jonah 3:5, 10) Ordinarily, the natural man is unwilling to come
to Jesus (Jn 5:40), but that mind-set can change, as the case of the
Corinthians, and the Ephesians proves (Eph 1:13-14).
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the
power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also
to the Greek" (Rom 1:16). Still, the gospel must find a willing heart (Jn
7:17).
Conclusion
The doctrine of Hereditary Total Depravity contradicts the
Scriptures. A man cannot inherit his father's sin nor his guilt nor his
punishment (Ezk 18:20).
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Word Total 1498
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