‘Total’ Depravity? One of the most comforting doctrines of Christianity is the understanding that God keeps his children safe and secure and that those who are in Christ need to never fear losing their salvation. To believe that one of God’s children could slip through the cracks or be lost is foreign to the Bible. It is sad to see a Christian who is not solidly sure of his eternal security should he die in a given moment. When we understand the nature of salvation, and what it means to be saved “by grace” and “through faith” we can have a wonderful assurance of our eternal future. Many scriptures talk about God’s strong arm in protecting his children: “No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:29); “Who by God’s power are being guarded” (I Peter 1:5); “him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory” (Jude 24); nothing “...will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:39.) These and other verses assure God’s children of the security of their eternal condition. These passages certainly teach that God’s plan is to maintain his children and uphold them until the end. They show that no outside force is capable of causing God to lose grip on his children. Where people separate theologically comes because there are different views about who those children are and how they come to be in the ark of God’s safety in the first place. And understanding how one becomes a Christian definitely affects how one believes about how one “remains” in the love of God. The whole issue boils down to how depraved mankind is in his ability to understand God, see spiritual light, and respond to that light. These views go all the way back to understanding what happened when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. In the first few centuries after Christianity began, early Christians were divided about the extent of Adam’s fall in the Garden. Most believed that there was some extent of depravity inherited from Adam, suggesting that we inherit a sickness and inclination, but this did not extend to a state of total depravity. In the early fifth century a man named Pelagius taught that Adam’s sin had no hereditary effect whatsoever on his children, and that there is not even an inclination toward depravity in a person until he sinned personally. This extreme view of “lack of depravity” was countered by an equally extreme pendulum swing of Augustine who proclaimed that man was totally depraved from birth and inherited all of Adam’s guilt. Various views emerged in the years to follow, each being an effort to try to balance the extreme views of Pelagius and Augustine. The most predominant “middle” view is known today as “semi- Pelagianism,” which is the view that Anabaptists and John Wesley held during the time of the Reformation. Augustine’s view was adopted by Martin Luther and John Calvin. Calvin is the one who expanded Augustine’s teaching which developed into his “T.U.L.I.P.” theology, “T” = Total Depravity, “U” = Unconditional Election, “L” = Limited Atonement (God limiting the extent of his saving work only to the elect), “I” = Irresistable Grace, and “P” = Perseverance of the Saints. It is fairly clear to see that the foundational and pivotal position upon which all the other tenets of Calvinism rests is the first one, the doctrine of total depravity. If one believes that man is so depraved that he can only budge spiritually if God infuses him with spiritual life, then one could understand why the Calvin’s teaching of “Unconditional Election” would have to be true. Since no one could save themselves, God would have to do everything, even down to deciding who he would hand pick to be his “elect.” And of course Jesus’ sacrifice would extend only to that group, so you could basically reinterpret John 3:16 to say, “For God so loved “his elect” that he gave his only Son, that those who were chosen to be in the “elect” group would not perish, but have eternal life.” Also, saying that humans are depraved beyond responding suggests that nothing could thwart God’s design to save this elect group. The hand-picked fortunate ones would be touched to have faith, and would have no choice but to respond, period! Proponents of this view say that man’s “free will” is not thwarted in this whole process, but the Calvinistic belief in “Irresistible Grace” teaches that man’s free will is so distorted that he cannot accept or reject salvation of his own free will choice. That choice has been made for him by God. And lastly, if God is the one who picks, touches, inspires, and saves only certain ones, it follows that nothing will stand in the way of them crossing the finish line. Their protection and “perseverance” is guaranteed by God so that they will not fall away. To a Calvinist, “getting” saved and “staying” saved are all God’s work. Believers in this doctrine, whether called Augustinianism, Calvinism, or Reformed Theology, say that this is the view that must be held or we would be depreciating the value of other important Christian doctrines such as justification, conversion, adoption, ransom, reconciliation, and redemption. They would say that those who reject Calvinism are implying that that man can be good enough to save himself, and that a Christian can somehow by his own initiative keep his own salvation intact. In short, proponents of the doctrine of extreme Calvinism believe that God’s grace is at stake, and that any doctrine which allows the possibility of man having anything to do with his own salvation is an affront to the grace of God. This may sound good on the surface, but this view distorts and misrepresents another viewpoint held by the early church before the days of Augustine. The truth is, not all believers and intelligent Bible thinkers follow Augustine’s extreme view of Total Depravity and the mountain of scriptures that have been built to buttress it. There exists an equally large mountain of scripture that suggests that we can and should understand this topic from another perspective. As Pelagius wrongly over-elevated the strength of man to make it where salvation depended solely upon HIM, Augustine has over-elevated the weakness of man to the point where man has no say, no part in the process of salvation AT ALL. Yet we find many indications of scripture that indicate salvation is linked in a very important way to man’s free will and the decision that ALL people have to freely accept or reject the message of God. Granted, this free will and decision making ability may be something that has been given to him BY God, which technically does allow God to be the author of all salvation, from beginning to end. But it is essential for us to understand just what it is that God has GIVEN to man. And we need to understand how this gift has been offered to ALL mankind, not just a few hand-picked souls. And we will see the sad truth that only a few (the elect) will apply the gift given to them in such a way as to result in their personal salvation. To them all the benefits of God’s protection certainly apply in the fullest! For starters, proponents of extreme Calvinism are dismissive in their treatment of the many, many “conditional” Bible passages that use words such as “if” or “provided that.” These scriptures indicate that as one condition exists because of a decision we have made as humans, another condition could likewise exist given another decision. The vast majority of scriptures in the New Testament show that ‘staying’ in a certain position is just as important as ‘getting’ in that position. This may sound like blasphemy to a Calvinist, but that is only because they associate the words, “staying saved” with the unbiblical notion of ‘doing’ something, ‘living a certain way’, or ‘working’ to earn salvation. Here are a few of these conditional passages. Many, interestingly enough, appear side-by-side scriptures used to support the Calvinistic teaching that it is impossible for a person to forfeit their salvation. * Colossians 1:22-23, Jesus CAN and WILL “present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him (God) “IF” indeed you continue in the faith. * Hebrews 6:4-6 “It is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and who have shared in the Holy spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they then ‘fall away.’” (The suggestion that that these people were not actually ever Christians can only emerge if one holds the extreme view of Calvinism. The natural and contextual understanding of this verse shows otherwise.) * Jude 21 “Keep yourself in the love of God” (interestingly, Jude 24 is used to support the doctrine of “Once saved, always saved” but fails to see that the benefits of this “protection” are given to those who keep themselves in the love of God. * Matthew 10:22 “He who endures to the end will be saved” * John 8:31 “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.” * John 15:1-6 “Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit, he takes away … abide in me.” * Romans 11:17-22 “Note then the kindness and the severity of God; severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness.” * I Corinthians 15:1-2 “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you were saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.” * Galatians 5:4, (Speaking to Christians who have shifted their belief to now think they can be saved by their own works) “You are severed from Christ … you have fallen from grace.” These scriptures all apply to people who are in a saved relationship.