The unregenrate man is in the flesh Rom 8:7-8
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
You are still running
Man can
Deuteronomy 30:11–20 (LEB) — 11 “
For this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too wonderful for you, and it is not too far from you. 12 It is not in the heavens so that you might say, ‘Who will go up for us to the heavens and get it for us and cause us to hear it, so that we may do it?’ 13 And it is not beyond the sea, so that you might say, ‘Who will cross for us to the other side of the sea and take it for us and cause us to hear it, so that we may do it?’ 14
But the word is very near you, even in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may do it. 15 “
See, I am setting before you today life and prosperity and death and disaster; 16 what I am commanding you today is to love Yahweh your God by going in his ways and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his regulations, and then you will live, and you will become numerous, and Yahweh your God will bless you in the land where you are going. 17 However, if your heart turns aside and you do not listen and you are lured away and you bow down to other gods and you serve them, 18 I declare to you today that you will certainly perish; you will not extend your time on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to go there to take possession of it. 19 I invoke as a witness against you today the heaven and the earth: life and death I have set before you, blessing and curse.
So choose life, so that you may live, you and your offspring, 20
by loving Yahweh your God by listening to his voice and by clinging to him, for he is your life and the length of your days in order for you to live on the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them.”
Joshua 24:15–31 (NASB 95) — 15 If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord,
choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
16 The people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods;
17 for the Lord our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did these great signs in our sight and preserved us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed.
18 The Lord drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God.”
19 Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the Lord, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins.
20 If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.”
21 The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.”
22 Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the Lord, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.”
23 “Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
24 The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and we will obey His voice.”
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.
27 Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be for a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us; thus it shall be for a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God.”
28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance.
29 It came about after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old.
30 And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of Mount Gaash.
31 Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, and had known all the deeds of the Lord which He had done for Israel.
Romans 10:8–13 (LEB) — 8 But what does it say? “
The word is near to you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim), 9 that if you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, who is rich to all who call upon him. 13 For “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Luke 11:28 (LEB) — 28 But he said, “
On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and follow it!”
Luke 11:32 (LEB) — 32 The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because
they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here!
Ezekiel 18:30–32 (LEB) — 30 “Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, each one according to his ways,” declares the Lord Yahweh. “
Repent and turn around from all of your transgression, and it will not be as a stumbling block of iniquity to you. 31 Throw away from yourselves all of your transgressions that you committed, and make for yourselves a new heart and new spirit, and so why will you die, house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of the dying,” declares the Lord Yahweh. “And so repent and live!”
Zechariah 1:6 (LEB) — 6 However, did not my words and my regulations which I commanded my servants the prophets overtake your ancestors? And
they repented and said, ‘Yahweh of hosts planned to do with us according to our ways, and according to our deeds so he has dealt with us.’ ” ’ ”
Matthew 11:21 (LEB) — 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
Acts 8:22 (LEB) — 22 Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and ask the Lord if perhaps the intent of your heart may be forgiven you!”
Acts 17:30 (LEB) — 30 Therefore although God has overlooked the times of ignorance, he now commands all people everywhere to repent,
2 Corinthians 7:9 (LEB) — 9 now I rejoice, not that you were grieved, but that you were grieved to repentance. For you were grieved according to the will of God, so that you suffered loss in no way through us.
2 Corinthians 7:10 (LEB) — 10 For grief according to the will of God brings about a repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted, but worldly grief brings about death.
2 Peter 3:9 (LEB) — 9 The Lord is not delaying the promise, as some consider slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not want any to perish, but all to come to repentance.
Now regarding Paul in Romans
The same Paul writes
Romans 10:17 (NASB 95) — 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
Romans 5:1 (NASB 95) — 1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Romans 9:30 (NASB 95) — 30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith;
Romans 4:5 (NASB 95) — 5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,
as for pleasing God
WHAT ABOUT ABRAHAM?
The scriptures tells us,
Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3, 9, 22; Galatians 3; 6; James 2:23).
Hello, that in itself refutes the Calvinist idea of total inability.
Abraham had
integrity of heart (Genesis 20:5-6)
Contra Calvinism/Calvinist-type theology
and
a faithful heart towards God(Nehemiah 9:7, 8)
Contra Calvinism/Calvinist-type theology
And Abraham is called
the friend of God (2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23).
Both clearly dispute the Calvinist/Calvinist-type theology of all men having a natural hatred toward God.
Throughout scripture God is referred to as
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Matthew 32:22; Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37; Acts 3:13; 7:32).
Jesus said Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and
he saw it, and was glad (John 8:56) and
God’s promise to Abraham was to bless all the nations through his seed: Jesus Christ (Acts 3:25; Galatians 3:16).
Abraham is called the father of faith and
the father of all who believe (Romans 4:16; Galatians 3:7, 9, 29) and the
blessing of Abraham comes on the Gentiles through faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:14).
Abraham was a man of faith who
obeyed and feared God (Genesis 22: 12; 26:5; Hebrews 11:8). We see also that Isaac and Jacob were men of faith who feared the Lord and obeyed him as well.
Some contrary examples to total depravity
In Genesis 4, the concept of it is called into question.
After Cain became angry because God had accepted Abel’s offering and had not accepted his offering, God told Cain that
sin was knocking at the door and that he should not allow it to rule over him, least it become his master (see Genesis 4:6-7).
God did not deal with Cain as if he were totally depraved. On the contrary, God instructed Cain to rule over this sin that was knocking at the door. The Bible tells us that Cain murdered his brother not because he was totally depraved, but
because his deeds were evil and his brother’s was righteous.
For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous. (1 John 3:10-11)
If all humanity were totally depraved, then this would include Abel, yet the apostle John tells us that
Abel’s works were righteous. Remember the definition of depravity is a very evil quality or way of behaving: an evil or immoral act. The Bible never describes Abel in this way. On the contrary, the Bible repeatedly describes Abel and his works as
righteous.
If Cain and Abel had been totally depraved, Cain would have been unable to rule over the sin knocking at the door, and Abel would not have done that which was righteous.
In the gospels, the Lord Jesus Christ declared that Abel was
righteous (Matthew 23:35) and the writer of Hebrews tells us:
Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice t
han Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. (Hebrews 11:4)
No matter how you stack it, the statement, “
Abel obtained witness that he was righteous,” completely dismantles any concept of total depravity:
a theology that does not take into account the testimony of scripture concerning the real people who lived for God.
If the doctrine of total depravity were true, it would be true of everyone, but what about those in scripture who sought after God?
WHAT ABOUT ENOCH?
The Bible says,
Enoch walked with God (Genesis 5:24). The author of Hebrews tells us:
By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.(Hebrews 11:4)
Enoch was such a man of God, who pleased God, he never died! Jude tells us that Enoch prophesied of the coming of the Lord as well (Jude 1:14).
WHAT ABOUT NOAH?
The Bible says Noah was a
just man and
perfect in his generations, and
Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:9). Noah was
righteous in the sight of the Lord (Genesis 7:1) and in Ezekiel, God mentions Noah along with Daniel and Job as
righteous (Ezekiel 14:14, 20).
In the New Testament, the apostle Peter refers to Noah as
a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5) and the writer of Hebrews testifies of Noah’s righteousness as well.
By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear (the fear of the Lord), prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became the heir of the righteousness which is by faith (Hebrews 11:7).
WHAT ABOUT ABRAHAM?
The scriptures tells us,
Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3, 9, 22; Galatians 3; 6; James 2:23).
Abraham had
integrity of heart (Genesis 20:5-6) and
a faithful heart towards God(Nehemiah 9:7, 8) and Abraham is called
the friend of God (2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23). Throughout scripture God is referred to as
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Matthew 32:22; Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37; Acts 3:13; 7:32).
Jesus said Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad (John 8:56) and God’s promise to Abraham was to bless all the nations through his seed: Jesus Christ (Acts 3:25; Galatians 3:16).
Abraham is called the
father of faith and
the father of all who believe (Romans 4:16; Galatians 3:7, 9, 29) and the
blessing of Abraham comes on the Gentiles through faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:14).
Abraham was a man of faith who
obeyed and feared God (Genesis 22: 12; 26:5; Hebrews 11:8). We see also that Isaac and Jacob were men of faith who feared the Lord and obeyed him as well.
Also, the apostle Peter refers to Sarah, Abraham’s wife, as an example of
holy women, who
trusted God, by adorning themselves with a
meek and quite spirit (1 Peter 3:4-6).
Lot, Abraham’s nephew, also was
a righteous man.
In 2 Peter 2:7-10, the apostle Peter references Lot as an example of how the Lord is able to deliver
the godly out of temptations. Peter calls Lot a
just and
righteous man whom the Lord delivered from the fitly lifestyle of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrha.
We also read of others in the scriptures, who feared God, before we ever get to Moses and the Exodus of Israel from Egypt. For example the Hebrew midwives
feared God and refused to obey the King of Egypt (Exodus 1:17) and because they feared the Lord, many lives of Hebrew children were spared, and God gave the midwives familes (Exodus 1:20-21).
WHAT ABOUT JOSEPH, MOSES, JOSHUA, AND CALEB?
Joseph fled from sin when he was tempted by Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 39:7-12) and forgave his brothers who betrayed him.
Moses is called
the man of God (Deuteronomy 33:1; Psalm 90:1; 1 Chronicles 23;14) and was
a very humble man (Numbers 12:3) and interceded for Israel seeking God’s forgiveness and favor (Exodus 32:11). Moses
feared the Lord (Deuteronomy 9:16-29) and was
faithful in God’s house (Numbers 12:7; Hebrews 3:5).
Furthermore, the author of Hebrews says,
By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. Through faith he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned (Hebrews 11:24-29).
Moses’ successor, Joshua, was chosen by God to lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land because he was
a man who sought God, feared God, and trusted God. Also the mantle which God had placed on Moses was transferred to Joshua before he led Israel into the Promised land (Deuteronomy 31:14, 23; 34:9).
During the time of Moses we read of others like Caleb, who along with Joshua were the only 2 among the 12 spies who trusted God and because of their faith they were rewarded by God. In fact God said of the following about Caleb:
But My servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed Me fully, him will I bring into the land where into he went; and his seed shall possess it (Numbers 14:24).
WHAT ABOUT PHINEHAS AND OTHERS?
We also read of Phinehas, who was of priestly descent. He was zealous for God’s holy justice and turned God’s wrath away from the children of Israel (Numbers 25:7-13) and
his zeal for God was counted as
righteousness to him and to his generations (Psalm 106:30-31). God gave to him and his descendants
a covenant of peace because he was jealous with zeal for the Lord.
Job also was
a righteous man (Ezekiel 14:14, 20). In fact the Bible says he was
perfect and upright, and one that
feared God, and
eschewed evil (Job 1:1). Job was such a godly man that God even showcased him in the face of Satan (Job 1:8). Job was God’s servant, a man
accepted by God (Job 42:7-8) and
an example of patience (James 5:10-11) and he learned that God is merciful and compassionate.
As we venture through the scriptures we read of God’s servants such as Gideon, Deborah, Ruth, Naomi, Boaz, Hannah, Samuel, Jonathan, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Nehemiah, Ezra, Esther and others who feared God, sought him, and were righteous in his sight.
Calvinism/Calvinist-type theology is contrary to scripture.
