The New Calvinist Takeover of Southwood Presbyterian Church: Part 11; “The Total Depravity of the Saints?” By Guest Writer Jess Keller
As I sat in church, in corporate prayer to our Sovereign Lord, the words from the preacher’s lips bespoke the idea of the total depravity of believers. “We don’t love you, Lord.” “What?! – we don’t?! I do, I do, I do!” I screamed in my head. There was more along those lines, like ‘we don’t do as you command.’ Is this His church? Is this how we praise and worship Him? Since when are we to be of the mindset that “[g]race will NEVER be amazing, until [our] sin is amazing first.”[1]
When preachers teach believers “…that the very BEST things we’ve ever done—the most pious, most religious, most holy, most selfless acts of obedience, with the purest motives we could possibly muster on our best days, if rightly accounted for, would be in the debit column of our lives, NOT the credit column,”[2] how are we to “…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28: 19-20).
The idea of the “total depravity of the saints” is creeping into our churches and denying the intrinsic value of the Holy Spirit in our individual lives and the life of His church. “New Calvinist Paul David Tripp describes Christians as “dead” on page 64 of How People Change (2006) and states: ‘When you are dead, you can’t do anything.’ On the same page and the one following, he describes Christians as God’s enemies, fools, not only unable to please God, but lacking the knowhow even if we wanted to (which is a blatant contradiction to what Scripture states), alienated, guilty, and rebellious sinners.”[3]
Is total depravity of the saints simply a pessimistic view of Christian life since “the flesh is weak” as opposed to an optimistic focus on “the Spirit is willing”? (Matthew 26:41). Both are true, yet where is the balance? What should the Christian mindset be? Dead in sin? No. “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11). “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24). “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own….” (1 Corinthians 6:19).
Good news, believers — we’re alive! And since we are partakers of His divine nature, can we make an effort to keep from falling? Yes. In 2 Peter 1:5-11, we’re commanded to. And, “whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him” (John 14:21).
[1] Jean F. Larroux, III, What Is So Wrong About Loving What Is Right?, www.sherwood.org/knots/, posted in Comments, September 26, 2011.
[2] Jean F. Larroux, III, Please hear what I’m NOT saying…, www.sherwood.org/knots/, posted February 28, 2011.
[3] Paul M. Dohse, Sr., The Truth About New Calvinism, Bookman Unlimited, 2011, 1st ed.
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
“The idea of the “total depravity of the saints” is creeping into our churches and denying the intrinsic value of the Holy Spirit in our individual lives and the life of His church. ”
I will take it a step further and call it the “Islamization of Christianity”. It is fatalistic. It tells me I can never really be Born Again. The irony is that as I grow in Holiness, I see more and more of my sin and am able to turn from it because of the Holy Spirit. In NC, I am a worm instead of a New Creature in Christ striving for Holiness.
Can you imagine telling your child they can never do anything to please you? No matter what they do, how selfless, it is filthy rags to you? That is how they portray our God in the Flesh who gave His life for us…How He sees us even after we are Born Again. Where is “well done good and faithful servant?”
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Lydia,
Well said, I can’t add anything to it. But I will take the opportunity to thank Jess for this piece, and there may be another one coming which would be well appreciated.
paul
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What you folks don’t seem to understand it that this has been the view of Old Calvinism for centuries. Read any Calvinistic [Arminian ones as well] commentary on Romans apart from D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Douglas Moo and a couple of others and this is the defeatist view you will get of the Christian life. Like it or not, nothing has really changed in that regard. This was one of the errors we were laboring to correct in our formulation of New Covenant Theology. I heard this taught for years in Reformed Baptist and Presbyterian Churches. It is nothing new.
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Randy,
With all due respect, I don’t buy that. BTW, if you want to rip the book, email me your mailing address. Some reviews are in the works, but you could be the first to be proudly posted here on this blog.
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The New Calvinists magnify and advertise their sin trying to show that we can’t obey God and supposedly prove that there is no moral difference between the Church and the World. To them, all trees on the planet are bad trees producing bad fruit. They appear to be teaching a type of “circumcision of the flesh” only, not of the heart by the Spirit. Here’s what I mean. Even in the Old Testament we see what Moses told the people about the Covenant:
Deuteronomy 30:11
New International Version (NIV)
11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.
And so the Promise of God as my Helper:
Deuteronomy 30:6
New International Version (NIV)
6 The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.
Deuteronomy 30:14
New International Version (NIV)
14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.
Following this, the New Testament reveals further:
Following this, the Apostle Paul says:
Colossians 2:11
New International Version (NIV)
11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ,
Going back, notice how God is angered by those “who are circumcised only in the flesh;” people of disobedience:
Jeremiah 9:25
New International Version (NIV)
25 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh.”
So, it’s apparent that circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, is the import to our New Covenant day. Jesus says this to Jews who made “no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God”:
John 5:41-42
New International Version (NIV)
41 “I do not accept glory from human beings, 42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. (note: no circumcision of heart, by the Spirit)
Again, since loving and obeying God are bound together in Scripture, it appears the New Calvinists are teaching that Christians are actually like the Pharisees (inward wolves) who were “circumcised only in the flesh.”
Arkansas Bill
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Randy,
I think there is truth in what you are saying. People coming out of the Reformation have been somewhat schizophrenic at times. They quickly change attitudes about who we are in Christ. Holy one minute, a dog the next. I have often thought this reading the Puritan writers. I occasionally feel like a New Calvinist myself in failure – chief of sinners, can do nothing, worthless, and no hope. Our Lord forgives and heals, of course. We forget what lies behind, pressing on ahead.
Arkansas Bill
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Paul,
Just read them and you will see what I mean. Not trying to be hard to get along with. That is just the way it is.
Randy
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Randy,
That’s why I’m Scripturist. I quote men not for credibility, but because they often say something better than I can say it.
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Randy,
I don’t think Jess’ point is that nobody has ever believed that in the past, especially in Reformed circles. I think her point is that it is a sign of a much bigger problem
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Paul
that’s right. I think Jess’ post was right on when applied to the New Calvinist. The New Calvinists are an extreme case going way beyond most of the Reformed. I think the Reformation reaction to the works attitude promoted by the Roman Church at that time produced over-reaction. Yes, every generation needs to cling to the Scriptures to find out who we are and learn about our relationship to God.
Arkansas Bill
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Randy,
I think we know what you mean, and agree, to some extent. Paul and I have discussed on previous posts how these New Calvinistic ideas are sprinkled throughout history since the Reformation. However, I think most would very much oppose the New Calvinists of today. Wouldn’t you say that?
Arkansas Bill
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Bill,
If NC are saying that because we still have remaining sin and because we are totally dependent on Christ by his Spirit to sanctify us and enable us to be obedient to the clear commands of Scripture [I believe both these truths are clearly taught in the NT] THEREFORE we may as well throw up our hands in despair and forget about trying to obey, they are clearly wrong. There is no question the Scriptures set forth our responsibility to obey. We cannot deny that without denying the authority of Scripture. I have never been a defender of New Calvinism, but I do think some of what they are teaching is true and we need to pay attention to it. If through what they believe they arrive at faulty conclusions, we simply need to reject their conclusions, not the truth through which they have arrived at those conclusions. For example, the Apostle Paul clearly taught that we are justified before God in union with Christ, our head and representative. [Rom 5] Moreover, he taught that where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more. Although some would reason to a faulty conclusion based on that teaching, namely, “let us continue in sin so that grace might overflow,” He doesn’t throw out the truth of Romans 5, but only the false conclusion of those who have used that truth to arrive at a false conclusion.
I believe the Bible is our only authority, but it is helpful to see how others have approached some of these important issues. Luther taught that justification is by faith alone, but never by a faith that is alone. If Christ died for us to accomplish our justification, then we died with him to the reigning power of sin. This forms the platform for all the commands of the NT relative to the believer’s sanctification.
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Randy,
those are very good points you’ve made there and I agree with it. Well said. I personally don’t disagree with everything the New Calvinists are doing either. They seem to be strong evangelists, strong on prayer, and strong on magnifying Christ, and they are definately not universalists. The deficiency comes in when they never seem to teach about the NECESSITY of Christian good works. They never ask: “What’s in it for God with this Covenant?” They never heard of the Gospel Godward, only the Gospel Manward. They seem to be teaching a doctrine of assurance based on faith alone (mental accent) and not faith and works going together as you mentioned. God’s promise of giving eternal life in the future, to those who persist in doing good (Rom 2:7), is not on the New Calvinist radar screen. Salvation to them is only a human bailout . They never seem to see God’s favor and privelage bound up with serving God. They distort how much Christians are sinning, so they convey little difference between sin and good deeds. I disagree with their understanding of “the righteous acts of the saints.”
“Preaching the gospel to yourself” is no big deal for me. I repeat the “Jesus Prayer” in the forgiveness of sins. Eventually, things need to move on to better things. To the experiential, peitistic stuff I’m open minded. God deals with people in mysterious ways sometimes.
That said, Paul Dohose has got the bottom line correct. Most of these pastors are masked Antinomians and many in the congregations don’t know it. I appreciate his perception about the damage being done through New Calvinist teachings. You demand Paul to produce direct quotes from these New Calvinists, but there are none. Not one is willing to say “I am an Antinomian.” If there were direct quotes, the New Calvinists would be kicked out of Church. They would not longer be able to decieve the multitudes. They are very skilled at being ambiguous enough so no one can pin them down. The Universalist priests in the Roman Catholic churches and Liberal Protestant churches are very similar. They never make direct statements about what they mean. They only talk about the love, mercy, and compassion of God for all people. Since this is true in some sense, they can’t be kicked out. They never come right out and say “I am a Universalist.” Many of these guys, like Plagius, are so nice and outstanding citizens, feeding the poor etc., it makes it hard to stop the false teaching.
Arkansas Bill
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Bill,
Here is my problem. Since I first told Paul I am a New Covenant Theologian, he has been accusing me of being a wicked, Antinomian, false teacher who is a New Calvinist with roots in SDA etc. None of that is true. He reads and posts statements by people like Ernest Reisinger whom I know to have been completely antithetical to NCT and insists that he was in the NCT camp. This he persists in even though I have told him repeatedly that it isn’t so.
I make no effort to hide anything I believe. If I believe it, I say it. Paul has continued to tell me what I believe, even though I don’t believe anything of the sort. I just read a statement last night he sort of quoted from John Murray that completely distorted what Murray believed regarding sanctification. He seldom gives references for supposed citations he gives so that the reader can check these statements in their context. For me, all of this destroys credibility.
I have read many articles on the net in which the writer was “critiquing” New Covenant Theology. I have found very few, if any, that accurately represent my position. Almost none of them provide a forum for disputing their lies. If some of these “gutless wonders” [to use Paul’s expression] where really interested in truth, they could confront me personally. There is one guy named George M. Ella who repeatedly tells outright lies about what I have written. He and Paul seem to be struck with the same club when it comes to their aversion to quoting those with whom they disagree. I could isolate the apostle Paul’s words in Romans 5 and make a very good argument that he was a flaming Antinomian. Every statement a person makes must be understood in the context in which it was made. That is why direct quotations are so important in establishing an argument. Anything else is just sloppy scholarship.
Randy
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GR Randy,
The “wicked” part might have been a little excessive.
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