READING TIME: 4-8 MINUTES
January 17, 2020
Crucial Questions Regarding the “T” in TULIP
Before I list some questions, here is a definition of “Total Depravity” according to a key Reformed theologian.
“Because of the fall, man is unable of himself to savingly believe the gospel. The sinner is dead, blind, and deaf to the things of God; his heart is deceitful and desperately corrupt. His will is not free, it is in bondage to his evil nature, therefore, he will not – indeed he cannot – choose good over evil in the spiritual realm. Consequently, it takes much more than the Spirit’s assistance to bring a sinner to Christ – it takes regeneration by which the Spirit makes the sinner alive and gives him a new nature. Faith is not something man contributes to salvation, but is itself a part of God’s gift of salvation – it is God’s gift to the sinner, not the sinner’s gift to God” (Steele, 5-6, quoted in Badger 83).
Sources used for the above quote
Badger, Anthony B. Confronting Calvinism: A Free Grace Refutation and Biblical Resolution of Radical Reformed Soteriology.
Steele, David N., Curtis C. Thomas, and S. Lance Quinn. The Five Points of Calvinism: Defined, Defended, and Documented.
If you speak with somebody who believes in the “T” in TULIP and they make it clear they think it means “total inability” (some of the Reformed theologians) liken an unbeliever to a “rock” or “cadaver”) here are some questions you should ask them. The purpose of the questions is to show that this theological viewpoint does not harmonize with what Scripture teaches. This list of questions is fairly short; I’m sure many more questions could be asked.
Genesis 6:3 – how can there be real “striving” if man is dead in sin and therefore unable to hear or be persuaded? Why would the Spirit of God strive with a corpse?
Genesis 41:8 – if an unbeliever is spiritually like a rock or cadaver, why how can it be that Pharaoh’s spirit was troubled within him?
1 Kings 21:5 – if an unbeliever is spiritually dead (unable to respond to God), then how is it that Ahab’s spirit was sullen? we are told that Ahab’s spirit was sullen?
1 Chronicles 5:26 – how was God able to stir up the spirit of Tiglath-Pileser if he as an unbeliever was like a spiritual corpse?
2 Chronicles 36:22 – how was God able to stir up the spirit of Cyrus the Persian to free the Jewish people if he as an unbeliever was unable to respond?
Psalm 10:4 & John 5:40 – do these verses teach that unbelievers are unable to seek God? In reality, they don’t teach “inability” but they do teach that many unbelievers are unwilling to spiritually respond to God.
Psalm 14:2 & 53:2 – if an unbeliever is incapable of seeking God, why would He look down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after Him? Doesn’t God know that these sons of men are incapable of doing this?
Isaiah 1:18 – if man is incapable of responding to God, then is the Scripture irrational, because this verse says God offers to reason with man?
Isaiah 55:1-6 (also see Jeremiah 29:13 and Hebrews 11:6) – If an unbeliever is like a spiritual corpse, then why would God invite unbelievers to freely drink from the waters of salvation (vv. 1-2) and why would He ask unbelievers to seek Him while He may be found and call Him while He is near (v. 6)? Why would God ask unbelievers to seek after Him (while in a lost state; 6) if they are cadavers or rocks?
Lamentations 3:25 – if an unbeliever can’t seek after God, then why did Jeremiah write that the Lord is good to those who wait for Him (to the soul who seeks Him)?
Daniel 2:1, 3 – how is it that Nebuchadnezzar’s spirit was able to be stirred if he as an unbeliever was like a spiritual corpse?
Daniel 5:20 – if Nebuchadnezzar was like a spiritual corpse as an unbeliever, how is it that his spirit was able to be hardened with pride?
Matthew 13:10-17 – if man doesn’t have the freedom to respond to God, then why did God judicially blind the Jews or use parabolic language to hide His truth? Wouldn’t this be like putting a blindfold on a corpse?
Matthew 28:16-20 – how can the Great Commission from Jesus Christ be valid if unbelievers cannot place their faith in Jesus? This very command implies man’s ability to believe the Gospel.
Luke 8:12 – in this verse the devil works to snatch the gospel out of unbelievers’ hearts lest they should believe and be saved. This implies he does the snatching because they can believe. If an unbeliever has total inability, why would Satan snatch the gospel out of unbelievers’ hearts lest they should believe and be saved?
John 1:35-51 – If an unbeliever can’t seek God, how is it that Andrew and John were able to seek the Lord after hearing John the Immerser’s witness. Also, Nathaniel came to check out Jesus.
John 3:1-21 – If an unbeliever can’t seek God, how is it that Nicodemus was able to seek out Jesus and ultimately come to faith (John 19:39-40)?
John 7:37; also see John 4:10-14; 6:35; Revelation 21:6; 22:17– why would Jesus give these invitations to those who are thirsty and hungry to come to Him (and as a result place their faith in Him) if unbelievers cannot do that?
Acts 8:26-38 – If an unbeliever can’t seek God, how is it that the Ethiopian eunuch, though an excluded Gentile, traveled to Jerusalem to worship and found Christ through Philip’s ministry?
Acts 10 – according to Reformed Theology, if an unbeliever has total inability, how is it that Cornelius (while still an unbeliever) was seeking God in Acts 10:2, 4 by giving alms and prayer. He didn’t become a believer until later on in the chapter (in Acts 10:43-44; compare these verses with Acts 11:17). More accurately, Cornelius was responding to God’s drawing and conviction ministry.
Acts 17:10-12 – if an unbeliever can’t seek God, how about the noble-minded (or “open-minded”) Bereans who examined the Scriptures daily to verify Paul’s message and “therefore” believed?
Acts 17:30 – why would God ask all men to repent if they are like a rock or cadaver?
Acts 18:4, 19 – if an unbeliever can’t spiritually respond to God, was Paul wasting his time reasoning with the Jewish people?
Acts 26:14 – if an unbeliever is unable to respond to God, then how was Paul as unbeliever able to kick against the goads? This implies the Spirit had been convicting and drawing Paul before he believed. This verse teaches that not only is resisting the truth hard, but it is possible. Resisting the truth presupposes that one understands it. At one point, Paul stopped resisting, which implies that he had “free will.” Jesus’s words can and should be seen as an appeal to Saul’s free will.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4 – if an unbeliever is incapable of spiritually responding to God, then why would Satan expend the effort to place a veil over the minds of unbelievers, effectively blinding them to the truth? Satan exerts himself in this way because he knows that unbelievers are certainly capable to respond to the Spirit’s drawing and conviction ministry.
Titus 2:11 – if unbelievers are incapable of spiritually responding to God, then why did Paul write that God’s grace brings salvation appears to all men?
1 Peter 3:15 – if an unbeliever is like a rock or cadaver, then why would Peter ask the readers to give a reason for the hope that is in them? Could a rock or a cadaver even understand the reasoning?
Sources Used
Anderson, David R. Position and Condition: An Exposition of the Book of Ephesians. Grace Theology Press. Kindle Edition.
Badger, Anthony B. Confronting Calvinism: A Free Grace Refutation and Biblical Resolution of Radical Reformed Soteriology.
Bing, Charlie. GraceNotes #75. < http://www.gracelife.org/resources/gracenotes/pdf/gracenotes75.pdf.>
Bryson, George. The Dark Side of Calvinism: The Calvinist Caste System.
________. The Five Points of Calvinism: Weighed and Found Wanting.
Flowers, Leighton. The Potter’s Promise: A Biblical Defense of Traditional Soteriology.
Hunt, Dave. What Love is This? The Berean Call. Kindle Edition, chapter 7.
Lopez, René A. “Is Faith a Gift from God or a Human Exercise?” Bibliotheca Sacra 164 (July-September 2007): 259-276.
Meisinger, George E. “The Issue of One’s Ability to Believe: Total Depravity/Inability.” Chafer Theological Seminary Journal Volume 11.1 (2005): 65-96.
The NKJV Study Bible, Second Edition.
Olson, C. Gordon. Beyond Calvinism & Arminianism: An Inductive Mediate Theology of Salvation. 3rd Edition Expanded, Revised, & Updated.
________. Getting the Gospel Right: A Balanced View of Salvation Truth.
Vance, Laurence M. The Other Side of Calvinism.
Wilkin, Robert N. Is Calvinism Biblical? Let the Scriptures Decide. Grace Evangelical Society. Kindle Edition.