By total inability Calvin
meant that a lost sinner cannot come to Jesus Christ and trust Him as
Saviour, unless he is foreordained to come to Christ. By total
inability he meant that no man has the ability to come to Christ. And
unless God overpowers him and gives him that ability, he will never
come to Christ
The Bible teaches total
depravity, and I believe in total depravity. But that simply means
that there is nothing good in man to earn or deserve salvation. The
Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately wicked."
A preacher brought a
wonderful sermon on the depravity of the human heart. And when he
finished his message, someone came to him and said," I want you to
know I can't swallow that depraved heart that you preached about."
The preacher smiled and
said, "You don't have to swallow it. It's already in you!"
While the Bible teaches
the depravity of the human race, it nowhere teaches total inability.
The Bible never hints that people are lost because they have no
ability to come to Christ. The language of Jesus was, "Ye will not
come to me, that ye might have life" (John 5:40).
Notice, it is not a
matter of whether or not you can come to Christ; it is a matter of
whether or not you will come to Christ.
Jesus looked over
Jerusalem and wept and said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem . . .how often
would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth
her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" (Matt. 23:37). Here
again notice, He did not say, "How often would I have gathered you
together, but you could not." No. He said, "Ye would not!" It was not
a matter of whether they could; it was a matter of whether they would.
Revelation 22:17, the
last invitation in the Bible, says, "And the Spirit and the bride say,
Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst
come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely ."
If it is true that no
person has the ability to come to Christ, then why would Jesus say in
John 5:40, "Ye will not come to me." why didn't He simply say, "You
cannot come to me."?
The only thing that
stands between the sinner and salvation is the sinner's will. God made
every man a free moral agent. And God never burglarises the human
will.
D. L. Moody addressed a
large group of skeptics. He said ,"I want to talk about the word
believe, the word receive, and the word take." When Mr. Moody had
finished his sermon, he asked, "Now who will come and take Christ as
Saviour?"
One man stood and said,
"I can't."
Mr. Moody wept and said,
"Don't say, 'I can't.' Say, 'I won't!'"
And the man said, "Then,
I won't!"
But another man said, "I
will!" Then another said, "I will!" And another said , "I will!" Until
scores came to trust Christ as Saviour.
Some Calvinists use John
6:44 in an effort to prove total inability. Here the Bible says, "No
man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw
him...."But the Bible makes it plain in John 12:32 that Christ will
draw all men unto Himself. Here the Bible says, "And I, if I be lifted
up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."
All men are drawn to
Christ, but not all men will trust Christ as Saviour. Every man will
make his own decision to trust Christ or to reject Him. The Bible
makes it clear that all men have light. John 1:9 says, "That was the
true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."
Romans 1:19,20 indicates that every sinner has been called through the
creation about him. And Romans 2:11-16 indicates that sinners are
called through their conscience, even when they have not heard the
Word of God.
So in the final analysis,
men go to Hell, not because of their inability to come to Christ, but
because they will not come to Christ-"Ye will not come to me, that ye
might have life."
The teaching that men,
women and children are totally unable to come to Christ and trust Him
as Saviour is not a scriptural doctrine. The language itself is not
scriptural.
End of Chapter One
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