Biblical Reasons to Reject Total Inability

Dr. Leighton Flowers, Director of Evangelism and Apologetics for Texas Baptists, replies again to a video from a Calvinistic brother, Jacob Trotter, who is critiquing his views on spiritual deadness as moral inability. (Part 2)



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[lespearl]

Brother Leighton you are a blessing. May our dear Lord continue to guide you as He uses you to expound His Word.

[Kman.]

Profundity wrapped in simplicity, amen!

[nathanhellrung]

This is so simple if Calvinists would just stop confusing things. In 1 Corinthians 2 you have Paul speaking specifically about certain things. What are these certain things? They are the deep things of God, the wisdom of God, that things that ONLY the spiritually mature can receive and understand. What do we find just 3 verses later (remember, there were NO chapters originally) is that the infant Christians cannot receive these things. Now, place the Gospel into these "specific things" and then tell me if infant believers cannot receive the Gospel. Makes no sense. The FACT that infant believers cannot receive the very things Paul is speaking about eliminates the Gospel from what Paul is saying they cannot receive. Therefore, Paul is not saying that the natural man cannot receive or understand the Gospel. Calvinists, stop forcing certain texts to fit your systematic, it is eisegesis.

[nikao]

You’re absolutely right about that if we can’t address the unbiblical view of Calvinism in love and patience then we should leave it to those as yourself and support how you’re going about it and not even go someplace else and be contentious but figure out something else we can do according to God’s will in the fruits of the spirit which begin with love.

[apilkey]

@ 25:03 Jacob says, “he cannot receive the cross of Christ because they are foolishness to him.

That’s NOT what the scriptures say that’s an ASSUMPTION.

The scripture says the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God.

It does NOT say he cannot receive Christ.

The things of the spirit of God are the deeper things of God.

We absolutely do NOT need to fully understand everything before we believe.

1 CORINTHIANS 2:14

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The exact opposite is true in that we CAN KNOW.

... According to 2 Corinthians 1:11, 13 Paul tells us again that his message is SIMPLE and not full of freshly wisdom so that we CAN understand it when we read it:

2 CORINTHIANS 1:12, 13

12 For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in SIMPLICITY and godly sincerity, NOT WITH FLESHLY WISDOM, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.
13 For we write none other things unto you, THAN WHAT YE READ or ACKNOWLEDGE; and I TRUST YE SHALL ACKNOWLEDGE even to the end;

... According to Ephesians 3:4 we MAY UNDERSTAND:

EPHESIANS 3:4

4 Whereby, WHEN YE READ, YE MAY UNDERSTAND MY KNOWLEDGE IN THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST)

[jessiepanopio]

Amen. Thank you Dr Flowers for a very clear explanation.

[gregjay]

There is no doubt that pastors who teach that God does not love all sinners the same and that Jesus died effectively only for His elect, are teaching heresy. The big question is will these pastors be strongly rebuked by God on that day when we all must give an account of our lives?

[phillipjackson]

Are babies in the sinner circle? The definition you gave of sinner, was a person who has broken the law of God. I'm wondering if you think babies would be in that sinner circle? And once again, I cant thank you enough for your awesome videos, brother! Keep spreading the truth and making it so easy for folks to understand!

[donna]

This was mysterious to me until I saw in scripture that I am a spirit, I live in my body, and I have a soul that gives me ability to choose, which is the seat of my will to say yes or no. Yes, I was SPIIRITUALLY dead until I heard the gospel. That is when I chose to believe as the Holy Spirit of Grace brought me to conviction of my sin, and that is when I chose to believe.

[apilkey]

I’m pretty sure that if a man who had a LEGION OF DEMONS was fully capable of coming to God and falling at His feet to worship Him, then mankind is FULLY CAPABLE of crying out to God for mercy and responding to the offer of salvation initiated by God.

This was an extreme case of approximately 3000-6000 demons (depending on how you interpret a legion) and yet the man STILL sought the Lord!

Jesus didn’t call the man forth from amongst the tombs and effectually drag him to Himself.

It clearly states in verse 2, “THERE MET HIM OUT OF THE TOMBS A MAN WITH AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT.”

The man met Jesus.

MARK 5:1, 2

1 And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.
2 And when he was come out of the ship, IMMEDIATELY THERE MET HIM OUT OF THE TOMBS A MAN WITH AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT,

It clearly states in verse 6, “WHEN HE SAW JESUS AFAR OFF, HE RAN AND WORSHIPPED HIM.”

MARK 5:6

6 BUT WHEN HE SAW JESUS AFAR OFF, HE RAN AND WORSHIPPED HIM,

He ran to Christ not the other way around.

[kylerittenhouse]

The reason some of use are more vicious towards the hard calvinists is because we have experienced the underhanded infiltration by calvinists trying to take over churches and destroying evangelism and prayer.

[tacticalfilmfightingacadem]

We all have a conscious Romans 1: 19-21 w/o excuse. we have responsibility = Ability.

[jaygee]

Leighton, the references to being ‘dead in sin’ are, as far as I can see, limited to the Pauline epistles. So I did a little research (Colossians 2) and the OT representation for Israel seems to have been ‘the uncircumcision’. Entrance into the nation of Israel demanded circumcision, ‘cutting off the flesh’. Those of Israel who refused to ‘cut off the flesh’ were cast out.
My mind is in overdrive right now and I need time to organize my thoughts, but I think this OT representation of the flesh with dead in sin is most likely the foundation for Paul’s writings on this matter.
There’s a lot time to think.

[nathanburgett]

34:13

Do you see the equivocation? "Its not redundant, its piling up the same thing." He merely said it wasn't redundant, then explained redundancy using other terms. I don't think he can see that.

[lindajohnson]

"My spirit shall not always strive with man..."
If man cannot respond to God's Spirit under any circumstances, in any way, whatsoever, what does God think he's doing, "striving with" man?

Obviously, God does not believe it is worthless to strive with man, or to hold out his arms all day long to a gainsaying people. Not all respond positively, but some do. God does not speak nonsense.

[winder]

Good point about the enemy ignoring our best arguments... the truth is irrefutable.

[jesuschristsaves]

Calvinists can’t know they are elect. So why do they live like they know they are?

[enonknives]

The problem with these long videos is that it makes it easy for Calvinists to ignore specific points. Whenever I challenge a Calvinist, he tries to bury my argument in a flood of words. Then he demands that I address all his words, and not the original point. We need to get Calvinists to argue one point at a time or else they will continue to use this common strategy. If we cannot come to a common understanding of a single point, then we will never common to a common understanding of many points.

[charlesfeltham]

And He was saying to them, “A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to.  By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”


After giving the parable of the sower Christ then says that it is not His intention to hide the words from some but they are warned to be careful what they listen to putting the responsibility clearly on the hearer.

[HosannaInExcelsis]

Is funny to see that while the reformers strongly rejected that justification produced any ontological change in the individual (vs Catholicism who strongly affirmed that view, which was the absolute consensus of the early fathers), but only a change in status, now Modern Calvinism and Provisionalism seem to be moving towards the Catholic view. Either you believe that regeneration takes place before or after faith, what both camps here seem to suggest is that there is an ontological change on the individual. Is this a reform of reformed and classical protestant theology?