There are times when we humans are faced with what is so obvious that it seems impossible to find a starting place to describe it. The foolishness of the Calvinist notion of total depravity is one such thing. How is it possible to read Paul’s words in Romans 7:9 and continue to believe in Calvin’s system (Warfield reminds Calvinists that the TULIP is either a cohesive unit or complete rubbish) or in Augustinian ideas of original sin? “Once I was alive apart from the law . . .” Someone please point out the depravity part of this statement! Calvin’s system gets the order of relationship with conviction of sin wrong. How can that system be trusted to describe a relationship with the living God Himself? Verse 10: The commandment designed for life brings death to anyone but God Himself. In fulfilling the law, Jesus activates the truth of Romans 3:23. The cross establishes man in sin relative to the law. For us, there’s no need to look elsewhere in time. In other words, the Calvinist/Augustinian notion that God made everyone before they were injected into the time stream and some were permanently defective is a stupid lie. “All have sinned” happens in time. It is not a part of God’s eternal purpose. Evil does not dwell in our homeland.
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