A Response to James White's YouTube "What Does 'Total Depravity' Mean?"
In this video by James White, can you sense he is doubting his own faith? He is struggling with it. I really understand his errors and where he trips up. He doesn't have a conscience to know what he is doing wrong, but I don't say it is because he is made that way or because he has fallen into a pit and can't be pulled out unless he is reprogrammed without his choice, but because God has given him a choice to be dishonest with himself and God to not repent and believe in Christ to be regenerated. It's because he likes clinging to his sin nature, though he will talk around it of course as though he doesn't favor it.
He is trying to rationalize Calvinism's T in TULIP by slight of hand. But still, there are no verses for the doctrine of Total Depravity. These verses he tries to use do not pertain to total depravity, i.e., total inability, but propensity to sin. Just as David was called "perfect" in God's eyes doesn't mean he never sins, but that his propensity was to not sin because he was a man after God's own heart. Likewise, these verses tried by James White are not referring to total inability to receive what Jesus did on the cross. Everyone is a sinner but surely you would help an old lady across the street. Spiritual life is not confined to pews and not our streets. You are a sinner who can't save himself, that's why you need Jesus. This is what it means, no one seeks after God. Paul is never talking about you being unable to receive what Jesus did on the cross by the grace of God.
Be careful of men who can babble for so long as on this video to teach a lie that you are a totally depraved, unable to receive the cross of salvation unless you were premade for salvation without any choice in the matter and others are going to hell without any opportunity to be saved. Length of discussion is not reason for proof. Just because my response is long doesn't mean I am right. But God's law is written on all our consciences, so these words will convict you if you are still a calvinist. As each paragraph moves you, you will be drawn further and and further away from calvinism till you can't take it anymore and shall relinquish the grand deception by John Calvin.
A calvinist is effectively acting sovereignly over himself and against God's will to assume he is regenerated without having to repent and believe in Christ which is duplicitous because then he claims he has no free will. Some calvinists think they have a free will (calvinists can't agree on whether there is a free will or not whereas osas arminians don't have this problem), but that is a contradiction with total depravity that nobody by their will has the choice to receive the cross. For it is evil to send people to hell without recourse or regenerate someone without their choice in the matter. Surely God is greater than being just a robot maker. This delusion puffs up and prides yourself over others that you are selected and they are not with no reason whatsoever. It is not meek and lowly or of the little flock.
You are a sinner in need of salvation, not a robot who can't receive salvation. Jesus did not die in vain. James White has no fear of God when he continues to refuse to repent and believe in Christ to be regenerated, but just assume he is regenerated without repenting and believing by the grace of God. James White is a child of wrath, he is of his father the devil, because he wants to do his father's desire not to have to repent and believe in Christ to be regenerated. He is at enmity with God. He is dead in his trespasses in his sins, unwilling to repent and believe in Christ to be regenerated. To be dead physically means you can't refuse salvation, so the death analogy of the spiritual to the physical is erroneous.
Dead means loss of communication, not total inability. It is not a "degree of deadness" but this death does bring you to hell unless you receive what Jesus did for you. The degree of deadness argument fails on its head.
Just as White freely chose to assume he was regenerated without repentance and belief in Christ (thus believing a facsimile, false Christ), so a person can freely choose to repent and believe in Christ genuinely to be saved and God will preserve that person eternally, because their choice fulfilled God's exact condition required for eternal preservation. White does not receive these things of God, for they are foolish to him. God wants fellowship not with robots but sovereign beings made in His image and who are regenerated authentically.
White's idol is "total depravity" and a twisted idea of what God's sovereignty is, for God's sovereignty is not a robot maker. Understand man has been given enabling grace to have the choice. Every man has. Nobody is going to hell without the choice in the matter or without enabling grace to convince and convict and have the choice.
Grace is not like a big peanut butter spread, everyone gets equal grace. Not at all. Some people are given more, some less, depending on their circumstances and conditions, but know that everyone has been given sufficient grace, so nobody is without excuse and nobody is without the opportunity to be saved. A person on a remote island who never heard of Christ has received common grace. He looks at the idols worshiped in his community and rejects them for the God of the mountains and the stars. Surely, even though he has not received special graces, he nonetheless would accept Christ if shown the Word of God and thus God would save this person.
May I assure you that I know unequivocally that James White is not born again in his calvinism and pray one day he repent so that he may be saved. What a wonderful testimony that would be, that even one of the hardest calvinists that ever lived could be saved by repenting of calvinism to believe in Christ to be regenerated.
That no one is able to come to Christ unless God draws him...does not mean all drawn believe, but that God is the great enabler. Without His grace no one could be saved, but that doesn't mean we are totally depraved that nobody could believe. The god of calvinism who doesn't provide grace to some so they have no opportunity to be saved and makes other saved without any consideration for their choice is not God of the Bible, never has been and never will be. Really, what love is this?
You have the ability to come to God because God's grace has been given to you to do so, for you were made in His image, there is common grace and special grace where needed.
White misunderstands eternal life. Eternal life does not commence at bodily resurrection, but at new birth. Eternal life is not just eternal blessings but an ability to know God. He does not believe he has eternal life, thus he does not have an ability to know God today. How sad for him.
Everyone has the grace given to them in being drawn to God, but many draw back. Grace has been given to White, but he draws back from God with calvinism. You should be offended by a Christ who doesn't want anyone's choice, but is just moving chess pieces around and a god who does not have the ability of infinite foreknowledge to foresee our free-choice and able to give us the choice. A great God can give us the choice that never becomes totally depraved. A weak god can't do this, because he either doesn't have the power or the desire; either way, he is impotent and unloving. What has Christ done with you? He has given you the choice. The question is not what is God going to do without your choice, but what is God going to do with you if you by your volition choose rightly the God-given choice for Christ. What wonderful blessings are in store for you!
Brothers and sisters, don't be surprised that James White is going to hell. The Bible warns about not just many false Christians but the false Christ they purport. Though James is clearly not born-again and does not have eternal life, there are other less obvious cases such as Charles Spurgeon who contradicted the 5 points of calvinism with 5 points of osas arminianism by teaching total depravity. At least he had a conscience to reject some of the other 5 points of calvinism. Do you think Satan's deception is going to be blatantly obvious? Listen to the tone of White with his inflections, low tone, then gregarious outbursts like he is playing an instrument (of self), but it is really just a clanging bell for those who interpret spiritual truths with spiritual understanding and spiritual words.
Why doesn't James White understand the gospel of salvation? Because he doesn't know how to reconcile God's infinite foreknowledge with free will so he must make something up to explain it. He can't be humbled enough not to know all things. Tough question, obviously, but not a valid reason to reject God's Word. Molinism, as well explained by William Lane Craig, shows how it can be done (but Craig mistakenly is a non-OSASer). Molinism is just an advanced explanation of osas arminian. We can talk about that later if you like.
Why can't James understand? Because he lacks the ability to hear. But why? Because he likes his sinfulness, his flesh, his worldliness, his self-interest, his brilliance, his talent to thwart god, his verbiage, his an idea to gain followers and money, and his self-exaltation. James White will always choose to refuse God probably, not absolutely. For as long as he is in his body of flesh and blood, he can still choose to repent of these things and come to the Good Shepherd to be saved by grace through faith. However most spiritual Christians know the likelihood of James White ever being born-again certainly falls under the 1% category.
Who chooses the sheep? God does. But how? God chooses by foreknowing our free-choice. God predestinates by foreknowing our free-choice: a conditional election, unlimited atonement, resistible grace, for preservation of the saints.
Don't believe James White that you can choose God by just assuming you are regenerated, thus not having to repent and believe in Christ to be saved. This is doubletalk, for he says you can't choose God yet he does it anyway. Such duplicity is just pointing to self. Can you see that? I pray that you can.
Jesus says James White is not His sheep. "Why don't you believe James," Jesus asks? You have heard the grace of God to repent and believe. What's missing? God is under no obligation to be merciful to you James. Only you and you alone think you can receive the grace of God, along with other calvinists. You are a hypocrite and will not repent. Today's Pharisee is the calvinist. For the sake of your own traditions of Augustine and Calvin, Luther and Spurgeon (amillennialists violating Rev. 20.3), lost in "total depravity" idolatry, are separated from God for all eternity. Jesus has not chosen you as His sheep. But you say God has to? Telling God what He as to do with you? Please. Who are you oh man?
I am not saying ever person who teaches total depravity and no free-will is unsaved, for God is not a legalists and there is an exception to the rule sometimes. But if you are hardened calvinists, the probability of you being unsaved is very great. Christians can be deceived to though we can't lose life.
The reason you do not believe James is because you don't hear God's voice, which is not total inability, but lacking the desire to repent and believe in Christ to be regenerated. Why do you lack such desire? Because it is your choice to not to come to God with an honest heart and be honest with yourself. It is not that you are so dead or half dead. You are 100% spiritually dead, but spiritual death doesn't mean you don't have the choice. Your fallen nature, ultimately, is not the cause of you rejecting God, because God's grace given to you is greater than your fallen nature. It is you and you alone that is the cause, it is your very person. It is your choice and you have nobody to blame but yourself. Your fallen nature only causes your propensity to sin, not a presumed total inability that you use to enter into a false salvation and keep yourself eternally separated from God.
These words may be uncomfortable for you James, but I am not here to make you feel comfortable, but tell you the truth, the truth that will set you free.
When Lazarus was resurrected he could have rejected God, but it's pretty hard to do that once you have been resurrected on earth. Don't be mad at God for the grace given to some such as Lazarus. Remember when Jesus said to one disciples, don't worry about what it is going on between Jesus and the other disciples, but get yourself right with God? Ample grace you can see was given. All people are going to be resurrected, but many who will be resurrected will still reject God. hell is vast and that is where most people are going. Each person's experience in hell will be different, but I can assure you Jame's eternity in Hell is going to be worse than most atheists because he has come so close to God and still rejects him. White has been given more grace than most and still rejects the true Christ. Many people read the Bible and are great scholars but they are not saved, not even one bit.
Just like John Calvin has no real memory of when he was born-again (he was not actually born-again), James White has the same problem as do most calvinists, so since they can't remember they assumed they were premade robots for salvation, regenerated without having to repent and believe in Jesus Christ.
Just because you can't remember, doesn't mean it happened. Don't assume. God still wants you to repent and believe to be regenerated. Repent of what? What did John the Baptist teach? Repentance of your sins. To assume you can't repent of your sins by the grace of God so that you don't repent and just assume you are regenerated is no salvation. You can get off the boat of calvinism any time. God is pleading with you even now. Jesus died for the sins of all mankind and is loving that none should be lost whosoever is willing.
Thank you Jesus and praise you for this discernment! Thank you Jesus for your word and pray for the understanding of James White to help lead him to the only salvation under heaven in your Name. Amen.
