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The Gospel Coalition’s Promotion of the Heresy of the Total Depravity of Christians
![The Gospel Coalition[1]](http://5ptsalt.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/the-gospel-coalition1.jpg "The Gospel Coalition[1]")
The Westminster Confession, in describing free will, tells us in chapter 9, section 3:
I. God has endued the will of man with that natural liberty, that is neither forced, nor, by any absolute necessity of nature, determined good, or evil.
II. Man, in his state of innocency, had freedom, and power to will and to do that which was good and well pleasing to God; but yet, mutably, so that he might fall from it.
III. Man, by his fall into a state of sin, has wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation: so as, a natural man, being altogether averse from that good, and dead in sin, is not able, by his own strength, to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto.
IV. When God converts a sinner, and translates him into the state of grace, He frees him from his natural bondage under sin; and, by His grace alone, enables him freely to will and to do that which is spiritually good; yet so, as that by reason of his remaining corruption, he does not perfectly, or only, will that which is good, but does also will that which is evil.
V. The will of man is made perfectly and immutably free to do good alone in the state of glory only.
I’ll agree with that.
Now listen to the Gospel Coalition author Tullian Tchividjian:
But once God regenerates us by his Spirit, draws us to himself, unites us to Christ, raises us from the dead, and grants us status as adopted sons and daughters, is there any sense in which we can speak of Christian’s being totally depraved?
Yes.
No, Tullian, no Gospel Coalition. No.
We are new creatures, made alive in Christ Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:17
Wherefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new.
Tullian Tchividjian and the Gospel Coalition would have you believe that you have not really changed. If you have not been born again, well, they are correct. However, if you have been born again, you are a new creature in Christ, and you are no longer totally depraved by any definition. They are misleading you with a falsehood. Or, it may be that they are just lacking in knowledge. You know the latin word for that. Ignoramus.
You adhere to the Westminster confession? Look above at the beginning of this post, and see what Tullian is saying about you as a Christian:
- You have no freedom or will to do that which is good and well pleasing to God (I guess Romans 6 means nothing then?).
- You have not been freed under natural bondage from sin.
- You are not spiritually able to do that which is good
If those 3 things are really true of you, then you are lost and without Christ.
Tullian wrote it, and the Gospel Coalition made no objection whatsoever. Until they reject and oppose such teaching, they are promoting it. You can read Tchividjians post here.
The Gospel Coalition is being ‘very unhelpful’ to you, and the Church needs to wake up.
Certainly, the quote above from Tchividjian is unbiblical none sense. Would you be so kind as to provide a link to the article so interested parties can see it in context?
Done, my apologies
Here is your link:
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tullian/2012/01/27/are-christians-totally-depraved/
This is unbelievably bad. Again, TuT was not chosen for his exegetical skills or his theological maturity, mostly his general appeal to spiritual infants.
TuT tries to “reason” his way through this claim by saying about total depravity that since it does not mean “utter depravity” then, after we get saved ,that “total depravity” must still be there making us sin.
He completely misses the point for why the “total depravity” arises and how it is defined. He demonstrates the skills of a novice, once again, to the injury of the body of Christ.
You: “Tullian Tchividjian and the Gospel Coalition would have you believe that you have not really changed.”
Tullian: “The truth is, however, that Christian growth and progress involves coming to the realization of just how weak and incompetent we continue to be and how strong and competent Jesus continues to be for us. Spiritual maturity is not marked by our growing, independent fitness. Rather, it’s marked by our growing dependence on Christ’s fitness for us. Because we are daily sinners, we need God’s daily distributions of free grace that come our way as a result of Christ’s finished work.”
Even if what you are saying is true at least speak right of their position. Do you honestly think that if I was a new Christian and sat down with Tullian that he would tell me that my heart hasn’t changed? I don’t…
So why the exagerated misrepresentation?