Why Even the Most Brilliant Thinkers Still Reject the God of the Bible, by Wretched/ Fortis Institute
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The following quote is from a sermon I listened to in the early 1980s. The sermon was on Total Depravity, and the minister was Rev. Paul den Butter:
"It is commonly stated that the central doctrine of the Reformation was the doctrine of justification by faith. Now it is of course true that justification by faith was one of the major issues of the Reformation. But more basic than the justification of the ungodly by faith alone, is the doctrine of man's depravity and consequently the bondage of his will. Martin Luther, one of the great reformers, has acknowledged this fact in his discussion with the great humanist Erasmus. Erasmus was a roman catholic, though he had quite a bit of criticism of the Roman Catholic Church, he never broke ranks with the Roman Catholic Church, and he saw need for reformation, but he never broke ranks with the Roman Catholic Church. He was a defender of much of the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. Well, this humanist defended the doctrine which is still taught by Roman, namely that man is not totally depraved. But that man still has a freedom in the use of his will. And writing a treatise on the freedom of man's will Erasmus defended that Roman Catholic position of semi-pelagianism Luther replied in his famous book the bondage of the will. and in that book Luther makes the statement, 'you alone have attacked the real thing, that is, the essential issue. You have not worried me with extraneous issues about the papacy, purgatory, indulgences and such like, trifles, rather than issues, in respect of which almost all to date have sought my blood...you, and you alone, have seen the hinge on which the vital turns, and aimed for the vital spot. For that I heartily thank you, for it is more gratifying to me to deal with this issue, and the issue is 'Does man have a free will or not.' And Luther has seen that on this issue everything hinges. Is man totally depraved or not? Is man completely corrupt or has he still some good within. now on this question there have been 3 positions during the history of the church. There was first of all Pelagianism, let me give you a little bit of church history also tonight. There was in the first place Pelagianism, named after a British monk, Pelagius, who preached in Rome from 401 to 409. ad. and Pelagius said every man comes into this world his own Adam. every man is born in a state of innocency. and he is endowed with the full ability to make his own choice and to decide whether he will be virtuous or vicious. So, Pelagius did not believe, not at all, in man's corruption. and in man's depraved nature. man was born in a state of innocency and man could determine whether he would be a virtuous person or a vitious person. Of course Pelagius was honest enough to admit that man was doing sin but he did not sin because the source was within his heart no, no he sinned because he imitated other people that committed sin. There is also a second position called semi-pelagianism that goes not so far as pelagianism. . Pelagius said man is innocent. man is not depraved at all. He can make himself depraved, but he is not. Semi-pelagianism said sure man is depraved, but not completely depraved, man is sick but he is not dead. and if man will only use those faculties which he still has and if he moves in the direction of God then God's grace will come and he will lead him the rest of the way. Man is deformed yes, man is sick sure But man is still able to use his free will, and using his free will he must make the first move and take the first step and God will do the rest. That is Semipelagians which was adopted by the Roman Catholic Church and by Arminianism, and by much of modern evangelism. But then there is a third position which is sometimes called Augustinianism, named after Augustine, a church father, who brought out of the word of God the doctrine of original sin. and of the need of divine grace in the entire complex of Gods saving activities. Augustine showed from the word of god that man is not depraved but that man is totally depraved. And for that reason, no activity of man can save him. or can make the beginning of salvation. but that grace and grace alone can save man. Well these are the three positions, and it is not difficult t determine which positions our father held when they confessed total depravity."
