Calvinist and Arminians both claim they believe in the doctrine of original sin. Surely there is no debate that this doctrine is clearly taught in scripture, and it is simply this. Adam did not sin for himself alone, but for all his posterity. When he fell, all of those born after him fell as well. The Apostle Paul explains it this way, Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed on to all men, for all have sinned. Now what Arminians deny, and this is our contention with them, is the full effect of the fall into sin. The Bible teaches that the fall was complete, affecting every aspect of man's being, his mind, will, and emotions. In short, fallen man is dead in his trespasses and sins. He is in bondage to this fallen sinful nature. In this state, he is not a friend of God, nor a lover of God, but an enemy of God's. Hello, I'm Jerry Johnson, and I welcome you to this edition of Against the World. This episode of Against the World is brought to you by Grace Reformed Presbyterian Church in Dublin, Virginia. Grace Reformed currently meets every Sunday at the Comfort Inn in Dublin off Interstate 81. Sunday school starts at 10am and worship is at 11am. It is also brought to you by ProofThatGodExists.org, a presuppositional apologetics ministry operated by Saiten Bruggenknecht. For more information, please visit him on the web at ProofThatGodExists.org. David Steele and Curtis Thomas, in their book, The Five Points of Calvinism, Defined, Defended, Documented, explain the doctrine of total depravity. Because of the fall, man is unable of himself to savingly believe the gospel. The sinner is dead, blind, and deaf to the things of God. His heart is deceitful and desperately corrupt. His will is not free. On the contrary, it is in bondage to his evil, sinful nature. Therefore, man will not, indeed he cannot, choose good over evil in the spiritual realm. Consequently, it takes much more than the Spirit's assistance to bring a sinner to Christ. It takes regeneration, what we call being born again, by which the Spirit makes the sinner alive and gives him a complete new nature. Faith is not something man contributes to salvation, but is itself a part of God's gift of salvation. It is God's gift to the sinner, not the sinner's gift to God. Now, as previously stated, Arminians do not consider all the biblical data when it comes to the doctrine of the Fall, and this is our charge against them. Contrary to what I just quoted, Arminians teach that although human nature was seriously affected by the Fall, man has not been left in a state of total spiritual helplessness. God graciously enables every sinner to repent and believe. But he does not interfere with man's free will. Each sinner possesses this free will, and his eternal destiny depends on how he uses it. Man's freedom consists of his ability to choose good or evil in spiritual matters. His will is not enslaved to this sinful nature. The sinner, according to Arminianism, has the power to either cooperate with God's spirit and be regenerated, or resist God's grace and perish. The lost sinner needs the Spirit's assistance, but he does not have to be born again by the Spirit before he believes. For faith is man's act, and it comes before the new birth. Faith is the sinner's gift to God. According to Arminianism, it is his contribution to salvation. Dr. R.C. Sproul rightly observes the problem with this semi-Pelagian view. He wrote, Armenians have unconverted sinners who are dead in trespasses and sin, bringing themselves to life by choosing to be born again. Christ made it clear that dead people cannot choose anything, that the flesh profits nothing, and that a person must be born of the Spirit before he can even see the kingdom of God, let alone enter it. In the final analysis, my friends, Armenians believe they saved themselves, but they would never say it with proper words, because they deny the biblical teaching of the full effects of the Fall. In their view, God does 99%, but it's not enough to fully save, and henceforth it does not save. It only makes salvation possible. That's why we often refer to the Arminian view of salvation as hypothetical good news. Man must save himself by adding his faith. Then and only then does man obtain salvation. My friends, no matter how you slice it, man, according to free will Arminianism, is in the very least a co-redeemer with God. And this is why Calvinists down through the centuries have maintained that the Arminian view is a subtle form of work salvation. Calvinism, which is what the Bible teaches, is a salvation that is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else. Until next week, this is Gerry Johnson standing contramundum against the world. you Hello and welcome to this introductory video for the Puritan Hard Drive by Stillwaters Revival Books. You will soon see why the Puritan Hard Drive is a technological revolution in Puritan, Reformation and Covenanter studies. For over 25 years, Stillwaters Revival Books has provided the worldwide Christian community with the finest in Puritan and Reformation resources. including classic and contemporary printed works, inspirational sermons, audio books, and videos. In recent years, our collection of great Christian works has more than doubled, growing to a library that would occupy nearly 140 CDs. The Puritan Hard Drive is a tremendous library of over 12,500 Christian resources on an external hard drive that fits easily in your pocket or purse. 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From here I can browse the details of this work, I can add and save my own notes about it, and open the resource for reading, listening, or viewing. Your search capabilities don't end there. The majority of the rare, classic works on the Puritan hard drive now contain an embedded index. This means that the actual text of these resources is now fully searchable for the first time in history. Enter a search term in Adobe Acrobat Reader. In this case, a search for the word scripture yields instant results. Having searchable text also makes it possible to highlight, copy, and paste the text into another document, such as a sermon, a lesson plan, or a school paper. Less time spent on research means more time for reading, studying, and appreciating the resources in your library. Just another reason why the Puritan Hard Drive is a technological revolution in Puritan, Reformation and Covenanter studies. Thank you for watching this introduction to the Puritan Hard Drive by Stillwaters Revival Books, serving Christians worldwide for over 25 years. Join us in our other videos as we demonstrate even more features and functionality of the Puritan Hard Drive. For more information, visit us on the web at PuritanDownloads.com. Until then, be well and God bless.