{"id":36958,"date":"2014-09-29T06:00:56","date_gmt":"2014-09-29T14:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/?p=36958"},"modified":"2017-10-24T14:28:32","modified_gmt":"2017-10-24T21:28:32","slug":"calvinism-romans-3_10-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/calvinism-romans-3_10-12\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Paul teaching Calvinism in Romans 3:10-12?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Of all the various texts used to defend the Calvinistic teaching on Total Depravity, Romans 3:9-20 is one of the most popular (another being Ephesians 2:1-3). Rather than quote the entire passage, a few select verses from the beginning of this section are representative of the whole.<\/p>\n
As it is written: \u201cThere is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one\u201d (Romans 3:10-12).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It is not difficult to see why these texts are popular among Calvinistic defenders of Total Depravity. The text clearly teaches that nobody is righteous or does any good, which sounds like Total Depravity, and that nobody understands or seeks after God, which seems to infer total inability.<\/p>\n
Below are a few quotes from Calvinists on Romans 3:9-20.<\/p>\n
The text \u2026 moves in a remarkable way from the general to the specific. Not only does it say there is none righteous, but it says there is none who does any good, no, not one. We are not considered unrighteous because the dross of sin is mixed together with our goodness. The indictment against us is more radical: in our corrupt humanity we never do a single good thing (Sproul, Grace Unknown<\/em><\/a>, 120).<\/p>\n
According to Romans 3, no one unaided by God 1) has any righteousness by which to lay a claim upon God, 2) has any true understanding of God, or 3) seeks God (Boice and Ryken, Doctrines of Grace<\/em><\/a>, 79).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Romans 3:9-10 does not teach Total Depravity<\/h2>\n
Despite these sorts of statements from Calvinists, Romans 3:9-20 does not actually teach either Total Depravity or total inability. While Romans 3:9-20 does teach that all are sinners (cf. Romans 3:23), the overall context of this passage must be understood in light of the progression of Paul\u2019s argument if we are to grasp his point.<\/p>\n
In other words, though this passage does seem to defend both Total Depravity and total inability when quoted out of context, when studied in its context the passage teaches something else entirely (See\u00a0Campbell, The Deliverance of God<\/em><\/a>).<\/p>\n
To fully grasp the argument, a complete analysis of Paul\u2019s entire letter would be necessary. But since that is impossible to do here, let me try to just point out a few of the highlights.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Romans Is Not about How to Go to Heaven When you Die<\/h2>\n
First of all, it is critical to note that the overall message of Romans is not about justification or how to receive eternal life. In other words, Romans is not primarily directed toward unbelievers. Instead, the message of Romans is primarily directed toward believers, and specifically, how they can live and function as followers of Jesus who live according to the gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16-17).<\/p>\n
In Romans, “Salvation” is about Deliverance from the Temporal Consequences of Sin NOW<\/h2>\n
Related to this, it is important to note that \u201csalvation\u201d in Romans is not about how to go to heaven when you die, but about the salvation (or deliverance) that God provides to believers<\/em>.<\/p>\n
Lots of people think that Romans is just about how \u201cunsaved\u201d people can get \u201cjustification\u201d so they can go to heaven when they die. But this approach to Romans doesn\u2019t really know what to do with Romans 9\u201311 when Paul seems to suddenly switch gears and start talking about God\u2019s covenant with Israel.<\/p>\n
However, if we understand that Paul is primarily writing to believers and instructing them about the deliverance available to them in this life, then Romans 9\u201311 becomes immediately applicable, for Paul uses the example of Israel to show what happens when God\u2019s people do not live by faith, and as a result, are not delivered.<\/p>\n
And don\u2019t think that Paul is threatening believers with hell. Hell is nowhere in Paul\u2019s discussion in Romans (not even in the phrase \u201cthe wrath of God\u201d).<\/strong> <\/p>\n
So when Paul writes what he does in Romans 3:9-20, he is writing a warning to believers in Rome about becoming proud of their privileged position before God. In this section of Romans, Paul is pointing out that all people are on equal footing before God. There is no privileged position.<\/p>\n
In Romans, Paul uses “Epistolary Diatribe” to Make His Point… (What?)<\/h2>\n
Third, and related to this, it is critical to understand exactly how <\/em>Paul goes about making his argument. He is using specific rhetorical rules from the first century called epistolary diatribe argumentation.<\/em> <\/p>\n
What does that mean?<\/p>\n
Paul didn\u2019t just sit down and write Romans based on whatever he wanted to say. No, in writing Romans, Paul followed a set pattern and structure which was quite common in the first century for when scholars, philosophers, and teachers wanted to refute the ideas of an opponent. <\/p>\n
A large part of this diatribe structure involved quoting the ideas and words of your opponent so that you might then turn around and refute them. This means that some of the statements in Romans which have traditionally been attributed to Paul are actually the ideas and statements from an opponent of Paul, whom Paul quotes so that he can then refute those ideas (See\u00a0Campbell, The Deliverance of God<\/em><\/a>).<\/p>\n
So Romans 3 is not exactly a continuation of Paul\u2019s own<\/em> argument and logic, but rather, a continuation of the argument Paul is having with an imaginary objector. <\/p>\n
In other words, Romans 3:9-20 is part of Paul\u2019s rebuttal of an opponent, not <\/em>a continuation of his own argument. In this way, Paul\u2019s collection of quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures in Romans 3:10-18 is intended to show his objector that despite being the chosen people of God and having the Law and the Prophets, the Jewish people are just as guilty as the Gentiles. <\/p>\n
Up to this point, Paul\u2019s objector was trying to argue that only the Gentiles were guilty, and that the Jewish people had a privileged status before God. Paul\u2019s point in Romans 3:9-20 is that if the Jewish people did have a privileged position by virtue of having the \u201coracles of God\u201d (Romans 3:2), then these oracles of God condemn them all as sinners, which puts them right back on equal footing with the Gentiles. <\/p>\n
In Romans 3:9-20, Paul defends this point by quoting numerous texts from the Hebrew Scriptures which condemns them all as sinners.<\/p>\n
So far, we have only really looked at the context of Romans 3. Tomorrow, we will discuss what Paul is saying in Romans 3. Until then, what do you think about the context of Romans 3 as laid out above? Has anybody read that book by Campbell? What do you think of it?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nIf you want to read more about Calvinism, check out other posts in this blog series: Words of Calvinism and the Word of God<\/a>.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Romans 3:10-12 is not about the Calvinistic ideas of Total Depravity or Total inability. Yes, universal sin is taught, but Paul’s point is to put Jewish people on the same footing as Gentiles regarding their standing before God. To see this, we need to understand the context of Romans 3 in light of the overall structure and argument of Paul in his letter to the Romans. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36966,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2296],"tags":[14,1534,2123,1272,39,1183,2010,2037],"class_list":{"0":"post-36958","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-z","8":"tag-books-by-jeremy-myers","9":"tag-calvinism","10":"tag-romans-3","11":"tag-sin","12":"tag-theology-salvation","13":"tag-theology-sin","14":"tag-total-depravity","15":"tag-total-inability","16":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\n
Is Paul teaching Calvinism in Romans 3:10-12?<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n