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Does Jeremiah 17:9 teach Total Depravity?

By Jeremy Myers
6 Comments

Does Jeremiah 17:9 teach Total Depravity?

Jeremiah 17:9 is frequently used by Calvinists to defend the idea of Total Depravity.

The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9).

According to Calvinists, this means that the human heart can do nothing but evil, and even when we think we are doing good, we are only deceiving ourselves, for even that which our sees as good is actually wicked.

Once again, I generally agree with the Calvinistic interpretation of this passage about the general message it contains. Nearly all people know how easy it is to justify our own sinful actions and deceive ourselves into doing things that we normally would not do, or that we know to be wrong. But again, as with the other Calvinistic proof texts, I am just not sure we can extrapolate total inability from this text. It is true that the heart is deceitful, but this does not mean that we are unable to believe in Jesus for eternal life.

Jeremiah 17 9 heart is deceitfulCalvinists will occasionally argue that a deceitful heart means that a person cannot even think reasonably about what is right and wrong. Yet I find it ironic that many Calvinists will then try to reason with unbelievers about how they need Jesus, and also reason with non-Calvinists about the rationality of Calvinism.

Regardless, even Jeremiah himself explains in the surrounding verses that a deceitful heart does not mean that people cannot do any good. Prior to Jeremiah 17:9, Jeremiah pronounces a curse upon those who trust in man and whose hearts depart from God (Jeremiah 17:5). In other words, Jeremiah states that our hearts can choose whether to trust in men or God.

Immediate following Jeremiah 17:9, Jeremiah says that God searches the heart, and gives to every man according to his ways, that is, according to what he has done (Jeremiah 17:10). So when the entire context is considered, what Jeremiah means is that we should choose to trust in God rather than men, but we often fail in this. When we do, nobody can fully understand the thoughts and intentions of their own heartsโ€”let alone the heart of others!โ€”except God Himself.

Far from being a text about the total inability of mankind, Jeremiah 17:9 is a text of encouragement.

There is great hope in this text.

After calling people to trust in God rather than men, Jeremiah admits that sometimes our hearts deceive us. But when we look around and realized that our hearts have led us astray, we can know that God searches our hearts, observes the intentions of our mind, understands what we were trying to do, and leads us in His ways.

If you want to read more about Calvinism, check out other posts in this blog series: Words of Calvinism and the Word of God.

God is z Bible & Theology Topics: Books by Jeremy Myers, Calvinism, Jeremiah 17:9, sin, Theology of Salvation, Theology of Sin, Total Depravity, total inability, TULIP

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Isaiah 53:6 and Isaiah 64:6 Do Not Teach Total Depravity

By Jeremy Myers
1 Comment

Isaiah 53:6 and Isaiah 64:6 Do Not Teach Total Depravity

Isaiah 53:6 and Isaiah 64:6 are quite popular among Calvinists for defending the doctrine of Total inability. Here is what they say:

All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6).

But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away (Isaiah 64:6).

While these texts do teach that all people sin, and in fact, even the works which we believe to be righteous are viewed as filthy rags in Godโ€™s eyes, there is nothing in these texts which teach the idea of total inability.

In fact, the first verse, Isaiah 53:6, could be understood to teach the opposite.

Isaiah 53:6 Does Not Teach Total Depravity

wayward sheep Isaiah 53 6Isaiah 53:6 says that all of us have gone astray, that each of us has turned to his own way.

The Calvinistic doctrine of Total Depravity does not teach that each of us goes astray or turns away, but rather that we are born that way, that before we can even make a choice for good or evil, we are predisposed to only choose the evil.

Yet Isaiah 53:6 seems to teach that a genuine choice is made, that we choose to go astray and turn to our own way. In other words, we become this way. We grow into our sinfulness.

What about Isaiah 64:6 and Total Depravity?

Isaiah 64:6 also says that in Godโ€™s eyes, even our righteous acts are like filthy rags. Many have rightfully pointed out that the Hebrew term for โ€œfilthy ragsโ€ in this verse has been softened by our English translations. What the Hebrew really says is โ€œmenstrual cloths.โ€ This idea would have been particularly repulsive for Jewish people living according to the Mosaic purity laws.

filthy rags Isaiah 64 6Some point to Isaiah 64:6 and say that if even the works that humans view as righteous are like menstrual cloths in Godโ€™s eyes, then how much more filthy are the normal, everyday works in Godโ€™s eyes, not to mention the sinful deeds which we ourselves view with revulsion?

But I am not sure if this is the right way of reading this text. It seems more likely that Isaiah is saying that that the righteous acts are especially filthy to God.

Why?

Because people often perform righteous acts in an attempt to merit favor with God or to please and appease God. When works are righteousness are done with this as the motivation, they not only unrighteous acts before God, but are the worst kind of unrighteousness.

Righteous acts which are intended to merit Godโ€™s grace and favor are disgusting and filthy to God. His grace is given to us freely. We do not need to work to achieve, earn, keep, or prove the grace of God toward us.

Some might argue with this by pointing to the preceding verse where Isaiah says that God meets with people in their rejoicing and in their righteous deeds (Isaiah 64:5). So how can Isaiah say that God meets with him who does righteous, but in the very next verse, say that righteous deeds are like filthy rags?

Isaiah is actually contrasting what God does do for people who are truly righteous, with what God is currently doing for the Israelites as a result of their fake and feigned righteousness. For though God would meet with people who rejoice in Him and do what He desires, the people to whom Isaiah writes do not even call on Godโ€™s name or stir themselves to take hold of God (Isaiah 64:7).

Whatever righteous works they do perform is all a sham. They are going through the motions. Their heart is not in it. They are doing what they do because they think they have to and because they think it is the activity of sacrifice and singing that God wants, when in reality, God simply wants their hearts. God wants a genuine relationship with His people, not faked religious activity so that people appear righteous before others.

Isaiah 53:6 and Isaiah 64:6 are not really referring to the Total Depravity or total inability of mankind at all, but are rather teaching the important truth that while we are all sinners, the worst sin we can commit is the religious sin of performing empty and meaningless acts of righteousness which are intended to please and appease God and trying to make ourselves look holy and righteous in the eyes of others.

These verses then, and especially Isaiah 64:6, are not a blanket condemnation of all people around the world as being totally depraved, but are rather a condemnation of religious behavior that appears righteous, but is only outward and which tries to manipulate God.

If you want to read more about Calvinism, check out other posts in this blog series: Words of Calvinism and the Word of God.

God is z Bible & Theology Topics: Books by Jeremy Myers, Calvinism, Isaiah 53:6, Isaiah 64:6, sin, Theology of Salvation, Theology of Sin, Total Depravity, total inability, TULIP

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Would you give $0.50 to a homeless man? How about to a business man?

By Jeremy Myers
12 Comments

Would you give $0.50 to a homeless man? How about to a business man?

I found this video interesting. Apparently, people are much more likely to give money to a business man than they are to a homeless man.

Why do you think this is? I suppose it is because people believe that the homeless man is more likely to spend the money on alcohol or drugs than the business man. But is that really true?

giving money to the homelessIn this video, we’re only talking about $0.50, but I sometimes look at the millions of dollars our government and our churches spend on helping the rich in various ways, and I wonder what would happens if we used that money to help the poor and the homeless.

And no, I am not talking about more handouts, food stamps, and welfare…

I don’t have any answers, just questions. I do know, however, that as more and more of our populations sinks deeper and deeper into poverty, what we are doing now is not working. I always wonder … if Jesus were President, how would He solve the growing poverty and welfare problem in the United States and around the world?

God is z Bible & Theology Topics: Discipleship, homeless, Jesus, welfare

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Poll: Would you get a microchip implant?

By Jeremy Myers
60 Comments

Poll: Would you get a microchip implant?

When the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001 occurred, I was a pastor of a small church in Montana. My theology was somewhat different then than it is now, and so shortly after these attacks, I preached a sermon about prophecy and the End Times in which I said that the governments of the world would eventually use the threat of terrorism to force everybody to accept the “Mark of the Beast.”

I said at the time that the Mark of the Beast would probably consist of some sort of microchipย implanted into a person’s forehead or hand which would not only allow people to be tracked, but would also allow people to buy and sell.

microchip implant

While such microchip implants would initially be optional, I said that as the threat of terrorism rose, and as governments wanted to track what people bought and sold, these implanted microchips would become mandatory. They would completely replace credit cards and cash.

So anyway, I was interested to read last Saturday about plans to create and market implantable microchips. Here is a quote from the article at Fox News:

You can inject one under your skin and no one will ever notice. Using short-range radio frequency identification (RFID) signals, it can transmit your identity as you pass through a security checkpoint or walk into a football stadium. It can help you buy groceries at Wal-Mart. In a worst-case scenario โ€“ if you are kidnapped in a foreign country, for example โ€“ it could save your life.

Microchip implants like the ones pet owners use to track their dogs and cats could become commonplace in humans in the next decade. Experts are divided on whether theyโ€™re appropriate for people, but the implants could offer several advantages. For soldiers and journalists in war zones, an implant could be the difference between life and death. A tracker could also help law enforcement quickly locate a kidnapped child.

Interestingly, NFL players will all have RFID chips in their shoulder pads this year to help people track their movement, speed, and location on the field. I have often thought they should put one in the footballs so that they no longer have to bring out the chains to see if the teams got the first down or not. They could just track the ball’s precise location.

Some have even pointed out that an early version of the Affordable Care Act included a provision for RFID chips. This section was not included in the final draft of the law which Obama signed, but it does show that some people are thinking about it. Here is the NBC Report:

And while I cannot predict what will be in this new Apple iWatch which is rumored to be unveiled on September 9, I would not at all be surprised to learn that it has RFID (radio frequency identification) and/or NFC (near field communication) capability. Such RFID and NFC enabled devices can open locked doors as you approach them, start your car, communicate with your phone, instantly provided healthcare professionals with your health history, help you buy your groceries, or even accept payment from your customers.

The primary drawback to this, of course, is if someone steals your watch.

So what is the solution to this? Easy! Make it “unstealable” by implanting the microchip under your skin. It will not to be too much longer before Apple comes out with the iChip (or something similar). A company called VeriChip is already manufacturing and implanting similar chips.

The United Nations has a stated plan to issue Biometric IDs to everyone in the world by 2030ย … This plan isย backed by 193ย world leadersย and the World Bank.ย Hmm…

Anyway, all of this leads me up to my question… Please feel free to answer them in the comments below!

If a company produces an implantable microchip such as the one described in that Fox News article above, would you get one? Why or why not? If, in response to the threat of terrorism and the need for tax income, the government required all citizens to get an implanted chip, would you do it?

God is z Bible & Theology Topics: 666, end times, microchip, Theology of the End Times

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The Radically Normal Christian Life

By Jeremy Myers
10 Comments

The Radically Normal Christian Life

radically normalI recently read a book called Radically Normal, and I found it to be shockingly refreshing.

To be honest, the book was much heavier on story-telling and narrative than most books I read, but I appreciated the insights and ideas that were behind the stories.

The bottom line idea from Josh Kelley is that Christians donโ€™t have to be weird to follow Jesus. We can live normal human lives. In fact, living normally may be the best way to reach out to our neighbors and love others like Jesus.

For example, on page 68, Josh Kelley writes about โ€œHarvest Partiesโ€ and โ€œReformation Dayโ€ celebrations as two of the things churches sometimes do to offer a โ€œChristian alternativeโ€ to Halloween. I laughed out loud at this because I remember attending โ€œHallelujah Partiesโ€ (instead of Halloween Parties) when I was younger. I always thought it was strange because everybody could still dress up in costumes and we still got candy, but we just didnโ€™t go door-to-door and say โ€œTrick or Treat!โ€ Anyway, John writes that he and his church specifically chose to not have any sort of Halloween substitute at their church because they figured that Halloween was an excellent time to be in the world but not of it. He is absolutely right!

The rest of the book contains similar examples of how we can be Jesus to others in a completely normal way. By doing so, we love people into the Kingdom rather than scare them off with our weirdness.

Each chapter in Radically Normal looks at one area where Christians often behave a little weirdly, and then shows how we can view these things a little more normally. He has a great chapter on parties (and how life and heaven is one big party), about money, evangelism, and several other critical Christian concerns.

To get a copy for yourself, buy Radically Normal on Amazon today!

God is z Bible & Theology Topics: Books I'm Reading, Christian living, evangelism

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