Gottle of Geer:
Gottle of Geer:
Does this loss of ability mean that the unregenerate man is incapable of - let us say - acts of kindness and self-sacrifice ?
Absolutely not! You are quite right, and that is what the idea of “total depravity” does not mean. Unregenerate men are capable of extraordinary acts of kindness, generosity, bravery, etc. But if they reject Christ, what are those acts worth?
Gottle of Geer:
Or, does it mean that he is capable of them, but, that because he is fallen, they are reckoned as being as worthless as acts which are clearly sinful, such as murder or theft ? Is there no moral difference between the unjustified murderer, and the unjustified man who prevents his attempts to commit murder - or are they “in the same boat”, not because there is no distinction between attempting & preventing murder, but because neither is justified ? ##
The one will receive a lesser punishment than the other; however, for me, eternal condemnation is eternal condemnation.
May I say to you that I thoroughly enjoy your posts. You are kind, and thoughtful, much more so than I am, much to my chagrin. And, you are certainly brighter than I.
This free will argument is close to my heart, I cannot escape what the Word says:
Daniel 4:35: “
All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’”
Psalm 39:5: “
Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; Surely every man at his best is a mere breath.
Psalm 144:4:
Man is like a mere breath; His days are like a passing shadow.
Psalm 89:47: *Remember what my span of life is; For what vanity You have created all the sons of men! *
We are all, far too often, full of ourselves. Shakespeare understood:
All the world’s a stage
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.
Then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans every thing.
We live by His will, and on His time, eh?
Thank you, Gottle, your posts are a blessing
Bill
