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William Stewart

The Truth About Psalm 58:3: What Does It Mean to be Estranged from the Womb?

Psalm 58
via Gemini

Psalm 58 contrasts the corrupt and subversive judgment of wicked men with the righteous and prevailing judgment of God. It portrays a righteous man crying out in indignation against rampant injustice. Confronted with the unscrupulous and dishonest civil leaders, the psalmist opened the text with this bitter interrogation:

Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones? Do you judge upright, you sons of men? No, in heart you work wickedness; you weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth. (Psalm 58:1-2)

The Truth About Deceitful Hearts: Inherited Depravity or Rebellion?

Inherited Depravity
via Gemini

Among the Scripture fortresses constructed by advocates of the depravity doctrine, few are defended with as much zeal as the wickedness of the human heart. Those affirming our innate degeneracy condemn the human heart as corrupt from the moment of conception. To secure this premise, proponents frequently rely on a triad of Old Testament passages that appear, at first glance, to paint a bleak portrayal of human nature:

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

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5)

The Truth About Job: Does “Unclean” Mean Born Depraved?

Inherited Depravity
via Gemini

The book of Job is a poetic masterpiece that explores the justice of God, the depths of human suffering, and the undeniable frailty of man. Advocates of the depravity doctrine have leaned heavily upon verses found in Job 14 and 15 as evidence for their teaching. The text reads:

Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one! (Job 14:4)

What is man, that he could be pure? And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous? (Job 15:14)

The Truth About Romans 3:9-18: “There Is None Righteous”

Inherited Depravity
via Gemini

In the defense of the depravity doctrine, Romans 3:9-18 is often treated as a summary of man’s innate condition – proof that humanity is corrupt from birth and incapable of seeking God or doing any spiritual good. However, a disciplined analysis of Paul’s argumentative structure, a contextual reading of his chain of Old Testament quotes, and careful attention to the language of the text yield a different conclusion. Paul is proving universal guilt, not defining universal inherited inability.

The Truth About Ephesians 2:1-3: What Made Us “Children of Wrath”?

Inherited Depravity
via Gemini

Of the proof-texts used to support the doctrine of Total Hereditary Depravity, few are cited with more confidence than Ephesians 2:1-3. To the proponent of inherited sin, Paul’s description of humanity as being “by nature children of wrath” is the definitive smoking gun. It is argued that if we are under God’s wrath by nature, then that nature – and its attendant guilt – must be something we possess from the moment of conception.

B.H. Carroll, the founder of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, articulated this position clearly in his Interpretation of the English Bible:

This passage knocks the bottom out of the thought that sin consists in the willful transgression of a known commandment. The apostle here refers to original sin – the nature with which we are born. 1

If Carroll is correct, then the Bible teaches that infants are born under the judicial condemnation of God. However, if we examine the context, the grammar, and the historical understanding of the Greek language, we find that Paul is not describing an inherited nature, but a spiritual condition manufactured by personal choice.

The Truth About Psalm 51:5: Are We Really Born Sinners?

Inherited Depravity
via Gemini

When David sat down to pen Psalm 51, he wasn’t writing a systematic theology on the origin of sin. He was a man crushed by the weight of his sin. What may have begun as a lazy season in a stalwart monarch’s life quickly deteriorated into a sin spiral. A lustful stare led to adultery with his neighbour’s wife. That moment of infidelity resulted in an impending birth. Fear of exposure drove David to deceive and intoxicate his friend Uriah, trying to cover his deed. When that failed, he sent Uriah back to the battlefield, carrying his own death sentence sealed by the king. In this Psalm, David wasn’t seeking an excuse or explanation; he was seeking a way back to God.

The Truth About Romans 5: Are We Born Guilty in Adam?

Inherited Depravity
via Gemini

Calvinists love the book of Romans, believing it strongly supports their doctrine of Total Hereditary Depravity, particularly chapter 5. I suggest their reading of Romans 5 fails to grasp the true teaching of the apostle Paul (and the rest of Scripture). Advocates of the depravity doctrine often cite several verses in this chapter:

  • Romans 5:12, “…through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned…”
  • Romans 5:15, “…by the one man’s offense many died…”
  • Romans 5:18, “…through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation…”
  • Romans 5:19, “…by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners…”

Without careful study, one might conclude we died “in Adam” – that his specific sin brought spiritual death to every infant born thereafter. But there is a phrase at the end of verse 12 that serves as the master key to the entire context. Paul’s point is not that we inherited a sinful nature from Adam (as Arminius suggested) or the legal guilt of his sin (as Calvin taught). While death indeed entered the world through Adam’s transgression, the apostle explicitly stated that it spread to all men, not because of Adam’s sin, but “because all sinned.”

Elijah: A Man With A Nature Like Ours

Elijah
via Amanda Kline | FreeImages.com

Elijah is the most memorable of the prophets during the early days of the divided kingdom. There were others before him, but they came and went quickly and with little fanfare. However, we have substantial detail about portions of Elijah’s work beginning in 1 Kings 17 and ending in 2 Kings 2. Additionally, he is referenced thirty times in the New Testament, which is more than any other Old Testament prophet (except Moses).

Found Faithful: Living a Life Devoted to God

found faithful
via Clay Banks | Unsplash.com

Faithfulness to God is not merely a feeling or a confession—it is a devotion to God which will shape how we think, how we worship, and how we serve. True faithfulness will affect every part of our lives. Below, we’ll discuss the mechanics of faithful living, though I think most of us are already aware of these things. The true struggle is one of consistency – having the day-after-day volition to put God first in all things. We need to take up the cross daily (Luke 9:23), search the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11), and exhort one another to faithful service daily (Hebrews 3:13).

Speaking the Truth in Love – and Under Scrutiny

truth bill c-9

Laws that threaten religious freedom rarely begin by banning sermons. They begin with the redefinition of words — especially words like harm, hate, safety, truth, tolerance, and inclusion. Over time, those redefinitions reshape what a society considers acceptable speech, and eventually, what it is willing to tolerate from people of faith.