Total Depravity

Ephesians 2:1-5 Particular Redemption

Pastor Albert N. Martin expounds the doctrine of Total Depravity, the first of the Five Points of Calvinism, drawing primarily from Ephesians 2:1-5, Genesis 6:5, Jeremiah 17:9, and Romans 8. He clarifies common misconceptions, defining total depravity not as absolute evil but as the extensive pollution of all aspects of human nature, rendering unregenerate man spiritually dead and incapable of saving good. Martin contrasts this Reformed view with Arminianism, emphasizing God's sovereignty in salvation and the remarkable grace of Christ, who makes spiritually dead individuals alive and willing to believe.

2 illustrations in this sermon

Arminian vs. Reformed View of Man's Condition and Salvation

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Falling from a Window vs. Tall Building

In this part of the sermon: Martin contrasts the Arminian view, which sees unregenerate man as injured but able to seek God, with the Reformed view, which sees him as spiritually dead and utterly unable to…

This analogy compares the Arminian view of unregenerate man (injured but alive, like falling from a second-story window) with the Reformed view (spiritually dead, like falling from a tall building and being a 'mass of pulp'). It illustrates the fundamental difference in understanding man's ability to seek God.

Now how does this position differ, you ask, from that of the Holy Spirit? It can perhaps best be explained by an example. The Arminians compare the unregenerate man to one who falls, say, from a second-story window. He breaks his leg, cracks a few ribs, but is still alive.

11:38 - 11:56 Read in full sermon

Illustrating Grace: The Pardoned Murderer

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Two Murderers and Clemency

In this part of the sermon: An illustration of two murderers receiving clemency is used to distinguish between Arminian and Reformed understandings of grace, emphasizing that God's grace is most profound…

This story presents two scenarios of murderers receiving clemency: one who repents and seeks mercy, and another who remains unrepentant but is freed anyway. It illustrates the difference between Arminian grace (contingent on human action) and Reformed grace (unconditional and sovereign, 'grace heaped upon grace').

Only God can make us alive. What remarkable grace that is. Think of it this way. Imagine a young man has been sentenced to die because of a first-degree murder.

22:00 - 22:12 Read in full sermon

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