How Did The Jews Respond To Paul's Gospel?

In this regular feature, Dave and Tom respond to questions from listeners and readers of The Berean Call.Here’s this week’s question:Dear Dave and T. A.:I have a question that’s been buzzing around in my head ever since I read Dave’s book on Calvinism: What Love is This?Since most Calvinists believe that man is totally depraved and therefore cannot choose to do good without first being regenerated, which is dependent on God’s arbitrarily choosing him or her as one of the elect, I am puzzled as to where the Good Samaritan would fit into all of this.Didn’t he need to be regenerated before being able to minister to the man who was robbed and beaten?Furthermore, why would Jesus use such an obvious non-elect individual as a Samaritan to show the elect Jews how far removed they were from doing what God has commanded?

Tom:

The issue of total depravity and the scriptures tell us, “There is none that doeth good, no not one.”What do you think?

Dave:

Well Tom, this person has read What Love is This?And we’ve already answered all these questions, but I would say even more startling examples—well this is the Samaritan—

Tom:

Yes, I don’t think you point out in What Love is This?, the Good Samaritan, so that’s a—

Dave:

I don’t recall, but I point out some others, for example, a Philistine king, his name is Abimelech and he is more just than Abraham.Abraham as you recall pretends that Sarah is his sister and she goes along with it because she is a very attractive lady and he’s afraid this king will kill him in order to get his wife.But the king is more righteous than that.He takes her; he hasn’t had sex with her yet, brings her into his harem I guess, (a preliminary step) and God speaks to him in a dream and says you have someone else’s wife and you find this in Genesis 20 and Isaac does the same thing later on.Amazing!So Abimelech says to Abraham, “I have done for you nothing but good.”Now you quoted, “There is none that doeth good, no not one.”That’s not saying there are not some people who can do some good deeds and they don’t have to be inspired of God.I wouldn’t say this man was inspired of God, but he did have a conscience.But there are some people who do good, but they are not doing good that will wipe away their sins.Because once you’ve sinned you can’t make up for it by doing good.But anyway, here it talks about a just man, a good man, and so forth.And the point you are making here Tom, or I guess the questioner is, How can they do that without being regenerated?Because Calvinism says we are all totally depraved.And by that they don’t mean we are bad, but they mean we can do no good.We cannot do anything that is good.Now they take that statement in Romans 3, “There is none that doeth good, no not one, they are all gone out of the way,” and so forth.They take that as a quote from Psalm 14.

Tom:

Well Dave, just let me add to this, there is no choice in the matter.Every thing that we do prior to being regenerated, there’s no choice.We’re going to do evil.

Dave:

According to Calvinism.And even after there’s no choice really.God has to do it all for us.Now we believe that God does everything, but we have to be willing.It’s a partnership.But anyway Tom, if you go back to the Psalms, you’ll find that all around Psalm 14 that says there is none that doeth good, no not one, they are all gone out of the way and so forth, none that seeketh after God, it talks about men seeking God.You have probably several hundred examples in the Old Testament about those who sought God.I sought the Lord and he heard me, and I found him.“Seek ye the Lord while he may be found,” Isaiah 55 says.Anyway the Calvinist is taking one side of the picture.When it says there is none good, no not one, it doesn’t mean nobody ever did a good deed in their lives because we have examples of unsaved, godless people who do good things now and in the scriptures.What it means is this is the general attitude of the human heart.This is the way we’re going and so Calvinism then teaches that you can’t even believe the gospel, you couldn’t possibly turn to Christ, you couldn’t possibly respond to the gospel because you are dead in trespasses and sin, you are totally depraved, therefore Tom, this is the most astonishing doctrine in Calvinism that I know of and I discussed Calvinism for years before I ever found out that this is what they believed.You must be regenerated first.You’ve got to be born-again first.Can you imagine that?The Bible says you are born again through believing the gospel.A Calvinist says you’ve got to be born again, regenerated by the Holy Spirit before you even can believe and then after you are born again, then God gives you faith to believe the gospel.

Tom:

And it must come through irresistible grace, so there’s no volition on your part.

Dave:

Right and that turns the Bible into a charade.What is all this pleading, don’t do this, and please repent and come to me?You know, “If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink.”You’ve got this all through the Bible, so Tom we’ve talked about that a number of times, it makes no sense.And remember you can’t born-again yourself, that’s true, John:1:13Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
See All..., they are “Born not of blood or of the will of man, or of the flesh, but of God.”But I’ve never found a Calvinist that could acknowledge this.Verses 11 and 12 precede verse 13: And they say, “As many as received Him, to them he gave the right become the sons of God, even to those who believe on his name.So it’s very clear that you must believe on his name and you must receive him.Then God will regenerate you, but it’s not by some sovereign act before you believe, but it is a result of believing and let me just quote what John says at the end of chapter 20 at the end of it.He says, “These things are written that you may believe on the name of the Son of God and that believing you might have life through his name.Clearly belief comes before regeneration or I Peter 1:22, 23, and so forth.Peter says “…being born again by the Word of God and this is the Word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”And when the gospel is preached we must believe it.And it is through believing the gospel that we are born again; we are not regenerated ahead of time.Any Calvinists listening?Please write in and explain this doctrine and tell me where I’ve gone astray on this and tell me what I don’t understand about this.Thank you.