1998 Issue 2 - Book Review: Total Depravity: Man's Heart Held Captive - Counsel of Chalcedon

8/12/2019 1998 Issue 2 - Book Review: Total Depravity: Man's Heart Held Captive - Counsel of Chalcedon

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OOK

REVIEW

Chris Strevel

Rev. John Otis' series,

Defrnding

Calvinism

Total Depmvity

Man s

Heart Held Captive

Published by Triumphant

Communications, 6070

Surrey Ct., Cumming,

Georgia 30040

In

the second book of his

Defending Calvinism series,

Rev:

Otis takes

up

the subject

of

mans

total depravity. s

with the first book, Rev. Otis'

chief concern is aiding the

Calvinist to defend the gospel

ofJesus Christ against the

perversions and errors of the

Arminian system. An

evangelistic, missionary spirit

pervades the whole, and the

book

concludes with a gooa

discussion of

how

man's total

depravity impacts our gospel

presentation to the

unbeliever.

At

this point,

Rev. Otis rightly maintains

that total depravity would

lead us to reject an evidential

and embrace a

presu ppositional apologetic.

An

attractive aspect of this

series is the tone of the

whole.

Rev.

Otis is forceful

in

his refutation of the Arminian

system.

Yet, he

is humble in

his presentation of the truth

and

frequently calls

upon

Calvinists to follow Pauls

advice to

young

Timothy:

"And a servant of the Lord

must not quarrel

but

be

gentle to all, able to teach,

patient, in humility

correcting those who are in

opposition,

if

God perhaps

will grant them repentance,

so that they may

know tl1e

truth"

2

Tim. 2:24-26;

NKjV).

In my review of the first

book

in the series, Gods

Sovereignty: Whos In

Control- Man or God?, I

informed the reader

of

the

unique method of defending

Calvinism endorsed by Rev.

Otis. Included after each

major section of the book is a

summary review of the

leading points of disputation

between the Calvinist and the

Arminian. Rev. Otis provides

verses that will enable the

defender

of

Calvinism

to

refute the Arminian heresy

and set forth Scripture's

teaching. These points and

verses are separately written

on small, easy to carry; Bible

memory cards. On one side,

Rev.

Otis provides a major

point

in

the Calvinist defense

scheme, and the flip side of

the card contains the

appropriate SCripture

reference. Rev: Otis

recommends that the reader

memorize these Bible

references. In defending the

faith with the Arrninian, the

30 i

THE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon

I

April May, 1998

Calvinist undermines his

cause

if he

cannot go to

specific Scripture passages

demonstrating that particular

trud1. While quoting

Scripture is certainly

appropriate,

it

is

more

effective

in the

confrontation

with the Arminian to open

God's Word together to a

specific verse. Through

periodic review

and

use,

the

Calvinist will accumulate a

store of Scripture references

to use

in

defending the faith.

Such a method will

no doubt

fill

the Calvinist

with

confidence in defending

biblical doctrine,

and

give

him credibility among

professed lovers of Scripture

whom he seeks to gain for

the cause of truth.

There are several strengths

to Rev. Otis' treatment of this

fundamental tenet of biblical

Christianity that

make

the

book an extremely useful tool

for home or school

instruction. The

book

could

easily serve

as

a Bible

study

guide for teenagers and

adults. The opening pages

set forth the key difference

between the Calvinist and the

Arrninian with great clarity.

The root of

the

issue is the

Arrninians faulty conception

of the man's will, especially

in

its relationship to Gods will

and to the moral

and

ethical

inclination of the

human

heart. " .. Arrninianism argues



that. ..mans will must be

totally

free,

that is,

independent

of

God's direct

influence (p. 5). He

observes that in this system,

man

is the sovereign

determiner of the events of

this universe. Moreover,

Scriptures constant stress

upon

the sovereign control

of

God over all things,

including the free decisions

of man, is utterly

overthrown. Moreover,

Arminianism ignores the

Scripture verses that teach

that the conditions of mans

heart determine the decisions

of his

·will.

The Calvinist does

not believe man

is

a puppet.

On

d1e contrary, he believes

that fallen man freely chooses

according to the corrupt and

sinful desires of his

unbelieving heart. The

presentation throughout this

section is concise, warm, and

thoroughly Scriptural. He

concludes

in

the following

manner:

The Calvinist must

press home to his Arminian

friend that mans heart

governs man's will. It is the

dog that wags the tail, not the

tail that wags the dog. Man's

will cannot alter

mans

heart,

for the will is the servant of

the hearts desires,

not

vice

versa. The Calvinist must

help his Arminian friend see

that his faulty view of freewill

is the granting to an

unbelieving man an

ability

Jhat

he

simply does not

possess. Arminianism asks

the unbeliever to do the

impossible - give himself

spiritual life (p.

19).

After establishing the

inability of the

human

will

and

bondage of the

human

heart, Rev. Otis presses

forward to consider the

nature and effects of total

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AprillMay,

998 I

THE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon

i 3



depravity upon the sinner.

Total depravity, he logically

and

e x e g e t i c l ~ y

argues,

rendersman polluted

by

sin

from his conception,

enslaved to sin and Satan,

and utterly unable to do any

good thing.

n

important

aspect

of

this section is its

explanation of what makes a

work pleasing to God. He

follows the Confession of

Faith closely; identifying

three key aspects of a good

work: the right goal,

standard, and motive.

Because the unbeliever lacks

all of these,

he

cannot please

God. Now where does this

leave the sinner? The

Arminian would

disparagingly argue that it

leaves him

in

a helpless

condition. The Calvinist

would humbly agree, but add

that mans impotence

magnifies the mercy of God

in the salvation of sinners.

Fallen

man

can do nothing to

anticipate or prepare himself

to receive the gospel. God

must graCiously and

sovereignly enlighten the

mind and renew the will.

This leaves fallen sinners

totally helpless, completely at

the mercy of God. This is

exactly the SCriptural

presentation. The Reformed

community should.be very

thankful to Rev: Otis for

magnifying the power and

grace of God in the salvation

of condemned and impotent

sinners.

There are many other

positive aspects to the book.

There

is

a logical flow

throughout which is not only

easy

to

follow

but

which will

also enable the reader to

defend Calvinism and total

depravity with greater clarity

and force. The use

of

Scripture that pervades each

section is encouraging and

equips the reader to use the

powerful weapon which God

has committed to us to refute

error and defend the faith.

Again, I highly recommend

this new work from Rev. Otis

and encourage you to order

several copies from the

publisher. May the Lord use

this book to make us better

32 i TH

COUNSEL of

Chalcedon

t

AprillMay

998

Non-Profit Org.

U.S. Postage

PAID

Pemlit 1553

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29602

defenders of his truth, dispel

the darkness of error from

our churches, and cause the

pristine gospel

of

Jesus Christ

to shine forth with all its

splendor and saving power.

n

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1998 Issue 2 - Book Review: Total Depravity: Man's Heart Held Captive - Counsel of Chalcedon