There are multiple problems with this fable that many Calvinists now teach on a regular basis. My intention in this article is not to just single out John MacArthur because other Calvinists hold to this same theorem. Still, I will use MacArthur's teaching because he is so good at expressing this ill-conceived analogy that has now become Calvinist doctrine.
John MacArthur's blog "Grace to You" contains a teaching entitled "The Doctrine of Absolute Inability". Here he teaches his dead guy theorem using John 11, the story of Christ raising Lazarus from the dead:
Problem #1: It is philosophy that MacArthur is teaching above.
The reasoning used by MacArthur is entirely based on human reasoning and philosophy. His argument has its roots in Calvin's "Institutes of Christian Religion" where Calvin quotes philosophers to convince his readers that man is so depraved he has no ability to respond to God. MacArthur's reasoning above is clearly extra-Biblical and is pure human reasoning. His entire diatribe comes strictly from his own human understanding.
Problem #2: His teaching tactic is "bait and switch".
MacArthur derives the basis for his central point from a story recorded about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. He then reads in to the passage what he wants it to say about a doctrine that really has nothing to do with his thesis in the first place. The Biblical story about Lazarus is about death and being raised from the dead by Jesus but MacArthur changes it to mean something that simply is not in the text. He baits the reader into learning about death but then switches it to support a thesis of his own making. It is simply bad exegesis to anchor a doctrine on a story where the whole message is changed from its original intent.
Problem #3: It has no scriptural basis or foundation.
MacArthur uses the Lazarus account to build a doctrine but the passage lends him no help except that it refers to death. In fact, there are no scriptures that speak specifically to what MacArthur teaches in his teaching above. No Biblical passage equates spiritual death with physical death in the manner that MacArthur does and yet this is the absolute center of MacArthur's Calvinism. What MacArthur squeezes out of the story of Lazarus is all he has as Biblical substance and even here he does his exegesis by his own bias.
Problem #4: Overemphasis on equating spiritual death with physical death.
MacArthur and many Calvinists make the error of equating spiritual death with physical death. Who says that spiritual death and physical death are the same? They are clearly not the same. One has to do with the death of man spiritually which has to do with man's spirit. The other has to do with the death of the body. The two deaths have some similarities but in truth are radically different.
When Adam and Eve sinned they became spiritually dead but did they cease to function? The Bible records no difference about them after the fall except to note that they had come to know good and evil because they ate from that tree. No scripture in Genesis or any other book in the Bible states that Adam and Eve or mankind lost their ability to reason or move in free will due to the fall and their spiritual death.
Who says a physically dead man is exactly the same as a spiritually dead man? No one but Calvinists. Which scripture states this clearly? None.
Physically dead men can't reason but spiritually dead men can. Physically dead men can't hear but spiritually dead men can. Physically dead men can't reason but spiritually dead men can reason. MacArthur's entire theorem above is bogus! He is making the conjectured error of equating spiritually dead men with physically dead man. This is nothing but whimsical philosophy and his argument does not have merit.
Problem #5: It is not coherent reasoning.
MacArthur clearly states above that a dead man can't hear if one calls him out but that is exactly what Jesus did. Jesus made a dead man hear! Read the passage again. That is what the Bible records. The literal scriptural statement declares that Lazarus heard Jesus and then was made alive. If Jesus can walk on water and is truly sovereign then he can make a dead man hear, can't he? If Jesus can raise a dead man he can make a dead man hear. That is exactly what takes place with Lazarus---Jesus speaks to a dead man and he hears and then comes to life! Even MacArthur's main point is misstated by him. If a physically dead man can hear and respond---surely a physically alive man though spiritually dead can hear and respond!
Secondly, MacArthur paints himself into a corner he can't get out of. If he is right in his premise that a dead man can't reason then a dead man can't be brought to life either. Right? Has MacArthur gone to any funeral and seen a dead man be brought to life simply because a person spoke to him? No. If dead man Bill can't come forth because someone called him then Bill cannot be made alive either. MacArthur can't have it both ways! Physically dead men don't come alive again just like they don't hear or think. If a physically dead man can't respond at all as MacArthur intimates then how can he respond by being made alive? He can't if one is consistent in their thinking! The analogy is carried too far by MacArthur and is interpreted with his Calvinist bias.
Problem #6: MacArthur glosses over what Jesus said before he called Lazarus forth.
Problem #7: The Holy Spirit's work in salvation is ignored.
MacArthur's dead man theorem gives no place at all for the Holy Spirit's work and activity. Scripture clearly states that Holy Spirit has been sent to convict the heart of sinful man. Ironically, the problem is that Calvinists don't give enough credit here to the Holy Spirit and are only focused on their bogus stance that man has no ability to respond. The Holy Spirit is here on earth to confront men's hearts so that they might repent and believe.
Problem #8: Raising a physically dead man to life is different than raising a spiritually dead man to life.
This is huge. While MacArthur focuses on what dead man can't do by analogy he ignores how dead men are made alive and this is absolutely his greatest error. Jesus spoke to Lazarus and Lazarus heard his voice and was made alive. This is how Jesus raised people from their physical death.
However Jesus made the spiritually dead alive not by simply calling their name out. No indeed! There was only one way that Jesus could make man spiritually alive and that was through the cross and his subsequent resurrection from the dead. Jesus made the spiritually dead people alive by dying on the cross and by rising from the dead.
I will say it again. Stating that physically dead people are the same as spiritually dead people is pure folly because their being raised to life is very different. Raising men from the dead physically is abundantly different then making spiritually dead people alive. Otherwise Jesus would not have needed to go to the cross---he would have simply called us all by name and we would have all been made spiritually alive. There would have been no need for Jesus to die and pay for our sins if all he had to do was call us out from the dead by name.
Problem #9: MacArthur and Calvinist's ignore the overwhelming scriptural view that man believes and then is saved. This problem is Calvinism's biggest for it is simply undeniable that scripture is clear about believing before salvation:
The whole premise that God first makes alive those who are dead and then they have the capacity to believe is pure poppycock and is not supported at all by scripture. Don't believe the dead guy lie because it is simply dead philosophy. Instead simply believe what the scripture says with great clarity dozens of times---man must believe in order to be saved.
The next time you hear someone quote their ideas from the "dead guy lie", stop them and tell them that the analogy has no validity. Then either quote my problems above or send them to this blog. It is important to pull down strongholds of false teaching that propagate another gospel.
(Check out my pithy comments on my Twitter @confrontcalvin)
There are some substantial problems with MacArthur's use of an analogy that equates a biologically dead man with a spiritually dead man.And then verse 43, most interesting. “And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth.’ ”Now what interests me here is that Jesus gave a command to a dead man. I’ve done a lot of funerals. I’ve seen a lot of dead people. I’ve never asked any of them to do anything, nor has anybody else. Especially would I never say to a dead man, “Bill, come forth.” I mean, you wouldn’t waste words. You’d look foolish. Dead men can’t hear. Dead men can’t think. Dead men can’t respond cause they’re dead and dead means the absolute inability to do anything in response to any stimulus. There’s no will. There’s no power to think or act. But, look at verse 44. “He who had died came forth.” Lazarus did exactly what Jesus asked him to do. Amazing. He must have sort of stumbled out of there because “he was bound hand and foot with wrappings. And his face was wrapped around with a cloth and Jesus said to then, ‘Unbind him and let him go.’”Dead men can’t respond. Dead men can’t obey commands. He couldn’t, but he did. He did what was impossible.How? How is it possible for a dead man to do what Jesus told him to do? We all know the answer. Because Christ gave him the ability to do it. If Christ hadn’t given him the life, he couldn’t have obeyed.
Problem #1: It is philosophy that MacArthur is teaching above.
The reasoning used by MacArthur is entirely based on human reasoning and philosophy. His argument has its roots in Calvin's "Institutes of Christian Religion" where Calvin quotes philosophers to convince his readers that man is so depraved he has no ability to respond to God. MacArthur's reasoning above is clearly extra-Biblical and is pure human reasoning. His entire diatribe comes strictly from his own human understanding.
Problem #2: His teaching tactic is "bait and switch".
MacArthur derives the basis for his central point from a story recorded about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. He then reads in to the passage what he wants it to say about a doctrine that really has nothing to do with his thesis in the first place. The Biblical story about Lazarus is about death and being raised from the dead by Jesus but MacArthur changes it to mean something that simply is not in the text. He baits the reader into learning about death but then switches it to support a thesis of his own making. It is simply bad exegesis to anchor a doctrine on a story where the whole message is changed from its original intent.
Problem #3: It has no scriptural basis or foundation.
MacArthur uses the Lazarus account to build a doctrine but the passage lends him no help except that it refers to death. In fact, there are no scriptures that speak specifically to what MacArthur teaches in his teaching above. No Biblical passage equates spiritual death with physical death in the manner that MacArthur does and yet this is the absolute center of MacArthur's Calvinism. What MacArthur squeezes out of the story of Lazarus is all he has as Biblical substance and even here he does his exegesis by his own bias.
Problem #4: Overemphasis on equating spiritual death with physical death.
MacArthur and many Calvinists make the error of equating spiritual death with physical death. Who says that spiritual death and physical death are the same? They are clearly not the same. One has to do with the death of man spiritually which has to do with man's spirit. The other has to do with the death of the body. The two deaths have some similarities but in truth are radically different.
When Adam and Eve sinned they became spiritually dead but did they cease to function? The Bible records no difference about them after the fall except to note that they had come to know good and evil because they ate from that tree. No scripture in Genesis or any other book in the Bible states that Adam and Eve or mankind lost their ability to reason or move in free will due to the fall and their spiritual death.
Who says a physically dead man is exactly the same as a spiritually dead man? No one but Calvinists. Which scripture states this clearly? None.
Physically dead men can't reason but spiritually dead men can. Physically dead men can't hear but spiritually dead men can. Physically dead men can't reason but spiritually dead men can reason. MacArthur's entire theorem above is bogus! He is making the conjectured error of equating spiritually dead men with physically dead man. This is nothing but whimsical philosophy and his argument does not have merit.
Problem #5: It is not coherent reasoning.
MacArthur clearly states above that a dead man can't hear if one calls him out but that is exactly what Jesus did. Jesus made a dead man hear! Read the passage again. That is what the Bible records. The literal scriptural statement declares that Lazarus heard Jesus and then was made alive. If Jesus can walk on water and is truly sovereign then he can make a dead man hear, can't he? If Jesus can raise a dead man he can make a dead man hear. That is exactly what takes place with Lazarus---Jesus speaks to a dead man and he hears and then comes to life! Even MacArthur's main point is misstated by him. If a physically dead man can hear and respond---surely a physically alive man though spiritually dead can hear and respond!
Secondly, MacArthur paints himself into a corner he can't get out of. If he is right in his premise that a dead man can't reason then a dead man can't be brought to life either. Right? Has MacArthur gone to any funeral and seen a dead man be brought to life simply because a person spoke to him? No. If dead man Bill can't come forth because someone called him then Bill cannot be made alive either. MacArthur can't have it both ways! Physically dead men don't come alive again just like they don't hear or think. If a physically dead man can't respond at all as MacArthur intimates then how can he respond by being made alive? He can't if one is consistent in their thinking! The analogy is carried too far by MacArthur and is interpreted with his Calvinist bias.
Problem #6: MacArthur glosses over what Jesus said before he called Lazarus forth.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”MacArthur mentions the above verse in his blog prior to what I copied above but never discusses Christ's point that "he who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die." Why? Because it is an inconvenient truth for MacArthur and Calvinists to admit that Jesus clearly stated that believing is what makes a man live and it is what makes him never die. Then he asks Mary if she believes what he has just said to prove his point. Here, right smack dab in MacArthur's chosen text we find Jesus declaring that people must believe to have life. The truth is that spiritually dead men don't come to life until they believe. In fact just before Jesus called out to Lazarus scripture records:
And then Jesus said to her, ‘Didn’t I say to you that if you believe you’ll see the glory of God?’Jesus mentions "believing" again even because his point is that men must believe to see the glory of God. Christ's whole point is that those who believe in him will live and even if they die in the natural yet they will live eternally. MacArthur never mentions this point but instead reads in to the text his dubious concoction that dead men can't respond.
Problem #7: The Holy Spirit's work in salvation is ignored.
MacArthur's dead man theorem gives no place at all for the Holy Spirit's work and activity. Scripture clearly states that Holy Spirit has been sent to convict the heart of sinful man. Ironically, the problem is that Calvinists don't give enough credit here to the Holy Spirit and are only focused on their bogus stance that man has no ability to respond. The Holy Spirit is here on earth to confront men's hearts so that they might repent and believe.
And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; John 16:8-9 ESVIt is the Holy Spirit who convicts man while he is still dead in his sins. Conviction comes before salvation, not after. Calvinism's bogus idea that man cannot respond leaves the Holy Spirit out of the equation and this is not acceptable. Even if man was unable to respond due to his fall in the garden, the Holy Spirit is capable of making man respond. To say that man cannot respond is to remove the sovereignty of God from the Holy Spirit and provides that man's inability to respond is greater than the power of the Holy Spirit.
Problem #8: Raising a physically dead man to life is different than raising a spiritually dead man to life.
This is huge. While MacArthur focuses on what dead man can't do by analogy he ignores how dead men are made alive and this is absolutely his greatest error. Jesus spoke to Lazarus and Lazarus heard his voice and was made alive. This is how Jesus raised people from their physical death.
However Jesus made the spiritually dead alive not by simply calling their name out. No indeed! There was only one way that Jesus could make man spiritually alive and that was through the cross and his subsequent resurrection from the dead. Jesus made the spiritually dead people alive by dying on the cross and by rising from the dead.
I will say it again. Stating that physically dead people are the same as spiritually dead people is pure folly because their being raised to life is very different. Raising men from the dead physically is abundantly different then making spiritually dead people alive. Otherwise Jesus would not have needed to go to the cross---he would have simply called us all by name and we would have all been made spiritually alive. There would have been no need for Jesus to die and pay for our sins if all he had to do was call us out from the dead by name.
Problem #9: MacArthur and Calvinist's ignore the overwhelming scriptural view that man believes and then is saved. This problem is Calvinism's biggest for it is simply undeniable that scripture is clear about believing before salvation:
There are many other scriptures that communicate the same as the above. It is patently clear that those who are born-again are those who believe first, then are saved and made alive. Regeneration does not happen before faith! There is no path for MacArthur's dead man theorem. The dead guy lie is a bridge to nowhere since it has no scriptural foundation and is sheer fantasy based on an illogical and unscriptural analogy.Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:16Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Luke 8:12
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Acts 15:11If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:10
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| Bridge to Nowhere |
The whole premise that God first makes alive those who are dead and then they have the capacity to believe is pure poppycock and is not supported at all by scripture. Don't believe the dead guy lie because it is simply dead philosophy. Instead simply believe what the scripture says with great clarity dozens of times---man must believe in order to be saved.
The next time you hear someone quote their ideas from the "dead guy lie", stop them and tell them that the analogy has no validity. Then either quote my problems above or send them to this blog. It is important to pull down strongholds of false teaching that propagate another gospel.
Darrell Brantingham
(Check out my pithy comments on my Twitter @confrontcalvin)
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