BOOK 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. As
with the first book, Rev. Otis'
chief concern is aiding the
Calvinist to defend the gospel
of Jesus 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, 1998 'I' THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 'i' 31
depravity upon the sinner.
Total depravity, he logically
and argues,
renders man polluted by sin
from his conception,
enslaved to sin and Satan,
and utterly unable to do any
good thing. An 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' THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 't AprillMay, 1998
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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