Ruined Sinners to Reclaim: Sin and Depravity in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective

Edited by David Gibson, Jonathan Gibson, Foreword by Michael Horton, Contributions by Michael A. G. Haykin, R. Albert Mohler Jr., Garry J. Williams, Douglas Sean O'Donnell, David F. Wells, Lee Gatiss, James N. Anderson, Bradley G. Green, Mark D. Thompson, Raymond A. Blacketer, Murray Smith, Brandon D. Crowe, Ryan M. McGraw, Stephen M. Coleman, N. Gray Sutanto, Mark Jones, Andrew M. Leslie, Daniel Strange, Heath Lambert, Francis X. Gumerlock, Nathan D. Shannon, Steven Wedgeworth

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Ruined Sinners to Reclaim: Sin and Depravity in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective

Edited by David Gibson, Jonathan Gibson, Foreword by Michael Horton, Contributions by Michael A. G. Haykin, R. Albert Mohler Jr., Garry J. Williams, Douglas Sean O'Donnell, David F. Wells, Lee Gatiss, James N. Anderson, Bradley G. Green, Mark D. Thompson, Raymond A. Blacketer, Murray Smith, Brandon D. Crowe, Ryan M. McGraw, Stephen M. Coleman, N. Gray Sutanto, Mark Jones, Andrew M. Leslie, Daniel Strange, Heath Lambert, Francis X. Gumerlock, Nathan D. Shannon, Steven Wedgeworth

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Examining the Doctrine of Human Depravity in Scripture and throughout Church History

For centuries, theologians have debated the doctrine of total depravity—the belief that people are wholly and naturally corrupt due to original sin. Reformed theology upholds this truth, acknowledging it to be essential for understanding the gospel and humanity’s need for a Savior.

Ruined Sinners to Reclaim persuasively reaffirms the doctrine of total depravity from biblical, historical, theological, and pastoral perspectives, drawing on the debates of theologians throughout church history. Edited by David and Jonathan Gibson, this book features contributions from respected theologians—including Michael A. G. Haykin, Gray Sutanto, Garry Williams, Mark Jones, Daniel Strange, and R. Albert Mohler Jr.—to help readers understand the reality of our sinful nature, its debilitating effects, and the Holy Spirit’s role in salvation. This is the second book in the Doctrines of Grace series, which explores the central points of the Canons of Dort, providing a framework for understanding each doctrine in all its historical, biblical, theological, and pastoral richness. 

  • Defends the Doctrine of Total Depravity: Including sin’s origin, spread, nature, and scope, as well as its effects on free will
  • Comprehensive: Explores theological ideas throughout church history, including from the patristic, medieval, Reformation, and post-Reformation periods
  • Part of the Doctrines of Grace Series: Along with From Heaven He Came and Sought Her, this volume explores a central tenet of Reformed theology

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Editors:

David Gibson

David Gibson (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is minister of Trinity Church in Aberdeen, Scotland. He is a coeditor of From Heaven He Came and Sought Her, and his publications include Living Life Backward: How Ecclesiastes Teaches Us to Live in Light of the End; Radically Whole: Gospel Healing for the Divided Heart; and The Lord of Psalm 23: Jesus Our Shepherd, Companion, and Host. He is married to Angela, and they have four children.

Jonathan Gibson

Jonathan Gibson (PhD, University of Cambridge) is an ordained minister in the International Presbyterian Church, United Kingdom, and associate professor of Old Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He is a coeditor of and contributor to From Heaven He Came and Sought Her and author of Be Thou My Vision: A Liturgy for Daily Worship. Jonny and his wife, Jackie, have four children.

Product Details

Title: Ruined Sinners to Reclaim
Subtitle: Sin and Depravity in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective
Published: April 30, 2024
ISBN-10: 1-4335-5705-3
ISBN-13: 978-1-4335-5705-7
Category: Theology
Retail Price: $65.00
Binding: Printed Caseside
Trim: 6.0 in x 9.0 in
Page Count: 1040

Table of Contents

Tables and Diagrams
Foreword (Michael Horton)
Preface
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Contributors

Introduction
 
Chapter 1: “Salvation Belongs to the Lord”
Mapping the Doctrine of the Total Depravity of Human Creatures
David Gibson and Jonathan Gibson
 
Part 1: Sin and Depravity in Church History
 
Chapter 2: “Rivers of Dragons and Mouths of Lions and Dark Forces”
Sin in the Patristic Tradition
Michael A. G. Haykin
Chapter 3: “Give What You Command, and Then Command Whatever You Will”
Augustine, Pelagius, and the Question of Original Sin
Bradley G. Green
Chapter 4: Ruined Sinners in a Pseudo-Augustinian Treatise on Predestination
Francis X. Gumerlock
Chapter 5: The Bondage of the Will
Luther versus Erasmus
Mark D. Thompson
Chapter 6: “Whatever Remains Is a Horrible Deformity”
Sin in Early to Post-Reformation Theology
Raymond A. Blacketer
Chapter 7: Sin and the Synod of Dort
Lee Gatiss
Chapter 8: “By a Divine Constitution”
Old Princeton and the Imputation of Adam’s Sin
Ryan M. McGraw
Chapter 9: “The Chief Evil of Human Life”
Sin in the Life and Thought of the English Particular Baptists, 1680s–1830s
Michael A. G. Haykin
 
Part 2: Sin and Depravity in the Bible
 
Chapter 10: From Eden to Exile
The Story of Sin in Genesis–2 Kings
William M. Wood
Chapter 11: The Folly, Mystery, and Absurdity of Sin in the Wisdom Literature
Stephen M. Coleman
Chapter 12: Breaching the Covenant
Sin in the Prophets
William M. Wood
Chapter 13: “If You, Then, Who Are Evil”
Sin in the Synoptic Gospels and Acts
Douglas Sean O’Donnell
Chapter 14: “Everyone Who Practices Sin Is a Slave to Sin”
Sin in the Johannine Literature
Murray J. Smith
Chapter 15: “Wretched Man That I Am!”
Sin in the Pauline Epistles
Jonathan Gibson
Chapter 16: “That None of You May Be Hardened by the Deceitfulness of Sin”
Sin in Hebrews, James, 1–2 Peter, and Jude
Brandon D. Crowe
 
Part 3: Sin and Depravity in Theological Perspective
 
Chapter 17: I and the Norm
Comparative Religions and Alternative Philosophies of Sin
Nathan D. Shannon
Chapter 18: Whence This Evil?
Toward a Biblical Theodicy
James N. Anderson
Chapter 19: Total Depravity and God’s Covenant with Adam (1)
A Case for the Covenant
Garry Williams
Chapter 20: Total Depravity and God’s Covenant with Adam (2)
The Imputation of Adam’s Sin
Garry Williams
Chapter 21: The Heart Wants What It Wants
A Protestant Assessment of the Doctrine of Concupiscence
Steven Wedgeworth
Chapter 22: On Revelation and the Psychical Effects of Sin
Toward a Constructive Proposal
Nathaniel Gray Sutanto
Chapter 23: Original Sin in Modern Theology
Charles Hodge and Herman Bavinck on Friedrich Schleiermacher
Nathaniel Gray Sutanto
Chapter 24: "Incurvatus Est in Se"
Toward a Theology of Sin
Andrew Leslie
Chapter 25: "Distinguishd among Ten Thousand"
The Sinlessness of Christ
Mark Jones
 
Part 4: Sin and Depravity in Pastoral Practice
 
Chapter 26: Losing Our Religion
The Impact of Secularization on the Understanding of Sin
David F. Wells
Chapter 27: An Apology for "Elenctics"
The Unmasking of Sin in the Retrieval of a Theological Discipline
Daniel Strange           
Chapter 28: Evangelizing Fallen People
Apologetics and the Doctrine of Sin
James N. Anderson
Chapter 29: Counseling Fallen People
Applying the Truth of Sola Scriptura
Heath Lambert
Chapter 30: Preaching to Sinners in a Secular Age
R. Albert Mohler Jr.
 
Appendix: Scripture Versions Cited
Select Bibliography

Index of Biblical References
Index of Names
Index of Subjects

Endorsements

“In Ruined Sinners to Reclaim, twenty-six gifted pastors and theologians have joined forces to bequeath the church a rich, fruitful, and comprehensive survey of the doctrine of total depravity from the perspectives of historical theology, biblical exegesis, systematic theology, and polemics. With sensitivity to the contours of our increasingly secular world, the authors demonstrate how our understanding of total depravity should impact our evangelism, counseling, and preaching in modern contexts. Above all, the authors lead us to the spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. This magisterial work is one of the most definitive treatments of total depravity available in the Reformed tradition.”
Joel R. Beeke, Chancellor and Professor of Homiletics and Systematic Theology, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary; Pastor, Heritage Reformed Congregation, Grand Rapids, Michigan

“As I read through the rich and deep chapters of Ruined Sinners to Reclaim, I not only found myself instructed; I also found myself moved again and again by the goodness and grace of God in Christ toward ruined sinners such as I. This book helps us to look squarely at our pervasive depravity and inability to save ourselves from sin’s ruinous grip while also helping us to gaze in wonder and worship at God’s pervasive purity and his power to save.”
Nancy Guthrie, author; Bible teacher

“Reading a book on total depravity might betray a morbid preoccupation with the subject—or worse, confirmation of its existence in the reader! Yet this outstanding collection of essays is a treasure trove for scholars and students alike. Canvassing the historical, biblical, theological, and pastoral dimensions of this much-neglected and much-misunderstood doctrine of Holy Scripture, the Gibson brothers have provided a perspicacious window into the importance of understanding the depth of our ruin, in order to appreciate the glory of our being reclaimed by Christ. From the opening comprehensive introduction by the editors to the closing pastoral chapters, this book is a richly woven tapestry of insights into the extent of our fallenness and the wonder of God’s redeeming grace.”
Glenn N. Davies, former Archbishop of Sydney

“It was Seneca who said that if we desire to judge all things justly, we must first persuade ourselves that none of us is without sin. This excellent book—Ruined Sinners to Reclaim—does a superb job of persuading us about the complex nature of sin and the comprehensive salvation we find in Christ, and thus enables us to make thoughtful theological judgments for Christian ministry today. All sections, and many of the essays within, will supply good guidance for weary pilgrims through the Slough of Despond and onward toward the Celestial City.”
Mark Earngey, Head of Church History and Lecturer in Doctrine, Moore Theological College; author, Bishop John Ponet (1516–1556): Scholar, Bishop, Insurgent; coeditor, Reformation Worship

“As with the first volume in the Doctrines of Grace series, Ruined Sinners to Reclaim provides depth, breadth, and clarity to its chosen topic. Since, as Calvin rightly put it, nearly all the wisdom we possess consists in the knowledge of God and of ourselves, this volume on sin, its nature, and its effects provides rich and practical wisdom so that we might better know ourselves, and thus know God better, as it plumbs the depths of Scripture and the Reformed theology that naturally wells up from Scripture. There is no other volume available that so adeptly gives us a microscope into the human heart.”
K. Scott Oliphint, Author, God With Us