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Examined Doctrine

Tim Keller on Original sin & the human will

1950 – 2023 · PRESBYTERIAN (PCA)
STANDARD SCHOLARLY ACCOUNTAFFIRMS°
STANCE

Will in bondage; needs sovereign grace to be freed

THE POSITION

Total depravity.

WHY THERE IS NO QUOTATIONOne quotation, on spiritual-warfare, taken from a machine transcript of a freely published 1992 sermon, and copyright is not what is stopping the rest. Nine of the other ten loci have had no primary-source pass at all. The tenth, scripture-authority, had one that read three freely published pieces in full and kept no excerpt from them — so what is missing there is a retained sentence, not permission. The books are in copyright, but he preached and published free for decades, and this map quotes MacArthur, Heiser and Sproul at length, all modern authors in copyright.

SCRIPTURE
EPHESIANS 2:1-3 · BSB

1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath.

18 OTHERS HOLD THIS

AugustineVoddie BauchamCalvinJonathan EdwardsThe Church of Eleven22 Statement of FaithM. HeiserJosh HowertonSecond London Baptist ConfessionLutherJohn MacArthurJohn OwenJustin PetersJohn PiperR.C. SproulCharles Haddon SpurgeonWestminster ConfessionGeorge WhitefieldZwingli
Nature wounded but not destroyed; grace perfects itAQUINAS · ATHANASIUS · EPHESUS · WILLIAM OF OCKHAM · JOHN DUNS SCOTUS
Depraved, but prevenient grace restores ability to respondJACOBUS ARMINIUS · BILLY GRAHAM · PHILIP MELANCHTHON · WESLEY
Free will substantially intact; God and man cooperateBASIL THE GREAT · CHRYSOSTOM · CHARLES GRANDISON FINNEY · IRENAEUS
See all 36 figures on original sin & the human will →

ABOUT THIS FIGURE

Founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian, New York. Known for apologetics addressed to urban skeptics and for a notably winsome register.

1 OF 11 POSITIONS QUOTED
Everything Tim Keller holds →
Cite this page

"Tim Keller on Original sin & the human will", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/keller/original-sin (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/keller/original-sin).

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