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Examined Doctrine

John Piper on Original sin & the human will

B. 1946 · REFORMED BAPTIST
STANDARD SCHOLARLY ACCOUNTAFFIRMS°
STANCE

Will in bondage; needs sovereign grace to be freed

THE POSITION

Total depravity; heavily indebted to Edwards.

WHY THERE IS NO QUOTATIONNo quotations. A living author's work cannot be quoted at length without permission, so these positions are paraphrased from published writing rather than reproduced.

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.

17 OTHERS HOLD THIS

AugustineVoddie BauchamCalvinJonathan EdwardsThe Church of Eleven22 Statement of FaithM. HeiserJosh HowertonTim KellerSecond London Baptist ConfessionLutherJohn MacArthurJohn OwenJustin PetersR.C. SproulCharles Haddon SpurgeonWestminster ConfessionZwingli
Nature wounded but not destroyed; grace perfects itAQUINAS · ATHANASIUS · EPHESUS
Depraved, but prevenient grace restores ability to respondJACOBUS ARMINIUS · PHILIP MELANCHTHON · WESLEY
Free will substantially intact; God and man cooperateBASIL THE GREAT · CHRYSOSTOM · IRENAEUS
See all 27 figures on original sin & the human will →

ABOUT THIS FIGURE

Longtime pastor of Bethlehem Baptist, Minneapolis, and founder of Desiring God. Reformed soteriology combined with continuationism and historic premillennialism.

READ ACROSS 10 LOCI, NONE QUOTED
Everything John Piper holds →
Cite this page

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

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