One the strongest biblical evidences against the Reformed doctrine of Total Depravity (the “T” of TULIP) is that of Acts 10 and Cornelius. As I wrote in a previous post in response to Christ Presbyterian Church:
40. You ignore that we are not merely sick, but dead in our sins. The things of God are foolishness to us and cannot be understood. The gospel is not about God helping good people save themselves, but raising the spiritually dead to life and justifying the ungodly.
Wallace and other Reformed apologists only show their inabilities at biblical exegesis. The term “dead” in Eph 2 and parallel texts is a metaphor. Trying to forge a doctrine from metaphors is precarious at best; eisegesis at worse. The term “dead” in Eph 2:1-5 is to be understood as a metaphor signifying one is outside the salvation of God and under judgement; it does not mean the Reformed doctrine of “Total Depravity” (the “T” in TULIP). The prodigal son is also called “dead” in Luke 15:24, 32 but we know from the parable that the prodigal son willed that he would return to his father (again, showing the synergism of the biblical authors—here, the working together of the will of the prodigal and his father—see vv. 18-23; it also shows that the son had some "natural" ability, contrary to Total Depravity). However, if I were to attempt to “prove” a doctrinal point from a parable as Wallace et al. are forced to from a metaphor, one would be engaging in very questionable biblical interpretation.
That the biblical authors did not believe in “total depravity” can be seen in many places. One potent example is the case of Cornelius, a Roman Centurion and “God-fearer” (a Gentile who associated with the synagogue). Listen to the descriptions of him before his conversion and entrance into the New Covenant:
A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave alms to the people and prayed to God always. He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him he was fraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. (Acts 10:2-4)
In the above pericope, Cornelius’ devotion, alms, and prayers were received by God, not as dirty rags (or “menstrual garments” per the underlying Hebrew of Isa 64:6), but as a “memorial.” The Greek term used is μνημόσυνον. This is a technical term in the LXX, often used in the sense of a memorial sacrifice or a placard used to perpetuate memory of a person or an event (in the Torah alone, see Exo 3:15; 12:14; 13:9; 17;14; 28:12, 29; 30:16; Lev 2:2, 9, 16; 5:12; 6:8; 23:24; Num 5:26; 17:5; 31:54; Deut 32:26). If any group can hold claim to being “biblical Christianity,” at least on this particular issue, it is the LDS Church, not the Reformed/Presbyterian theology expounded by Jason Wallace et al.
It is not unusual, however, to hear from some Reformed apologists that Cornelius was converted prior to Acts 10 and that such positive statements reflect the (imputed) righteousness of a saved person and their sanctified state. However, this is a rather desperate attempt to avoid the plain meaning of the episode (which reflects lip-service towards the perspicuity of Scripture).
In a recent volume, Kermit Zarley discusses the difficulty with this claim:
Luke has two decisive texts indicating Cornelius was not saved prior to meeting Peter. First, Luke says that soon after this Cornelius episode, “When Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, ‘Why did you go to the uncircumcised men and eat with them?’” (Acts 11:2-3). Peter then related that Cornelius “told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved’” (vv.13-14).
Second, Luke implies that at this time in Jerusalem, Peter spoke to “the apostles and the believers” (Acts 11:1). Then Luke says regarding what Peter said to them, “When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, ‘Then God has given even the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life’” (v.18).
Thus, Cornelius was not regenerated-saved prior to hearing Peter preach. (Kermit Zarley, Solving the Samaritan Riddle: Peter’s Kingdom Keys Explain Early Spirit Baptism [Eugene, Oreg.: Wipf & Stock, 2015], 137)
Sometimes, when discussing the Cornelius episode, Calvinists cite Acts 13:48 as something to help establish their position, and argue that this text should be a “controlling text” of the soteriology in the Acts of the Apostles; however, even here, Reformed theology is guilty of eisegesis (see my exegesis of the text here).
The interpretive gymnastics by Reformed apologists notwithstanding, the Cornelius episode in Acts 10 serves as further biblical-exegetical evidence of Calvinism being “another gospel” (cf. Gal 1:6-9).
