Calvinists use the analogy of a corpse/physically dead body in an attempt to prove that the totally depraved “spiritually dead” person is unable to believe the Gospel in order to be saved; therefore requiring that the person be regenerated by the Spirit FIRST and then given the “gift of faith” to enable the person to believe the Gospel.
This concept is not found in Scripture. In fact, except for when speaking of the literal death resulting in a literal dead body, dead NEVER means inability in the New Testament. This is the central issue in Calvinism, because if a “spiritually dead” person IS able to believe the Gospel, without receiving the “gift of faith” from God, the rest of T.U.L.I.P becomes unnecessary.
“Dead” according to Paul and Peter
Romans 6:2, 1; Peter 2:24 — “We are dead to sin.” Does that mean we are unable to sin?
Romans 6:7-8; 2 Timothy 2:11; Colossians 2:20: “We are dead with Christ.” Does that mean we are unable to do anything?
Romans 7:4, Galatians 2:19 — “We are dead to the law.” Does that mean we are unable to do anything that is in the law?
Romans 8:10 — “If Christ is in us, our body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life” Does that mean that right now our body is a corpse that is unable to do anything?
1 Timothy 5:6 — “But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.” Does that mean she is unable to do anything?”
One of the verses that Calvinists quote is Colossians 2:13 where it says “dead in trespasses and sins.” They believe this means inability, but just a little bit later in verse 20, Paul states that we are dead with Christ, and then in Colossians 3:3 Paul states that “ye are Dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God” which indicates again that Paul doesn’t mean that because we are dead, we are unable to do anything.
The other verse they quote is Ephesians 2:1 “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;” If Paul never uses “dead” to mean inability in any of the other passages, why would it suddenly mean inability in this passage? Especially since the Colossians passage is speaking of the same thing.
“Dead” according to the Gospels
Luke 15:24, 32 “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” Does that mean he was unable to do anything while he was dead?
Those who are in Hell also have the ability to think, to remember, and to speak [Luke 16:20-31] They are dead in both senses of the word, they are physically dead and they are dead in their trespasses and sins, but they can still do things such as thinking and speaking.
John 5:24-25 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.“
In this passage, those who hear and believe “have passed from death [so they were dead before they heard and believed] unto life.” The next part “the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live” is understood by many commentators to be referring to the resurrection because of the context that includes verses 28 & 29. So, the saved dead will hear God’s voice and live. Just like in Luke 16:20-31 where the physically dead sinner could hear, the saved physically dead person can also hear.
There are no Scripture passages that indicate a spiritually dead person is like a physically dead body that is unable to do anything including hearing or believing.