I developed both the S-3 (Soteriological) and H-4 (Heart) Axioms without the help of A.I. Only recently—early April 2025—did I begin using A.I. for theological brainstorming. I focus heavily on the Heart, for good reason, so I wanted to create an acronym to simplify memorization for teaching purposes. With some assistance from A.I., I came up with H.E.A.R.T. This is still in its early stages; I will refine and improve it further.
This page is still underconstruction
SA1: Human actions follow their Heart ⇔ HA1-2: All are born in rebellion
SA2: God turns the Heart sovereignly ⇔ HA3: Only God can change them
SA3: God’s turning is effectual ⇒ HA4: Results in delight and joy in God
Everyone is born with an uncircumcised heart that actively resists God. This is the best way to frame the Total Depravity debate or discussion. When Calvinists say that people are dead, it get Non-Calvinists to think dead as in corpse dead. Using bones and Lazarus also doesn’t help. Non-Calvinists don’t see the distinction between the flesh and the spirit. Calvinists are speaking spiritually, but Non-Calvinists see the person as a whole. The way I solve this is by stating that people are born UNCIRCUMCISED in Heart. Putting the dead-language aside until they see what an Uncircumcised Heart is all about: Total resistance.
Only God can circumcise the heart, and His intervention is always decisive and irreversible.
The human will cannot initiate this change; it depends entirely on God’s sovereign choice.
The heart remains hostile until God acts to transform it into delightfulness toward Him.
HA1/HA2: Humanity starts in total resistance (uncircumcised hearts oppose God by nature).
HA3/HA4: Only God can regenerate the heart (circumcision), and this transforms it from hostility to delight (HA4).
In the Heart Axioms, I intentionally chose the word “delight” to say that a circumcised Heart delights in God for a very good reason. People often think that Calvinism teaches that God forces people against their will. They want to frame the debate or discussion in such a manner to make Calvinism look foolish. It’s actually a misrepresentation of Calvinism.
The question people ask often reveals their hidden assumption. For example, if asked: “Can a person He choses to renew their Heart refuse the Gospel?”
How would you respond to that? The question itself framed you into thinking about refusing or accepting. But that’s not the best way to approach it, and it’s certainly not biblical! Here’s how I responded, and this was an actual discussion I had:
Refusing the Gospel is a wrong way to frame it. When we look through the Scripture and observe the characteristics of a CIRCUMCISED Heart, we see that it delights and have pleasures in the things of God. For example,
Psalms 27:8
When You said, “Seek My face,”
My HEART said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”
Psalms 119:92
Unless Your law had been my DELIGHT,
I would then have perished in my affliction.
Now, compare that to an UNCIRCUMCISED HEART:
Jeremiah 6:0
Indeed their EAR is UNCIRCUMCISED,
And they cannot give heed.
Behold, the word of the LORD is a reproach to them;
They have NO DELIGHT in it.
What Calvinism teaches is that God changes our nature and we come to Him willingly. God doesn’t FORCE any of us.
A circumcised heart now naturally longs for and submits to God’s will.