This commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off
Visitor
The Reformed understanding of total depravity appears to be wrong. Deuteronomy 30: 11, 14 declares human ability to obey God:
"This commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off...."The word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it."
How can you reconcile that passage with your view?
Response
Two related points I wish to highlight here:
A frequent question the Christian may encounter as we bring the gospel to the world is "Do you think I am going to hell?" or "Do you think such and such type of person person is going to hell? (because of some heinous sin they have committed)" This question is often loaded and not all what appears on the surface. Most of you are probably familiar with this. At early stages of the conversation, when people may still be on the defensive, the skeptic may not yet be trying to ascertain real information about what the Bible says about their eternal state, but instead, are trying to draw out your self-righteousness or judgmentalism toward them. If you perceive this to be the case, and want to know what might be a biblical response, read on. 
To the mass of ill-deserving sinners on earth, God holds out the gospel that any person who looks in faith to the Son will receive eternal life. But what if no one actually responded to that message? What if not one person took advantage of this opportunity? Because this is the actual condition we find man in - No amount of outward appeals by God to man's heart or reason will suffice to persuade him to come to Jesus. Left to himself he is hopelessly given over to darkness. If he refuses to come it isn't because God is holding him back or coercing him against his will in the way of sin. This is what man wants in his heart of hearts.
Question: The Bible clearly shows that the choices we make will alter our destiny. For example, God appeals to wrongdoers, saying: “Turn back, please, every one from his bad way and from the badness of your dealings . . . that I may not cause calamity to you.” (Jeremiah 25:5, 6) This appeal would be pointless if God had already fixed each individual’s destiny. Moreover, God’s Word states: “Repent, therefore, and turn around so as to get your sins blotted out, that seasons of refreshing may come from the person of Yahweh.” (Acts 3:19) Why would Yahweh ask people to repent and turn around if he knew beforehand that they could do absolutely nothing to change their destiny?
In discussions with atheists, I always find it both amusing and puzzling that they almost never fail to make statements such as "I believe human sacrifice is wrong" or "in my opinion the Canaanite genocide was wrong". Now either they are trying to persuade me that such things are objectively wrong (in which case they have just denied their atheism) or in the unlikely event that they are really just giving me a personal opinion, I can only answer, "that's nice, good for you. Good luck with that". For if it is merely a personal opinion among millions of others, the statement is about as meaningful as the most absurd trifle.