Total depravity – is it biblical?

Answer

Total depravity is a term used to summarize what the Bible teaches about the spiritual state of fallen man. It represents the “T” in the acronym TULIP, which lists the five points of Calvinism or the doctrines of grace. Some individuals prefer terms like “total inability,” “righteous incapability,” “radical corruption,” or even “moral inability” to avoid misunderstanding. However, the crucial aspect is not the label given to the doctrine but how accurately it reflects the Bible’s teachings on the spiritual condition of fallen man. Regardless of the term used, whether “total depravity” or an alternative, when correctly comprehended, it accurately portrays what the Bible conveys on this significant subject.

Despite being frequently misinterpreted, the concept of total depravity acknowledges that the Bible indicates that following the fall of man “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”, (Genesis 3:6), every aspect of man—his mind, will, emotions, and flesh—has been tainted by sin. In essence, sin impacts all facets of our existence, defining who we are and what we do. It permeates to the very essence of our being, corrupting everything with sin, and “…all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” in the presence of a holy God “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”, (Isaiah. It acknowledges that the Bible teaches that we sin because we are sinners by nature. Or, as Jesus says, “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.” (Matthew 7:17-18).

The total depravity of man is evident throughout the Bible. Man’s heart is described as “deceitful and desperately wicked” «The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? », (Jeremiah 17:9). The Bible also teaches us that man is born dead in transgression and sin (Psalm 51:5;Psalm 58:3;Ephesians 2:1-5). The Bible teaches that because unregenerate man is “dead in transgressions” «even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) », (Ephesians 2:5), he is held captive by a love for sin (John 3:19;John 8:34) so that he will not seek God (Romans 3:10-11) because he loves the darkness «And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. », (John 3:19) and does not understand the things of God «But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. », (1 Corinthians 2:14)Therefore, men suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness «For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; », (Romans 1:18) and continue to willfully live in sin. Because they are totally depraved, this sinful lifestyle seems right to men «There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, But the end thereof are the ways of death. », (Proverbs 14:12) so they reject the gospel of Christ as foolishness «For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. », (1 Corinthians 1:18) and their mind is “hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is unable to do so” «Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. », (Romans 8:7).

The Apostle Paul summarizes the total depravity of man in Romans 3:9-18. He begins this passage by saying that “both Jews and Greeks are all under sin.” Simply put, this means that man is under the control of sin or is controlled by his sin nature (his natural tendency to sin). The fact that unregenerate people are controlled by their selfish, sinful tendencies should not come as a surprise to any parent. What parent has to teach his or her child to be selfish, to covet what someone else has or to lie? Those actions come naturally from the child’s sin nature. Instead, the parent must devote much time to teaching the child the importance of telling the truth, of sharing instead of being selfish, of obeying instead of rebelling, etc.

Then in the rest of this passage Paul continues to explain the consequences of living in sin.

otes extensively from the Old Testament in explaining how sinful man really is. For example, we see that 1—no one is without sin, 2—no one seeks after God, 3—there is no one who is good, 4—their speech is corrupted by sin, 5—their actions are corrupted by sin, and 6—above all, they have no fear of God. So, when one considers even these few verses, it becomes abundantly clear the Bible does indeed teach that fallen man is “totally depraved,” because sin affects all of him including his mind, will, and emotions so that “there is none who does good, no not one” «They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; There is none that doeth good, no, not one. », (Romans 3:12).

There is a common misconception regarding total depravity. Total depravity does not mean that man is as wicked or sinful as he could be, nor does it mean that man is without a conscience or any sense of right or wrong. Neither does it mean that man does not or cannot do things that seem to be good when viewed from a human perspective or measured against a human standard. It does not even mean that man cannot do things that seem to conform outwardly to the law of God. What the Bible does teach and what total depravity does recognize is that even the “good” things man does are tainted by sin because they are not done for the glory of God and out of faith in Him (Romans 14:23;Hebrews 11:6). While man looks upon the outward acts and judges them to be good, God looks upon not only the outward acts but also the inward motives that lie behind them, and because they proceed from a heart that is in rebellion against Him and they are not done for His glory, even these good deeds are like “filthy rags” in His sight. In other words, fallen man’s good deeds are motivated not by a desire to please God but by our own self-interest and are thus corrupted too.

The point at which God declares that there is “no one who does good, no not one!”

Since Scripture is very clear that all of humanity is affected by sin to the extent that “no one seeks after God,” how can anyone become a Christian? The answer is that God must overcome humanity’s depravity in a way that enables individuals to recognize their spiritual state and their hopeless condition without the grace of God. A person’s spiritually blind eyes must be opened, and the bondage of sin that holds them hopelessly captive must be broken so they can respond in faith to the gospel message and the atoning work of Christ on the cross. Some Christians believe that God achieves this through a form of universal grace, enabling individuals to choose or reject Him. Others believe that for a person who is “dead in trespasses and sins” to comprehend and respond to the gospel in faith, they must first be born again or regenerated by the Holy Spirit «Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. », (John 3:3). Only after God imparts spiritual life to a spiritually dead sinner can they “see the kingdom of God.” Those who adhere to this perspective view it as a sovereign act of God, with individuals being born again “not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13).

However, even when the doctrine of total depravity is correctly understood, many individuals will reject it. This should not be surprising, as the world generally perceives humans as fundamentally good. Therefore, the concept that humans are inherently sinful goes against most contemporary religious, psychological, and philosophical beliefs about human nature. Nevertheless, the Bible does indeed teach about the depravity of humankind.

The reality of the human heart is the root cause of man’s problem, not the environment in which he is raised, but his wicked and selfish heart. When properly understood, the concept of total depravity shatters the hopes of those who rely on any form of works-based salvation and acknowledges that God’s sovereign grace is humanity’s sole hope. While total depravity dismantles human self-righteousness and any misunderstandings about the ability to be saved through free will, it leads to the same question posed by the disciples to Jesus in Matthew 19:25-26: “Who then can be saved?” The answer remains unchanged: “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:25-26).

As the initial of the five doctrines known as “Calvinism,” the doctrine of total depravity appropriately directs attention to the remaining “doctrines of grace” that proclaim God’s marvelous work in saving sinners.

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