BIBLE
DOCTRINE 4
TOTAL DEPRAVITY, SINFULNESS AND GUILT OF
ALL MEN
God’s Word
teaches:
The total
depravity, sinfulness and guilt of all men since the Fall, rendering them
subject to God’s wrath and condemnation - Psalm 51:5; Job 14:4; Romans 3:23;
5:12-17; Mark 7:21-23; Ephesians 2:1.
The
total depravity, sinfulness and guilt of all men since the fall render all
sinners subject to God’s wrath and condemnation (Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-6; Romans
5:17, 19; Psalm 51:1-5). Man was created in the image of God, and he was
righteous and holy. Man was the crown of God’s creation (Genesis 1:26, 27;
Psalm 8:4-8). Through voluntary disobedience and transgression, man fell into
the depths of sin. As a consequence, everyone born through our first parents
(Adam and Eve) became sinners, shapened in iniquity and utterly void of the
holiness of God. Every man became totally inclined to evil (Psalm 51:1-5;
Romans 3:10-18,23; 7:14-21; 5:12-17; Job
14:4; Isaiah 48:8). As a result of the fall of man (Adam and Eve), all men born
through man and woman became sinners through inheritance. By inheriting the
nature of sin, man became depraved. There is nothing in the natural man that has
not been affected by the power of sin.
The
entire nature of man, mentally, physically, morally and spiritually, has been
affected by sin. The testimony of the scriptures is that the image of God in
man has been seriously marred by this great fall. As a result of the fall, and the nature of
sin inherited, man became separated from God, totally alienated from the
perfect, holy and pure God. This
separation is the cause of man’s sorrow, shame, fear, heartaches and manifold
problems, spiritually and mentally. Man became a transgressor (Romans 1:32;
6:23). All these have brought man under the wrath and condemnation of God, “for
the soul that sinneth it shall die.” There is nothing we can do for ourselves
to commend us to a righteous and holy God.
There is nothing the natural man (fallen away from grace) can offer to
appease God in order to escape His righteous judgment.
The
Bible describes the fallen nature of man in various terms. Jesus Christ
referred to sinners outside the Kingdom of God as swine and dogs. “Give not
that which is holy unto dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine, lest they
trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you” (Matthew 7:6). He
also referred to them as goats (Matthew 25:33). Paul in his epistle to the Philippians
church warned them to beware of evil workers as dogs (Philippians 3:2). Also, in his epistle to the Romans, he
referred to the fallen nature of man as “there is none righteous, no, not one”,
“they are together become unprofitable”, “their throat is an open sepulcher”,
“whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”, “for all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:10-18,23).
Jesus and John the Baptist described men as vipers (Matthew 3:7; 12:34).
Variously, the unregenerate man is characterized with reprobate mind filled
with all unrighteousness - immorality, covetousness, envy, murder; man is defiled and polluted
(Romans 1:28-32; Mark 7:21-23), treacherous, violent and destructive (Isaiah
48:8; 59:5-8), cunning and crafty, full of wickedness, blind, foolish, with
darkened understanding, children of wrath, (Ephesians 2:3; 4:14). The Bible says that the whole man is sick. The heart devises wicked imaginations, and
has come far short of the glory of God.
All men have become enslaved to sin:
conceived in sin, born in sin, and lives in sin. By nature and habit, he is a sinner. The natural man cannot resist sin.
The
consequence of the Fall is that man became totally depraved, and the immediate
effect was his separation from the Holy God, and the coming into effect of a curse upon Adam and his descendants
(Genesis 3:1-6,14-19,23,24; Romans 5:12; 8:22).
God’s judgment also came upon all men: “The soul that sinneth it shall
die,” “for the wages of sin is
death" (Ezekiel 18:4; Romans 6:23).
The human race has rebelled against God and broken His law, but the love
of God constrained the holy God to plan for man’s redemption to fulfill the law
that “without the shedding of blood there is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). Therefore, God undertook the redemption work
for man by sending Jesus Christ to die for him. Jesus Christ became the divine
provision of a Perfect Substitute and Sin-bearer (Genesis 22:7, 8, 14; Hebrews
9:22; Matthew 1:21). By the perfect
sacrifice of His blood (I Corinthians 5:7) and through His blood, man has
complete protection from the eternal
consequence of the Fall, from the curse
of the broken law (Exodus 12:13; Galatians 3:13); complete removal of the guilt and condemnation
of sin, and full redemption by faith in Him (Isaiah 53:4-8; Acts 8:32-35; I
Peter 1:18-21; 2:24).
The
atonement is the reconciliation of sinful, fallen man to God made possible
through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
The vicarious death of Jesus Christ is the substitution of the
sufferings of Christ for the punishment of all sinners in the world. The prime purpose of this is the full
redemption of fallen mankind. Through
this “mercy-seat”, sinners are reconciled to God. The power of sin over the natural man can
only be broken by the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:12; Romans 5:17-19): “For as by one man’s disobedience, many were
made sinners, so by the obedience of one man shall many be made righteous.”
God
demands repentance from all sinners to avail themselves of the provision of redemption
(Isaiah 53:5-7; Matthew 20:28; 26:28; John 3:14, 15; I Corinthians 5:7; John
1:12; 3:18,36) made in Jesus Christ. Repentance is the change which takes place
in the penitent’s attitude towards sin.
It is turning away from sin to God.
Sincere and total repentance and godly sorrow for sin through the agency
of the Holy Spirit are important prerequisites for salvation. Repentance is
the deep inward experience which makes the sinner turn from sin to God. Therefore, God demands repentance from all
men (Mark 1:15; Matthew 4:17; Luke 13:3, 5; 24:47; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30).
When a sinner hears the gospel empowered by the Holy Spirit, the sinner will
have deep, godly sorrow for his sins and acknowledge them by confessing all
manner of sins. He goes before God on the merit of the atonement made by Jesus
Christ through His vicarious death and accepts the sacrifice as a substitute
for the punishment of his own personal sins. On the basis of this genuine
repentance, the sinner asks for forgiveness and pardon based on the promises of
God in the scriptures (Proverbs 28:13; Isaiah 55:6,7; I John 1:9; Ezekiel
18:21,22). As the sinner repents
genuinely through the agency of the Holy Spirit he receives pardon (Luke 24:47;
John 2:23).
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