And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth; and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart, was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5
The object of this discourse will be to illustrate and establish the doctrine of Total Depravity.
The doctrine does not imply that all men are equally wicked. There are evidently degrees of wickedness. It shall be more tolerable for the inhabitants of Sodom, than for those who reject the gospel. The servant that knew his Lord’s will and did it not shall be beaten with many stripes; but he who knew not his Lord’s will and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. In hell all will be totally depraved, and yet all will not be equally bad.
This doctrine does not imply that men are as bad as they can be. “Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse.” And all the finally impenitent will wax worse and worse forever. The longer sinners suffer in hell, the more will they deserve to continue there.
This doctrine does not imply that men are not free moral agents. They possess all the faculties that are essential to moral agency-reason, judgment, memory, will, and affections. If they were not free moral agents, they could not be the subjects of moral depravity. To say, therefore, that total depravity is inconsistent with free agency is absurd. If it is, there can be no such thing as sin or blame in the Universe. For if total depravity annihilates free agency, then partial depravity destroys it in some degree.
This doctrine does not imply that men are destitute of conscience. The question is sometimes asked, “is there not something in man that tells him what is right and what is wrong?” Undoubtedly there is. If man had not a conscience, he could not be a sinner. But it is one thing to know our duty, and another to love it, and to do it. The more clearly a person sees his duty, the greater is his guilt if he does not perform it. Conscience will exist in hell. It is the worm that never dies. And who doubts that the lost spirits in hell are totally depraved?
But positively, by the doctrine of Total Depravity, it is meant, that all men, by nature, are destitute of love to G6d, and consequently wholly sinful—or to adopt the language of the text, that every imagination of the thoughts of their heart, is only evil continually.
The truth of this doctrine appears….
1. From direct passages of scripture. The text is decisive. The language is very striking. Suppose it were affirmed of Gabriel that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only holy continually. Could any one doubt that this language was intended to affirm that Gabriel was perfectly holy?
2. From the doctrine of regeneration. Men must be born again—they must pass from death to life. “You hath he quickened, who were dead.” If the heart were not entirely depraved, this change would not be necessary.
3. From the distinction which the scriptures make between the saint and the sinner. “Every one that loveth, is born of God.” This declaration implies that all unrenewed men are destitute of love to God, and of course totally depraved.
Should the sinner say, “there certainly is some goodness in myself;” I would answer that your testimony cannot be admitted. Suppose that it does not seem to you that you are totally depraved. You may be blinded by self-flattery. Your character may appear very differently to the omniscient God. “That which is highly esteemed among men, is abomination in the sight of God. Mark the words of the text—”And God saw that the wickedness of men was great.”
4. From the experience of every Christian. Look back, my brethren, to the time when you were under conviction of sin. Were you not brought to see that there was no good thing in you? Did not God treat you as if you were totally depraved, by refusing to bear and answer your prayers? Did you not find that you were not only destitute of love to God, but that your hearts were enmity against him? And when you began to love God, were you not conscious that you had never loved him before?
If this doctrine is true, conviction and conversion are necessary; and when persons begin to love God, it will be all new. And so we find it in revivals. So it was with Paul. “I know that in me, that is, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing.”
Thus, the experience of Christians perfectly harmonizes with this doctrine. But if the doctrine were not true, the young convert might say, I have indeed experienced a great change, but it is nothing new. I always felt so. I always loved God
5. From the experience of every sinner. When Adam had sinned, he was afraid, and hid himself from the presence of the Lord. So children when they first learn that God is present are afraid, and disposed to hide themselves. This shows that they are totally depraved. If there were any love to God in their hearts, they would be pleased with the idea of God’s presence. They would love to pray to him, and to converse about him.
Let me appeal to the experience of impenitent sinners. Do you love to pray? Do you love to meditate and converse on the subject of religion? Why is it that all the motives that are presented to your minds are insufficient to induce you to comply with the terms of the gospel? Why do you not repent? Do you say, you cannot? Then certainly you are totally depraved. If you had the least love to God, you could not help repenting. Think against whom you have sinned. What a heart must that be that can feel no contrition for sin committed against such a glorious being. Think of the love of Christ in dying for your sins, and in offering you salvation without money and without price. Surely if this is not sufficient to melt your hearts, they must be harder than adamant.
Think of the threatenings of eternal death. If you can venture on in sin in view of these threatenings, how amazingly obdurate must be your hearts.
Perhaps some one will say, “if these things are so, it will do no good for me to attempt the service of God, and I will do nothing.” To such a one, let me say, you express the very feeling of a totally depraved heart. If you had any love to God, you would not stop to inquire whether it would do you any good to serve him. You would delight in his service, and esteem it a privilege to serve him
If any of you, my hearers, do not believe that you are totally depraved, let me put your feelings to the test. You know that it will be your duty to enter into your closets to pray this night. If you love God, you will esteem it a privilege to do so. If you find your hearts opposed to this duty, and neglect it, or attempt it with great reluctance, you will know tomorrow, that you possess just such hearts as have been described.
Copyright Jim Ehrhard, 1999. You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author; (2) any modifications are clearly marked; (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction; and (4) you do not make more than 100 copies without permission. If you would like to post this material to your web site or make any use other than as defined above, please contact Teaching Resources International
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