Introduction
Why is the world so bad? Sure, there are many who strive to see the good in everything and refuse to see the world as “bad.” But reality demands that we see the world as it is.
What do we see? War. Sickness. Disease. Unethical behavior. Delusion. Lying. Stealing. Murder. Death.
It isn’t a pretty picture, is it? It is true that we can make the most out of life, even if it isn’t ideal. There isn’t anything wrong with that thinking. We find that kind of thinking in the Bible.
With that said, if we look objectively at the world, we see that it struggles. When we turn on the nightly news, they aren’t just skewing stories to a negative extreme. The world really can be a bad place.
So I ask again, why is the world so bad? We find the answer in a simple doctrine: total depravity.
So what is total depravity? There are many who object to this doctrine. However, the Bible tells us it exists.
Before we can fully grasp the doctrine of total depravity, we must first understand what it does not mean. Let’s look at what God’s Word says.
What Total Depravity is Not
1. Depravity Does Not Mean humans are as Bad as they Can Be
We can start by asking another question. Why is there good in this world? If humans are completely bad, leading to a bad world, why is there still good in the world? Let’s explore this question so that we know what depravity is not.
If left completely to its own devices, mankind would plunge into the depths of sin without restraint (see Romans 1). However, God, in His sovereign command of history, restrains human wickedness so that people don’t become as corrupt as they could be. This divine influence is seen in the way He guides even the hearts of rulers:
“The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.” (Proverbs 21:1, NASB 95)
A good example is Nebuchadnezzar. When he boasted that he had created Babylon, the greatest empire in the world at the time, God humbled him, just to show him who was boss. Later, God graciously restored him to his kingdom. This is what he said:
“For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’” (Daniel 4:34–35, NASB 95)
In other words, no one questions God. He makes sure human beings stay in line. That’s certainly a lesson the wicked king of Babylon learned so well that he submitted readily to the Lord of heaven.
Cyrus also found out how in control God is. He saw it first-hand in the Holy Scriptures of the very people who were enslaved to him. Before Cyrus was even born, God had named him as the world leader who would let God’s people return to the land of Israel.
““It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire.’ And he declares of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’ And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’ ” Thus says the Lord to Cyrus His anointed, Whom I have taken by the right hand, To subdue nations before him And to loose the loins of kings; To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: “I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars. “I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden wealth of secret places, So that you may know that it is I, The Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name. “For the sake of Jacob My servant, And Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor Though you have not known Me.” (Isaiah 44:28–45:4, NASB 95)
How intriguing! God not only designated Cyrus the ruler who would work to return the Jews to their land, but He was the One who gave Cyrus his position of world power. God truly directs the flow of history to make things work out for good!
These examples remind us that while sin is pervasive, it is not unrestrained. To put it simply, man isn’t as wicked as he can be because God makes sure everything is as good as it should be.
2. Depravity Does Not Mean Man Lacks a Conscience
Sin separates human beings from God. That means relationally, we are at odds with God. But it wasn’t always that way.
We were created to be in perfect relationship with God. We can witness the record of this in Genesis 2 where mankind walked step for step with its creator. This is because God stamped His very image on the whole human race as He breathed “the breath of life” into Adam (Genesis 2:7). That means we all have that same image stamped on our very being.
What happened? Human beings sinned. Sin and death fell on the entire human race (see Genesis 3 and c.f. Romans 5). This image was marred at the moment Adam and Eve sinned. It no longer functions properly.
Though the image of God in man is marred by sin, it is not entirely erased. This is why even unbelievers demonstrate moral awareness:
“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20, NASB 95)
Man was created to connect with God in a special way. We still have that innate knowledge. We just don’t know what to do with it. We have a conscience that simply doesn’t understand.
3. Depravity Does Not Mean Man is Incapable of Recognizing Goodness in the World
Because human beings have the divine image, they can also recognize things that are good. Despite a fallen nature, humans still possess an innate understanding of what is good and beautiful.
However, sin distorts this recognition. For instance, art is good. Distort art, and immorality ensues. The prevalence of pornography serves as an example of how mankind can take two things, art and the human body, and distort them. God created both. Humans distorted that creation.
4. Depravity Does Not Mean Every Person Commits Every Sin that Exists
If left to mankind’s sinful proclivities, the world would be one big ball of sin. Mercifully, God steps in to keep this from happening.
God has built into this world certain limitations. The human body can only indulge sinful desires so far. Sexually transmitted diseases prevent moral people from being too moral, for instance.
An even more important factor is morality. God’s revelation places moral restraints on the human race. We don’t act out in sin fully because God has prohibited certain activities.
On top of this, we already mentioned our conscience, which also prohibits us from fully indulging ourselves. Remove these restraints, and the world looks a whole lot different.
What Total Depravity is.
So what is it? What is total depravity?
Paul gives the clearest biblical definition:
“And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.” (Romans 1:28–32, NASB 95)
That’s an ugly list, but it gives us an idea of what total depravity is. Total depravity means that every aspect of human nature is tainted by sin, rendering us incapable of pleasing God on our own.
We should live our lives pleasing God. Instead, that desire is distorted, and we please ourselves. In our search to find God, we ultimately crown ourselves potentates of the universe.
It isn’t that we sin to the fullest degree. It means our sin always finds its own fullness in our own selfishness. We sin because we are sinners. That is total depravity.
1. The History Behind Total Depravity
As we’ve already seen, God created man in a state of perfection and declared His creation “very good” (see Genesis 1). But let’s look at this situation a little more closely.
Adam and Eve walked with God in unbroken fellowship. Yet, they were given a choice. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil stood as a test. Take, eat and die, or leave it alone and live. Simple, right?
Not quite. We know from the story in Genesis 3 that Eve ate the fruit. Adam ate the fruit as well. In that moment, the whole human race lost its innocence and plunged itself into a full knowledge of sin. Human beings and the whole universe were wrecked.
Was this God’s fault? Did He create sin? No. We did a great job bringing that on ourselves.
God simply allowed for the possibility of sin. And since He allowed it, He is also the only One who has the ability to deal with the problem.
Even in paradise, with every advantage, mankind still chose rebellion. The fall was catastrophic, plunging all of humanity into sin and spiritual death. The logical basis for total depravity is found in both our nature and our actions.
2. The Evidence for Total Depravity
One generation after the fall, Cain murdered Abel. This rapid moral decline continued without remorse from anyone. In fact, some even glorified their sin.
“Lamech said to his wives, ‘Adah and Zillah, Listen to my voice, You wives of Lamech, Give heed to my speech, For I have killed a man for wounding me; And a boy for striking me; If Cain is avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.’” (Genesis 4:23–24, NASB 95)
Man’s wickedness grew to such an extent that God had to send a great flood to destroy every human being except eight people (see Genesis 6). Only Noah and his family escaped because the rest of the world had fallen to their own sinful desires.
Even after the Flood, God knew mankind would relapse into their own sinfulness. He established severe penalties for murder to curb some of those proclivities.
“Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.” (Genesis 9:6, NASB 95)
Did God not trust humans to do right? That’s right. He knew something about human beings.
“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5, NASB 95)
That’s total depravity. Human beings will always find creative ways to defy God. We weren’t made that way. We made ourselves that way.
The Problem of Total Depravity
1. Depravity Stains Every Aspect of Man’s Being
If sin affects us in every way, what are the results of that? Well, one is that we are stained with sin. If you’ve ever had a stain on a shirt that you didn’t treat, you know that your attempts at washing it out will bear one result. That sin is set in the fabric and will never come out.
That’s total depravity. We are stained all the way through.
“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5, NASB 95)
Our attempts at washing the stain ourselves only make things worse. We set it in the fabric of life because we are the problem. We are sinners who sin. We have no righteousness of our own.
“There is none righteous, not even one.” (Romans 3:10, NASB 95)
2. Depravity Blinds Man to His Own Condition
We don’t even know how sinful we are. Many times, sin will sneak up on us and catch us unaware. By the time we were a few years old, we had racked up a sin debt that was insurmountable.
We didn’t know much when we were that young, but we knew one thing. We knew how to sin.
Why? Because we are bent to sin from the womb. And we don’t know anything else. We are blind to our own faults simply because our hearts are bent on sinning.
“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, NASB 95)
3. Depravity Separates Man from God
Because of this, there’s a problem that materializes. A holy God cannot look upon sin with favor:
“For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” (Ephesians 5:5, NASB 95)
God loves the world. He also hates sin just as much and with equal ferocity. This means God will judge sinners along with the sin they commit. Sin ultimately separates all of us from God because we separate ourselves from God through our depravity.
So is this it? Is this all there is? Are we doomed forever?
The Solution to Total Depravity
1. Helplessness Does Not Mean Hopelessness
Since sin had a beginning, it can have an end. And only God can end it.
“And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.” (Hebrews 9:27–28, NASB 95)
We don’t have to serve sin because we are totally depraved. We have hope. We have a Savior.
2. The Need for a Savior
Jesus Christ came to take care of this problem. Total depravity isn’t a problem for Him because He is totally holy, totally righteous, totally God. And He died on a cruel cross so that you and I could have a chance at total salvation.
“And He Himself bore our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24, NASB95)
So What?
Before we can embrace Christ, we must recognize our lost state. Only when we understand our depravity can we truly grasp the glory of God’s salvation. The lost can only be found when they admit they are lost.
The solution to depravity is Christ—our only hope, our perfect righteousness, and our Savior. Put your trust in Him if you haven’t already. Love Him passionately if you already have.
He is your total Savior.
Do you know Jesus? If not, find Him here.
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