Total Depravity
By Solomon White
This article is the fourth in a new series called Theology for Everyone. We believe that theology is inherently practical, so in this series, we will be taking a deep dive into some doctrines of faith and discuss how they apply to our everyday lives. You can read our other articles here.
Psalm 51:5-
“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
The gospel or good news is that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for our sins, rose from the grave, and is alive now and that if we repent and believe, we will have eternal life with him. But the teaching that’s often glossed over in a presentation of the gospel is the thing that makes the good news good instead of just news. That teaching is the doctrine of total depravity. The total depravity of man is what makes a redeeming savior the best news ever.
In a 2014 Psychology Today article about how people give and receive information, Dr. Art Markman wrote,
“Most people (78%) wanted to hear the bad news first, followed by the good news, because they believed they would feel better if they got the bad news out of the way and ended on a good note. People delivering news, though, were split: Those who imagined what a recipient would want to hear tended to want to give the bad news first, while those who focused on their own feelings tended to want to give the good news first, because they felt it would be easier to start by giving good news.”
It’s easy to say, “Jesus loves you.” No one will get bent out of shape if you tell them that your God loves them. What’s difficult to talk about is that we are all sinners in need of a savior. Now, most people will acknowledge that they have done some wrong in their life with a shrug and a quick “nobody’s perfect.” This is true. Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” There is no one who has not sinned. But this is a much more dire situation than it sounds.
Sinful Nature
The doctrine of total depravity is the understanding that all people are born with a sinful nature into a state of condemnation and wrath from God. Thanks to Adam and the Fall in the garden, sin entered the world and changed humanity's nature. We are born by nature children of wrath (Eph 2:3). We are also condemned by our choices, but we choose according to our nature. If a vulture has his choice of a bowl of carrots or a dead bunny, he’ll choose the dead bunny every time because it is in his nature to do so. This is how we are with sin. We will always “freely” choose sin according to our sinful nature.
John 3:19-20 says, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” We cannot please God. Romans 8:7 says, “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.” But by God’s grace, he changes our nature and our heart of stone is exchanged for a heart of flesh that’s more malleable to be reshaped into righteousness through the saving power of Christ.
Image Bearers
Total depravity does not mean utter depravity. People can still do good works. Luke 11:13 says, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” It may be surprising, but we’re not as bad as we could be. By being created in God's image, we’re endowed with a certain common grace that gives a conscience towards true morality. There are plenty of non-Christians who are moral, but it’s a human morality and human morality is man-centered instead of God-centered, and therefore ultimately sinful.
The spiritual deadness we are in must be taken seriously. We were not sick or disabled. Eph 2:1 says, “you were dead in the trespasses and sins.” What can dead things do? Nothing. We are completely reliant on God’s grace to save us through Christ. Eph 2:5 says, “even when we were dead in our trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” Our deadness in sin is in contrast to the life God gives through Christ. If our deadness is not that serious, then the life Christ brings is not that serious. This is not true. Our need is great, and our God is greater.
When sharing the gospel with others, we must not choose our own comfort and feelings before the truth of God’s word. The good news is only good if there is bad news. It’s unfaithful to limit the gospel to “Jesus loves you.” There must be a call to repentance. But repentance only comes when people consider how truly sinful and hopeless they are without Christ. Sin must be understood, or else Christianity merely becomes a lifestyle choice instead of a spiritual regeneration from death to life. Through Adam, we come into this world a spiritual stillborn, dead in sins and trespasses. So we must be reborn. Where the first Adam failed, the second Adam (Christ) succeeded (1 Cor 15:22). This is the bad news of Adam and humanity and the good news of life in Christ.