This post\u00a0is essentially on the doctrine of the total depravity of man and the hope brought to him. The total depravity of man is not a culturally acceptable belief. Our culture wants us to believe that we are good people, with good hearts, and we can do great things. Some preachers have fell prey to this false idea. As unpopular as the total depravity of man may be, it is a foundational understanding we must have in order to properly understand other important doctrines of the faith. Let us begin.<\/p>\n
The world blossomed to life in the Garden of Eden as God created everything good. All creation was a masterpiece intricately woven together by the Word of God \u2013 everything from the largest colors schemes of the skies to the smallest cell in the body of Adam. The glory of the Lord was on full display for there was no sin to be found. Everything was good as Genesis 1 describes it to be. Adam and Eve enjoyed unhindered fellowship with God as there was no sin barrier. This was creation and it was good.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately things did not stay this good. As we read in Genesis 3 Adam sinned \u2013 disobeying God by giving into temptation from Satan and eating from the one tree God commanded them not to eat from. The consequences were massive. Adam and Eve became aware of their sin and shame. They were kicked out from the garden and they could no longer experience fellowship with God as they once did. The holiness of God demands separation from sin and the justice of God demands punishment of sin. A major portion of this separation and punishment from and by God toward sin is death. Sin brought death \u2013 both physical and spiritual death that is eternal.<\/p>\n
Adam did not only ruin things for him and Eve, but also for all of mankind after him. Adam\u2019s sin brought death for all of man. In Adam we all sinned. In Adam we all fell. Adam represented mankind as our federal head. \u201cTherefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned\u201d \u2013 Romans 5:12. \u201cFor as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall be made alive.\u201d \u2013 1 Corinthians 15:21.<\/p>\n
Because of this all men are born sinful \u2013 or as we would say \u2013 born depraved \u2013 totally depraved. Man is not innocent until proven guilty. Man is not good until he sins and messes up. Man is not good until the man-made \u201cage of accountability\u201d (found nowhere in scripture). Man is born a sinner in conception. We are born with messed up hearts that don\u2019t love God, but rather, love evil. \u201cBehold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me\u201d \u2013 Psalm 51:5.<\/p>\n
We are born not only in sin, but quite deeply in sin. One thing man may never understand fully is the depths of his depravity. We don\u2019t even grasp the seriousness of our sin \u2013 let alone our depravity. What seems to us as the lightest sin is worthy of an eternity of punishment from God. That is because we do not understand the holiness of God. Our most incidental sin is an all-out attack on the holiness of God. Our sin is rebellion toward a holy and good king. When we sin we declare an all-out war on the goodness of God and His commands. Sin is the worst thing that man could possibly do \u2013 and we do it thousands of times a day. We declare war on God and rebel against His holiness thousands of times a day \u2013 and yet we think we are good people. Oh, how the angels must be watching and trembling with fear for the wrath of God that is soon to come upon man! God will absolutely establish His kingdom in righteousness and every bad attitude, wrong thought, or moment of unhappiness is us fighting against that kingdom \u2013 declaring that we are enemies of this King who will inevitably defeat us by striking down His enemies with justice. Man is so absolutely depraved that he cannot do any good on his own merit. Without some form of help from outside of himself, man will happily walk in his depravity all the way to hell. There is nothing in man that could possibly cause him to choose to obey the King that he is born an enemy of. \u201cBecause the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.\u201d \u2013 Ecclesiastes 8:11. \u201cAnd you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience \u2013 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.\u201d \u2013 Ephesians 2:1-3.<\/p>\n
But rather than God simply destroying all His enemies and establishing His Kingdom as He rightly could, He has chosen to make a way in which such depraved enemies of Him and His Kingdom could be made no longer enemies, but friends \u2013 and sons and daughters, through adoption. The holiness of God demands separation from sin and the justice of God demands punishment for sin. Jesus satisfied this holiness and justice by being forsaken by God on the cross and there also taking punishment form God on behalf of man, thus restoring the elect back into right fellowship with God.<\/p>\n
While through Adam\u2019s disobedience we all sinned and inherited death \u2013 through Christ\u2019s obedience we can be called righteous and inherit life. Adam represented us to God as sinners \u2013 and if we are in Christ, He is our representative before God as sons and daughters. As Samuel Waldron says, \u201cChrist as the last Adam did attain life, eternal and transformed, by his obedience\u2026Jesus accomplishes what the first Adam failed to accomplish. This is why the work of Christ is given cosmic significance in the Bible\u2026Furthermore, as the Last Adam, Christ reverses the consequences of Adam\u2019s failure and successfully completes the probation, thus attaining eternal life for himself and his people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor if many died through one man\u2019s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many\u2026For if, because of one man\u2019s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man\u2019s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man\u2019s obedience the many will be made righteous.\u201d \u2013 the Apostle Paul in Romans 5:12-21.<\/p>\n
This is the gospel \u2013 that Christ succeeded on behalf of man where Adam failed on behalf of man. Through Christ\u2019s success He redeems those that believe on Him for their salvation and righteousness. While man is dead in their sins, God, being gracious and kind, gives life to dead men \u2013 working a miracle that could be worked by no man \u2013 saving man from the deadness of their sin and giving them life in Christ, forever.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ \u2013 by grace you have been saved \u2013 and raises us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus\u201d \u2013 Ephesians 2:4-6.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This post\u00a0is essentially on the doctrine of the total depravity of man and the hope brought to him. The total depravity of man is not a culturally acceptable belief. Our culture wants us to believe that we are good people, with good hearts, and we can do great things. Some preachers have fell prey to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":685,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-452","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1113,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/prayer-as-communion-with-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":452,"position":0},"title":"Prayer as Communion with God","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"August 30, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cAnd when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/faith\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2385,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/come-thou-fount-pt-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":452,"position":1},"title":"Come Thou Fount Pt. 3","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"July 8, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Oh, to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be! Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee: Prone to wonder, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love; here's my heart, O take and seal it; seal it for thy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Music"","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/06\/large_come-thou-fount-of-every-blessing-usxmcczc.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/06\/large_come-thou-fount-of-every-blessing-usxmcczc.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/06\/large_come-thou-fount-of-every-blessing-usxmcczc.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/06\/large_come-thou-fount-of-every-blessing-usxmcczc.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/06\/large_come-thou-fount-of-every-blessing-usxmcczc.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/06\/large_come-thou-fount-of-every-blessing-usxmcczc.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2182,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/revive-us-again-psalm-85\/","url_meta":{"origin":452,"position":2},"title":"Revive us again – Psalm 85","author":"Joshua Mills","date":"June 22, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"What is Revival? Revival is period of restoration. The root word means to restore something back to fullness of life. Revival is a rekindling of spiritual life in individual believers and churches which have fallen into sluggish times. True revival brings a fresh emphasis on the holiness and righteousness of\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/joshuajohnmills.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/06\/cdb05-fireplace_matches.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1931,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/gospel-formed-citizenship\/","url_meta":{"origin":452,"position":3},"title":"Gospel Formed Citizenship","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"June 6, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "theology"","block_context":{"text":"theology","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/theology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/06\/img_0602.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/06\/img_0602.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/06\/img_0602.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/06\/img_0602.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/06\/img_0602.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3701,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/christian-hope-in-the-face-of-abortion-and-transgenderism\/","url_meta":{"origin":452,"position":4},"title":"Christian Hope in the Face of Abortion and Transgenderism","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"January 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"On January 22, 2019 the New York State Senate\u00a0passed new law\u00a0on abortion allowing babies to murdered up to birth. I am truly at a loss for words in describing the barbarism and evil that this is, except to say that it is Satanic idol worship to Molech. And that doesn't\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/01\/nystatesenateabortion-1200x630-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/01\/nystatesenateabortion-1200x630-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/01\/nystatesenateabortion-1200x630-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/01\/nystatesenateabortion-1200x630-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/01\/nystatesenateabortion-1200x630-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3560,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/psalm-85-revive-us-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":452,"position":5},"title":"Psalm 85: Revive Us Again","author":"Joshua Mills","date":"May 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"What is Revival? Revival is a period of restoration. The root word means to restore something back to the fullness of life. Revival is also a rekindling of spiritual life in individual Christians and local churches which have fallen on sluggish times. True revival brings a fresh emphasis on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/05\/1200px-strokkur_geyser_eruption_close-up_view.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/05\/1200px-strokkur_geyser_eruption_close-up_view.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/05\/1200px-strokkur_geyser_eruption_close-up_view.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/05\/1200px-strokkur_geyser_eruption_close-up_view.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/05\/1200px-strokkur_geyser_eruption_close-up_view.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/685"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}