July 23, 2008

Total Depravación, part 2

That title translates into "Total Depravity" from the Spanish tongue. It means totally corrupt, depraved, wicked, sinful, rebellious, ungodly... totally unworthy of grace. (Note: the following verses are really found in the Bible. I am pretty sure you will not find many of them like this in the Quran, the book of Mormon, or any other religious book that claims to be from God, except the only true book - the Bible. They are a powerful reminder of exactly why we need Jesus Christ as our Savior, and why it is by grace we are saved and not by our own efforts).

Here are more of the verses on my Depravity Verse list:
Again:
Man says, "Man is good."
God says, "Man is evil."
Who is telling the truth?


John 3:19 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.

John 7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.

Romans 3:10-12 as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."

Romans 5:6-10 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person - though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die - but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

Romans 5:18-19 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's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

Romans 7:18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

Romans 8:7-8 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. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

1Corinthians 2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

Ephesians 2:1-3
And 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—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.

Ephesians 2:12
Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

Ephesians 2:17-19
Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

The doctrine of Total Depravity is seen most horrifically during the events of the crucifixion of our Lord. When He was betrayed. When His disciples were asleep. When He was arrested. When they bound Him, mocked Him, spit in His face, beat Him, judged Him, condemned Him. When the Sanhedrin questioned Him, and when He had answered they accused their own promised Messiah of blaspheming (truly they were evil to the core). They had Him delivered to Pilate, then to Herod and back to Pilate again. Even though they found no fault in Him, yet they could not stand to be near the light, so they condemned Him anyway. They hated Him without a cause, and so fulfilled the Scripture which was written about them. The guards did not regard His clothing as holy, but treated Him mockingly. Even the dying thieves next to Jesus were so depraved that they "cast the same in his teeth." Judas Iscariot is also an example of this awful condition. After he betrayed the Master whom he had followed for so long, he then sought to clear himself. But after being rejected any help by the priests, he went out and hung himself. A man who had walked and talked with Jesus Christ for so long, seeing His miracles and hearing His wisdom every day and night. Nevertheless, Judas ended his own life in utter darkness. How sad. How terrible it is to reject God. And oh how this is the condition our country is in, our world, even ourselves unless we repent. And we need the Sovereign grace of God to turn us from darkness unto light, so that we may receive eternal forgiveness of our sins and an eternal inheritance with those who are sanctified through faith in Jesus Christ. His atrocious death was our payment. His resurrected life is our security. He is our only hope. Thank God for Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior!

"Let us test and examine our ways,
and return to the LORD!
Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:
"We have transgressed and rebelled,
and you have not forgiven." (Lamentations 3:40-42 ESV).

"Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may be restored!" (Lamentations 5:21).

9 comments:

Kade said...

Great post! I had to read the first one before I read this one. I love it!

-Kole

Anonymous said...

Hey Kole,
I'm glad you read both of these posts - Thank you. I realize that longer posts are sometimes read less than shorter ones, so I appreciate you taking the time.

blazingpretzel said...

Penn, your comment on Eric Novak's blog about "obsession with church membership" got me really curious. What exactly are you talking about?

Regarding your post, I find it odd that you ask whether God or man is telling the truth, and then you claim that God is telling the truth by quoting God. I too, believe that God's Word is true. That's very poor argumentation. But I do understand your point. I just don't think that this was worded the best way.

Anonymous said...

Hi Josh,
Thanks for leaving a comment. You asked about my comment on Eric Novak's blog when I mentioned "obsession with church membership". Well, I think I am talking about what seems to be a real obsession with church membership in some circles. I'm sorry if you don't know what I mean. Any way, I said more than that. You are welcome to ask me if you still don't understand. After all, if I say more about it, and you are a sincere brother in Christ, and what I say on this subject offends you, I may not help you in answering your question in that case. So I will leave it there for now.

I'm a little curious about your second comment about how I worded the phrase, "Man says: 'Man is good.' God says: Man is Evil.' Who is telling the truth?" I'm interesting in getting a suggestion on how it could be reworded? I really do like to be clear and helpful to those who read my posts, so anything you have to offer is helpful. Thanks.

Okay, and lastly... are you totally depraved? I know I am... that's why my only hope is in Christ Jesus my Lord and Savior and my all in all. I have a little post called, "The Poor Huckster." Have you read that one yet?
Thanks again for your comments and questions.

Angela said...

Penn,
I am tagging you to post six random things about yourself. Go to my page to see the rules. I will be praying for your teen study. I bought my friend a wedding gift today: a really pretty Bible and a book on God-centered marriage. Thanks again for your prayers.
Angela

Moon said...

Hey Penn!
you know i had been thinking about this same thing a couple of weeks back, but from a different perspective. The one in which people think that we are innately good..I cringe when I hear that because first of all I'm reminded of how i'm personally not innately good because of sin in my life and because of who I was before I was born again, then I immediately think of all the horrible news one hears and/or reads everyday, people killing other people, children being murdered inside and outside the womb, and as you point in your post what was done to Jesus Christ, how can one honestly look at what happens everyday in the world and believe that humans are innately good.

Penn Tomassetti said...

Angela: Thanks so much for the prayers. I think that is great that you bought a Bible and a "God-centered" book on marriage for your friend. Those are valuable gifts, especially the Bible (which is invaluable!). Thanks also for tagging me. I'm not sure if I'll have time to keep the requirements... We'll see.

Rita: Thanks so much for your comments. I really appreciate it when people let me know what they got out of my posts. Thank you. It is very often easy for people to admit that "Well, nobody is perfect." But how hard it is to admit we are totally corrupted by sin? Thank God for His Holy Spirit who convicts the world of sin. We need it, and we need the solution which is Jesus Christ my precious, precious, precious Lord!

Moon said...

Its amazing we were talking about this today at youth group.
Our Pastor came in substitution for our Youth Leader who along with his wife are having their second baby this Monday...and he was talking about John Piper's article, How to Drink Orange Juice to the Glory of God, John Piper writes:
"So I draw this somber conclusion: It is sin to eat or drink or do anything NOT for the glory of God. In other words, sin is not just a list of harmful things (killing, stealing, etc.). Sin is leaving God out of account in the ordinary affairs of your life. Sin is anything you do that you don't do for the glory of God."
and I was thinking wow thats why even the good deeds unbelievers do is also tainted by sin and its not just that they're not good enough compared to God's goodness and Holiness, it's that they're tainted by sin because they don't do it for God's glory...

Penn Tomassetti said...

Rita: thanks for that comment about how our sin does relate to God's glory. I have benefited so much from John Piper. Right now, I'm writing my second Bible study on Genesis chapter 1 (which I publish on my other blog), and it touches on our relationship to God's glory at the end when He created man. Right now, I'm having a hard time keeping it short enough to fit into less than an hour. I don't know how anyone can study the Bible without getting volumes of amazing things out of each and every verse. That is what I am experiencing right now.