In my post "Total Depravity 2," I concluded it by noting that the nature of a person’s total depravity demands that God must regenerate a sinner if he is to have any hope of eternal salvation. This is to say that without the Spirit’s work in regeneration, a person is helplessly condemned to an eternal condemnation. I also concluded my post by drawing your attention to some helpful sources on the doctrine of regeneration. However, to complete my description of regeneration, I would like to add a few additional observations.

If you have been following what I am arguing for with the doctrine of totally depravity, then no one be saved? What this means, contrary to modern expectations, is that not even a counselor can save a totally depraved sinner. With any person it is impossible for this person to save himself; however, with God all things are possible (Matt 19:25 [show]Matthew 19:25 [25]When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" (ESV)
–26). Only God can change a person’s totally depraved heart of stone into a renewed heart of flesh (Ezek 36:26). It does not matter whether one lived before or after the Cross, or even where they lived, there is only one way to overcome spiritual death, and this is by God giving a dead sinner spiritual life. By the very nature of total depravity, no one has the desire or capability to come to God. Jesus recognized the ramifications of a person’s total depravity when he said to Nicodemus in John 3:3, 5 [show]John 3:3 [3]Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again(1) he cannot see the kingdom of God." (ESV) John 3:5 [5]Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (ESV) Footnotes 1. [3:3] Or 'from above'; the Greek is purposely ambiguous and can mean both 'again' and 'from above'; also verse 7
that “unless one is born from above he cannot see the kingdom of God…. Unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Jesus again recognized the necessity of God enabling man to believe in John 6:44, 65 [show]John 6:44 [44]No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. (ESV) John 6:65 [65]And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." (ESV)
: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him…. No one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” In both passages, Jesus recognizes the absolute impossibility of man creating in his own being any type of spiritual life so that he could come to God, and he affirmed that it is only through divine enablement that anyone can come to God. Of necessity, Jesus’ remarks in both passages affirm that if anyone is to faithfully follow Him, a person will only come because the Divine Progenitor has given him spiritual life. Just as it is impossible for any person to cause his own physical birth, so it is impossible for any depraved person to bring about his own spiritual birth. The term that theologically describes this “monergistic” work of God in the soul of a radically corrupt sinner is regeneration. In both contexts, Jesus emphatically rules out any type of synergistic activity with God and man cooperatively working together to produce new life (see Hoekema, Saved by Grace, p. 101). Since total depravity has been the true state of man since the Fall, Jesus’ remarks strongly suggest that fallen humanity can only come to a saving knowledge of God through the Spirit’s life-giving work in regeneration.

Regeneration may be defined as an implanting of spiritual life in the spiritually dead. Such a definition is certainly related to the biblical description of man as being “dead in trespasses and sin.” More specifically, regeneration involves the impartation of a new disposition, a new complex of attributes, including spiritual life, in a pervasively corrupt man. In keeping with this, regeneration, according to Berkhof, “is that act of God by which the principle of the new life is implanted in man, and the governing disposition of the soul is made holy” (Systematic Theology, 2:469). If this governing disposition is correlated with the new nature (see Combs, “Does the Believer Have One Nature or Two?” pp. 82–87), regeneration can be defined as “the decisive impartation of the new nature to a spiritually dead man" (Snoeberger, “Priority of Regeneration to Saving Faith,” p. 55). While the Old Testament does not have a Hebrew term that precisely corresponds to the term regeneration, it uses other concepts that overlap with regeneration, such as having “a new heart,” “new spirit,” “heart of flesh” (Ezek 36:26), and a “circumcised heart” (Deut 30:6 [show]Deuteronomy 30:6 [6]And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. (ESV)
; Jer 9:25 [show]Jeremiah 9:25 [25]"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh-- (ESV)
; Ezek 44:7, 9). In the New Testament, the term regeneration is only used in Titus 3:5 [show]Titus 3:5 [5]he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, (ESV)
. Other parallel NT concepts include: “made alive" (Eph 2:5 [show]Ephesians 2:5 [5]even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- (ESV)
, Col 2:13 [show]Colossians 2:13 [13]And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, (ESV)
“born" (John 1:13, 1 [show]John 1:13 [13]who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (ESV) John 1:1 The Word Became Flesh [1:1]In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (ESV)
John 2:29, 3 [show]John 2:3 [3]When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." (ESV)
:9, 4:7, 5:1), “born again" [or, "born from above"] (John 3:3, 7 [show]John 3:3 [3]Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again(1) he cannot see the kingdom of God." (ESV) John 3:7 [7]Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You(2) must be born again.' (ESV) Footnotes 1. [3:3] Or 'from above'; the Greek is purposely ambiguous and can mean both 'again' and 'from above'; also verse 7 2. [3:7] The Greek for 'you' is plural here
) or “born again" (1 Pet 1:3, 23 [show]1 Peter 1:3 Born Again to a Living Hope [3]Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (ESV) 1 Peter 1:23 [23]since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; (ESV)
)(see ibid., pp. 53–54). These various terms used for regeneration reflect the initial activity of the Spirit in his life-giving ministry as he implants a new nature in the hearts of men who are spiritually dead. Therefore, regeneration is a soteriological necessity for a fallen man redemption in any era because his corruption permeated his being.

I have included the above picture, The Raising of Lazarus, by the renown 17th century Dutch painter and etcher, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, because he places Christ in a prominent place when he raised Lazarus from the dead. In this picture Christ’s role is as it should be for, when Christ raised Lazarus from the dead, Lazarus was a passive recipient in his state of death and Christ was the active agent in creating life in this dead man. Christ’s raising Lazarus from the dead illustrates the point that I am making about regeneration. When the Gospel is preached, the Spirit imparts a new nature to an elect sinner so that the sinner repents of his sin and trusts the finished work of Christ. This is to say, a person does not repent and believe to be born again; rather he repents and believes because he has been born again. Thank God for his monergistic work of regeneration.

The above picture of my three granddaughters was taken in January 2005 (the oldest is Briana, the next in age is Maryn, and the youngest Peyton). From a grandfather’s perspective, I think my granddaughters are adorable and innocent-looking. The picture below of our family, taken in 1981 when I was at Grace Theological Seminary, has two of my granddaughters’ parents (Amy is the oldest [Briana’s mother], Bob is the middle child [Maryn’s & Peyton’s dad], and Joshua the youngest). As you look at three generations of our family, you can see that our family has certain physical similarities. While our family members share a few physical features, each one shares a more disadvantageous bond. This bond that our family members share is that each one was born with a humanly incurable and fatal corruption: total depravity.

With my two previous posts about “Total Depravity,” I defined total depravity as teaching that every person since the Fall who is conceived through procreation has an inborn moral and spiritual corruption that permeates his entire being. In my post “Total Depravity,” on 12/16/07, I defined what I mean by total depravity. Genesis 6:5 [show]Genesis 6:5 [5]The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (ESV)
summarizes my point: “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.” To clarify my point about how pervasive this corruption extends in a person’s makeup, let me provide further details about the Bible’s teaching on this subject.Man’s mind is presented in Romans 8:7-8 [show]Romans 8:7-8 [7]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. [8]Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (ESV)
as being hostile to God: “The mind set on the flesh [sinful nature] is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh [sinful nature] cannot please God.” Paul further describes man’s mind as “being darkened” in “understanding,” “excluded from the life of God,” having a “hardness” of heart and being callous; and this results in man giving himself “over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness” (Eph 4:17-19 [show]Ephesians 4:17-19 The New Life [17]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. [18]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. [19]They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. (ESV)
). Further, Paul describes the man outside of Christ as having a defiled mind and conscience: “To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled” (Tit 1:5 [show]Titus 1:5 Qualifications for Elders [5]This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you-- (ESV)
). Paul personally testified about the extent of his depravity with this: “I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh [sinful nature]” (Rom 7:18 [show]Romans 7:18 [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. (ESV)
). In light of these passages, the explicit teaching of Scripture about depravity is that it continuously pervades man’s mind, emotions and desires, will, and conscience. In these passages, the term heart is used to reflect various internal processes, such as thinking, desiring, resolving. In these passages, man’s heart, as well as his other inner faculties are described as being “evil,” “deceitful,” “sick,” “hardened,” “excluded from the life of God,” “callous,” “darkened,” “defiled,” and even as “hostile to God.” The various writers of Scripture describe depravity in the most hideous terms. In the final analysis, the focus of all these passages is that total depravity pervades man’s inner being and that this life-long condition is described as being hostilely antithetical to God. In short, depravity is total because it pervades man, extending to the very core of his being.While the writers of Scripture present man’s total depravity with horrendous expressions, there is one item that Paul includes in Romans 8:8 [show]Romans 8:8 [8]Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (ESV)
that is crucially decisive in picturing man in the bleakest condition: “Those who are in the flesh [sinful nature] cannot please God.” To be “in the flesh” is to be controlled by sinful nature, as the NIV renders it: “Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.” In other words, there is nothing within man’s internal framework that makes him capable of pleasing God. In light of Paul’s assertion, the biblical picture of total depravity must be further qualified as including the concept of man’s total inability. Total inability means that man is incapable of changing his sinful character or acting in a way that is inconsistent with his pervasive depravity. As Jeremiah said in 13:23: “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil” (NIV). Total inability argues that man never desires to please God and that he is incapable of pleasing God. In Ephesians 2:1 [show]Ephesians 2:1 By Grace Through Faith [2:1]And you were dead in the trespasses and sins (ESV)
, Paul described fallen humanity as being “dead in trespasses and sin.” Paul further describes total depravity as a condition of slavery in Titus 3:3 [show]Titus 3:3 [3]For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. (ESV)
: “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.” Sinful man is so enslaved to sin he has no internal capability to turn his life over to God. In short, total depravity means that man is “dead in trespasses and sin,” “enslaved” to his sinful character, and unable to “please God.”If total depravity means that all people are dead in trespasses and sin and if this death renders them entirely unable and unwilling from the very core of their being to positively respond to God, then fallen man is left with a pervasive internal problem that he cannot correct in any conceivable way. In this theological scenario, the inescapable conclusion is that only through the Spirit’s life-giving work in fallen man is he enabled to come to God. Because man’s total depravity is antagonistically antithetical to God’s nature, the doctrine of total depravity helps define what the Spirit must renew in his life-giving ministry: the core of one’s being, one’s direction and outlook in life.As such, the nature of man’s depravity demands that God must do something to change the depraved sinner’s nature if a person is to have any hope of redemption. Without the Spirit’s work in regeneration, a person is helplessly condemned to an eternal condemnation. The hope that sinners have is in the new birth, regeneration. Jesus describes to Nicodemus in John 3:3 [show]John 3:3 [3]Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again(1) he cannot see the kingdom of God." (ESV) Footnotes 1. [3:3] Or 'from above'; the Greek is purposely ambiguous and can mean both 'again' and 'from above'; also verse 7
the significance of the new birth: “Unless one is born again [or more preferably, "born from above"] he cannot psee the kingdom of God” (for a discussion of John 3:5 [show]John 3:5 [5]Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (ESV)
, see my article “The Meaning of ‘Born of Water and the Spirit’ in John 3:5“). He further states in John 3:6-8 [show]John 3:6-8 [6]That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.(1) [7]Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You(2) must be born again.' [8]The wind(3) blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (ESV) Footnotes 1. [3:6] The same Greek word means both 'wind' and 'spirit' 2. [3:7] The Greek for 'you' is plural here 3. [3:8] The same Greek word means both 'wind' and 'spirit'
: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” These verses in John 3 [show]John 3 You Must Be Born Again [3:1]Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. [2]This man came to Jesus(1) by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." [3]Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again(2) he cannot see the kingdom of God." [4]Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" [5]Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. [6]That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.(3) [7]Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You(4) must be born again.' [8]The wind(5) blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." [9]Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" [10]Jesus answered him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? [11]Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you(6) do not receive our testimony. [12]If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? [13]No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.(7) [14]And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, [15]that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.(8) For God So Loved the World [16]"For God so loved the world,(9) that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17]For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. [18]Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. [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. [20]For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. [21]But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God." John the Baptist Exalts Christ [22]After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. [23]John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized [24](for John had not yet been put in prison). [25]Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over purification. [26]And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness--look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him." [27]John answered, "A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. [28]You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.' [29]The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. [30]He must increase, but I must decrease."(10) [31]He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. [32]He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. [33]Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. [34]For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. [35]The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. [36]Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (ESV) Footnotes 1. [3:2] Greek 'him' 2. [3:3] Or 'from above'; the Greek is purposely ambiguous and can mean both 'again' and 'from above'; also verse 7 3. [3:6] The same Greek word means both 'wind' and 'spirit' 4. [3:7] The Greek for 'you' is plural here 5. [3:8] The same Greek word means both 'wind' and 'spirit' 6. [3:11] The Greek for 'you' is plural here; also four times in verse 12 7. [3:13] Some manuscripts add 'who is in heaven' 8. [3:15] Some interpreters hold that the quotation ends at verse 15 9. [3:16] Or 'For this is how God loved the world' 10. [3:30] Some interpreters hold that the quotation continues through verse 36
describe the Spirit’s monergistic work in regeneration. Theologically speaking, regeneration is the impartation of spiritual life, the new nature, to a totally depraved sinner with the inevitable result that the quickened sinner repents of his sin and trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ (for a solid exegetical and theological defense of this view of regeneration, see Mark Snoeberger’s article “The Logical Priority of Regeneration and to Saving Faith in a Theological Ordo Salutis“; for other helpful sources, see J. I. Packer’s “Regeneration: The Christian Is Born Again, Robert Reymond’s chapter “Regeneration,” and R. C. Sproul’s ““Regeneration Precedes Faith.” For helpful sermonic material on regeneration preceding faith, you should listen to the following sermons by John Piper: “You Must Be Born Again: Why This Series and Where Are We Going?,” “What Happens in the New Birth?” “What Happens in the New Birth? Part 2″,” “Why Do We Need to Be Born Again? Part 1,” “Why Do We Need to Be Born Again? Part 2.” May God give us eyes to see and ears to hear.

The innocent looking baby in the above picture is my granddaughter Maryn, taken about 4 years ago when she was 11 months old. Because she looks so innocent with her big blue eyes, some might think that she was not totally depraved at birth. In contrast to this type of understanding, the Bible provides abundant evidence that every person in the fallen line of Adam is totally depraved. On December 9th, I posted a brief note entitled “Total Depravity Includes Inability.” Though my post mentions that human inability is only one aspect of our sinfulness, I gave an incomplete presentation of total depravity. In order to clarify my understanding of total depravity, I plan to post two more concise articles that outline the biblical material about fallen humanity’s corrupt state (for more biblical support, see "Total Depravity (Inability) Verse List)".

According to this doctrine, every person since the Fall who is conceived through the normal procreation process is so pervasively polluted with his internal corruption “that every aspect of his being and personality is affected by it” (Storms, Chosen for Life, p. 4). Man’s incurable condition began with Adam and Eve in the pristine glory of the Garden of Eden. When Adam ate from the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve were eternally condemned and were internally changed into a state of total depravity, including the loss of their original state of unconfirmed creature holiness. In keeping with the Pauline analogy in Romans 5:12 [show]Romans 5:12 Death in Adam, Life in Christ [12]Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned-- (ESV)
–21, comparing the representative roles of Adam and Christ (1 Cor 15:21 [show]1 Corinthians 15:21 [21]For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. (ESV)
–22), God imputed to those whom Adam represented, the human race, both Adam’s guilt and his corruption (for a definitive defense of the immediate imputation view, see Murray’s The Imputation of Adam’s Sin and Reymond’s Systematic Theology, pp. 434–39). According to v. 12, sin entered the world through Adam: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.” The “all” who “sinned” were connected with Adam as their representative when he initiated sin into the world through his act of disobedience and this connection resulted in death for all men (S. Lewis Johnson, Jr., “Romans 5:12 [show]Romans 5:12 Death in Adam, Life in Christ [12]Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned-- (ESV)
—an Exercise in Exegesis and Theology,” in New Dimensions in New Testament Study, pp. 312–14). The comparative conjunction, “just as,” that introduces verse 12 indicates that this verse is a protasis; however, its apodosis is not found until vv. 18–19, with vv. 13–17 functioning as a theological parenthesis (for a discussion of the grammatical construction found in these verses, see Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, pp. 318–29 and Schreiner, Romans, pp. 271–72). The apodosis in vv. 18–19 summarizes Paul’s argument in this section and stresses that the imputation of Adam’s guilt resulted in eternal condemnation, in an analogous way to Christ’s triumphant act of righteousness being imputed to us: “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.” The expression “made sinners,” like “made righteous,” reflects a forensic aspect of Adam’s transgression. This act of disobedience also had the result of making his posterity totally depraved.

The word depravity refers to moral and spiritual corruption, the disposition towards evil and against good. All the descendants of Adam through normal procreation inherit a totally depraved nature at conception and are alienated from God. David stated it like this in Psalm 51:5 [show]Psalm 51:5 [5]Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
: “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." Romans 5:12 [show]Romans 5:12 Death in Adam, Life in Christ [12]Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned-- (ESV)
–21 provides a theological basis for Paul’s discussion of hamartiology in Romans 1:18 [show]Romans 1:18 God's Wrath on Unrighteousness [18]For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. (ESV)
–3:23. Because of humanity’s connection with Adam, sin has been transmitted to all people. And the sin transmitted from Adam is so pervasive in man’s being that he has no desire to seek after God. Paul makes this very point in Romans 3:10 [show]Romans 3:10 [10]as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one;
–12: “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.’” He further describes, in vv. 13–18, how sin permeates a person’s being: body and spirit. Man’s problem is systemic: “by nature children of wrath” (Eph 2:3 [show]Ephesians 2:3 [3]among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body(1) and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (ESV) Footnotes 1. [2:3] Greek 'flesh'
). Man’s nature is so hopelessly corrupt that Paul describes it as being “dead” in “trespasses and sin” (2:1). As such, man’s inner being by nature is enslaved to his pervasive corruption and this corruption goes back to his conception and birth.

The adjective total is used to qualify depravity in order to communicate that this corruption pervades the whole of a person’s being, extending to the core of his being. Depravity pervades man’s mind, emotions and desires, heart, will, and conscience. In Scripture, the evil intentions of man’s heart are pictured in Genesis 6:5 [show]Genesis 6:5 [5]The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (ESV)
as continuously evil: “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.” The perversity of man’s heart extends back to his youth, according to Genesis 8:21 [show]Genesis 8:21 [21]And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, "I will never again curse(1) the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. (ESV) Footnotes 1. [8:21] Or 'dishonor'
: “The LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, ‘I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth.’” The author of Ecclesiastes affirmed in 9:3 that the hearts of men are “full of evil and insanity…throughout their lives.” According to Jeremiah 17:9 [show]Jeremiah 17:9 [9]The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
, man’s heart is “more deceitful than all else, and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” The answer to Jeremiah’s question is that no man can understand the depth of man’s depravity. In Mark 7:21 [show]Mark 7:21 [21]For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, (ESV)
–23 Jesus described man’s radical corruption as the source that produces all types of evil activities: “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” This post provides some basic information about depravity. However, Scripture has more to say about this subject. But this is for a subsequent post.

The doctrine of total depravity teaches that every person since the Fall is conceived with an inborn moral and spiritual corruption that permeates his entire being. According to this doctrine, a person is so pervasively polluted with his internal corruption “that every aspect of his being and personality is affected by it” (Storms, Chosen for Life, p. 4). In order to show how radically corrupt a person is, I think we should include the term inability. Man is totally unable to please God. Paul stated it like this in Romans 8:6-8 [show]Romans 8:6-8 [6]For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. [7]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. [8]Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (ESV)
: “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.” We should note that Paul says our unregnerate minds are so hostile to God that we are unable to please God. Only the monergistic work of the Spirit in regeneration can enable anyone to embrace the Gospel in repentance and faith. Understanding man’s total inability clarifies aspects of total depravity. Along this line, take a moment to read Charles Spurgeon’s concise and helpful insight on Human Inability.

“One of the most conspicuous obsessions in our culture is the quest for physical beauty. Concern about what we look like pervades our social relationships and seduces us all, men and women both, to some degree or other. The typical impact of culture is like the effects of air pollution: what you inhale tends to slowly and steadily alter you. Our culture besieges us with voices that comment on what we look like, what we ought to look like, and the blessings and curses that presumably attend success or failure. Our mass media culture silently beguiles us with images of the same,” as David Powlison begins his insightful article.

One of the great seductive forces of American culture is that “image is everything.” Regretfully, American Christians are often influenced by the values of the world rather than doctrinal purity and the fruit of the Spirit. Powlison’s article is a must read for all of us who are evenly subtly influenced by our culture’s obsession with physical beauty. Go to “Your Looks: What the Voices Say and the Images Portray.”