Human Depravity
By
Joel R. Beeke
(President of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary)
The Bible tells us that although fallen man is capable of doing some externally good acts, he cannot do anything truly good or pleasing in God's sight (Rom 8:8) unless he is regenerated by the Holy Spirit (John 3:1-8). From God's standpoint, which is the only true standpoint, natural man is incapable of goodness in thought, word, or deed, and thus cannot contribute anything to his salvation. He is in total rebellion against God.
We are active "sin-aholics" by nature. There is no thought, no word, no act, and no area of human life that is not affected by sin. Romans 6:16 says that we are by nature slaves of sin: "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants [or slaves] ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" Consider this literally for a moment. A slave was his master’s property. A slave had no time, property, or wealth of his own. He had no single moment of which he could say, "This moment is mine; my master has no rights over this moment." He was always his master's property; his every movement, his every talent, his every possession was entirely his master's. So, Paul says, you were by nature the slaves of sin (Rom 6:16). Sin was your master. Sin lorded itself over you. Sin
was in control. And yet, sin gave the impression all the while that you were free and in charge of your own destiny.
Total depravity thus entails moral inability. In ourselves, we are unable to do anything about our condition. We are spiritually impotent by nature, unable and unwilling to save ourselves. We cannot appreciate the Christian faith and we are powerless to work toward our conversion. "We can do nothing but sin," Calvin says, "until He" [the Holy Spirit] forms a new will within us. No matter how much the natural man is urged by the law or the gospel to believe in Christ and turn from sin, he is "not able, by his own strength to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto" (Westminster Confession,9.3). Charles Hodge puts it poignantly: "The rejection of the gospel is as clear a proof of moral depravity, as inability to see the light of the sun at noon is a proof of blindness. The natural man may want to be free of some sin and of the consequences of sin; he may even expend some effort in that direction. But he is too much a slave to it. He is not simply "going lost" or "dying," he is lost and is dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1).
Free Grace Broadcaster Issue 247 Spring 2019