“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” | Ephesians 2: 1-3
All men, by nature, since the sin and fall of our first father Adam are guilty and helpless sinners before God.
By God’s own arrangement Adam was the representative of all mankind before God, so that when Adam sinned, we all sinned in him. When Adam suffered the penalty of sin, death, we all died.
This is clearly the doctrine of Holy Scripture. “By one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5: 12)
The guilt of Adam’s sin was imputed to all men without exception. “By the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation” (Romans 5: 18)
All men were in Adam as our representative before God. All men sinned in Adam. All men were condemned in Adam. All men are born in spiritual death.
We do not become sinners when we reach a certain age and commit certain evil deads.
We were all born sinners.
Being sons and daughters of Adam, we inherited our father’s nature – sin.
We are all born with a decided bais and tendency toward evil. Every member of the human race is born with a corrupt, sinful heart, which is capable of every evil thing, were it not restrained by the hand of God in providence.
This is what the Son of God says about the natural human heart, “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matthew 15: 19) Because our hearts are evil, everything we do is marred by the pride and selfishness and evil of our hearts. We do not have the ability, the will, or the potential to do a single thing that is truly and perfectly good and righteous. “There is none righteous… There is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Romans 3: 10,12)
Because all men are spiritually dead in trespasses and in sins, all men are utterly helpless by nature. We do not have the ability to obey the law of God.
Salvation comes by believing on Christ, but dead sinners cannot believe.
The Bible doctrine of toal depravitly is just this: All men by nature are sinful, guilty, and helpless.
Unless God intervenes and does for man what man cannot do for himself, all men will perish. “Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2: 9)
~ Pastor Tom Harding
Click here to listen to the message “Christ Died For The Ungodly”
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Zebulon Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 27 October, 2006 | Previous post date: n/a | Pikeville, Kentucky