If we aim to fully comprehend the weight of salvation it is essential that we first get a thorough understanding of the  doctrine of “total depravity” or the inherent sinfulness of man.

According to the Bible, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). This is a broad statement that encompasses all of humanity. God doesn’t distinguish between good and bad people; there are only sinners utterly lost in their fallen condition.

In today’s culture there is a general assumption that people are inherently good. However, if we lift our eyes to the ultimate standard of goodness, namely God’s holy character, we will have no doubt that what appears to be ‘good’ on a mere earthly level is morally corrupt.

R. C. Sproul explained the doctrine of ‘Total Depravity’ in his book “The Essential Truths of the Christian Faith”, stating;

“The Bible teaches the total depravity of the human race. Total depravity means radical corruption. We must be careful to note the difference between total depravity and utter depravity. To be utterly depraved is to be as wicked as one could possibly be. Hitler was extremely depraved, but he could have been worse than he was. I am a sinner. Yet I could sin more often and more severely than I actually do. I am not utterly depraved, but I am totally depraved. For total depravity means that I and everyone else are depraved or corrupt in the totality of our being. There is no part of us that is left untouched by sin. Our minds, our wills, and our bodies are affected by evil. We speak sinful words, do sinful deeds, have impure thoughts. Our very bodies suffer from the ravages of sin.”

We are all afflicted by sin, which is rooted deep within us, permeating our hearts, minds, and wills.

The Bible tells us that something radically changed the essential nature of humanity after the fall. Adam, as the first federal head of humanity, acted as our representative, and his disobedience implicated us all. This sin committed by Adam is also called the original sin (‘original’ being the first committed sin by mankind).

As a result, humanity has been born dead in sin and trespasses (Romans 8:7). Our minds have been taken over by our flesh, which is hostile to God; we have been enslaved to sin.

It is not that we are sinners because we sin; rather, we sin because we are sinners and have a natural disposition towords wickedness.

In this depraved state, people cannot love God wholeheartedly with their heart, mind and strength. As a result, humans have a tendency to serve their own will and desires and reject God’s rulership.

This is why the scriptures state the following:

Romans 3:10-12 (NKJV)

As it is written:

“There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”

Because of our fallen condition, the Scripture concludes: we are dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1); we are sold under sin (Rom. 7:14); we are captives to the law of sin (Rom. 7:23); and we are by nature children of wrath (Eph. 2:3).

It isn’t that every human being is as sinful as they could be. Instead, every human being is ‘sinful’ to the point that they are incapable of altering their spiritual condition.

Our only resolve and redemption is the power of the Holy Spirit which can bring us out of this state of spiritual death. Unless God opens a person’s heart to respond to the truth, no unbeliever will listen to it and neither can respond to it.

John MacArthur, in one of his question and answer sessions, summarizes total depravity;

“Total depravity means you can’t do anything to save yourself. You can’t even make a right choice. You can’t awaken your spiritual deadness. You can’t give life where there is death. You can’t come to a right conclusion on your own. Total depravity means that everyone is, by virtue of their own will and their own power and their own choices, incapable of redemption. That’s total depravity.”

In John 6:44, Jesus explained that the Father must first draw people to Himself in order for them to receive salvation.

John 6:44 (NKJV)

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Another illustration of man’s depravity can be found in the account of Lazarus in the tomb. There was nothing that could have been done to bring him (Lazarus) back from the dead, just as we were dead in our trespasses and sins (in our unredeemed state).

While we still have freedom in the sense of “choosing”, what we “want to choose” has been enslaved by sin.

The doctrine of total depravity is unfolded throughout the scriptures as follows;

1. All people are without exception / excuse (Rom. 3:10), guilty sinners (Rom. 5:8) before a holy God, who is a righteous judge (Ps. 7:11; 2 Tim 4:8) and who will justly condemn unbelievers to eternal punishment in hell (Rev. 20:11-15) for violating His holy law (Gal. 3:10).
2. All people are dead in their trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1); and are unable to accept or understand spiritual truth (1 Cor. 2:14) because the god of this world has blinded their (unbelievers) minds so that they would not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4; Eph 4:18).
3. Unbelievers are separate from Christ having no hope and without God in the world (Eph. 2:12).
4. Unbelievers are foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending their lives in malice, and envy, and hating one another (Titus 3:3).
5. Unbelievers are in constant pursuit of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries (1 Peter 4:3).
6. Therefore, we can conclude that all people (in their depraved state) are inherently:

• Dead in their sin (Eph. 2:1; Col. 2:13)
• Spiritually blind (2 Cor. 4:4)
• Enemies of God (Rom. 5:10; James 4:4);
• Alienated from God and engaged in evil deeds (Eph 2:19; Col 1:21; Ps 58:3);
• Trapped in Satan’s kingdom (Col. 1:13).
• Powerless to change their sinful natures (Jer. 13:23; Rom. 5:6)
• Slaves to unrighteousness (John 8:34; Rom. 6:6, 17, 20)
• Disobedient towards God (Eph. 2:2; Col. 3:6; Titus 3:3; cf. Job 21:15);
• Ignorant of God (Ps. 10:4; 14:1; 53:1; 2 Thess. 1:8; cf. Job 8:13);
• Hostile towards God (Rom. 5:10Rom. 8:7; Col. 1:21);
• Unloving towards God (2 Tim. 3:4);
• Haters of God (Ps. 81:15; Rom. 1:30);
• Rebellious towards God (Ps. 5:10; 1 Tim. 1:9);
• Subjected to the wrath of God (John 3:36; Rom. 1:18; Eph. 5:6).
• Unable to please God (Rom. 8:8);
• Incapable of understanding spiritual truth (1 Cor. 2:14);
• On the path towards destruction (Matt. 7:13; Phil. 3:19)
• They hate the light of spiritual truth (John 3:20) and therefore are blinded to it (Matt. 15:14).
• As children of Satan (Matt. 13:38; John 8:44; 1 John 3:10), they live under his control (Eph. 2:2), being members of his kingdom (Matt. 12:26; Col. 1:13) and “by nature children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3).
• Thus, they are slaves to sin (John 8:34; Rom. 6:17, 20) and corruption (2 Peter 2:19), “vessels of wrath prepared for destruction” (Rom. 9:22).

In the light of all of this, rituals, ceremonies, charitable works, self-motivation and self-reformation or change in lifestyle cannot solve the problem of spiritual death (Eph. 2:8–9; 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 3:5).

Salvation isn’t possible unless God Himself provides it (Gen. 49:18; 1 Sam. 2:1; Ps. 3:8; 21:1; 35:9; 37:39; 98:2; 149:4; Isa. 43:11; 45:21–22; Jonah 2:9; Acts 4:12; Rev. 19:1).

And the Bible explicitly teaches that salvation is wholly based on God’s grace and not by human works (Acts 15:11; Rom. 3:20–30; 4:5; 5:1; 6:23; Gal. 2:16; 3:8–14, 24; Eph. 1:7; 2:5, 8–9; Phil. 3:9; Titus 3:5; Rev. 1:5).

Therefore, to free us from our spiritual death we need a radical transformation (2 Cor. 5:17) that can only be wrought about by the Holy Spirit of God.