The Total Depravity of Man

Total depravity is a term that refers to mankind’s corrupt nature being perverse and sinful throughout. 

The adjective, “total” does not mean that each sinner is as totally or completely corrupt in his actions and thoughts as it is possible for him to be (thus you may have very nice unsaved neighbors). Instead, the word “total” is used to indicate that the whole of man’s being has been affected by sin. The corruption extends to every part of man, his body and soul; sin has affected all (the totality) of man’s faculties- his mind, his will etc. As a result of this inborn corruption the natural man is totally unable to do anything spiritually good; thus, Calvinists speak of man’s “total inability.” 

The inability intended by this terminology is spiritual inability; it simply means that the sinner is so spiritualty bankrupt that he can do nothing pertaining to his salvation. It is quite evident that many unsaved people (as your neighbors), when judged by man’s standards do have admirable qualities and do perform virtuous acts. However, in the spiritual realm, when judged by God’s standards, the unsaved sinner is incapable of doing good. The natural man is enslaved to sin; he is a child of Satan rebellious towards God, blind to truth, corrupt and unable to save himself or to prepare himself for salvation. In short, the unregenerate man is dead to sin, and his will is enslaved to his evil nature. 

It is important to point out that man did not come from the hands of his creator in this condition. God made Adam upright, there was no evil whatsoever in his nature. Originally Adam’s will was free from the dominion of sin; he was under no natural compulsion to choose evil, but through his fall he brought spiritual death upon himself and upon all who would be born after him. Therefore, he plunged himself and the entire race into spiritual ruin and lost for himself and his descendants the ability to make right choices in the spiritual realm. 

The question may arise in your mind, “But if we have a total inability to do any spiritual good in God’s sight, then do we still have any freedom of choice?” 

Certainly, those who are outside of Christ do still make voluntary choices that is, Adams descendants are still free to choose- every man makes choices throughout life- but inasmuch as Adams offspring are born with sinful natures, they do not have the ability to choose spiritual good over evil. Because of this, mans will is no longer free as Adams will was free before the fall. Instead, man’s will, as a result of inherited depravity, is in bondage to his sinful nature. As a result of the Fall, men are blind and deaf to spiritual truth. Their minds are darkened by sin; their hearts are corrupt and evil. Genesis 6:5 tells us, “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.” 

And then in Genesis 8:21 it states, “The intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth.” We can also look at Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?”

This doctrine is not only found in the Old Testament. If we look to the New Testament we can see in Mark 7:21-23, “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 of these things proceed from within and defile the man.” Or in Roman 8:7-8, “Because the mind set on the flesh 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 cannot please God.” 

The bottom line is that before sinners are born into God’s kingdom through the regeneration power of the Spirit, they are children of the devil and under his control; they are slaves to sin. They are unable to change this. Men left in their dead state (Ephesians 2:1) are unable of themselves to repent, to believe the gospel or to come to Christ. They have no power within themselves to change their nature or to prepare themselves for salvation, they are “totally depraved.”