Let's face it, some truth is distasteful! I am an herbal practitioner as well as a preacher of the gospel and I know that when you take an herb like Yarrow, which has many applications and is one of my favorite herbs to work with, there is nothing you can do to make it taste good! So, when one of my kids runs a fever, for instance, I'll give them Yarrow tea. It does NOT taste good but it is good for them. Parents know that children will not take medicine if it's not made to taste good. There is medicine for the soul too but often times we don't like it and the Doctrine of Total Depravity is one of them. In the following posts I will attempt to put these doctrines in easily understood terms.
TOTAL DEPRAVITY is the first doctrine in the acrostic TULIP that Calvinists use to describe the condition of fallen man. Of course there are those who hate the idea of this doctrine because it knocks them off their self-inflating pedistal. So they tend to ignore it or campaign against it or misinterpret its meaning. When we speak of Total Depravity we mean that man, in his fallen state is "dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph.2:1) and "without Christ", "without God", and "having no hope" (Eph.2)
Total Depravity does not mean that one is as bad as one can be. It does not mean that all men are equally immoral, that is by degree, and it does not mean that virtue cannot be found. It does mean that all men are equally lost and have no way of delivering themselves from that lost condition. It has to do with the will of man.
Most people believe that all men have "free will" but that is not absolutely correct. All men have a freedom of choice within limits. I've always remembered a message from my Bible School days when the speaker said, "If I put my dog out in the yard with a collar and chain, within the length of that chain the dog has a freedom to move here and there, but there is a boundary and it's found at the end of the chain." The dog has perfect freedom within the length of that chain but he cannot get beyond it.
For mankind, he has a freedom of choice to a degree and within limits. We can make choices regarding every aspect of our lives so long as we are free men, except choices to the glory of God. Man cannot will himself to be saved; he cannot will himself to live a godly life. He cannot will himself to work in word or deed toward the glory of God. First of all, because of his fallen nature he WILL NOT come to God. Yes, he can play at religion, and yes, he can conform to laws both social and religious, but he cannot enter into a relationship with God unless God works a miracle within him! Why? Because he is "dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph.2:1) and again, "And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;" (Colossians 2:13) The good news is that many who are "dead" have been, or will be "quickened" (made alive). Dead men don't WILL! Dead men don't think, or love, or move! A dead man cannot love God; a dead man cannot obey God. We need to recognize that being spiritually dead is just as real as being physically dead and the only hope we have is if God, by His Spirit, quickens us to life! When you see invitations like "whosoever will" you have to understand that whosover won't, unless God does a work within that whosoever.
You see unsaved man has a problem, he does not have a freed will! But you say, "We make choices every day!" Yes you do but your choices are influenced more by your mind or your emotions than by your will. You will choose that which is gratifying! If given the choice between a bowl of ice cream and a bowl of worms we will look at the two and decide which appeals to us the most, and that is what we will choose! Man will not choose God on his own because the True God does not appeal to him. He may choose an imaginary god, or a god of his own design, created in his own image, but he will not choose God! Man does not want his sinfulness exposed and he does not want his ego deflated. It is not normal for him! So, if a man is going to be saved God must take the initiative and, by His Spirit, quicken the man. This is the only way for man to be lifted from his depravity.
We can get a real glimpse of man's fallen condition in these verses:
"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. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2: 1-7)
There is tons more that can be said on this issue and there are lots of resources available. Don't reject it if I have made a poor presentation as it is vital to understanding true salvation.
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