PART ONE:
DOCTRINE OF TOTAL INABILITY
The Doctrine of Total Inability is commonly also known as the doctrine of total depravity or the doctrine of radical corruption. Now this doctrine is very important for us all in the church to consider and know the main thing behind our Salvation. It’s very true that there are few people that will ever appreciate what one may have done for them until they come to a better understanding of who they were before they actually got to where they are.
As far as this doctrine is concerned, we are going to be dealing with the nature and the extent of sin. We all humans we are totally and radically sinful or depraved. The reality being that because of our state we cannot move an inch towards God on our own unless God initiates something in us. One may wonder and say “wait a minute Kenneth where are you drawing your conclusions from?”
The Bible is so clear on this subject and a simple consideration of Genesis 6:5 there’s a lot of Truth for us to cover;
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5).
The Bible says that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, I will never again curse the ground because of man for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. (Genesis 8:21). The key point is “for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth.”
A heart that devises wicked plans; feet that makes haste to run to evil. (Proverbs 6:18).
This is the condition of our hearts; it devises wicked plans so the feet can make haste to run to evil. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun that the same event happens to all.
Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. (Ecclesiastes 9:3)
Therefore when we talk about total inability or radical corruption or total depravity this is what we mean; that the heart of man is full of evil and that we are inclined to evil things. Now I know that this messes with most people’s theology that says; “tell me what I want to hear, give me the “feel-nice message”, the theology that says “you are a wonderful person, you are qualified, champion, beautiful, and prosperous, you are nice and lovely, you are a very good person.”
These are examples of all sorts of things that you may have heard from unhealthy and unfit men, men who are unqualified to stand behind the pulpit and teach, hence having weak pulpits since they care a lot more about navigating people’s emotions and carefully avoiding to offend the sinner in his or her sins.
So what you are reading is not mainstream. The mainstream message does not show man’s need for a Saviour. Man is wretched, helpless and a sinful rebel that deserves to be crushed under the weight of God’s holy wrath. The mainstream elevates man and diminishes God, it always hypes man up and God is made a servant to man.
The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9).
That’s the heart of a man which also happens to be the core of our being; the Bible says the heart is deceitful above all things. So now when you hear a person say; “that you are a good person, you are wonderful, you are a nice person, how about how the scriptures define us?” That the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick, who can understand it? And because of this state, is why Jesus said “oudeisdunamai” meaning that no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him. (John 6:44)
It is utterly impossible for man of his own will to come to Christ because the heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately sick who can understand it? It has no desire for God and the things of God.
Paul quoting Psalms 14: 1-3 and Psalms 53: 1-3 by the spirit of God who superintended everything that the apostles wrote Paul said;
What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, both Jews and Greeks are under sin, as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; No one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. (Romans 3:9-12)
Carefully consider those words, the Apostle is not saying something new, the Apostle is actually saying the same old truth, that was given way back in the Old Testament from Psalms 14:1-3 from Psalms 53:1- 3 saying;
As it is written none is righteous, no not one. No one understands, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside, together they have become worthless. No one does good, not even one. (Romans 3:10-12)
Now let me make an emphasis of what I’m basically saying before we can move any further; when we talk of total depravity, I know it might be somehow misleading in the sense that one may take it to mean that people are as bad as they can possibly be. That’s not my point because we can all agree that there are different situations of our lives where we see restrainment with civil laws as in people being civic, people participating in social activities and some being religious. But by total depravity that phrase is meant to convey the idea that sin has affected the whole person down to the very core or root of his or her being.
And so the doctrine of total depravity declares that men are dead in sin. But like we have already established, total inability does not mean all men are equally bad or that man is as bad as he could be, neither that anyone is entirely destitute of virtue. But it has to be understood that the doctrine of total inability makes it clear that since the fall of Man in Genesis 3, all unregenerate people are bent towards sin. I want to make an emphasis to that; all unregenerate people are bent towards sin and that there is nothing anyone belonging to Adam’s race can do that could ever please God or contribute to their salvation.
Paul speaking of us that are now believers not forgetting his immediate audience who were the Ephesians he says;
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins [this still remains true for all those who are not in Christ, they are still dead in their trespasses and sins.] in which you walked, [to they that are not yet regenerated they are still slaves of the Trinity of enemies like Spurgeon used to call it which is the world, the flesh and the devil. That is who we also used to be and that is what like I have already said many people are still actually being defined by.] following the course of the world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now at work in the sons of disobedience-among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Ephesians 2:1-3)
Paul is basically taking the Ephesians back to Genesis 3 when man disobeyed God and he fell into a state from which we are all unable to deliver ourselves and in which we might all have been left to perish and justly so .
That’s the condition of man and it came about because of the disobedience of Adam who happened to be our federal headship, his actions were applied to us because he was our representative. Therefore, just as Sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned (Romans 5:12)
The reality is; because of the sin of Adam we all fell into a state in which we are unable to deliver ourselves. It is a state in which we might all have been left to perish because we know that the wages of sin is death as far as Romans 6:23 and that would have been justly so.
You need to get this right if, you don’t get this right is why you’ll find yourself loving the messages that actually hypes man, the messages that diminish God and elevates you.
What is man, that he can be pure? Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous? (Job 15:14). You want to know who man is, go to the scriptures as far as scriptures are concerned man is not pure, he is naturally a sinner.
How then can man be in the right before God? How can he who is born of woman be pure? (Job 25:4)What has been made very common today is that man has been elevated before God and that also speaks to the great fact that most contemporary pastors and Christians need of course to be reintroduced to the sound biblical Gospel that saves the worst of sinners.
The True Gospel preaching is always central on showing us who God is; He is righteous and holy, He is in the state of otherness, He is a God of Aseity, He is self-existent, self-satisfying, self-governing and self-glorifying, He’s Sovereign and wise, He is omnipotent, He is omniscient, He is omnipresent, He is faithful, He is compassionate, He is a God of holy wrath, a God that avenges and punishes all sinners.
Once again the text says “How then can man be in the right before God? How can he who is born of a woman be pure? Man fell into a state in which he cannot deliver himself. It is why Job says how then can man be in the right before God? Remember Job was writing by the Spirit, he knew this was utterly impossible for man.
Today we take it lightly that it’s possible for sins to be easily taken away, that a person can just simply repeat the sinner’s prayer. But look at the biblical writers; they are asking questions, how then man can be in the right before God? How can he who is born of a woman be pure? Because it is not in himself that is born of a woman to be pure and right with God.
David said; Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me (Psalms 51:5).
By the time we actually come into this planet, we come actually already stained, So you didn’t become a sinner when you started actually stealing, fornicating, lying, drinking and all sorts of other things, those they were simply the fruits of your nature of sin, so before you even do anything David says “I was brought forth in iniquity”. Someone may say; I have never done this or that, yes you could be right but the reality is; you still remain a sinner because you were brought forth in iniquity and in sin did your mother conceive you.
Mark this thing very carefully; the Bible says that God in His omniscience says;
You have never heard, you have never known, from of old your ear has not been opened. For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously, and that from before birth you were called a rebel (Isaiah 48:8).
To concretize on this, there’s a hymn that just nails the point home, I believe the hymn writers had the gospel right and because they had the gospel right, they actually penned down the words of the great hymn “All I have is Christ”. This hymn is so different from what we commonly hear that is called Christian gospel music.
I once was lost in darkest night
Yet I thought I knew the way
The sin that promised joy and life
Had led me to the grave
I had no hope that you would own
A rebel to your will
And if you had not loved me first
I would refuse you still
But as I ran my hell-bound race
Indifferent to the cost
You looked upon my helpless state
And led me to the cross
And I beheld God’s love displayed
You suffered in my place
You bore the wrath reserved for me
Now all I know is grace
Refrain
Hallelujah! All I have is Christ
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life
Now, Lord, I would be yours alone
And live so all might see
The strength to follow Your commands
Could never come from me
Oh Father, use my ransomed life
In any way You choose
And let my song forever be
My only boast is You
Those words in this hymn explain the condition of man; the hymn writers first of all studied the doctrine of man which actually reveals the nature of man.
They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. (Ephesians 4:18) and this is the same thing we see in Romans 3:9-12 and Romans 3:23 which is popularly known to us, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 2 Timothy 2:26 says; and they may come to their senses to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
That is who man is dear ones, without Christ, man is in bondage to the devil because of our being still in bondage to sin.
For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. (Romans 7:5)
But I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members (Romans 7:23). And so our wills are as fallen and corrupt as our minds, consider also Ephesians 4:17 which says “now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.” And Colossians 1:21 which says “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,”
In this state we would never independently choose to place our faith in Christ for salvation. However one would still wonder why? But of course this is what I have been labouring to communicate that because of the depravity of our fallen nature; we are unwilling and unable to turn to Christ unaided. Therefore the Sovereign and wise God must do something in us in His grace and mercy or else we would never find him nor even seek him.
Everything we have considered as far as who we are outside Christ does not allow us to ever find him nor even seek him this is why the early Puritans like Charles Simeon said “The faithful exposition of the word is meant to humble the sinner, to exalt the Savior and to promote holiness.”
The late A.W Pink said “Jesus Christ saves radically depraved men, women and children from their sins. However to understand, believe and love the good news about the crucified and resurrected Savior, we must first understand our condition.”
Today you must have noticed that all good hospitals, they never get into the issue of treatment before taking your blood samples. So they first take tests about different things and then they decide what they should prescribe for you. Why? Because any treatment before considering your condition and showing you the results of your blood tests for you to know how worse and desperate your condition is, you won’t actually appreciate the treatment you need so AW Pink was right.
Dear ones this is the Gospel not the common platitude we often hear of today; “please come to Jesus he needs you,” that’s not the gospel. The seeker sensitive movement with its message of please come to Jesus and receive your prosperity, healing, car, land, children, husband and wife doesn’t humble the sinner and exalt the Saviour.
The liberal theology and social gospel that is so common in the mainstream church is saving none but damns millions to hell because people do not understand that in Adam we all died.
Until we first understand the painful truth of our condition then by God’s grace we shall cry out for Mercy to be saved from the holy weight of God’s Wrath that awaits all sinful rebels. The natural man is enslaved to sin, he is a child of Satan, he is rebellious towards God, blind to the truth, corrupt and unable to save or to prepare himself for salvation. John Calvin said “only those who have learned well to be honestly dissatisfied, to be confounded with a shame at their wretchedness truly understand the Christian gospel.”
That is who man is; there is nothing to do with us beating around the bush. God has to be glorified in His state of otherness, He deserves to be glorified but what all of us need is what the tax collector said in Luke 18 “have mercy on me a sinner.” We don’t deserve anything good from a righteous and holy God, the one that transcends all things, glorious, Majestic, the one that is infinite, the one that is immense.
So this should help you that are reading to preach the gospel right. Start with who God is; speak of all His character and attributes. Let each and every man have a very high view of God’s holiness and God’s glory. And then show man who he is, he’s a sinner who is actually rebellious towards God, blind to the truth, corrupt and unable to prepare himself for salvation, what he needs is the mercy of God not the justice of God.
Whenever we are preaching the gospel, we are preaching to dead men, women and children. It is just like Ezekiel standing before the valley of the dry bones Ezekiel 37 there’s no life in them they are dead, Ephesians 2 says dead in trespasses and sins, they cannot respond they have no will to respond, they desire not the things of God. So God has to do a miracle.
And I pray that this will actually help you to appreciate what God has done for us. Many people are born again but don’t know why they are Christians, they don’t know why their neighbours are not, or why their family members are not. This is the background, knowing who you are and then knowing who God is will help you appreciate God and you will place more value on your salvation and the glory of God.