THE TOTAL DEPRAVITY OF MAN
Scripture tells us that every person born into this world, Christ excepted, is a “hater of God” (Romans 1:30). Paul wrote in Romans 8:7 that “the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” This is the Biblical truth of “total depravity,” which is not generally known or confessed in most evangelical churches in our day. On the contrary, there is the common notion which is far more popular that “most people are basically good.” But the church, and the individual Christian, who loves God's Word, must hold to the important Scriptural truth of total depravity, which emphasizes in the strongest possible way the corrupt condition of the natural man’s heart.
A few passages of Scripture will demonstrate this point. Genesis 6:5, “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” This is what the Lord says of fallen mankind before the Flood. In Genesis 8:21 we read, “And the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth.” This verse teaches that evil is already in the heart from one's youth, and God declares this immediately after the Flood when the only people on this earth were Noah and his family, eight persons in all. In Psalm 51:5, David confesses, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” Most people speak of babies as being born innocent, but the psalmist insists that he was brought forth in iniquity and conceived in sin. Again, we read in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” And in Romans 3:10-18, the Apostle Paul gives us a commentary of fallen man’s heart, “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. Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit; The poison of asps is under their lips; Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Scripture clearly teaches that the natural man cannot and will not please God. His will is in slavery to sin, he is at war with God, and for this very reason he is under the wrath of God. But why is it so important to emphasize the natural man’s corrupt condition? Because we cannot correctly understand or appreciate the cross of Christ, the Sovereignty of God in salvation, or the grace of God if we do not properly grasp the Scriptural truth concerning the total depravity of man. It is because of man’s corrupt condition and hopelessness apart from Christ that Ephesians 2:8-10 teaches that salvation must be by the sovereign grace of God alone. Man is powerless to change his fallen, unregenerate, rebellious heart. God alone is mighty to save from sin, and He does so through the Savior, Jesus Christ. Run to Jesus and live!
Friday Devotional: March 13, 2026
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
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SALVATION IS GOD’S WORK
"…not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit."
—Titus 3:5
Redemption from sin and God's wrath is by God's grace on account of the righteous work of Jesus Christ in the place of sinners. Jesus fulfilled all the righteous demands of the Law of God on behalf of all who trust in Him. The Apostle Paul wrote, “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:3-4).
In Titus 3:5, the Apostle Paul makes it clear that salvation from sin is the work of God in His Son Jesus Christ and not by anything in, of, or through the sinner. He wrote that redemption is “according to God’s mercy.” Mercy is translated from the Greek word “eleos”, which means compassion. Elect sinners are redeemed because of God’s compassion upon them. As Paul wrote, “For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion” (Romans 9:15). God saved those whom He chose from before the foundation of the world, and He did so by regenerating their rebellious souls and making them able to hear, believe, and understand the Word of God (Matthew 13:23). Salvation, which means deliverance or rescue, is cleansing from sin by the blood of Christ. Believers are also blessed with the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit who empowers, protects, and leads redeemed sheep to the Great Shepherd of the sheep, Jesus Christ.
Therefore, all our boasting must be in the Savior Jesus and in Jesus alone. If you boast in anything that you can do regarding salvation from sin, no matter how insignificant it may seem, then you have not understood salvation by God's grace alone. As our text says, "…not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit…" Are you trusting Jesus alone as your Redeemer?
Tuesday Encouragement: March 10, 2026
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
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A CHRISTIAN'S SUNDAY MORNING PRAYER
My Father and My God,
Hear my feeble prayer for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ.
Holy Spirit, teach me by Your Word how to pray effectively for the glory of God and the good of Christ's Church, since You are the One who helps my weaknesses and teaches me what I should pray for and how I should pray (Rom. 8 ).
Teach me how to pray more consistently in accordance with Your Word. "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us" (1 John 5:14).
O God: Father, Son, Holy Spirit: You alone are mighty, wise, and all-knowing, but I am weak, foolish, and ignorant of so many things!
You alone are holy and glorious, but I am sinful and defiled.
You alone are the Creator of the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all that in them is, but I am simply dust and ashes, and my life is like a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow.
You alone are eternal and infinite, but I am temporal and finite!
Therefore, look upon me in Your mercy, and fill me with your Spirit and Word.
Teach me to walk in wisdom, and to be clothed with humility as my Savior Jesus!
Fill me, Holy Spirit, with Your power and presence.
Strengthen me for today's work and service, and make me walk faithfully and obediently for Your glory.
Strengthen my faith in Christ, cause me to love You, Your Word, Your Son, Your Spirit, Your Church, and all things true, holy, righteous, and just in a greater measure, and help me to love and esteem others as better than myself.
Help me, O Lord, take the lowest place of service towards those who cross my path.
Let me be my brother and neighbor's foot-washer!
Help me do good to all men, but especially to the household of Faith.
Lord Jesus, help me to follow in Your footsteps!
Help me to love my brothers and sisters in the Faith, my neighbors, and even those who hate me.
Keep my tongue from gossip, backbiting, and slandering others.
Teach me wisdom and humility.
Keep me dependent upon You in all things.
Forgive the multitudes of my sins, as I sin in my thoughts, words, and deeds.
Wash me and cleanse me from all my unrighteousness.
O Lord, I am sinful, needy, foolish, and weak, and I need You every moment.
As the hymn writer declared, "Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah, Pilgrim through this barren land. I am weak, but Thou art mighty; Hold me with Thy powerful hand. Bread of heaven, Feed me now and evermore."
Keep me from straying from Your Word, which is truth, and from Your sheepfold.
If you took Your hand off me I know I would wander like a washed pig back to the mud, or a dog back to its vomit.
I know that the strength of my obedience, my walking the narrow path that leads to life, is the power of the Holy Spirit!
Discipline me when I sin, and keep me humble when I obey.
In Christ's holy name I pray!
Amen!
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