Topic:
Characteristics of Total Depravity
Greetings:
A person who is totally depraved carries
these characteristics:
1.
Dead
in Trespass and Sin
Ephesians 2:1,2 Jude 12
These people are powerless and helpless. They
can do nothing apart from God.
2.
Man
is Always Self-Seeking
Philippians 2:21; 2 Peter 2:10
Totally depraved people are selfish and
always seek self-preservation and protection
3.
Desires
Become Perverted
Romans 1:20-32; Ephesians 2:3; Proverbs
21:10; John 8:44
These people seek perverse desires through
not only personal interaction but also entertainment. Curiosity really is a major driving aspect of
this perversion
4.
Rebellious
Romans 8:6-9; Romans 3:10-12
Totally depraved people are very opinionated,
they have a inflated self esteem and carry a sense of entitlement. When you are
like this you will alaways go against the truth, if the truth does not fit your
criteria of what you believe is right. This is where ignorance turns to
rebellion.
5.
Affinity
for Darkness and Sin
John 3:19; Titus 3:3; Matthew 7:18; Psalm 58:3;
2 Timothy 3:1-5;
Depraved people love darkness when they have
grown accustomed to it and find themselves comfortable with what they have put
together to be their life.
6.
Ignorant
of God’s Righteousness and Ways
Ezekiel 18:29; Isaiah 55:8,9; Romans 10:3
They are partakers of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil. The wisdom
the totally depraved receive is the wisdom that comes from the Earth. In the letter of James it says the wisdom
from the earth is carnal, sensual and devilish.
It is this wisdom that the totally depraved use to frame their
perception and knowledge of the world.
7.
Heart
is Deceitful and Wicked
Matthew 15:19,20; John 12:42,43; Jeremiah
17:9
One of the characteristics of the totally
depraved is they are self-seeking and fame-seeking. Seeking to do things for the approval of man.
8.
Governed
by inability
Philippians 2:13; John 5:30-32; Ephesians
1:4; Philippians 4:13
Without God man can do nothing. Without God man cannot please, commit, come,
change or seek God because the totally depraved man is dead. God decides who He choses to call. Ephesians 4:1 speaks of the calling of God
from the foundation of the world. It is
His call and His choice. Every attempt
of man from the tower of Babel to false religion is a seeking to find God. Every person in the earth was created to
serve the Father. It is inherently in
them but they can do nothing of themselves.
It is only by God can man be all who God has created Him to be. This
requires man to have a true encounter with God and in that true encounter with
God, the Word, you are then empowered or graced to fulfill His Will in the
earth.
The totally depraved man is completely dead
and it is not until God sends His Word to those whom He has chosen and they
receive Him that the totally depraved man can be resurrected from the dead and
live the Zoe (God-like) life. For many
in the church, though they be resurrected by the oneness with the Spirit,
mentally they are still walking a life of death. Romans 8: 6-11 explains this perfectly. It is
time for us as the sons of God to live the life that God has given us through
Christ as His firstborn sons. We have
eternal, Zoe-life, now! Though we have
been translated from the kingdom of darkness spiritually (Colossians 1:13) we
must make the translation mentally (Romans 12:1,2). When we make the translation spiritually and
mentally then shall there be the manifestation of the sons of God. We are
continually changing from glory to glory as we mature and submit our will to
His will. We made the declaration by
baptism of water that we have died and the depraved man is dead and buried and
now through Christ we are a new creation and walk in the newness of life. Let us recognize the depraved nature within
us that we may overcome and continue to change glory to glory.
Peace and Grace
Calvin Calhoun, Jr.
