Total Depravity

Travis Carden (http://www.traviscarden.com) has done some fantastic work putting a list together to show we are in a constant state of depravity until God breathes spiritual life into our spiritual deadness. If we take these passages as a whole I have a really hard time thinking that any man can bring himself or should I say “choose” God. I cannot align myself to be in the right position to receive God’s grace and mercy when I am completely depraved and dead in my sins. What do you think?

How does someone reconcile these verses that there is any good in us and I can reach out to God on my own?

is man basically good or basically evil? Ecclesiastes 7:29
"Behold, I have found only this, that God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices."
Mark 10:18/Luke 18:19
And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone."
Romans 5:12,19
through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned... through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners
c.f. Ecclesiastes 9:3

all men? are there any exceptions? Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Isaiah 53:6
All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;
Romans 3:9-12
What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written, "There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.
1 John 1:8,10
If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we say we have not sinned, we make [God] a liar and His word is not in us.
c.f. 1 Kings 8:46; Psalm 53:1-3, 116:11, 130:3, 143:2; Proverbs 20:9; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Jeremiah 2:29; Micah 7:2-4, Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19; James 3:2; etc., etc.

are people good deep down? 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 these evil things proceed from within and defile the man."
Psalm 5:9
There is nothing reliable in what they say; their inward part is destruction itself. Their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue.

are men totally depraved? is any faculty of the person yet uncorrupted? Heart/Thoughts (Deceitful) Jeremiah 17:9
"The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?"
Ecclesiastes 9:3
the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead.
Genesis 6:5 & 8:21
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... from youth.
Psalm 36:1-2
Transgression speaks to the unGodly within his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. For it flatters him in his own eyes concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it.
Proverbs 28:26
He who trusts in his own heart is a fool
c.f. Ecclesiastes 8:11; Psalm 94:11; Mark 7:21-23

Mind/Understanding (Depraved) Romans 1:28-31
And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being... without understanding
Titus 1:15-16
to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled
Ephesians 4:17-18
So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;
Jeremiah 10:7-8,14
For among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You. But they are altogether stupid and foolish. Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge

Will/Choosing (Enslaved) John 8:34
"Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin."
2 Timothy 2:25-26
if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.
Titus 3:3
For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.
Romans 6:6
our old self was crucified with Him... so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient... and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
Romans 6:20
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
Romans 7:14
For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.
c.f. John 8:31-32,36; Galatians 4:9; 2 Peter 2:19

Affections/Desires (Perverted) Romans 1:24-27
Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
2 Timothy 3:2-4
For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God
Proverbs 21:10
The soul of the wicked desires evil
John 3:19
"This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil."
c.f. Genesis 3:16; Psalm 4:2, 140:8; Proverbs 10:23; 2 Peter 2:13

et al (Utter Ruin) Titus 1:15-16
to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled
Romans 7:18
I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh
Isaiah 1:5-6
The whole head is sick and the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head there is nothing sound in it, only bruises, welts and raw wounds, not pressed out or bandaged, nor softened with oil.

are they just misdirected? do men "not know better?" Romans 1:18
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unGodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.
Romans 1:21
For even though they knew God they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Romans 1:32
and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
c.f. Romans 2:14-15

can men still do good when they want to? Matthew 7:18
"A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit."
Romans 8:7
the mind set on the flesh... does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so
Jeremiah 13:23
Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then you also can do good who are accustomed to doing evil.
Genesis 6:5 & 8:21
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... from youth.
Titus 1:15-16
to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.
c.f. 1 Samuel 24:13; Job 14:4; Matthew 12:34; Romans 14:23

are men at least born pure? what about the "tabula rasa?" Psalm 51:5
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.
Psalm 58:3
The wicked are estranged from the womb; those who speak lies go astray from birth.
c.f. Proverbs 22:15; Isaiah 48:8

what is the natural disposition of man toward God? John 3:20
"For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed."
Romans 8:7-8
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.
Colossians 1:21
you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds
James 4:4
You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
c.f. Romans 1:28-30

what is man's relationship to God? Psalm 58:3
The wicked are estranged from the womb; those who speak lies go astray from birth.
Ephesians 2:12-13
remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 2:3
Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
c.f. Isaiah 59:2

can man then do anything to please God? Proverbs 15:9
The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord
Proverbs 15:8/21:27
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord
Proverbs 28:9
He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
Isaiah 64:6
For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
Romans 8:7-8
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.
Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please [God]
c.f. Psalm 50:16; Proverbs 21:4; Isaiah 1:10-15; Amos 5:21-24

are men at least seeking God? John 3:20
"For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed."
Isaiah 65:1
"I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me."
Isaiah 64:7
There is no one who calls on Your name, who arouses himself to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us and have delivered us into the power of our iniquities.
Romans 3:10-12
"there is none who seeks for God"
c.f. Romans 10:20

can the natural man comprehend the gospel or come to saving knowledge of God on his own? 1 Corinthians 2:14
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4
our gospel is veiled... to those who are perishing, in whose case the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
1 Corinthians 1:18,21-24
For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Crist crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness
Matthew 11:27
"no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.'
c.f. Psalm 119:18; Proverbs 4:19; Ephesians 4:17-19; 2 Corinthians 2:15-16; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4

can men of themselves accept God's gift of salvation? do men choose God or come to him on their own? John 3:27
John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven."
John 14:16
"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him
John 1:12-13
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 6:44 & 64
"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him;" And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father."
Romans 9:16
So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.
Romans 11:35-36
Or who has first given to [the Lord] that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.
1 Corinthians 1:30
But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus
Philippians 2:13
for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
c.f. Jonah 2:9; Zephaniah 3:9; John 15:16; 1 Corinthians 15:10; Philippians 1:6; James 1:18

who supplies faith/belief/repentance?Romans 12:3
God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
Acts 5:31
"He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Acts 11:18
When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life."
Philippians 1:29
For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake... to believe in Him
Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
2 Timothy 2:25
The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, [etc.]... if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth
1 Corinthians 12:3
no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit
2 Peter 1:3
His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and Godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence
John 3:6 & 6:63
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit... It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing;"
c.f. John 5:44; Ephesians 6:23; 1 Corinthians 4:7; 2 Peter 1:1

can men do anything to help themselves? Romans 5:6
For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the unGodly.
Ephesians 2:5
even when we were dead in our transgressions, [God] made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)
c.f. Psalm 49:7-9; Jeremiah 2:22

who then can be saved?Matthew 19:26
Jesus said to them, "With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
c.f. Mark 10:27; Luke 18:27

All praise, all worship, all glory, all honor, go to the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ.

Wes
Galatians 2:20

Prosperity Gospel Continues

Our church has been studying through the book of Acts for the last year, I keep wondering how these prosperity teachers explain why Paul wasn’t living in a mansion being chauffeured around in his limousine eating finger sandwiches with Grey Poupon mustard.

Paul’s life was anything but the life of worldly pleasures and worldly prosperity. But we know he was rich in spiritual blessings. Lets read from 2 Corinthians 11:24-29

24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness— 28 besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?

I wonder if it Paul didn’t have enough faith? Maybe if he had sown some more $77.77 seeds of faith to the local evangelist he would have been blessed more and God would have given him that special secret he always desired.

Or maybe if he would have read Joel Osteen’s heresy book on Your Best Life Now he would have faired much better. But I digress. Check out these two video clips for a good laugh. One is completely a spoof and sadly the other one is not. Check it out.

All praise, all worship, all glory, all honor, go to the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ.

Wes
Galatians 2:20

Who Gets The Credit?

This is another reason why I believe God has chosen us and predestined us who are followers of Christ and that is... He gets all the credit for my salvation. I know there was nothing good in me and I was completely dead in my transgressions until God breathed spiritual life into me. He gave me the faith to believe and the ability to repent and turn towards Him. He then imputed me with His righteousness.

John Piper has a great little article that expands on this idea from Desiring God website. Here is what he said:

“Some might say that, in regards to our salvation, it really doesn't matter who chose whom first. Why do you believe it is important to understand that God chose us first?

Because God means to get all the glory for our salvation. We need to know the One on whom we're leaning and what we're really leaning on Him for. Let me say a word about each of these two.

The second one: we need to know how we got saved. We were born not of blood, not of man, not of the human will--we were born of God. That is, we were brought into being as spiritually alive people by God. We were dead, according to Ephesians 2, and now we are alive together with God--by grace we have been saved.

Grace is the sovereign work by which God speaks to the dead corpse of our own spiritual life, and says, "Lazarus, come forth," and we awake from the dead, or "John Piper, come forth!," and we were brought into being. Now we need to know that so that we can rest in God's sovereign saving of us. That's how we got saved! We didn't somehow raise ourselves from the dead. We didn't somehow create--out of nothing--spiritual affections. God did this for us, which leads now to the first thing: He means to be glorified for all of this. 



God wants to be acknowledged for all that He has done and for all that He is. We will not give Him all of the praise and all of the glory that He should get if we don't think He did all that He did for us. So I think it is really important that we teach people how they actually got saved, even if they don't fully understand how they got saved, because we want them to begin--now better than never--praising God and honoring and relying on God for all that he did and not just for part of it.”

AMEN! God is so good to us!

All praise, all worship, all glory, all honor, go to the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ.

Wes
Galatians 2:20

Trying So Hard

I have had a lot on my mind in the past few weeks with so much going on in my life and trying to do all I can to live for my Lord and Savior. I have been wondering what is God going to do with my life and how can I be used most effectively. Sometimes I wonder if I am doing what God wants me to be doing. My Pastor, John Werhas reminds us that I don’t make up the plans of my life then tell God to follow me. But I am to do the will of God and follow Him. I think I know what the will of God is for me but why do I seem to flounder at times?

There are some key areas in my life that I KNOW I need to stay focused on and those things are obeying, praying and and keeping in fellowship with my Lord and Savior, loving my wife and trying to be the best husband I can, training my children in the ways of the Lord and serving the body of Christ. It sounds so simple but why is it so hard sometimes? I think I have an answer and it always goes back to ME. Why oh why does my will get in the way of these things?

Trying so hard on my own strengths, on my own desires, on my own ideas. I think of the new Casting Crowns song Altar and the Door and I probably need to apply this more to my life, it goes like this:

I'm trying so hard to stop trying so hard
Just let You be who You are
Lord, who You are in me

I am trying so hard but let “I” stop trying so hard and let Jesus be who He is in me. I know I have huge responsibility to keep running the race and I need to do my part. There is so much to learn and I thank God for His Love Letter to us all. Lord please help me to be sold out completely for you. Help me Lord to deny myself and pick up my cross.

Jesus Said in Matthew 11:28
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Jesus Let me find rest in You.

All praise, all worship, all glory, all honor, go to the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ.

Wes
Galatians 2:20

We Are Saved Just Like Abraham

We are still continuing through the book of Genesis in my men’s small group (MOB). This week we have read through were God accounted His righteousness to Abram. Many people ask how were the people in the Old Testament saved? Just like we are saved today through the blood of Christ. Our hope is in the things that have already happened, that we have faith, belief and repentance to what Christ already did.

Abram and the the people before Christ died had faith, belief and repentance in the forward promise of God. The Old testament points forward to the cross, the gospels point at the cross and the rest of the Bible points back at the cross. It is always the same way how someone is saved.

Genesis 15:6 says,
And he(Abram) believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

Just like John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

It is always based on what Christ has imputed to us and nothing of our own. However, as James says without works do we really have faith. Not that our salvation comes from works but just that it proves our faith. He writes in James 2:21-24

21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

Pastor John Courson puts all of this in a crystal clear statement by saying the following:

Was it when Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees—a place of real sophistication and wealth—that God declared Abraham righteous? No. Was it when Abraham took his son Isaac to Mount Moriah in order to offer him as a sacrifice that God declared him justified? No. God declared Abraham righteous when Abraham simply believed Him (Genesis 15:6). When is a man saved and justified? Not when he follows God’s call obediently or even offers himself sacrificially, but when, like Abraham, he simply says, “Lord, I believe You. I believe what You say is true—that I’m righteous in Christ Jesus, that my sins past, present, and future are all forgiven.”

It is our belief, faith and repentance(turning toward God) that saves us. It is not something we earn. God calls us to HIm, we never come to Him on our own merits. I was once dead but He has now breathed life into me.

All Glory, All Honor, All Worship go to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Wes
Galatians 2:20