(Jer 17:9) "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
Is man basically good? Does he start out with a clean slate and then based upon influences from his environment and/or his hereditary is conditioned to do wrong? Are all men inherently thoughtful, kind, and giving and naturally capable of uniting together to solve global problems and achieve world peace? The modern consensus is that all this is true. Man is intrinsically good, noble, and righteous. But the Bible begs to differ. The Word of God teaches the total depravity of man.
The truth is we are all sinners. The state of our heart is deceitful and wicked beyond knowledge. The world doesn’t like to hear about that. People want to feel good about themselves. They don’t want to know the truth because they don’t want to repent. But what if you were a doctor and you discovered cancer in your patient. Would you tell him? You would have to tell him. It’s the truth and the truth must be told. The truth will be hard to swallow but the patient must know. God has taken a scan of our heart and He has determined it is cancerous. We have fallen short. We sinned in our father Adam and we are born with a corrupt, unregenerate heart. It’s ugly. It’s unredeemed. All men stand guilty before God! Read the following report about the state of mankind:
(Rom 3:10-19) As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one." 13 "Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit"; "The poison of asps is under their lips"; 14 "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness." 15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways; 17 And the way of peace they have not known." 18 "There is no fear of God before their eyes." 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Why are we so surprised at all the terrible things that happen in the news? Why are we so bewildered when people do bad stuff? Why are we so puzzled when our kids mess up after we are so nice to them and sacrifice and provide for them? Why are we so shocked when people take advantage of us and try to rip us off? Are we so perplexed when we ourselves endeavor to do right and end up doing wrong? Come on, get over it! We are all sinners and we have a natural bend toward evil. Let’s swallow the big pill and face the reality of the Biblical teaching of total depravity.
Now with all that said the Bible proposes a cure. It is admitting you’re a sinner and turning to Christ for forgiveness. Through Jesus you can receive a new heart. (Eze 18:31) "Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. A new start begins with a brand-new heart. Man is not good, but God is and has provided for our salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord!
Louie