Total Depravity

 Free will series.  

To be clear on definitions, theologians who use this term (most notably in Reformed theology or Calvinism) don't mean that humans are as absolutely evil as they could be in every action. Instead, they mean that every part of human nature, the mind, the will, the emotions, and the flesh, has been corrupted by sin. The core idea is that apart from God, a person is spiritually dead and entirely incapable of choosing or pleasing God on their own. So, how can free will exist then? This is what we are discussing today. Let us pray. 

Heavenly Father, we come before you today, gathered in your name, to learn your Truths and revelations. As we dive into your Word, we pray for eyes to see, ears to hear, and a spirit to receive your wisdom and knowledge for what you want us to understand. Show us, Father, how even though we are totally depraved, you still love us, guide us, and allow us to be washed clean by the blood of your Son. We ask this in Jesus' name, Amen!

What does it mean that we are “totally depraved?” 

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is 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 flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” Ephesians 2:1-3

This is often considered the definitive passage on the state of humanity without divine intervention. Paul describes the natural human condition before being made alive by Christ. The keyword here is "dead." A physically dead person cannot reach out, call for help, or choose to breathe. Therefore, a spiritually dead person has zero capacity to seek or choose God until God acts first to make them alive.

“What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, 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 3:10–12

In this passage, Paul strings together several Old Testament quotes (primarily from the Psalms) to create an absolute, all-inclusive declaration about human nature apart from grace. This explicitly denies that humans possess a natural spark of goodness that seeks out the divine. Left to our own devices, the text argues, human orientation is universally away from God.

In the world, we are often told, by some people who truly mean well, that we should just follow our hearts. That is one of the worst things you could ever do. Why? The Old Testament frequently addresses the internal condition of human desires and motivation, most famously in this verse from Jeremiah.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? "The LORD searches the heart and tests the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds." Jeremiah 17-9-10

Human brokenness isn't just a matter of bad external behavior; it is an internal sickness of the heart itself. Because the "generator" of human desires is corrupted, a person cannot naturally produce holy or God-pleasing choices.

Look at Romans 8:5-8 

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” 

Also, here in 1 Corinthians 2:14

“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”

These focus on the human intellect and will, arguing that without the Holy Spirit, the human mind is fundamentally incapable of aligning with God.

Note the words "it cannot" and "he is not able." This goes beyond a person choosing not to follow God; it claims a fundamental, systemic inability to do so. I can hear a friend of mine yelling out, “SEE. No free will. What you are teaching does not exist.”

He believes in Total Depravity based on these verses, and he will argue that because humans are spiritually "dead" and "cannot please God," free will is useless. God must choose them and activate them, or they will stay dead.

Others and I, who emphasize human responsibility, argue that while humanity is indeed deeply broken and crippled by sin, God's "prevenient Grace" reaches out to everyone, temporarily overriding that spiritual death just enough to give them the ability to freely choose or reject Him.

This perspective agrees that humanity is genuinely crippled by sin, spiritually dead, and unable to seek God by its own natural power. However, God does not leave humanity entirely in that helpless state.

Through prevenient grace, or a divine grace that goes before and prepares the heart, God partially restores human free will and lifts the deadening effects of sin just enough for a person to respond. The command to "choose life" is a genuine invitation made possible because God has already initiated contact, shining light into the darkness and enabling a real, accountable choice. In short, the inability is real by nature, but overcome by grace, making the choice genuinely possible for anyone.

When Paul uses phrases like "none seeks for God" in Romans 3, quoting the Psalms, he is constructing a legal argument to show that neither Jew nor Gentile can claim righteousness based on their own merit or law-keeping. From this perspective, the "deadness" and "not seeking" describe the universal human condition apart from a covenant relationship with God. The commands to choose life are the ongoing, relational expressions of God's desire for His people. A standard that highlights human accountability regardless of our moral weakness.

The reason I believe in free will is simple. Two main reasons. If we did not have free will, then what would be the point of any of it? Adam and Eve could never have sinned. Jesus would not have had to come and die for us. Passages like this, 

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.“ John 3 16-18

All the whoevers, any, ifs, and the like are pointless. If we cannot choose, then why would we have a choice? If we do not have a choice, the Ten Commandments are mute. We would never break them. If we do not have a choice, we would not be called, but commanded to do whatever God says. God is not a liar. If He tells us to choose, yet we have no choice, then He is lying. 

The next reason is sad to even imagine. If God does choose some from the dawn of time to be saved, then for whatever reason, He chooses not to choose millions of others, then would that not mean that God created millions of people to just simply live here, and then suffer forever? With no chance of salvation? No matter what? 

Now I understand that our little finite minds cannot possibly grasp the concept of God and His ways; however, I feel we learn enough in His Word to say, " This does not sound like the God of the Bible.” 

 We have all fallen from grace. We have all sinned against God. Why? Because we do have free will, and we do love the things of the flesh. This alone proves we have free will. But let's get into this more deeply next time. 

Thankfully, no matter what, God’s mercy and grace are there for us, so we may indeed choose Him when we hear the truth. Through His grace and mercy, we can hear, accept, and allow the truth to set us free. 

Remember, you can always find this, and so much more, in the archives, over at TAG

The email, if you wish to contact me, is truthbygod1@gmail.com

May the Lord our God go before you as your way maker, as well as behind you as your rear guard, and may He be with you, always.

Until next time, be blessed, be a blessing, and Jesus is Lord!