We are, everyone of us, corrupt

I was doing some research the other day and, as a result, was led to Leviticus 15 as a reference. Someone I was reading was using this particular chapter as proof that a certain things would be sin because of the examples of uncleanness listed in this chapter. And many of these things are simply natural functions of a person’s body!

What I think Leviticus, in general, is showing us is that we human beings are truly and really broken and corrupt creations, at least compared to what we were originally designed to be. The commandments God gave Israel concerning so many things that God considered unclean, and yet were purely normal bodily functions, shows us how very unclean and unholy we human beings are to God. We are far, far removed from attaining what we once were. But, we will attain this perfection when Christ returns!

This makes it so incredibly amazing that Christ Jesus would lower himself to associate Himself not only with us, but as one of us!!

Thank you Lord Jesus! What a sacrifice to come and dwell with those whom you can barely stand to tolerate from your place high in Heaven! But, as John Stott says, “We would be mistaken to think that the Son was coerced or that He was begging God by dint of His suffering. No, the plan of salvation was agreed upon and put into motion by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”

Can an unbeliever in God or Christ Jesus be tempted?

 If so, how? James clearly states that no man is ever tempted by God. Instead, as the Total Depravity adherents will tell you, we are tempted by our own lusts and selfish desires. That is not only scriptural, but also self-evident in any strata of human life. People today are praised for their “self-determination” even when the end result has nothing to do with the good of others. Good may come of their work or their purposes, but that is usually in spite of the intent that drives these self-made people.

 On the other hand, if a person who is not “born again” is totally depraved then he or she would, logically, never resist doing something that hurt others if it profited them. There would be no conscience to guide or reprimand what the natural and narcissistic want. Indeed, everyone would be living in a truly “dog eat dog” kind of world where “survival of the fittest” wasn’t just a philosophy, but a fact of daily life.

 Unlike animals, humans have the image of God implanted in their very nature. That is the only explanation for things like good-hearted and benevolent atheists, agnostics, or even deists (the majority of our founding fathers). Even in the most heathen of peoples, there is always a sense of right and wrong, even if their sense of it is markedly different than that of our culture. These folk, such as the cannibalistic tribes of the Pacific islands or the headhunters of South America, are depraved indeed, but it is primarily because they have no written laws or codes, and thus have only their individual consciences to compete with the day to day survival demands and peer pressures of the group they live with and know.
 
At the same time, humans have a propensity for cruelty far beyond that of any animal and genocide is a historical and present day fact. We wonder how a Hutu could kill a Tutsi, or vice versa, so cold bloodedly? How the Khmer Rouge could massacre so many millions of their countrymen? People claiming to be Christians participated in the Rwandan genocides. Clergy as well as laymen were witnessed killing other people from a tribe that wasn’t their own. I needn’t mention Hitler’s Holocaust, Stalin or Mao Tse Tsung’s purges, either, to make my point.

However, a person who wants to be good and wants to do what is right, can be found in any nation or location in the world. Persons who do not even know the gospel or the name of Jesus Christ have been known to be extraordinarily good people. Think of Gandhi as one example. Are, or were, they righteous? No, but neither are any of us outside of Christ.

On the other hand we have people who claim to be believers and who purport to be truly holy and righteous, because they have been perfected. Yet we know that any believer is still very capable of doing wrong and being evil. Else, there would be no reason for temptation or the flesh would indeed no longer be weak. Does this make believers depraved? I doubt anyone who believes in spiritual rebirth would agree. Rather, while all humans, saved or not, have a propensity toward evil, those who are in Christ Jesus have a motivation (hope) and a new spirit that compels them to do the right things. Paul makes it clear, I believe, that what actually changes in a new born Christian, is their mindset. Read Romans 8 and tell me if you don’t see that emphasis. Paul also points this out here:

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.“ (Romans 12:2 ESV)

Being holy in Christ Jesus is a mindset that wars against our natural inclinations:

“For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” (Galatians 5:17 ESV)

This mindset may sometimes appear to be simply an application of willpower, but our hearts will follow the Spirit when push comes to shove. This is where I believe the difference between a converted person and a “good” unconverted person can be seen for what they are. Very few people are willing to be “good” if it means they may lose their lives or property for it.

And yet, we have people throughout history who burned themselves to protest war, starved themselves for a political cause, sacrificed their life for another, and so on. If mankind was completely depraved we would not have what appear to be examples of unconverted people outdoing, in many cases, the works of so-called believers.

Nevertheless, when people devote their lives for the sake of eternal souls and the name of Christ, it completely outweighs any other form of sacrifice. What appears to be very commendable actions, if they do not have eternal significance, they are worthless.

Augustine developed the view of Total Depravity from his conviction that every person is born with ‘original sin” and is thus guilty of sin from birth. From this came the view that even innocent babies were hell-bound (I hate the term “hell” because it is NOT where people who refuse God’s grace will end up – hell and death will be destroyed according to scripture Rev. 20:14), which is antithetical to Jesus’ view of children in Mark 10:13-16.

I would like to remind anyone reading this, that the “Fall” was caused by disobedience before the “Fall” itself! And the true effect of this “Fall” was the acquisition of the ability to know both “good and evil”. Only then were Adam and Eve condemned by their awakened consciences. This did not make them depraved, but added the propensity for sin that did not exist beforehand.  If mankind from that point was totally depraved, then how do we account for the righteous people of the Old Testament?

Was Noah depraved? Abraham? How about Moses? Which leads to the question: were they converted somehow? Samson, a man dedicated to God from before his conception and who was empowered by the Spirit of God, was a very depraved person in many ways. But, would God have used a totally depraved person to be the leading warrior for his chosen people?

This is where both concepts of Christian Perfectionism and Total Depravity fall apart, I believe. If man, in this present life could be made perfect, then the Adamic nature would have to be removed, as is claimed. However, the fact that these so-called “perfectly holy” Christians still have a propensity to sin (or at least can sin by their own will) belies the idea that they have had this fallen nature excised. Anyone who would have the nature of Adam removed would also lose the knowledge of evil. Only then would a person become truly pure and only good.  And, as a result they would be truly eternally secure because they would be unable to sin, not even knowing what that is.

So, are we humans “Totally Depraved”? Absolutely not, but neither can we be “Totally Holy” outside of Christ’s righteousness. We must depend on His righteousness, because we are, all of us, depraved, yet not completely.

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

(2 Corinthians 5:20-21 ESV)