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Household of Calhoun

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Characteristics of Total Depravity

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.