Total Depravity

Now that we have established that everyone is sinful at birth, the next question is how sinful are people? Are people totally sinful, partially sinful or just slightly sinful?

Paul gives us a little insight Rm 7:18 "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh." Nothing good lives within the flesh. Every person has flesh, or as NIV puts it, a sin nature. We are born in this flesh, and in this flesh there is nothing good. The answer the the previous question is: All people are born in flesh (cf. John 3:6) and the flesh is totally sinful, nothing good is in it, therefore all people are totally sinful, not partially, not slightly, completely and totally sinful. Some people call this Total Depravity. Type in total depravity in google and you'll get lots of articles that will explain this better than I can but I will write down what I understand of it.

The way I see it is that there are basically two main points. Point one: everyone is corrupted by sin and are totally sinful. Point two: no one has to ability within themselves to please God, to submit to God, to delight in God, or in any way do anything that merits righteousness in God's eye.

What does it mean to be totally depraved? Once again I think this term is kind of weird because you can get the wrong impression by just looking at the term mainly because of the word total. Here total doesn't mean that the person is as bad as he/she can be but means that everything that person does is sinful; every aspect of the person is totally corrupted by sin, the effects of sin is extensive. Everything that we do apart from the grace of God is affected by sin and is sin.

Point two from above says that no one is able to turn to God by their own will, some people call this Total Inability.
Rm 8:7
"because 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,"
Here it says that the fleshly mind is hostile to God and it is unable to submit to the law of God. Because of the corruption of sin no one is able to submit to God apart from the help of God.

I will just draw a couple of conclusions to close off.
1. Total depravity should lead us to realize the dire state that we are in
2. It should lead us to appreciate the grace of God, that not only saved us from our sins and gave us a righteousness but also caused us to turn to Him and enabled us to submit to Him
3. It should lead us to forgive others. We are all in the same boat without God. We are all totally sinful.
4. Furthermore, it should free us from religiosity and pride, knowing that apart from God all that we do is sin even the "righteous" acts. We should know that it is God who actually does the good work.
5. It should lead us to full reliance on God, because there is nothing good in us, it is by, through, and to Him that we can do good.

Phil 2:12-13
So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;
for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Jn 3:21
But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.