I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good
thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I
find not.—Rom. 7:18
Man's depravity is twofold. We have learned that man was
depraved by the corruption of his moral nature, but depravity goes deeper. Men
are depraved not only by a lapse of their moral natures, but also by being
deprived of the Spirit and grace of God. This latter sense of depravity is known
as depravity by deprivation. Some teachers have held the erroneous position that
this is the only sense in which man is depraved, but the facts already adduced
prove conclusively not only that man is deprived of the Spirit and grace of God,
but also that his moral nature is so depraved that involuntary sinful impulses
are native to him.
The natural tendency of native depravity in the
individual is to influence him toward a life of wrong doing. But at this point
the individual will also figure in the final result. Now, the will, in its own
nature, is free; but it is evident that in its exercise it is limited to the
sphere of man's knowledge or environment; hence we can account in this way for
the "uniformity of volitions" evident in the fact that at some time or
other all men choose to commit acts of wrong, and thus fix their own personal
responsibility.
Man is not depraved, however, to the extent that he can
not choose the right. The doctrine of absolute and total depravity is the
erroneous foundation on which is built the theory of predestinarianism. The
propagators of this unsound doctrine think it necessary, in order to establish
the sovereignty of God, to hold that man is totally depraved and incapable of
free will and choice, and that, therefore, man's salvation is wholly dependent
upon the foreordination of God. They teach, in other words, that some men are
predestined to be saved, others to be lost.
We have before proved that man was originally endowed
with the power of choice. The power to choose between the good and the evil, or
ability to perform deeds of moral quality constitutes an importent difference
between man and the lower animal creation. This power to choose and to act
constitutes in primitive man free moral agency in its strictest and highest
sense. In the moral lapse of man, so evident in the history of the race, man
does not forfeit his power to choose the right, but through the practices and
habits of sin he does forfeit his power independently to do the right unassisted
by the grace of God. This is clear both from many particular texts and from the
tenor of the Scriptures as a whole.
"Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard
his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil" (Jer.
13:23). "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Rom.
3: 23). But though as a result of depravity and personal sin we have been
deprived of the power to live a righteous life, unassisted by the grace of God;
there is abundant evidence that we still have the power to choose the right and,
when assisted by the grace of God, the power to do the right. Men of every age,
tribe, and family have shown in some way their desire for association with God.
Whatever their conception of God and in whatever way they attempt to worship
him, all men, from the most uncivilized tribes to the most cultured races, have,
in their efforts to find God, testified alike to their power of choice and to
their inability to act independently in matters of righteousness.
Some texts explicitly imply man's power of choice.
"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set
before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that
both thou and thy seed may live " ( Deut. 30: 19). "The Spirit and the
bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst
come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely" (Rev.
22:17).
Man's depravity, then, consists ( 1 ) in his deprivation
of the grace of God and (2) in a corruption of his moral nature, resulting in
evil tendencies. But he is not depraved to the extent of being robbed of free
will by which he may choose the right and enter into covenant relations with
God.
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