The Depravity of Man

Genesis 1:26-27; 3:22-23; 5:3

In the beginning God created man in His own likeness, but now man is now in man's likeness with only the slightest resemblance to God.

One of the truths that theologians have wrestled with for centuries is the matter of human depravity. The liberal says, "man is basically good, not bad." The new evangelical says, "man is sometimes good and sometimes bad. The Bible says not that man is totally bad, but that "man is totally as bad off as he can be"

Depravity means marked for corruption or evil, perverted, morally crooked. We look good on the outside but we are depraved on the inside. Jesus said it best in Matthew 23:27, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness."

We need to see that our only hope for deliverance from our depravity is Jesus Christ, and the only hope a Christian has of keeping the depraved nature within from controlling them is to live in obedience to God's Word.

I. Our Depravity Did Not Come From God

II. Our Depravity Manifests Itself in Many Ways. (Genesis 3:7-13)

Ill. Our Depravity Doesn't Mean We Are Without Hope

Jesus is our only hope. He is the only answer. God taught Adam and Eve the importance of the blood sacrifice when He shed the innocent blood of animals to provide a covering for their nakedness. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who was slain that His blood might atone for our sins.

This morning if you have never received the salvation that God has provided for you in Christ, why not come and accept Him as your Savior? No matter what we may have done in the past, God will accept us if we are washed in the blood of the Lamb.

To those who know Jesus Christ as Savior this morning, we still struggle with sin and depravity in our lives. But, yielding ourselves to God and submitting ourselves to His Word is the only way to overcome the flesh. Paul wrote, "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh."