Theology of Depravity

As Father, Son, and Holy Spirit dialogue over the creation of the universe, God makes a remarkable comment about creating humans in Gen. 1. He says, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…so God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him” (v. 26, 28). So humans have the special privilege of being created with the unique dignity of reflecting and representing God; glorious and holy, powerful and good, righteous and giving; we could go on and on.

The problem we have in believing this is that the stories of our lives seem to lack these qualities. We experience among other things, frustration, heartbreak, misunderstanding, abuse, confusion, and tragedy in a way that makes us feel powerless and insignificant. So what happened?

In Creation, God created Adam as a representative for all people. Gen. 1 describes the creation of humans generally as male and female and in Gen. 2, God describes creating Adam as the specific representative head of the human race. To Adam was given the rule of not eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and Adam was the one responsible for keeping that rule. Yet, he could not contain himself and decided to stray and blame others for his distrust of God, trampling of his image, forsaking of responsibility, etc. (Gen. 3:6,10-12). Eve had been deceived, but Adam, who was “with her,” was willfully disobeying (I Tim. 2:14).

God doesn’t weakly and powerlessly overlook Adam’s rebellion. In holy justice, He responds by cursing Adam. The curse involved losing intimate communion, right standing and becoming defiled and cursed enemies of God (Matt. 25:41, Rom. 5:12-14, 6:23, Eph. 2:3-5, II Thes. 1:9). This affliction was passed on to all humans as all now have a heart after Adam’s image and likeness to rebel spiritually (Gen. 5:3, Gen. 6:5, Rom. 5:12). While in popular thought, it is often taught that people are condemned because they commit sin, the Scriptures teach that we are condemned because we are sinners, that we commit sin because it is in our heart to do so (Eccl. 7:20, 29, Jer. 17:9, Rom. 3:9, 10, 23, Gal. 3:10, Eph. 2:3-5, I Jn 1:8).

This is what is meant by “depravity.” Humans were created for greatness, but have been corrupted. They do what they shouldn’t (what the Bible calls, “trespass”) and don’t do what they should (what the Bible calls, “sin”) (Rom. 7:15-20, Eph. 2:1). This perversion saturates people to their very depths. Though many want to celebrate a “free-will,” human will is held in captivity to this corrupting influence, evidenced by our inability to live perfectly or live forever. People need God to intervene over their wills (Psalm 51:1-12, John 6:44, 16:8-9, Rom. 7:18, 9:16).

This begs the question, how can we explain beauty and justice if we are corrupt? In other words, how do people who don’t indicate any inclination toward God do such good things? The Bible points out that although we are defiled, we still bear the image and purposes of God (Gen. 9:1-7). All people have exposure to the truth of God through creation and through the law written on their hearts (Ps. 19:1, Rom. 1:19-20, 2:14-15). This is called “Common grace,” and it explains why God allows good fortune to fall on all people (Eccl. 9:2, Matt. 5:45) sometimes causing trouble for those who lean into God (Psalm 73).

So what is our hope of escaping the curse of God? We need a representative who is not depraved and does from the heart what people were created to do. The good news is that Jesus is that representative (Rom. 5:16-19, Rom. 8:1-4). He became cursed for us and was raised in victory over God’s curse (Gal. 3:13, I Cor. 15:1-4). We now have the hope of being reborn, recreated, renewed and restored (John 3:1-21, II Cor. 5:17-21, Eph. 4:20-24). And our hope is to return to the urban garden where we have unbroken fellowship and joy in life as we reflect God (Rev. 22).

Dealing with Forgiveness

Many people, who profess faith in Jesus, operate under a Christianity that is functionally moral, but is actually devoid of Jesus and devoid of transforming power. I recognized this, yet again, at a conference last week when a speaker, professing faith in Christ gave a great moral definition of forgiveness, but not a gospel, Jesus-centered definition. What he shared could have been said, by Oprah, or anyone whose main goal is to simply get along and be "nice." The people listening responded with obvious emotion, including tears, proving the scenario a desperate one.

The man's definition of forgiveness was this, "Forgiveness is the releasing of your right to seek revenge when wronged." Morally, this sounds good. If we're going to operate in a world broken and ravaged by sin and sinners, then we're going to encounter constant situations where we must forgive the wrong-doing of others and hope that they will extend the same grace in kind.

While me must forgive, I can think of at least three reasons why this moral definition is weak and problematic:

1. This form of moral forgiveness, while it allows you continue in a lifestyle of niceness, does not release you from being a perpetual victim. When wronged, you have nowhere to carry your grief, no one hear your case, no real sense of justice. You simply release your right to demand justice. The result is a culture of pretenders who put on plastic smiles in the midst of devastating grief, whose only hope is that enough time will pass so that the pain that can only be ignored will eventually go away and history will be re-written to have never included that episode of misery. It does not offer the true freedom that Gospel-forgiveness promises.

2. This view perverts the Biblical portrait of Justice and challenges God's holiness. If forgiveness amounts to "letting it go," then God is cruel for demanding justice and taking vengence upon evil and not a God who hears the cries of the upright in heart and moves on behalf of the oppressed. But the Scriptures teach that He is (Deut. 32:4, II Sam. 22:7, Psalm 18:4). He does not simply release the right for revenge. Over and over in the OT, we witness God making the promise to put an end to all wrong doing. In the response of God to the wickedness of the serpent and Adam and his wife Eve, we have the promise that this will be put to an end (Gen. 3:15).

We must refrain from attempting to change God so that He is a cosmic Santa Claus who strictly withholds reward from those who are "naughty." The Scriptures paint a picture of a God whose justice demands payment and who desires His people to do the same (Ex. 34:7, Lev. 16:16 & Gen. 18:19, Ex. 23:2, Deut. 16:19-20, etc.).

3. Most devastatingly, this view of forgiveness, when professed as a Christian view actually changes the very Gospel that we count on to be reconciled and see the world made right, because it removes the centrality of the cross for forgiveness.

Paul reminds the church at Corinth of the primary points of the Gospel in I Cor. 15. He points out that Christ died for sinners. That he was buried, that he raised and appeared. These things are of utmost importance to the Christian Faith and it is eternally dangerous to change that message (Gal. 1:6-9). The death of Jesus is the very act that makes forgiveness possible. The debt for wrong doing is not "let go," but paid. It is condemned in Jesus and sets the guilty free (Rom. 8:1-3). It was not a simple release, but the brutal murder of the guiltless, eternal son of God.

The Passion of the Christ 20th Century Fox and Icon Productions 2004

Gospel forgiveness would be defined as "releasing the right for personal wrath in recognition that the injustice has been dealt with." As my friend Mike pointed out, the axiom goes from "Eye for an eye" to "Jesus for an eye."

There is power in realizing that justice has been served. The condemnation that you rightly wish to execute has not simply been arbitrarily let go, it has been carried out. The Gospel changes EVERYTHING. In the resurrection, there is newness to life and the promise that the death of innocence and safety is overcome by the mercy and grace of God. Realizing this grants freedom to see the relationship renewed with a foundation other than brokenness. May we learn to apply a forgiveness in keeping with the Gospel.

Missio Dei Praxis: Faith Worth Sharing

Our Spring Membership class is underway and next Wednesday, May 6, we'll kick off our practical theology (Praxis) class. Theology that doesn't connect to and challenge the way we do life, so we're going to do our best to connect the mind to the heart to the hands. We hope to inform your thinking, motivate your heart, and process the tools to make sharing the gospel a reality (without being sales pitchy).

Week 1, we'll look at the tension of the absolute control of God in all things and the responsibility of people to respond to God. Week 2, we'll explore the reasons that we're not fully engaged in sharing the Gospel (lack of information, opportunity, trust, concern, relationship, etc.).
Week 3, we'll coach through some ways to develop a lifestyle that communicates trust in the Gospel.

You can sign up by filling out a connect card at Sunday's worship gathering or emailing Pastor Kurt (kurt@LivingUncommon.org).