The Depraved Nature of Man

Background Scripture: Romans 1
Lesson Scripture: Romans 1:16–25

Introduction

The apostle Paul is one of the champions of faith. However, he only became one of the faithful through a transformation, a process that he understood well and described clearly in his epistles to the early congregations in the church.

The epistle to the Romans is perhaps Paul’s deepest, most influential writing. Or we should say that the Holy Spirit inspired Paul’s efforts to the Romans because of their great spiritual need. Rome was rich, powerful, and persuasive, and the Christians from that background needed to hear about man’s native depravity. They also needed to hear about the way to attain to true righteousness, the way to be justified by faith apart from the works of the Jewish law. When God in His mercy, touched by man’s need, extended grace, even a capital sinner like Saul was saved and changed into a vessel unto honor.

Corinth was another city with a fledgling Christian congregation. Carnal, cynical, and urbane, the Corinthians had become a fractious bunch. Tolerant of sin that would shame a hardened sinner, they needed reproof. Paul followed his reproof with teaching about Christ, Communion, and charity. As they accepted Paul’s admonitions, they were led into the beauty and blessings of the Christian church with its diversity and unity. They also needed to learn about hope: one based on God, His promises, and the finished work of Christ.

A lesson from the book of Colossians completes the quarter. Becoming complete in Christ is the solution, the answer to every question.

As we consider the challenges these early Christian congregations faced, may we remember the solutions offered to them still work. Our problems are similar to theirs, and the Holy Spirit continues to offer answers that are timeless and effective.

The Depraved Nature of Man

Lesson 1

June 7, 2020

Background Scripture: Romans 1

Lesson Scripture: Romans 1:16–25

Introduction

What does the Bible say about the sinfulness of man? How complete was man’s fall in the garden of Eden? Is man basically good? Does he have innate powers within himself to heal and make himself better? Do all human beings born have a deep cry in their hearts for God?

These are pertinent questions for modern society. The new age teaching is that man is basically good and self-healing. Alternative treatments, whether mental, physical, or spiritual, are available, providing a smorgasbord of options to help fill the needs of humankind. However, a basic Bible truth is missing. Let us learn about our deepest needs and the source of true healing according to the divine Word of God.

Key Verse

For 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).

Lesson Scripture

Studying the Lesson

The Roman Empire furnished the background for the worldwide propagation of the gospel. Under Roman rule, the world was unified and held together by force. There was a universal language, and travel became easier and more efficient than in former times with the well-ordered infrastructure of roads and highways. These conditions made it possible for the gospel to be carried to the world.

However, pagan religion and cultural worldviews with their attendant immorality affected the people of the day. The Roman Empire had integrated the Grecian influence with its reliance on humanistic philosophy and regarded other cultures with suspicious tolerance.

This was the world the early Christians faced as they set out to be followers of Christ. The orthodox Jews considered them heretics, and the Romans considered them a threat to society.

Christ offered salvation to the lost soul with a message of liberty to those who were enslaved and oppressed. It was an invitation to believe in the risen Lord and Savior. This Word of hope and joy was a healing balm to the weary ones whose pitiful cry had echoed ever since the fall.

The gospel was, and is still, a revelation of the judgment of God against sin. It illuminates the intents and desires of the heart and clearly defines right and wrong, making us accountable for the choices we make. Just how God manifests Himself to every person is a mystery, inscrutably hidden in the omniscience of the Godhead. Nevertheless, the work of the gospel through mercy and truth countermands and reverses the relentless, downward trend of our fallen human nature.

The last eight verses of Romans 1 describe the result of man giving himself over to his depraved, evil nature. As verse follows verse, the downward trend of man into the depths of immorality and debauchery are fully illustrated. This certainly is a description of what is seen in the world today.

The world is becoming increasingly hostile to true Christianity. True Christians are unpopular and do not follow the trends of the day. They do not fit in because they are not of this world (John 17:16).

Practical Truths for Today

Though God created man upright (Eccles. 7:29), the fall of man in the garden of Eden was a complete fall from grace. That disobedience brought spiritual death and resulted in the depravity of man. Not a single person, no matter how good or how perfectly he may have been taught, is above the curse of sin. Though we are not accountable for our predecessors’ sin, we all have inherited the sin nature. Our forefathers were incapable of bequeathing to us a goodness they did not possess.

The Old Testament law served to reveal sin and the wrath of God against disobedience. Also in the Old Testament are the prophecies of a Redeemer, which shone through those times as a beacon of hope for lost humanity in need of redemption.

Then Jesus came. He satisfied the divine demands of justice that the law imposes on the sinner, and by His death and resurrection He justifies and redeems those who will accept the offer of salvation.

The depravity of man could be described as an iceberg. The visible part of the iceberg represents the conscious awareness of sin that a person coming under conviction may have. The Holy Spirit reveals and convinces him of the evil deeds that he has done. Convicted of sin, he confesses and repents of what has been shown him. The heavenly Father grants forgiveness, and through faith in the finished work of Christ, he goes forward from that experience a free person.

The greater mass of an iceberg, however, is invisible, lying under the surface of the water. Let us suppose that the iceberg represents the full extent of our fallen nature. Sometimes we only see the readily obvious motions of wrong. As we grow and experience life, we learn, and God reveals a greater magnitude of our sinful nature. This vision brought the apostle Paul to exclaim, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom. 7:24). The following verse gives the answer, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (v. 25).

When we repent and honestly acknowledge our sins to the Lord, we are forgiven and set free from the guilt that burdens the conscience and stains the soul. Through the perfect work of salvation, God provides a covering of grace to hide our old nature, and as long as we do not willfully step outside of God’s will, we remain justified and free before Him.

As a believer joyfully begins to experience new life in Christ, he may find his freedom and peace hindered by the reality of his depravity. The inward troubling begins to mar the free and happy feeling that was present at first. He is tempted by some of the things that he had dealt with. Satan whispers disturbing doubts, trying to convince him that he really is not a Christian. Some Christians have stumbled and become discouraged as a result of these temptations. What is happening? The spirit of doubt, as well as other dark spirits, seek to find root in our evil nature. Where do those evil and base tendencies that I thought I had repented of come from? What does it mean to be a child of God?

Every born-again Christian continues to carry an inherent sinful nature. Though its power has been broken, it is still there. It is the source of many difficulties and temptations. We need not be surprised that this fallen nature wants to revive and reassert itself. It does not mean that we have lost our salvation, only that we must deal with it by resisting and crucifying it as many times as it rears its ugly head.

No sin, great or small, will ever enter heaven. When even the thought of foolishness is sin (Prov. 24:9), we must admit that we are hopelessly depraved. We are forgiven entirely through the blood of Jesus Christ, and it is a complete work of regeneration. We should not forget that the part of our sinfulness, which perhaps we are not even aware of, was also taken by Jesus to the cross for our sakes.

At the foot of the cross all men are on common ground. Rich or poor, great or small, all races of people are completely equal. All must come as a hopeless sinner, without any recourse other than a plea for mercy and grace in the name of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

Questions

1. Why is it so difficult to admit to our depravity?
2. What are the dangers of using alternative therapy and medicine that teach self-goodness and self-healing?
3. Second Corinthians 7 compares godly sorrow to the sorrow of this world. How does this relate to our depraved nature?
4. Discuss the motives for wanting to study and learn. Though intellectualism is an enemy of faith, willful ignorance is not godly (Acts 17:11).
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Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).