Depravity on Display: Not One Is Good

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Image of the word Depravity

Do you see mankind as essentially good or essentially bad? How you answer that question determines how you view and interact with people. Today’s Bible reading* gives us God’s answer.

Psalm 14:2-3 is part of the basis of Romans 3:10–18. Paul was clear … God is clear … that The Fall affected us much more deeply than we’d like to admit. And The Fall continues to affect every one of us every single day. No one — not a single one of us — seeks God. None of us is inclined toward the things of God.

Is mankind essentially good or essentially bad? If you have had children, you already know the answer. You don’t have to teach a child to lie. You don’t have to teach a child to steal. You don’t have to teach a child to be selfish. All of these behaviors are rooted in a fallen heart condition called depravity. And depravity manifests as sinful behavior.

Unfortunately, most of us try to deal with sinful behavior as if our behavior is the root of our problem. But like I said, the problem is much deeper. Behavior springs from a fallen heart condition. So long as we’re dealing with people’s behavior, we’re just dealing with symptoms rather than the real disease.

Look around you. Do you see the disunity? Do you see the division? Do you see the hate? Do you see the turmoil? Do you see the lack of biblical morality? All of these are symptoms. Regardless of what we do politically or economically, we will not … and cannot … have real, lasting results.

Application

The root problem is spiritual. And like a friend of mine has said, “You will never win a spiritual battle with a fleshly weapon.” Fleshly weapons, such as imposing moral standards and legislating behavioral change are not capable of making spiritual changes. (2 Corinthians 10:3–6)

Our Nation has been set up for a downfall. I’m not talking about political parties. I’m not talking about individual people. I’m talking about demonic strongholds that have fortified our culture against God’s ways and God’s purposes. Politicians, political parties, and the media are merely pawns in the grand plan of cultural destruction.

But we know that nothing can fully thwart God’s purposes. (Isaiah 14:27; Job 42:2) In fact, God thwarts the plans of evildoers! (Proverbs 10:3; Psalm 33:10) God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6)

If the root problem is spiritual, the only real solution is spiritual. And we have the weapons that are capable of achieving victory in our personal and cultural battles. (2 Corinthians 10:4–6) Will we wield the weapons? Will we fight until we see God’s victory?

Join me in praying for revival. Not a revival of political parties. Not a revival of cultural change. But a revival of discouraged hearts and a conversion of lost hearts.

* Chapters covered in today’s reading:
Psalms 6
Psalms 9
Psalms 10
Psalms 14
Psalms 16
Psalms 21

This devotional was originally published on April 17, 2021.


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