Total Depravity – Sin

In our progress through Joel Beeke’s Living for God’s Glory we now come to the topic of total depravity, or as some prefer radical depravity, radical corruption, or pervasive evil. To deal with this topic we need a thorough understanding of sin, its nature, and how it has affected us in our relationship to God as well as our ability to comply with His just demands.

The following quotations, taken from What Is Sin by David Powlison give us some starting points for our discussion of sin.  I encourage you to read carefully the full article.  In just three paragraphs it lays a foundation for our contemplation of the nature and effects of sin.

First, people tend to think of sins in the plural as consciously willed
acts where one was aware of and chose not to do the righteous
alternative.

But sin also includes what we simply are, and the perverse ways we think, want, remember, and react.

Sin – the desires we pursue, the beliefs we hold, the habits we obey as second nature – is intrinsically deceitful.

Sinners think, want, and act sinlike by nature, nurture, and practice.

Have you thought about sin in these ways before?  How do these descriptions of sin apply to the regenerate?

randy