Total depravity teaches humility, mercy… and hope

It takes a special kind of courage to love the doctrine of original sin. Too often over the years I've heard people say things like "I like that church; they don't focus on all that negative stuff like sin." But what a blessing we miss out on because we don't realize just what sin means. So it was quite refreshing to run across Rebecca Writes: Why I Love the Doctrine of Total Depravity.

Rebecca, who's from even farther north than I am, writes "An honest look at it [the doctrine of original sin] is the best antidote for pride." She notes it also helps us appreciate just how deep is God's love: "Knowing the depth of God's love comes only as I fathom how far he had to stoop to grasp me."

Building on Rebecca's blog entry, William G. Meisheid writes in his own blog, Beyond the Rim…,
"…the next time you are tempted to respond to a sinner with condescension, just remember that when push comes to shove it is Christ not your insipid purity that makes the distinction between you and them. Instead try and not just to receive but also to give 'mercy and find grace to help in time of need.' Hebrews 4:16"

The doctrine of original sin teaches us humility and gratitude. It helps us relate to others more mercifully and, I submit, faithfully. To this list I'd like to add a third benefit of the doctrine. It gives us a reason to hope for something better.

When I see my sin, when I see the unsavoury things I'd rather were not part of my life, I know one day they won't be. The promise of redemption is the promise of freedom from sin. In my sin I cry out "Who will free me from this body of death?" And I know that I will be rescued through Christ Jesus my Lord. (Check out the progression from Romans 7 through Romans 8, the progression from bondage to sin to freedom in glory.) That sin may be how I am, but it's not how I'm going to be.

To paraphrase John's language, we are the children of God, and what we will be is beyond imagining, except that we know one day we will be like Jesus. We will be purified just as he is pure. What a great day when that hope is fulfilled!