Understanding our depravity in light of the fall in Genesis 3 is essential because it reveals the magnitude of what sin has done to us. Sin is not simply a series of bad choices but a fundamental or radical corruption of our entire nature as human beings. When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, every aspect of the image of God in man was marred: our minds were darkened, our emotions became disordered, our relationships fractured, and our moral compass was bent toward self rather than God.

On today's program, we look at the origin of our condition. We’ll see how the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden didn't just affect them but resulted in a corrupted nature passed to every descendant—leaving us not just ""sick"" but spiritually dead in our trespasses. Do you realize that your struggle with sin is the outward expression of a nature that has been ""bad to the bone"" since the Fall?

Pastor Tom helps us understand the ""total"" in total depravity. We'll see that sin hasn't just touched a few areas of our lives but has permeated our minds, our wills, and our emotions, leaving no part of our being untouched. As you examine your life, can you see how sin has influenced even your ""best"" intentions?

Pastor Tom addresses the devastating consequence of this reality: spiritual inability. Because we are ""bad to the bone,"" we are completely incapable of understanding the things of God or coming to Him for salvation on our own. Friend, does it humble you to realize that you didn't ""find"" God, but that He had to give you life while you were still dead in your sins?

Tom Pennington explores the judicial reality of our condition. We aren't just ""broken"" people; we are guilty transgressors who stand condemned before a holy and righteous Judge. When you stand before the mirror of God's Law, do you see a person who is ""mostly good,"" or do you see a sinner whose only hope is the mercy of the Judge?

Tom gives a devastating verdict in that the doctrine of total depravity is the only soil in which true humility can grow. When we realize there is nothing good in us to merit God's favor, our pride is crushed and we are finally positioned to worship Him rightly. Is your worship fueled by a sense of your own worth or by a deep gratitude for a grace you could never deserve?

Pastor Tom tackles the common objection: ""But don't I have a free will?"" We’ll see that while we choose according to our desires, because our nature is corrupted, our desires are naturally enslaved to sin. Friend, is your ""freedom"" leading you toward Christ, or is it merely the freedom to follow a heart that is naturally at enmity with God?

According to the Bible, no human being, no matter how sincere or religiously motivated, has the natural capacity to come to Christ, obey God's law, please God, or even embrace spiritual truth apart. Only a sovereign act of Almighty God can deal with this problem. From John 6:44, Pastor Tom explains this sovereign act of divine grace and compels us as believers to live in light of the gospel—knowing what we have been saved from and knowing whom we have been saved for.

Tom discusses the danger of ""moralism""—the attempt to fix our external behavior while leaving internal corruption untouched. We'll see why a ""good life"" without a new heart is still a life under condemnation. Are you trusting in moral improvements to save you, or have you come to the end of yourself and cast your hope entirely on Jesus Christ?