Philippians Prayer 1

A Prayer through Philippians 1.

Dear Gracious God, May we, and Christians we know,

1. pray for others frequently with joy.

• Php 1:3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,
• Php 1:4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy,

2. be a partner in laboring in the good news gospel with others who do.

3. be granted partners in our labors in the gospel. We are thankful for those we know laboring in the gospel.

• Php 1:5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

4. have God begin and complete a good work in us and others.

• Php 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Php 1:7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.

5. yearn with affection for fellow believers with the affection of Christ Jesus.

• 1:8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

6. abound in love more and more, with knowledge and discernment.

• Php 1:9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,

7. approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,

• 1:10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,

8. be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory & praise of God.

• 1:11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory & praise of God.

9. realize that our hardships can really serve and used to advance the gospel.

• Php 1:12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, Php 1:13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.

10. become more confident in the Lord and much more bold to speak the word without fear.

• Php 1:14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

11. say, live and display that : For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

• 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

12. have our labor and life contribute to the: progress and joy in the faith, for Christians around us.

• Php 1:25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith,

13. have a manner of life that is worthy of the Gospel of Christ

14. Stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,

• Php 1:27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,

15. Not be frightened in anything by our opponents.

• Php 1:28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents.

16. realize For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,

• Php 1:29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Total Depravity HQ1

Total Depravity: The doctrine of total depravity (or total inability) says that all men, as a consequence of the Fall, are born morally corrupt, enslaved to sin, at enmity with God, and unable to please Him or even of themselves to turn to Christ for salvation. (Thus the necessity of a gracious, unconditional election.) Here is a sweeping survey of the biblical support for the doctrine.

I. Is man basically good or basically evil?

· Ecclesiastes 7:29 - "See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes."
· Romans 5:7-8 - For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
· Romans 5:12,19 - sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned... by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners
· Ecc 9:3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. Job 15:14-16, 25:4-6;

II. All men? Are there any exceptions?

· Psalm 143:2 - Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.
· Romans 11:32 - For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all. (Galatians 3:22)
· Romans 3:23 - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
· 2 Chronicles 6:36 - "there is no one who does not sin"
· Isaiah 53:6 - All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way
· Micah 7:2-4 - The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind; they all lie in wait for blood, and each hunts the other with a net. Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well; the prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul; thus they weave it together. The best of them is like a brier, the most upright of them a thorn hedge.
· Romans 3:9-12 - What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (Psalm 14:1-3, 53:1-3)
· Psalms 14:1 To the choirmaster. Of David. The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. 2 The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. 4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the LORD?
· Psalms 53:1 To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David. The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. 2 God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 3 They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. 4 Have those who work evil no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God? 5 There they are, in great terror, where there is no terror! For God scatters the bones of him who encamps against you; you put them to shame, for God has rejected them. 6 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
· 1 John 1:8,10 - If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say we have not sinned, we make [God] a liar, and his word is not in us.
· Mark 10:18/Luke 18:19 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone."
1 Kings 8:46; Psalms 116:11, 130:3, 143:2; Proverbs 20:9; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Jeremiah 2:29; Micah 7:2-4, Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19; Romans 5:12-14; 1 Corinthians 5:9-10; James 3:2.

III. Are people good deep down?

· Mark 7:21-23 - "For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person." (c.f. Matthew 15:19)
· Psalm 5:9 - For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue.


IV. Are men totally depraved? Is every faculty of the person corrupted?

1. Heart (Hardened, Deceitful)

The heart deals with love, desire, affection, joyful pursuit.
School Bus drives kids in duty. Parent picks up kids in love.
Nursery with 30 kids general care. Grandparent with own grandchild deeper love.
Kids forced into sports/piano practice…versus…child who loves sport/piano practice.
· Jeremiah 17:9 - "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"
· Ecclesiastes 9:3 - Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
· Matthew 15:19 - "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander." (c.f. Mark 7:21-23)
· Genesis 6:5 & 8:21 - The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually... from his youth.
· Psalm 36:1-2 - Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart

1b. THE HEART OF MAN IS CORRUPT

· 1 John 4:10 This is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
· Matth 15:18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
· Mark 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man
· Eccles. 9:3 the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
· Eccles. 8:11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
· Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
· John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
· Jere 16:12 And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me:
· Rom 3:11 There is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God.
· Eph 2:1-3 the course of this world…is now at work in the sons of disobedience— [3] We all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
· Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
· Job 15:14-16; Heb. 3:12; James 1:14, 15; Ps 73:3-11 notes. Psa 78 notes Rom 9:16, 19-23 Eph 2:8-9 John 3:3,8
· Genesis 6:5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:11-13 Genesis 8:21 the Lord said, "I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. ALSO SEE Ezekiel 44:6-12

· We cannot blame the government, television, school system, the neighbor’s kids, the economy, our parents, the church to “save the world”. It was not Noah’s fault for the drowning. It was not Abraham’s fault for Sodom and Gomorrah, Nor Stephen’s fault for being stoned. It was not Jesus’ fault for being crucified.
· Psalm 58:4-5; Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26; Psalm 10:4, 94:11; Matthew 13:14; Mark 7:21-23; Ephesians 4:17-18


1c.. MAN CANNOT CLEANSE HIS OWN HEART.

· Proverbs 20:9 Who can say, "I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin"?
· Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
· Psalm 51:2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
· Psalm 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
· Jeremiah 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then (neither can) you do good who are accustomed to do evil.
· Proverbs 28:26 He that trusts in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walks wisely, he shall be delivered.
· Jeremiah 8:12 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush.
· Jer 14:10 Thus says the Lord concerning this people: "They have loved to wander thus; they have not restrained their feet; therefore the Lord does not accept them; now he will punish their sins."
· The reason why man sins, is not because he is a victim, but that He loves sin. Men love money, they love drugs, they love pleasures more than God,
· Luke 16:14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him.
· 2 Tim. 3:2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, 2 Tim. 3:4 lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,


1d. GOD CHANGES THE HEART

Deut. 10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.
Jeremiah 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskin of your hearts,
O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds."
Deuteronomy 29:2-4 And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: "You have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, 3 the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. 4 But to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear.
Deut. 30:6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
Ezekiel 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
Ezekiel 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Romans 2:28 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. Romans 2:29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.
Philip. 3:3 For we are the real circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—
Col. 2:11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,

> GOD IS NOT OBLIGATED TO DO this work, (It is only His grace to do so) and in many He chooses not to change their mind/heart.

> GOD DOES THE WORK! THE CHANGE! In many souls, all undeserving! (Hebrews 8:10)


2. Mind (Depraved); Man has a corrupt mind.

The current wicked state of a fallen mind in NC/USA.

Mind: knowledge, perception. Informed, Aware.
If you are near-sighted, you cannot recognize things that are far.
If you are far-sighted, you cannot make out the blurry letters.
Imagine a very fuzzy projector, overhead, so blurry, it is a blob of blue, white, silver, gray,
We cannot even get to the question of heart/desire, because the mind and info is blocked.
Man has a problem with his mind, and way of thinking.

· Romans 1:28-31 - And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were... foolish
· Titus 1:15-16 - to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.
· Ephesians 4:17-18 - you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.
· Jeremiah 10:7-8,14 - among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you. They are both stupid and foolish... Every man is stupid and without knowledge
· Proverbs 28:26 - Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool
· Moses said before he died to all the leaders….Deut. 31:27 I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Even today while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the Lord. How much more after my death! [28] Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears and call heaven and earth to witness against them. [29] I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you. And in the days to come evil will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger through the work of your hands."
· Deut. 31:16 the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them.
· Joshua said before he died…..Joshua 24:19, "You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. [20] If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good." John 7:19
· Joshua 24:14 “Fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt; serve the Lord. Joshua 24:23 He said, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the God of Israel."
· Numbers/Exodus/Deuteronomy/Judges/ The Prophets … repeatedly shows their error.
· 2 Cor. 3:14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. (they crucified him!!)
· 2 Cor. 4:4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
· Ephes. 2:3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
· Philip. 3:19 their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
· Col. 1:21 you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
· 1 Tim. 6:5 constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth.
· 2 Tim. 3:8 these men oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith.
· Titus 1:15 to the defiled & unbelieving, nothing is pure; both their minds & consciences are defiled.
· 1 Cor 2:14 But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
· 1 Cor 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
· John 5:40 And you will not come to me, that ye might have life.
John 6:43 Jesus answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. 44No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:61-65 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, "Do you take offense at this? [62] Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? [63] It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. [64] But there are some of you who do not believe." (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) [65] And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father."
Romans 8:5 Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. [[7] For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Psalm 78, Psalm 106; Romans12:2 (the world's mind); Ephesians 4:22-23 (why be renewed)
Rom 6:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
2 Tim 2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. [Col 2:13]

John 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 44Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. John 8:47 He that is of God hears God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. (John 10:26-27 )
Gen 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Prov. 14:12 There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end there is death.
Prov 28:26 Whoever trusts in his own mind/heart is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.

Luke 16:29 Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' 30 He said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' 31 He said, 'If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.' "
1 John 4:3 the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

2b. PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW GOD, JUST KNOW ABOUT GOD, as most protestants.

Jere 2:8 The priests did not say, 'Where is the Lord?' Those who handle the law did not know me;
the shepherds transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit. (Jere 2:5)
Jeremiah 4:22 "For my people are foolish; they know me not; they are stupid children;
they have no understanding. They are 'wise'—in doing evil! But how to do good they know not."
Jeremiah 9:3 They bend their tongue like a bow; falsehood and not truth has grown strong in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 9:6 Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit,
they refuse to know me, declares the Lord.
Hosea 4:1 the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land;
Ps 58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.
Isaiah 1:3 The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know (me, the owner, master), my people do not understand."

John 1:10 He was in the world, the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
John 8:19 Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also."
John 7:28 you do not know the Father

John 8:55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word.
John 14:17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.
John 15:21 All these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.
1 Jhn 3:1 The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

These were religious scholars, years in the OT, years attending synagogue/church, years praying, years memorizing scripture, keeping a high moral code, giving money and animal sacrifices;
They were the Bill Gates of computers. What do you mean we don’t know computers, God???

We take this fuzzy projector, overhead, so blurry, it is a blob of blue, white, silver, gray,
We adjust the projector, sharp, clear, focused, the blur is gone, image of blue, white, silver, gray,
is a picture of sardines. Now your mind is clear, now your heart can respond.
Some of you may have a heart that loves sardines, others may have a heart that hates sardines.
However, the Bible says, not only is our mind corrupt, but our heart/desires/loves is corrupt.
Will/Choosing (Enslaved)
· John 8:34 - Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin."
· 2 Peter 2:19 - They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.
· Titus 3:3 - For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
· Galatians 4:8-9 - Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?
· Romans 6:6,16,17,19,20 - We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey...? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed... For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
· Romans 7:14 - For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.
· 2 Timothy 2:25-26 - God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
c.f. Isaiah 42:6-7; Psalm 51:112; John 8:31-32,36; 2 Corinthians 3:17

Affections/Desires (Perverted)

· Romans 1:24-27 - Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
· 2 Timothy 3:2-4 - For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God
· Proverbs 21:10 - The soul of the wicked desires evil
· Isaiah 32:6 - For a fool speaks nonsense, and his heart inclines toward wickedness
· John 3:19 - "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil."
· John 8:44 - "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father."
c.f. Genesis 3:16; Psalm 4:2, 52:3-4 140:8; Proverbs 10:23; 2 Peter 2:13

et al (Utter Ruin)

· Titus 1:15-16 - to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled
· Romans 7:18 - I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh
· Isaiah 1:5-6 - The whole head is sick and the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head there is nothing sound in it, only bruises, welts and raw wounds, not pressed out or bandaged, nor softened with oil.


Can men change themselves or still do good when they want to?

· Jeremiah 13:23 - Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then you also can do good who are accustomed to doing evil.
· Job 11:12 - An idiot will become intelligent when the foal of a wild donkey is born a man.
· 1 Samuel 24:13 - "As the proverb of the ancients says, 'Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness'"
· Matthew 7:18 - "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit." (c.f. Luke 6:43)
· Matthew 12:34 - "how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil."
· Romans 8:7 - the mind set on the flesh... does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so
· Genesis 6:5 & 8:21 - Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually... from youth.
· Titus 1:15-16 - to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.
c.f. Job 14:4; Matthew 12:34; John 15:5; Romans 14:23; 1 John 5:18-19

Are men at least born pure? What about the "tabula rasa"?

· Psalm 51:5 - Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.
· Genesis 8:21 - the Lord said to Himself, "I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth
· Psalm 58:3 - The wicked are estranged from the womb; those who speak lies go astray from birth.
· Isaiah 48:8 - "You have not heard, you have not known. Even from long ago your ear has not been open, because I knew that you would deal very treacherously; and you have been called a rebel from birth."
· John 3:6 - "That which is born of the flesh is flesh"
c.f. Proverbs 22:15

What is the natural disposition of man toward God?

· John 3:20 - "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed."
· Romans 8:7-8 - the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
· Colossians 1:21 - you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds
· James 4:4 - You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
c.f. Romans 1:28-30

What is man's relationship to God?

· Psalm 58:3 - The wicked are estranged from the womb; those who speak lies go astray from birth.
· Ephesians 2:12-13 - remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
· Ephesians 2:3 - Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
c.f. Isaiah 59:2


Can man then do anything to please God?

· Proverbs 15:9 - The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord
· Proverbs 15:8/21:27 - The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord
· Proverbs 28:9 - He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
· Isaiah 64:6 - For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
· Romans 8:7-8 - the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
· Hebrews 11:6 - And without faith it is impossible to please [God]
c.f. Psalm 50:16; Proverbs 21:4; Isaiah 1:10-15; Amos 5:21-24
Are men at least seeking God?
· Psalm 10:4 - The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him. All his thoughts are, "There is no God."
· John 3:20 - "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed."
· Isaiah 65:1 - "I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me."
· Isaiah 64:7 - There is no one who calls on Your name, who arouses himself to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us and have delivered us into the power of our iniquities.
· Romans 3:10-12 - "there is none who seeks for God" c.f. Romans 10:20
Can the natural man comprehend the gospel or come to saving knowledge of God on his own?
· 1 Corinthians 2:14 - But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
· 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 - our gospel is veiled... to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
· 1 Corinthians 1:18,21-24 - For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness
· Deuteronomy 29:2-4 - And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, "You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and all his servants and all his land; the great trials which your eyes have seen, those great signs and wonders. Yet to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear."
· Matthew 11:27 - "no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.'
c.f. Psalm 119:18; Proverbs 4:19; Isaiah 42:6-7; Hosea 14:9; Matthew 16:17; John 8:43; Acts 22:14, 26:18; Ephesians 4:17-19; 2 Corinthians 2:15-16; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4; 1 John 5:20
Can men of themselves accept God's gift of salvation? Do men choose God or come to Him on their own?
· John 3:27 - John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven."
· John 14:16 - "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him
· John 1:12-13 - But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
· John 6:44 & 64 - "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him;" And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father."
· Romans 9:16 - So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.
· Romans 11:35-36 - Or who has first given to [the Lord] that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.
· 1 Corinthians 1:30 - But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus
· Philippians 2:13 - for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
c.f. Jonah 2:9; Zephaniah 3:9; John 15:16; 1 Corinthians 15:10; Philippians 1:6; James 1:18

Who supplies faith/belief/repentance?

· Romans 12:3 - God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
· 2 Peter 1:1 - Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours
· Acts 16:14 - A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.
· 1 Corinthians 3:6 - I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.
· Acts 5:31 - "He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
· Acts 11:18 - When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life."
· Philippians 1:29 - For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake... to believe in Him
· Acts 18:27 - And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace
· Acts 3:16 - "And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all."
· Ephesians 2:8-9 - For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
· 2 Timothy 2:25 - The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, [etc.]... if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth
· 1 Corinthians 12:3 - no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit
· 2 Peter 1:3 - His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence
· Romans 11:36 - For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
· 1 Corinthians 4:7 - For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?
· John 3:6 & 6:63 - "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit... It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing;"
c.f. 1 Chronicles 29:14; John 5:44; Ephesians 6:23; 2 Thessalonians 3:2

Can men do anything to help themselves?

· Romans 5:6 - For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
· Colossians 2:13 - When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions
· Ephesians 2:1-2 & 4-5 - And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked... But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
c.f. Psalm 49:7-9; Jeremiah 2:22; Ezekiel 16:6, 37:1-3

Who then can be saved?!

· Matthew 19:26 - Jesus said to them, "With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
c.f. Mark 10:27; Luke 18:27


CHECK FOR DOUBLE POSTING:

John 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
John 6:43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. 44No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Rom 6: 6-8 6For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Col 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

2 Tim 2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. completely incapable of discerning truth, in fact things of God considered ridiculous.

1 Cor 2:14 But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

1 Cor 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

John 3:3 seeing comes after birth. I did not choose my physical birth.

Eph 2:8-9 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

John 8:43-44 43Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 44Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.

Phil 2:13 For it is God that works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

John 10:26-29 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. 27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 30I and my Father are one.
John 8:47 He that is of God hears God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
Rom 3:10-12 10As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Gen 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
children of disobedience, children of wrath Eph 2:2-3
Prov. 14:12 There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Ps 58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.

Romans 9:16So then it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy. Rom 9: 19Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 20Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor? 22What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

Acts 239 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Acts 2: 47Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

1 Cor 3:6I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.


Luke 16:29-31 But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' [30] And he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' [31] He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.' "

Matthew 7:11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Matthew 9:4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?

Matthew 12:34-35 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. [35] The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.

Matthew 12:39 But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

Matt12:45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation."

Matt 15:18-19 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. [19] For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

Luke 6:45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Luke 11:13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Luke 11:26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first."

Luke 11:29 When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, "This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.

John 3:19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.

John 5:29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

John 7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.

1 Cor 3:6I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

Jere 16:12 And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me:

Jeremiah 8:12 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the Lord.

Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Psalm 53:1-3 To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, A Psalm of David.The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good. [2] God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. [3] Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Proverbs 28:26 He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.
Eccles. 9:3 This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

Eccles. 8:11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
Mark 7:21-23 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, [22] Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: [23] All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

Isaiah 64:6-8 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. [7] And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities. [8] But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.

Isaiah 53:1-8 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? [2] For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. [3] He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. [4] Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. [5] But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. [6] All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. [7] He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. [8] He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

Job 15:14-16; Heb. 3:12; James 1:14, 15; Gen 6-9 Ps 73:3-11 notes. Psa 78 notes
Luke 16:29-31 But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' [30] And he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' [31] He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.' "

Genesis 6:5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Genesis 6:11-13 Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. [12] And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. [13] And God said to Noah, "I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Genesis 8:21 And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, "I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.

Exodus 32:1 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, "Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." [2] So Aaron said to them, "Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me." [3] So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. [4] And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!" [5] When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord." [6] And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. [7] And the Lord said to Moses, "Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.

Deut. 31:16 And the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them.
Deut. 31:27-29 For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Behold, even today while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the Lord. How much more after my death! [28] Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears and call heaven and earth to witness against them. [29] For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you. And in the days to come evil will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger through the work of your hands."

1 Samuel 8:1-9 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice. 4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, "Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations." 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD said to Samuel, "Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them."

1 Kings 11:1-14 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the people of Israel, "You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods." Solomon clung to these in love. 3 He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. 4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and did not wholly follow the LORD, as David his father had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. 8 And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods. 9 And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the LORD commanded. 11 Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, "Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. 12 Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen." 14 And the LORD raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite. He was of the royal house in Edom.



Gen 6:5-8 exposes man’s "Total depravity/Inability" to love, trust, obey, "respond appropriately to" God with his mind, heart, will, and choice.

1. v.5 man. Meaning mankind as a whole, the entire population
2. v.5 was wicked; not loving, humble, trusting, honoring obedient to God.
3. v.5 was great in the earth, not a small, minor, flicker.
4. v.5 EVERY, not a few, some, half, 80%, 90%, a lot, but EVERY imagination.
5. v.5 even the Imaginations (not merely the actions)
6. v.5 his heart, the faculty of loving was not neutral, or loving God; as the Arminian assumes man can use today.
7. v.5 was only. mean sole, solitary, one focus & only one, no varying/ alternatives, or wavering.
8. v.5 evil : again not loving, humbling, trusting, obedient, to God, nor neutral.
9. v.5 continually: not just 10 hours a day, or 1 day a week, or 1 month a year,
but 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week, 12 months a year. Without pause, variation.
10. v.8 Noah finds grace in the Lord, why not all mankind. No one deserves Grace. Noah does not deserve Grace. God did not view Noah with merit, humility, quality. Without God’s grace Noah would have drowned too.
11. Gen 6:11 man was Corrupt in God’s sight. (Ruined) (2x: v.11,12)
12. filled... .not half-way, not 80%, but filled. (2x: v.11,13)
13. filled with violence. (2x: v.11,13) wrong, cruelty, injustice; not love, humility, obedience.
14. corrupt because ALL flesh....(v.12) all flesh, not just 80-90%
15. v.12 B. has corrupted their way on the earth. (V.12); (ruined)
16. Genesis 8:21 for the intention, (imagination) of (not even the action yet, but the sap of the tree)
17. 8:21 man's heart the faculty of loving was not neutral, or loving God; as the Arminian assumes man can use today.
18. 8:21 is evil from his youth. (not seeking, trusting, neutral, loving)

19. Gen 9:11-16 The Rainbow is God's covenant sign...not that man is any BETTER OR ABLE than Noah's generation, but to remind in fact that it is precisely the same as Noah's generation, deserving of death by flood. If God had not made this mercy covenant then he could have flooded the very next generation whenever it pleased Him without showing grace to anyone, since Noah does not deserve grace, and thus all would be dead whenever God decided to flood them again. So man is not able to make any "better responses" to God now than Noah's generation, anyone physically alive now is alive by God's mercy rainbow covenant, anyone eternally saved is saved by God's grace. Eccles. 8:11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
The concept, "God is making equal offers to Noah's Generation and also my 2009 generation for salvation; salvation is hinged on man’s free-will "to respond better" [despite these 14-19 evidences of what all these people thought, imagined desired, responded,] as making the difference between drowning and eternal salvation." -- is for the Calvinist the height of pride, arrogance, self-reliance, and self.. So am I saved today because "I made a better response, I distinguished myself"? What in Scripture indicates that man is any different in nature that Noah's day, when the Rainbow testifies that he is: not any better. (Romans 1, Romans 3, and at least 30 other cref on file) . The Arminian asserts, "Man can." Scripture testifies, "No man can come" (John 6:44)
Every sin is an act of unbelief, i.e. "Do you trust God and God's law, no I don't, thus I'll sin by trusting me and my law. " Even the scrupulous external reforms of the Pharisees were as filthy rags (menstrual cloths before God), so if these men crucified Jesus, an act of unbelief despite such vast exposure to the OT, am I in my own mind, heart, ability in 2009 going to make a "better choice" than Noah's generation or those elite Jews who had visual, verbal, tangible exposure to Jesus, His words and Miracles?

III. Matthew 23:37, the same evidences of Total Inability are shown.

Evidences of Total Inability, wicked heart, wicked mind, wicked nature, man's response:
1. Mat 23:4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.
2. Mat 23:5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,
3. Mat 23:6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues
4. Mat 23:7 and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. (both errors of v.12 exalting self)
5. Mat 23:13 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces.
6. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.
7. v.15 you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.
8. Mat 23:16 "Woe to you, blind guides
9. Mat 23:19 You blind men!
10. Mat 23:24 You blind guides
11. but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
12. Mat 23:26 You blind Pharisee!
13. within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness.
14. Mat 23:28 but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
15. v.30 saying, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
16. v.33 how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?
17. Mat 23:34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town,
18. the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.
19. v.37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!
20. v.37 ....and you would not!

This is 20 things in one chapter, how much more exists in all of Matthew itself of man's rebellion, and this by the elite minds of Hebrew and OT, the Tiger Woods of OT, the Bill Gates, the Michael Jordan of the OT. To yet not recognize, love, trust, or understand Jesus, but Kill Him? and to think that Todd a gentile like evil Gentile Goliath, or evil Gentile Pharaoh is going to make a better response to the Holy Spirit than they? (???)

20 POINTS…They knew, but had a corrupt mind, corrupt heart, hated God, suppressed truth.

A. Romans 1:18 men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
B. [19] For what can be known about God is plain to them,
C. because God has shown it to them. [20] For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature,
D. have been clearly perceived…..ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
E. [21] For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him,
F. but they became futile in their thinking,
G. and their foolish hearts were darkened.
H. [22] Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
I. [23] and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, animals, and reptiles. EXODUS GOLDEN CALF—WHAT HEALTHY MIND CALLS GOLD EARRINGS MELTED INTO A CALF…GOD??? 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,
J. [25] because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
K. [28] And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God,
L. God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. [29] They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, [30] slanderers,
M. haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, [31] foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
N. [32] Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

O. John 1:11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

P. Romans 10:18 1 But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have….. for "Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world." [19] But I ask, did Israel not understand? …..[21] But of Israel he says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people."













GENERATION: evil, wicked, perverse, faithless, adulterous, condemned, upbraid, chide
sinful, rejection to Jesus, reject John the Baptist, murdering of prophets,

Matt 11:16 this generation? (about constant rejection despite various appeals) Luke 7:31
Matt 12:39-42 An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign;
...rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it:(2x) Luke 11:29-32
Matt 12:34 generation of vipers, how can ye being evil, speak good things.
Matt 12:45 Then goes he, and takes with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
Luke 11:23-26 gather or scatter, with or against
Matt 16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign;
Mark 8:12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit...
Matt 17:17 O faithless and perverse generation, Mark 9:19, Luke 9:41 If the tree is green, vs. dry. on the cross.
Matt 23:34-37 constant rejection of prophets and Jesus.
Luke 11:50-51 2x: required of this generation;
Matt 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Matt 3:7 Matt 12:34 Luke 3:7

Mark 8:38 in this adulterous and sinful generation; Matt 10:32-39
Luke 17:25 But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.
Acts 2:40 Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Philip. 2:15 in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation,
Hebr 3:10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.

Duet 31:27-29 been rebellious, even more so after my death?...ye will utterly corrupt yourselves.

Deut 9:4-7 God chose due to: wickedness of other nations; yet also stiffneck Israel

Jesus says disciples will be hated, mocked, killed, scourged, not listened to; Matt 24:9
Jesus. Peter, Paul says it will only get worse, scoffers, failing away. Luke 23:28-31
They followed after food, signs, and healings (Jn 6:26) as a side show of entertainment, but not genuinely born again. They asked questions to tempt and stump him, but not to worship Him. They did not believe, they did not stay. Jesus did not beg or change His message. Jn 6:66-67
We cannot draw people to church, grow or build the church, get numbers, add members or get people involved. Not through "programs, activities, events, songs, etc." We serve and witness and pray that God will the give increase, but no need to be jealous of other churches, there is no "other church."
Define generation: a period, the persons in that period; Define wicked perverse, untoward
Describe: History of Past Israel, Jews in A.D. Current Society;
Bible predict it will get worse: Jesus, Peter, Paul, John

Do not Underestimate Man's evilness, fallen state.
Staunch Atheist or Serial Killer not come to church and break his unbelief.-- how will anyone else?
even polite lost neighbor has it equally hard. But in both cases God can change their estate with the utmost of ease- the Power of the Holy Spirit, the Power of the Blood!

Not come to church, for lost will do, but : come to Christ! this the lost will not, unless Spirit-birthed, for they will still crucify, ban from school, pledges, public.
not that other churches grow, there is no "other church", same team; not to compete, nor jealous;
man wants tangible proof: numbers in other churches are not a sign.

What hope is their that man will "just believe" or "muster faith"-- none.
What hope is their that God is able and can chose to Give Holy Spirit birth to some? GREAT!


Are we smarter than the Jewish council who saw but doubted and killed, despite empty tomb? Matt 28:11-15






13 Things a Lost Person Cannot Do:by Curtis A. Pugh
That the lost sinner must cast himself wholly on the mercy and grace of God must be obvious to those who read and believe the Scriptures. But the Bible knows nothing of such foolish man-made ideas as "praying the sinner's prayer", or "making a decision for Christ", or "inviting Jesus into your heart" or "going forward to receive Christ." No New Testament preacher ever used such terms or tactics! Consider these thirteen spiritual things an unsaved person cannot do:
1. HE CANNOT THINK AS GOD DOES:
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9)
2. HE CANNOT UNDERSTAND GOD:
". . . thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself . . ." (Psalm 50:21)
"Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? Deeper than hell; what canst thou know?" (Job 11:7-8)
3. HE CANNOT SEE SPIRITUAL THINGS:
"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3)
4. HE CANNOT KNOW HIS OWN HEART:
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)
5. HE CANNOT PROPERLY DIRECT HIS OWN PATHS:
"O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." (Jeremiah 10:23)
"There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." (Proverbs 14:12)
6. HE CANNOT FREE HIMSELF FROM THE CURSE OF THE LAW:
"For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." (Galatians 3:10)
7. HE CANNOT RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT:
"Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not . . ." (John 14:17)
8. HE CANNOT HEAR (receive & understand) GOD'S WORDS:
"He that is of God heareth God's words; ye therefore hear them not because ye are not of God." (John 8:47)
"But the natural (unsaved) man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned." (1Corinthians 2:14)



9. HE CANNOT BIRTH HIMSELF INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD:
"Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God." (John 1:13)
"For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy." (Romans 9:15-16)
10. HE CANNOT PRODUCE REPENTANCE AND FAITH IN CHRIST:
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that (faith) not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
". . . for all men have not faith." (2 Thessalonians 3:2)
"For unto you it is given . . . to believe on him . . ." (Philippians 1:29)
". . . if God peradventure will give them repentance . . ." (2 Timothy 2:25)
". . . to them that have obtained like precious faith with us . . ." (2 Peter 1:1)
11. HE CANNOT COME TO CHRIST:
"No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him . . . Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father." (John 6:44, 65)
12. HE CANNOT BELIEVE ON CHRIST:
"But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep as I said unto you." (John 10:26)
13. HE CANNOT PLEASE GOD:
"For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. . . . So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." (Romans 8:5, 8, 9)
SO THEN, MANKIND IS SHUT UP TO THE FACT OF HIS OWN TOTAL INABILITY TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT HIS LOST CONDITION.
In the light of these things which a spiritually dead (lost) sinner cannot do, how then do we account for the command of God to all men to repent? The Bible does state that God ". . . now commandeth all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30). What do we do about the counsel of God to men which says they are to believe on Christ? Would God command and instruct men to do that which they cannot do?
We answer an emphatic "Yes!" Our proof is the holy Law of God given to Moses on Mount Sinai. While there was nothing wrong with God's Law, no man is able to keep those commandments (1 Timothy 1:8; Romans 8:3). No man ever kept the Law of God and yet God was right to give it to man and command its keeping! By that Law we see ourselves as sinners (Romans 3:20). That was the purpose of the Law!
While God requires repentance (the will to turn from sin) and faith (the will to believe in Christ), no man is able of himself to do either. Thus, as with the Law, man is forced to see that there is nothing good in him and that he cannot repent and believe savingly in Jesus Christ.
Throughout the Bible God's children recognize their own inability to do anything to save themselves. In addition to the portions previously quoted in this tract, consider the following statements:
". . . 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." (Romans 7:18)
"Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." (Mark 9:24)
". . . I am shut up, and I cannot come forth." (Psalm 88:8)
"Turn us. O God of our salvation . . ." (Psalm 85:4)
" . . . Turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God." (Jeremiah 31:18)
"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our riqhteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee . . ." (Isaiah 64:6, 7)
". . . Salvation is of the LORD" (Jonah 2:9).
To trust in anything done in the flesh (human nature and strength) is to have "confidence in the flesh." To trust in your prayer, your baptism, your goodness, your faith or any experience you may have had is to have confidence in the flesh and not to trust in Christ. The faith and confidence of the true believer is in Christ! Those born of God trust not in rituals, sacraments, good works, their own repentance or their faith in Christ, but rather in Christ alone!