Concupiscence: You've got it and don't know it!

Most doctrines accept "original sin". That's "ancestral sin" which we have because of the rebellion of Adam. (I've previously established that Eve sinned too, but Adam was responsible for teaching and leading her. She assumed spiritual leadership, usurping her role, and misled Adam.) Because of THEIR sin, of which Adam bears responsibility. all mankind is born with sin. Here's where scripture speaks of inherited sin:

Romans 5:12 (ESV) "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—"

What's described is "original sin" and it's am inherited disease of all mankind. Even newborn babies have it! The first emotions are narcissism, selfishness, anger, lying and even theft! They're not taught that. They're born that way! Just as the body may be born with physical maladies, the soul is born with spiritual maladies. The difference being that only some are physically short-changed, but all are spiritually!

 Ephesians 2:1 (ESV) "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 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."

There is much to be explained about original sin. First off, it's our nature and it's also the nature of everybody else. We're not as special as we think and we can all pick a favorite sin and say truly "I was born this way!". Yes, we are all born with the disease of sin and we have a propensity to do one thing: seek the desires of the body and mind. The goal in life is to find pleasure. However, people find pleasure in different ways. Our minds work differently. Those who sin are all aberrations because God never intended for us to sin!

Looking back at the tree of life: 1) It was good for food, 2) it was pleasurable and 3) it was good for knowledge. All three of these purposes are for one purpose; pleasure. Pleasure is being gratified. It's seeking to receive excitement for ourselves. Hence, "original sin" is worshiping a false God. False Gods always go back to the same idol. We all are born with ourselves as our own gods. God competes for reverence with his own creation. This desire to please ourselves is called  "concupiscience", which is our original orientation for a fleshly appetite. Let's name some of those: fornication, theft, homosexuality, lying, gluttony, drunkenness, and use your imagination. It goes from simple rudeness to hate with the desire to murder. Everything in between and at either end is concupiscience. Most of us non-Catholics are prelapsarian. We believe that before the original sin, mankind was innocent. We were created without sin. It was deceit which led to the sin, our forebears having no longing to do wrong!

Hence, "original sin" spans the realm all the way form a predisposition  to do wrong, or a sin nature, all the way to total depravity. We're all depraved.  We're all morally corrupt. However, some believe that is totally depraved and others that we have a sin nature. Regardless of which we are, the penalty is the same. Sin, without repentance, results in spiritual death!  However, equal punishments for wrongs does not make the wrongs equal. Some sins are greater than others and some sin more than others. Total depravity is a man's inability to do any "good" at all. There is a problem which must be considered! Only God is good:

Luke 18:19 "And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God."

It would appear that "good" is defined as the totality of what God is. All God does is good, hence God is "all good"! The summation of all his acts makes up his goodness. He has no "bad" and is unable to be exposed to it (It is noted that to be "good" there must be no sin, but "good deeds" are referred to as doing "good".in the vulgar):

Habakkuk 1:13a "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:"

Hence, God is all "good". Good is made up of all aspects, events and actions of the universe. All of these can contain both "bad" and "good", but God's portion is "good only". But man's a little different! Whereas the nature of God is "Total Goodness" called "virtue", we are made up of  "good" and "bad" components. We are capable of doing good and we do them. However, good is interspersed with bad, and as scripture says, if we violate one law it's as if we have violated them all! That doesn't mean that we may as well be anarchists since all sins are equal and one is equal to all. It just means that the penalty for violating one or all, without repentance,  is death!

The contention is that contrary to Calvinism and even most Baptist beliefs, man is not "totally depraved". We have concupiscience, or a sinful nature. We don't know the eternal spiritual condition of Adam and Eve, but we do know that those who have experienced grace and are born again, are still sinners. We're not "good" as is God because we still have "bad" to which we fall prey!

We still are deceived by "the prince of the power of the air" (Satan) just as Adam and Eve, but we're still forgiven. However, we are to ask for forgiveness as we sin. Hence, even born-again Christians still have a sinful nature, but we're not "totally depraved". We are deceived by Satan, but he's not our God. Because God is graceful, he has the mercy to forgive our ancestral desire to sin, but his Spirit calls us to feel guilt!

When we're born-again we're a new person:

2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

That "new person" enters again the dispensation of innocence, as we were before original sin. We are still subject to deception, but we're no longer depraved, We no longer have a sinful nature, for if we do, we need to question the efficacy of our salvation. Those with a sinful nature continue to violate the commandments of God without remorse, As a result there is no sincere sorrow for disobedience, and we are much like Adam; blaming others for our own disobedience!

Let's use our God-given wisdom. Humanists do some good. They help people because they value humanity. However, most of those humane people do inhumane things. Many humanists defy the sanctity of life by propagating abortion. They're able to be "partially good" (in the vulgar) because they have a desire to do good, but a predisposition for evil. What they do is to satisfy themselves. Even by helping others a feeling of pride can arise within their hearts. One could say that they are totally depraved because even their charity is narcissistic, but there are those who have a genuine love for others.

Humanists who do "good" all the time still come up short. They're depending on being "good" to save their own eternal souls (if they even believe that!). However, without Christ all their "good" is as filthy rags:

Isaiah 64:6 "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."

This verse is used by some to support "total depravity", but I go back to an earlier statement: "Equal punishments for wrongs does not make the wrongs equal. Some sins are greater than others!" Hence, the filthy rags we believe is righteousness still contains "good", but without Christ "all do fade as a leaf". It's the penalty that's the same, not the actions themselves.

With total depravity we would not have a longing for God.

Isaiah 33:2 (ESV) "O LORD, be gracious to us; we wait for you. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble."

If we were "totally depraved" we wouldn't have the "goodness" to wait on him. We would be as the psychopath; we just wouldn't care!   We wait there for God, being drawn to Him by the Holy Spirit. This "waiting for God" is called "prevenient grace". It's God's gift to mankind because he's merciful. He allows us to have a conscious so that we respond to the call of the Holy Spirit. Anyone who have truly been born-again have experienced the call of the Holy Spirit. That's a little of us which is not depraved and seeks something other than the evil and emptiness they temporally enjoy.

"Total Depravity" is the "T" in the acronym "TULIP" which summarizes five-point Calvinism. This doctrine is a heresy accepted by even the elect which has split Christianity down the middle! "Total depravity" is a quintuplet of Calvinism because without the "ULIP" you can't have the "T" and without the "T" you can't have the "ULIP" all fall without all. With one point gone the five collapse!

For a refresher:

(T)otal Depravity (U)nconditional Election (L)imited Atonement (I)rrestible Grace and (P) Preservation of the Saints.They are as erroneous as are the "Five Pillars of Islam" and lead many to unsanctified lives!

The cure for concupiscience is salvation, the antidote is self-control and prayer. Yes, we're to participate in our salvation!