The total depravity of mankind, Pt2
Ephesians 4:17-19.
Stream or download The unsearchable riches of Christ, Pt 52
II. GIVEN THE CHARACTER OF THE SINNER, SEPARATION IS A NECESSITY.
If it is right for the child of God to understand what God has wrought in him and what he has become by the grace of God, it is also right for the Christian to understand the true character of the sinful man. Thus he will see that he has nothing in common with the worldling. Isaiah 51:1.
1. The sinner is moved by a vain mind. Their mind is void of truth. Vanity fills it and governs it. That is its natural condition from which it cannot move in and of itself. “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee,” Proverbs 23:7. What hope of self-regeneration is there for one whose fountain of thought is so utterly corrupted? Rich young man’s vain notions of his own desires, Matt 19:16.
2. This vanity springs from the utter darkness within. They are in darkness concerning the chief of all light — God. They know nothing of the life of God. This why Christ says man requires to be “born again.” How can they act in accordance with the will of Him of Whom they cannot know anything.
3. They are and will remain alienated from God because of the hardness of their hearts. Nothing of good can make an impression on the natural heart. The word “blindness” means “covered with a callus.” So we see where the idea of blindness and hardness comes from.
How can those who separated unto God walk with those who are separated from God?