Original Sin and Total Depravity
As taught in the Lutheran tradition
Teaching the depth of human corruption and the total inability of man to save himself.
The doctrine of Original Sin and Total Depravity stands as the indispensable threshold of the Lutheran tradition’s understanding of the Gospel. Within this tradition, the question this subtopic answers is not merely "Why do we make mistakes?" or "Why is the world generally unpleasant?" but rather a far more radical ontological inquiry: "What is the fundamental condition and capacity of the human person before the face of God (coram Deo)?" To the Lutheran mind, any attempt to minimize the depth of human corruption is an attempt to minimize the height of God's grace. If the diagnosis of the human condition is only a minor illness or a manageable handicap, the cure of Christ’s agonizing death and resurrection is an overreaction.
By the end of this lesson
- **Identify** the precise definition of *concupiscence* as the active, disordered desire that constitutes the positive essence of original sin.
- **Distinguish** between the "inherited condition" of original sin and the "actual sins" (thoughts, words, and deeds) that necessarily flow from that corrupted root.
- **Explain** the theological significance of the "bondage of the will" (*de servo arbitrio*) in relation to spiritual matters and salvation, and why the will cannot "cooperate" with grace before regeneration.
- **Articulate** the Lutheran distinction between the "image of God" in its narrow sense (original righteousness and holiness) and its wide sense (human reason, faculties, and dominion).
- **Trace** the transmission of sin from Adam to all humanity as described in Romans 5:12, explaining the "Federal" and "Realistic" implications of our participation in Adam's fall.
- **Defend** the necessity of infant baptism as the divinely instituted means of addressing original sin in those who are "born of the flesh."
- **Apply** the doctrine of original sin to the daily Christian life through the lens of *simul iustus et peccator* (simultaneously saint and sinner), avoiding both pride and despair.
- **Compare** the Lutheran view of human nature with the Pelagian, Roman Catholic, and Reformed alternatives, noting the specific points of divergence regarding human ability and the nature of concupiscence.
Scripture
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