Mankind apart from Christ is enslaved to the god of darkness and lives, breathes and thinks in terms of the great satanic lie that sin and idolatry are true freedom. “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them” (2 Cor. 4:3-4). “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do….When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell you the truth, you do not believe Me” (Jn. 8:44, 45). “I [Jesus Christ] will deliver you [the Apostle Paul] from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me” (Ac. 26:17-18).
If man is bound by his sinful flesh to the prince of darkness and is blinded by Satan, then obviously his will is not free. Men who have “been taken captive by him [Satan] to do his will” (2 Tim. 2:26) can only be set free by someone stronger than Satan—Jesus Christ and His Spirit (Mt. 12:29). Because “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 Jn. 5:19) and all unbelievers are children of the devil who do not practice righteousness (1 Jn. 3:10) and everyone walks “according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2) we can only be liberated by the almighty power of the Holy Spirit sent by the victorious Mediator at the right hand of power. Thus of Jesus we read: “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb. 2:14).
(Extracted from "Man’s Need of Salvation: Total Depravity and Man’s Inability" by Brian Schwertley. You can READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE by clicking HERE.)
If man is bound by his sinful flesh to the prince of darkness and is blinded by Satan, then obviously his will is not free. Men who have “been taken captive by him [Satan] to do his will” (2 Tim. 2:26) can only be set free by someone stronger than Satan—Jesus Christ and His Spirit (Mt. 12:29). Because “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 Jn. 5:19) and all unbelievers are children of the devil who do not practice righteousness (1 Jn. 3:10) and everyone walks “according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2) we can only be liberated by the almighty power of the Holy Spirit sent by the victorious Mediator at the right hand of power. Thus of Jesus we read: “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb. 2:14).
(Extracted from "Man’s Need of Salvation: Total Depravity and Man’s Inability" by Brian Schwertley. You can READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE by clicking HERE.)
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