Knowing Human Dignity and Depravity
Sunday Seminary—6
Know What You Believe. Believe What You Know.
Continuing our Sunday Seminary series, we’re reminded that the foundational “doctrine” of the Christian faith isn’t cold or academic word. It’s life-giving truth that Jesus commanded his apostles to teach new disciples (Matt. 28:19). Paul calls this truth “the standard of teaching” (Rom. 6:17), and says believers have become “obedient from the heart” to it. Sound doctrine is meant to stir the heart to love and obedience.
So far, we’ve learned that God exists, that he can be known through creation, providence, and especially through his Word, that he is Triune, and that he is both Creator and Provider. We turn to our next topic—the sobering yet essential truth of knowing human dignity and depravity.
Creation
The Belgic Confession, Article 14, says:
We believe that God created man from the dust of the earth and made and formed him in his image and likeness—good, just, and holy; able by his own will to conform in all things to the will of God.
God made humanity unique. You are dust—but you are more than dust. You were fashioned with dignity, crowned with honor, and stamped with the image of your Maker. Your worth doesn’t come from what you achieve but from who created you. Humanity was created at the height of glory.
This means affirm your God-given dignity. You are not an accident or an afterthought. You were made to reflect God’s goodness and to enjoy fellowship with him forever.
Rebellion
The Confession continues:
But when he was in honor at his created height of glory, he did not understand it and did not recognize his excellence. Instead, he subjected himself willingly to sin and consequently to death and the curse, lending his ear to the word of the devil.
In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve’s rebellion was not an accident—it was a willful act. In choosing the serpent’s lie, they separated themselves from God, who was their true life. Ever since, we’ve tried to live on our own terms, inventing ways to find life apart from the Life-Giver. Yet only in God is there true and eternal life.
The result of that rebellion was devastating. Humanity lost its original righteousness, becoming “wicked, perverse, and corrupt in all [our] ways.” What remains are only faint traces of the image of God—enough to make us accountable but not enough to restore us. Scripture leaves no doubt:
“Man is nothing but the slave of sin” (John 3:27).
“No one can come to me unless the Father draws him” (John 6:44).
“The mind of the flesh is enmity against God” (Rom. 8:7).
“Without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
In sum, humanity fell from the height of glory to the depths of depravity.
Participation
Adam’s sin is not just his story—it’s ours. The Confession (Article 15) says,
By the disobedience of Adam, original sin has been spread through the whole human race… even infecting small infants in their mother’s womb.
This corruption runs deep. It is “enough to condemn the human race,” and it remains within us even after baptism, constantly “boiling forth as though from a contaminated spring.” Yet for God’s children, this sin is not counted for condemnation. It is forgiven—so that our awareness of corruption makes us long all the more for deliverance.
In response, acknowledge your sinfulness. Admit your need for grace. Anticipate the freedom that will one day be yours in Christ when sin is finally no more.
From Devastation to Restoration
Knowing human dignity and depravity helps us see both the glory of what we were made to be and the tragedy of what we’ve become. But it also prepares us to receive the gospel with joy—for only in Christ can dignity be restored and depravity be undone.
Receive him! Serve him this week in restored newness of life.