A faulty doctrine of sin has serious consequences for the church and its teaching on salvation, but good theology must start with man as bad. This is where the Reformers and the Reformed confessions start—with total depravity. For them the doctrine of total depravity did not mean that man ceases to be man, but it meant that he ceases to be good. The article outlines all of this.

Taking what the Bible teaches about human depravity seriously functions as a great antidote to racism. Two illustrations are given in this article: one from the Great Awakening in the USA in the 18th century, and the other from the civil rights movement in the USA in the 1960's.