The T in Tulip stands for total depravity. I am going to list several verses from scripture and then explain the idea full underneath.
Romans 3:10-18
10 As it is written:
“ There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
12 They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one."
13 “ Their throat is an open tomb;
With their tongues they have practiced deceit”;
“ The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “ Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “ Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;
17 And the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “ There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Ephesians 2:1-5
1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
Genesis 6:5
5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Ecclesiastes 9:3
3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
Jeremiah 17:9
9 “ The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
Psalm 10:4
4 The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God;
God is in none of his thoughts.
Romans 8:7-8
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
1 Corinthians 2:14
14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Isaiah 64:6a
6 But we are all like an unclean thing,
And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;
Matthew 15:19
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.
Psalm 36:1-2
1 An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked:
There is no fear of God before his eyes.
2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes,
When he finds out his iniquity and when he hates.
Proverbs 28:26a
26 He who trusts in his own heart is a fool
The mind is defiled:
Titus 1:15b
but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.
Ephesians 4:17-18
This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;
Jeremiah 10:14a
14 Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge;
Our will and choice is defiled (in other words, we're enslaved):
John 8:34
34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin
Galatians 4:8
8 But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods.
Romans 6:20-21
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
2 Timothy 2:25-26
25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
Our affections/desires are perverted:
2 Timothy 3:2-4
2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
Proverbs 21:10a
10 The soul of the wicked desires evil;
Isaiah 32:6a
6 For the foolish person will speak foolishness,
And his heart will work iniquity:
To practice ungodliness,
John 3:19
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
John 8:44a
44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.
Outside of Christ we are in utter ruin:
Romans 7:18
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.
Isaiah 1:5-6
5 Why should you be stricken again?
You will revolt more and more.
The whole head is sick,
And the whole heart faints.
6 From the sole of the foot even to the head,
There is no soundness in it,
But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores;
They have not been closed or bound up,
Or soothed with ointment.
Colossians 1:21a
21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works
We are born in sin:
Isaiah 48:8
8 Surely you did not hear,
Surely you did not know;
Surely from long ago your ear was not opened.
For I knew that you would deal very treacherously,
And were called a transgressor from the womb.
Psalm 51:5
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
Psalm 58:3
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb;
They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
Ephesians 2:3
3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
That is a list of 31 verses and let's just call this part one of many to come. Wow, this was so sobering to see all these verses and write them all out. I wanted to add a definition of total depravity. Total depravity is that sin has extended to every part of a man's personality -- his thinking, his emotions, and his will. Not necessarily that he is intensely sinful, but that sin has extended to his entire being. This is why Total Depravity has also been called "Total Inability." The man without a knowledge of God will never come to this knowledge without God's making him alive through Christ.
I hope this makes sense and that it gives a clearer understanding of the T in TULIP. I have been amazed at all the scriptures I've found. It's also amazing how many of these scriptures simultaneously support the other 4 parts of TULIP. More on that later! Please feel free to comment--I do want to hear you're reasoning! If you disagree, I only ask for you to research the scriptures and explain you're reasoning through God's word! After all, it's our authority...our opinions pale in comparison!
