Original pollution refers to the pollution of sin which all people inherit from Adam as their natural father. As descendants of Adam, sinful parents bring forth sinful children.

Original pollution is also called "total depravity." This means that man is born totally without spiritual good, and full of evil. Fallen man is born with a polluted heart which loves self, sin, world, and Satan. He is totally without, and is totally incapable and unwilling of producing, spiritual good. Due to God's common grace, however, fallen man is not a devil. God restrains man's sinful, devilish heart and gives him a common sense of authority, decency, concern for others, and outward good. Without God's common grace, life on earth would not be possible. In hell, God's common grace will be removed, and sinners' devilish hearts will be unrestrained, and fully given over to themselves.

"I'm tired of gardening," Tim complained.

"What's wrong?" his mother asked.

"I keep trying to get my watermelon plants to grow. I do everything I can, but it's so hard to make them grow. The weeds grow by themselves. Even when I keep pulling them out, they grow back."

"Do you know of what this is a picture?" asked his mother. "Last Sunday our minister preached on the subject of which I'm thinking."

"Oh, I know," Tim responded, "our sinful hearts. The good things are so hard to grow, but the sinful things spring up without any help all the time."

How can our sin-filled hearts be compared to weedfilled gardens?

The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.

They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

- Psalm 14:2-3

But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

- Isaiah 64:6

The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.

The LORD is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works.

- Psalm 145:8-9