Most men’s notion of sin is only this, that whatever it is they themselves are not guilty of it. None are so absurd as to think, that they do all they should do, or that they are guilty of no deviations from the rule of right; but that their state is sinful upon the whole, or that sin is damnable, they do not believe. (Thomas Adam, Private Thoughts on Religion)
“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).
This comment is so true, even among those that have a confession that states the doctrine and nature of sin. It is one thing to agree that people sin, but it is quite another to admit that I sin. But even when people admit that they sin, what are they admitting to? It is one thing to agree with a confession that sin is worthy of damnation, but it is quite another to confess from the heart that my sin means that I am worthy of damnation. It is one thing to admit that I make mistakes, but it is a far different thing to admit that I sin. It is one thing to say that men are sinners by nature, but that is far from admitting that by nature we are sinners and as a result all that I do (even the best things) are sinful and worthy of the eternal wrath of God.
It is quite easy for human beings to see what is wrong with the behavior of other people, but it is virtually impossible to get past the self-defense and self-justification walls when it comes to the person himself. People who steal hate it if their possessions are stolen. People who lie hate being lied to. Part of the fallen human nature is to look at self through the lenses of self-love and what is good for self-love rather than look at things from an objective moral standard. King David thought a man who had many sheep was worthy of death for taking the sheep of a poor man, yet he had many wives and took the wife of a man who had one. How sinful passions and desires can blind the eyes of self to what self really is and what self is really worthy of.
While it is relatively easy (as Adam points out) to get people to admit that they have done things that were not quite perfect or that they have not done things that they should have, that is not the same thing as getting them to see from the depths of their hearts that they are sinners by nature and all that they do comes from that sinful nature and sinful heart. The self acts as the supreme judge in all that comes to it and makes judgments based on the desires and intellectual reasons of self, but when the biblical truth shows us that self is the real problem, then we can see that all that I have ever done has been wicked and evil actions that were done out of love for self and so enmity toward God.
It is also hard for people to see the evil of sin as against God when it is viewed from the lenses of love for self, what is good for self, and the benefits for self. When people think of sin from the view of self and love for self, they will not see sin as damnable. Instead, they may see it as a mistake and maybe even as wrong, but down deep they do not see it as damnable. Even worse, when things are viewed through the lenses of self, their own nature is not seen as damnable, but as neutral at best. Some, however, seem to think of themselves as basically good. This means that they cannot see the evil of their sin which flows from evil and sinful hearts. Since they think of themselves as basically good, despite what creed or confession they hold to, they will not view themselves as damnable at all. They may even thank God that they are not like other people and so in some way give the praise to grace, but that does not mean that in the deepest parts of their beings that they really believe in grace as taught in the Bible.
Not many in our day (if at any time in history) really think of themselves as worthy of nothing but eternal damnation. The words may come through clenched teeth in some because it is biblical, but to actually have that as the driving belief of the soul or conviction of the soul is something different. All human beings are worthy of nothing but damnation in and of themselves and it is only because of the grace purchased by Jesus Christ that any will have eternal life. When the hard things come our way in life we have no reason to complain or to say that we do not deserve them. Even in the hardest things that happen we are getting far less than our sins deserve. But even more, God uses the hard things to work in the hearts of His people those things that bring spiritual treasures. When human beings ignore how damnable they are, they turn their backs on spiritual growth and grace as well.
God Loves... Himself 
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