Foundational Truths - Mankind part 1

We continue our series celebrating Elim's centenary by looking at what we believe.  So far we have looked at the Bible, The Trinity, the Saviour.  It's great that we looked at the Saviour before today's topic, for today we are looking at the doctrine of mankind.  It is our shortest doctrinal statement and states:

Mankind: We believe in the universal sinfulness of all men since the Fall, rendering man subject to God’s wrath and condemnation.

All Have Sinned

This takes us to the idea that Adam's sin affects us too.  It is often referred to as Original sin or, as Grudem puts it, inherited sin.

Certain things we inherit, they are part of our DNA.  I have brown eyes because that's the colour of my mother's eyes.

Other things are cultural influences, like what football team a family supports.  It can be hard for a young boy, for instances, to support Arsenal in a Chelsea supporting household.  He's more likely to support the family team because of the family culture.

When we talk about Original Sin Original we mean: the Fall of Adam as the "original" sin and the hereditary fallen nature and moral corruption that is passed down from Adam to his descendants.  It is called "original" in that Adam, the first man, is the one who sinned and thus caused sin to enter the world.

Even though Eve is the one who sinned first, because Adam is the Federal Head (representative of mankind), his fall included or represented all of humanity.  Therefore, some hold that original sin includes the falling of all humanity.
Romans 5:12: Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.

Original sin is not a physical corruption but a moral and spiritual corruption; sin has touched all parts of what a person is:  heart, mind, soul, will, thoughts, desires, etc.  It is sickness of the soul.

This may not seem fair!  Why should I be held responsible for something that happened at creation?  It may not seem fair, but it is still true.  The Good News is that God did not leave us there without hope, but something equally unfair on the face of it - He sent Jesus to die in our place and take punishment for our original sin, healing the soul, and for our deliberate, will full sin, bringing us salvation.

The simplest proof of original sin is found in two words that every child knows, that no one teaches them, and every parent struggles against.  The first word is, "No!"  It shows an innate rebellion to authority.  No is a good word when used in the right way: say no to strangers, no to the doughnut, no to temptations.  The second word is, "Mine!"  It shows an innate selfishness.  No parent wants selfish kids and no parent would want to admit it's a quality that they nurture.  Mine, that sense ownership, is good when used properly: my responsibility, my decision, my wife, my love.

These a simple proofs that the spiritual DNA of humanity is tainted with something that does not belong in the Maker's plan.

At the return of Christ and the resurrection of all Christians, the sin nature will be eradicated.

The Bible further teaches:
- Every unsaved person is a sinner (Rom 3:23)
unsaved are dead in their sin (Eph 2:1)
unsaved possess a deceitful heart (Jer 17:9)
unsaved are full of evil (Mark 7:21-23)
unsaved are unable to understand spiritual truth (1 Cor 2:14)
unsaved do not seek for God (Rom 3:11)
unsaved is a slave to their own sin nature (Rom 6:14-26)
unsaved are hostile in mind and deed to God (Col 1:21)
unsaved are are objects of God's wrath (Eph 2:3).

Because of their sinful condition (Rom 6:14-20), the unregenerate do not and cannot freely choose to believe the gospel (Rom 3:10-12; Rom 6:14-20) and that they cannot come to God unless it has been granted to them from the Father (John 6:65) who appoints them to eternal life (Acts 13:48) and grants that they believe (Phil. 1:29).

Without a doubt, sin brings death (Rom. 6:23). Death is not a natural part of God's creation. When sin entered the world, death came with it (Rom. 5:12).

Sin has affected all of what the person is in body, soul, emotions, mind, and spirit. Unbelievers incapable of choosing God on their own since sin has left us dead, blind (Eph. 2:3), and incapable of understanding spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:14).

2. Sin Affects The World
Sin has also affected us by its influence on the world.  All we need to do is look around us to see that we grow old, get sick, and die. In other words, the world is decaying; and we first notice it in our own bodies.  We also see the effect of sin on societies that war against each other. There is mayhem, killing, theft, adulteries, murders, lying, etc.

Also, sin has affected the world in that there are floods, earthquakes, storms, etc.  These are the result of an imperfect world with sin running through it.  When Adam fell, the world was affected by his fall.  Adam represented all of the created order since he was given dominion over it by God.  Therefore, when Adam rebelled, he took the world with him in his fall; and as the Scripture says, it awaits its own deliverance:
Romans 8:20-22: Against its will, all creation was subjected to God's curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

Sin will be remedied finally only by the return of Christ who will then destroy sin and death completely. Until that day, we war against the sinfulness of our fleshly bodies as well as the effects of it upon creation.

3. Are All Sins Equal?
Yes and No.

We can quickly see this from Jesus' own words when He said in John 19:11: Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."

Other Scriptures that verify this are also taught by Jesus when He said the following:

Matthew 11:21-22: "Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. [22] But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.
Luke 12:46-48a: The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.  "That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows.

We begin to see that the punishment for sins will vary, although all un-repented of sin will be punished and sends us to a lost eternity.

Jesus clearly taught that there is a difference in the level of sins that we can commit.  So, we can conclude there are sins that are worse than others by nature.  We could easily say, for example, that stealing a paperclip is not as bad as murdering a group of people.

However, it also seems to be the case that knowledge affects the severity of sin as well:

2 Peter 2:20-21: If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.  It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.

Peter says that awareness of sin and intent are factors that affect whether or not sin is greater or lesser.  This is supported by the Scripture that says, James 4:17:  Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

All Sins are qual though, as all lead to a separation from God (Romans 3:23)

Even though there are sins that are greater than other sins, all sin leads to hell.  The reason sin does this is not because of the severity of the sin but because whom the sin is committed against.  Since it is God who gives morality, when we sin, we break His law, His morality, His heart.  Therefore, we are offending God; and our sin is against Him.  Since God is infinite, our sins take on an infinite quality.

This is why we need an infinitely valuable sacrifice, which is found in the person of Jesus who is God in flesh (John 1:1, 14).

We compare ourselves to others.  I may not be as bad as my neighbour but I can never be as good as Jesus!

Does Sin After Salvation Cancel Salvation?
No.   A person can really be saved if he commits sin, asks for forgiveness from that sin, and then commits the same sin again.

Our salvation is not dependent upon how little we sin or how good we are. It is dependent upon the grace of God. Now, please let me make it clear that I am not saying it is okay to go out and sin all we want so that we can be forgiven over and over again. This is not a license to sin. The Bible speaks against that.

Romans 6:1-2: What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

We have to realise that part of being saved is also being regenerated, which means that the Lord God lives in us and has changed us. We are new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17) who have been born again (John 3:3).

It is this change in us that produces our struggle against sin. Before we are saved we did not struggle with sin; now we recognise the battle.

Often, critics of our eternal security with the Lord will say that if we cannot lose our salvation, then it is a license to sin. However, such critics always ignore the fact that we are regenerated, and the result of that regeneration produces a desire to fight against sin.

This should not be seen as an excuse to go on doing what is wrong for a Christian.  We are not to use our liberty as an excuse for sin (Galatians 5:13).  Neither can we say that sin is a metaphysical, non existent, thing for the Christian.  The Bible calls such people liars and, actually, unsaved!
1 John 2:4: The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

We all sin. Christians sin in varying ways and in varying degrees. We all should repent and seek the Lord and turn from our sins as best we can. However, the fact remains that many of us fail, and many of us even get caught up in our sins. It is when these sins become dominant and retain a measure of control over us that we wonder if we can be
forgiven--even though we have sinned the same way before.

We can be forgiven because Jesus is the one who forgives us. The Bible does not tell us there is a number of times we can ask for forgiveness, and then anything past that number we can't be forgiven. If anything, we're told that God's love for us is truly great.  The Bible does not tell us that after so many sins that the blood of Jesus loses its power.  The enemy tells us that.

We live in a time of Grace:
Grace: a place officer shows you grace and forgoes writing you a ticket for speeding.  Does that mean the traffic laws are abolished and you can drive as you please?  No!  That would be ridiculous.  The police officer's grace should bring you willingly to obey the traffic laws.  His mercy was not a termination of the speed limit but rather mercy to guide you to obedience.

Wrapping it up:
Thank God for Jesus!  It is som important to know the power of sin to realise that we need a Saviour.
We cannot be saved in and of ourselves.  We have this incredible gift of salvation that God has given us.  No one has to go to hell.  To reject Jesus is to choose to sene oneself there.
I hoe next week to look at the soul - what it is and how wits sickness affects every part of our being.

Blog Bonus'
What about Hebrews 10:26?  Can you lose salvation?
The book of Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians since it begins referring to "the fathers and the prophets" (v. 1) and quotes the Old Testament more than 30 times with many more references to Old Testament occurrences (Heb. 3:16; 5:10; 8:5; 9:11-22; 12:16-18, etc.). It appears that the writer of Hebrews was trying to persuade the Hebrew Christians to not revert back to the Old Testament sacrificial system but remain faithful to Christ. Therefore, when we get to Hebrews 10:26, we can understand that it is talking about those who go on sinning wilfully by rejecting the sacrifice of Christ and going back to the old system. That is why there would be no more sacrifice for sin because Jesus is the only sacrifice and because the blood of animals cannot cleanse (Hebrews 10:4).

What About Babies/Very Young That Die?
The Bible is clear that humanity is fallen and that we are viewed as sinners from the womb (Ps. 51:5; 58:3).  This means that if infants are saved it cannot be on their own merits but on the redemptive work of Christ (1 Timothy 2:5; John 3:3).
It is possible for God to bring salvation even in the womb.  We can think of John the Baptist (Luke 1:15) and King David (Psalm 22:10) as having a special relationship with God prior to birth.  How many such relationships God has had with the unborn is not clear, so it is unwise to make a doctrine from the exceptions.
Scripture is clear that the normal way is for the children of the saved to be saved too (Gen. 7:1 cf Heb. 11:7; Josh 2:18; Ps 103:7; John 4:53; Acts 2: 39; 16:31; 18:8; 1 Cor. 1:16; 7:14; Titus 1:6).

The Bible is clear that believers who grieve the loss of a baby or young child will see them again (2 Sam 12:23).  We take great comfort from David's recognition that his baby son was with God.  The Bible is silent on unbelievers children.  Whilst we trust God will do the right thing, we cannot have the same assurance outside of the Christian faith.  It may well be that God takes the aborted and the baby/infants who have not personally sinned to Himself, but unless those parents come to saving faith there can be no guarantee of a heavenly reunion.